ive read plenty of posts on the forum saying that truckstops pretty much charge a min of 2x as much as everywhere else so i was wondering is it feasable to cook in the truck with a coleman propane single burner stove or something similar, is there any carbon monoxide issues is it safe to do so and those little 12v coolers will they freeze things? or are they just to make soda's and stuff coldish

No, to the stove. Maybe outside the truck, but then you have to worry about spills of flammable things. The 12v coolers will not freeze anything. They will stay cold, but not keep things frozen.

Since these answers leave you no where, here is what I carry. I got one of those spiffy lunch box ovens.




Which I am getting pretty good at baking cookies in. I also use it to make hot dogs, reheat other meals like casseroles. It takes awhile to cook on. Depending on where I am at if I can get to a grocery store I have a tiny charcoal grill I use OUTSIDE the truck, normally its at a wide open area, or at one of our terminals.

I am fortunate to have a mini fridge built into the truck, which is turned all the way down and made into a freezer. The cooler to buy depends on the truck you will have.

For a freightliner century, or columbia(dont know if it will fit a classic) I recommend this:

[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.


It will fit in that little "desk" behind the drivers seat. And its large, has a little shelf, plus an adapter for when you go home you can plug it into ac power.

If you are in a T600 the space gets alot smaller and the cooler above will fit in there, but its a pain in the ###. It really cuts down on your room, and while I am 6' 180lbs. I'm not that large. While I havent found one I am ready to commit to yet. It would need to be slightly smaller than the one above to put under the bunk, or in the closet.

Also if you dont have anyway to freeze something, like a built in fridge. Do not try tv dinners, they will go bad within 2 days, well they are edible but not good. You may want to look into canned goods, I always keep a couple cans of ravoli because its precooked and doesnt need to be heated.

I hope this helps.

We use to cook in the truck all the time, as a matter of fact thats how we ate most of our dinners. Used a little two burrner propane stove. You dont need many pot/pans/skillets and you would be supprised at what you could cook up. If your 12v fridge is lacking in the summer you can run some flex hose from one of the a/c vents directly into the cooler fan.

Tjgosurf,
I was surfing the posts (I am a newbie, so I appreciate all the help from you guys) and I wondered about the freezer thing - I have not been able to find a small 12 volt refridge unit with a freezer anywhere on line or in stores. I plan to drive OTR and I want to save money - is there a combo unit that has fridge/freezer? Will I have to buy two separate units? Thanks, and again, I appreciate any info you have.

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Finding a 12v fridge or freezer will run quite a bit of money, I saw one advertised once and the prices made me laugh. The majority use a plug in cooler. Depending on your company, like mine they have inverters in the truck as standard equipment. Its not uncommon to see a smaller dorm size fridge/freezer in a columbia, or, as I laugh typing, a full size fridge in a classic. Which with the inverter I also had a microwave. The way I was describing in the T600 it has a fridge built in. While not very large you can turn it down cold enough to make it a freezer. For awhile I attempted using ice and a regular cooler, but I was far too lazy to remember to refill/drain it all the time and ended up wasting more food. The best thing is trial and error. What works for me may not work for you.

And here is a good post for what else to carry:

[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

tjgosurf,
Thanks for the info - and the link! some questions? (newbie, remember ) I still have my little dorm fridge with the little freezer section - if I plug it into the inverter will the inverter run all the time or does it cut off when the truck cuts off? And if it runs off the battery when the truck is off, will I drain my battery? And what is a "cheater bar", please?

__________________
All good things come to those who wait;
The Secret of Happiness is to wait Successfully.

Most inverters run all the time. And most if not all trucks have a safety feature that will cut off power to everything except the ignition. As for your fridge, you may need to check to see what size you would need to install. Some companies do not allow inverters at all, some only up to a certain wattage. To determine your wattage you would need to check the fridge. This link should help: [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.


Cheater bar, also known as a winch bar. About 4' long and solid metal.

tjgosurf,

Thank you again for the info - and another good link!

__________________
All good things come to those who wait;
The Secret of Happiness is to wait Successfully.

Coleman makes a 12v Cooler/Frig that can also be used to keep thing warm. It doesn't cook but will keep things warm. Check out Wally world. I've seem them there at times.

I had one. I never used the warming feature, but the cooler would get so cold my drinks would turn to slush. I would have to unplug it from time to time. It also had another cord wear you could plug it into 110 if you wanted to.

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