Eating on the Road & Saving money

I didn't have an APU when I was OTR but my 400 watt inverter did run my crock pot. I lined it with heavy duty aluminum foil so I didn't have to clean it and had a cheap 12 volt cooler to keep meats and such in.

I love roast/potatoes/carrots deal in it too. I would get a medium sized roast and cut into 4 portions put into ziploc bags in the cooler. Cut up a carrot and potato and let that baby cook all day. Chicken and rice: chicken tenders strips saved in the cooler, some rice and a packet of turkey gravy, add some water and let that cook for a couple of hours.....awesome.

You have to be inventive, but you can eat a lot better and healthier in the truck that you would think with nothing more than a crockpot, foil, and a cooler...and as another poster said, eat when you want to instead of being stuck at a customer waiting to get loaded so you can go eat the greasy buffet at the J!!

 

I have a question on those 12v coolers... I was reading the information on them for a few different brands. Do they really keep stuff cool enough to last for like a week or so? All the ones that I had seen stated that they keep the food approx 30degrees cooler than the ambieant temperature. This seems like it would be good during the winter or when blasting the A/C during the summer but what about when parked during the summer and no APU or not allowed to idle to keep the cab cool ? (like if driving for Swift)

 

I never had a problem with things going bad in mine, but I didn't sit in a hot truck either. I would keep about 5-6 days worth of food in one with a 1/2 gallon of milk to boot. I had a rather small one though, so my thinking is a larger one might be harder to keep cool.

The milk wouldn't stay as fresh as long as say in a fridge so that was always my indicator if the milk started smelling within 5 days some of the food might be "not so fresh" anymore. I ate cereal so the milk would be just about gone before it would start to go bad. I kept a lot of can food but I would try to replenish my cold stuff about every 5 days at a Wally World or grocery store near where I was or going.

I would say 4-5 days worth of food that you'll eat then replenish for a 12 volt cooler. You aren't going to keep a pack of hotdogs good for 2 weeks in one.

But like I said I also had my canned back ups when I ate everything out of the cooler. I like canned beef stew too, so I would cook the rice in the crockpot and then dump the beef stew on top of it and things like that.

I had one of those big blue plastic (is it dry ice?) things that you freeze and I would put that in there as well when I left home and it would take it nearly 10 days to thaw out in the cooler so I think that helped a lot.

 

OH yeah, disclaimer. Forgot to remind ya, when running all this stuff watch your batteries!! Run the truck for a short bit before going to bed if you don't have the APU and don't idle during the night.

 

I have a feeling that plastic ice is part of the key to keeping it cooler longer.. At least milk will last 4-5 days that is a key one for me I can live off of just about any type of canned food or even dehydrated hiking foods. But milk that has to be kept cold or I won't touch it.. my wife laughs at me, if she leaves the milk sitting out on the counter for more than about 15 minutes I won't touch it even after cooled off again and if out for about 30 min then down the drain it goes ! Thanks for the tip of putting the icepack in the cooler that can make a big difference.

 

Is that one of the smaller ones or the bigger one ?

 

I've got one of the large Colemans in my truck and I love it. How I pack up is sorta unusual since I'm only out overnight twice a week but even then I save a ton over truck stops and fast food. A large percentage of customers have an employee lounge/lunch area with a microwave so I use that to heat leftovers that I've saved in small plastic tubs. (ask 1st) I have yet to get any grief over it.

One area you can make a major savings even without any way to cook is with drinks. I calculated I was spending between 25 and 40 dollars a week just on drinks, not including coffee. Since I purchased the cooler I buy all my drinks for a week at Walmart. Maybe $10 a week now.

 

I have a refrigerator in my truck. I also have a microwave and a grill. I cook every meal I eat in the truck. It's a lot cheaper and healthier. Plus if you ever get stuck out in the middle of nowhere you won't starve lol.