Any tips frozen food storage?

1963122

So here's my question. Would like to bring along some precooked frozen meals and steaks. Does anybody have any experience with the car freezer units I see on Amazon? Any suggestions on traveling cuisine?

Mouseketab

I have the following freezer. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09T8Y28BZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 I love that thing. Rides in the back of the truck plugged into 12V, and when stopped overnight, run an extension cord to the campground power. Really works well

VictoriaP

A number of people on the forum have gone with the Iceco brand. I love my go20. Their products are hyper-efficient due to the compressor. Using any of these types of cooler on freezer mode will use more battery than on fridge mode, though, and the hotter the ambient temp, the harder it will have to work. If boondocking, especially in hotter temps, you’ll want plenty of battery capacity.

Tabmanic

HoboTech reviewed this ICECO freezer/refrigerator JPPro Series 40/50L and sold us on it, works really well and lots of bell and whistles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-mfLu2frg
https://icecofreezer.com/products/jppro-series-40-50l-portable-fridge-freezer-iceco

AnOldUR

We use the unit that @Mouseketab linked to as a replacement for our 3-way. Works great as a refrigerator, but we wanted freezer capability. We bought a smaller 21qt Brevino thinking it would use less power as a freezer than using a larger one. Turned out, as @VictoriaP said, at freezer temperatures it uses more power than the one that’s over twice the size in refrigerator mode. Working on insulating it better, but does work and it’s great having ice.

RTWCTS

Electric coolers are a convenient thing if your destination has shore power. We have a Dometic CFX series. Without electricity at the campsite you'll need a power station to keep it running and perhaps a way to recharge the power station (solar or a generator). Without hookups I prefer a quality ice cooler (like a Yeti) and separate the ice from food with plastic bins.
After camping throughout most of the country, my pragmatic spouse likes to point out that we have never been very far from a grocery store and perhaps I shouldn't pack so heavy...

WayneW

We almost exclusively boondock. We precook what we can, then vacuum seal and freeze the packages. We have an RTIC cooler which we precool then everything goes in frozen along with a couple of frozen ice containers. We plan a menu so stuff goes in in reverse order of the menu - last meals in first. This minimizes rummaging around to find what you need. This is a habit from river rafting trips.  

We’re good for about 2 weeks this way.  The stuff on the bottom will be thawed but cold. It’s a bit of work to get it all planned but makes meal prep much easier when we’re out there. And thank goodness for my well-organized spouse!

Often times we’ll make a run to town, if one is around, for some ice and a milkshake after about a week. But it’s mostly for the milkshake.  

VictoriaP

If you opt to go with an ice based cooler, this thread has an interesting product for that, plus others discuss how they handle keeping stuff cold and dry in non-electric coolers: https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/15898/cooler-insert

I tend to batch cook at home year round, bulk cooking, separating & freezing into individual portions. I find that my 3 way fridge will hold a week’s worth of flat packaged entrees for one person in a small bin, with room left for other non-frozen consumables. They slowly defrost in there, and are still fine at the one week point. Reheating can either be via the stovetop, microwave if you have one, or something like a Hot Logic 12v warmer. 

Sort of off topic: the Hot Logic is a brilliant low wattage slow-ish cooker that consumes about 40 watts until it reaches temp, then cycles at lower wattages to keep things warm without overcooking or drying them out. Plug into the car while running, or the trailer if stationary, dinner ready in 2-3 hours from frozen solid. Really great for travel days, put food in, turn on car, dinner ready on arrival. Honestly one of my favorite purchases in the last year, wish I’d bought one sooner. 

1963122

So we have made several trips with a Coleman electric cooler. Great results for a $10.00 garage sale find. But have been looking for a freezer to haul our own pre cooked meals and steaks. The Ice unit looks really interesting. Little pricey but you get what you pay for.Like the 5 year warranty. The hot logic also looks very interesting.  Plug in while traveling and have a hot meal upon arrival. Thanks for the great information and any more that may be offered. This is all very helpful

rfuss928

1963122
The Colman cooler is thermoelectric and a serious power hog for marginal cooling capability.  I know, we used one for years.  Then we switched to a compressor based cooler style fridge (Alpicool 55).  It is now our primary cold storage because the T@B Norcold 12 volt fridge is much less reliable temperature control and less efficient in hot weather.  It consumes a fraction of the power of the thermoelectric - about 2.5 amps at 20-30% duty cycle verses 7 amps constant for the Colman.  We sometimes use the cooler for extra freezer space at home.  When set @ 0*F it runs less than 50% at ~70*F.  
We very happy with the improvement the compressor cooler has made in all of our portable refrigeration needs.   

AnOldUR

In agreement with @rfuss928. We had a Coleman thermoelectric as a backup fridge, but left it at uCamp22 free for anyone wanting to give it a try. Too much of a power draw to make it worth it for us. A compressor model is the only way to go if you dry camp a lot.

Michigan_Mike

I’ve used an ARB for quite a few years now and it has performed well. It can be used as a frig or freezer unit and runs on 12V DC.  It performs well and in an effort to conserve energy there have been times I do unplug it at night and plug in when morning arrives.  Depending on the length of your trip I’d say unless you have shore power at your destinations that keeping meals fully frozen will be a challenge if you have a lengthy stay of travel.  Certainly these units perform well and will keep food and veggies fresh during higher temperatures, but it’s a balancing act of sorts and over time you will get a better handle on what you can and cannot do.