Do many of you forgo a refrigerator altogether when camping/boondocking?

[Wabbit]

For the past few years, I have not used/owned a fridge. If I am in a meat mood, I get it on shopping day and fix/eat same day. I do have a smaller cooler that occasionally sees ice, but that's mostly for beer/booze reasons. I do buy eggs and I usually make sure to eat them within two weeks and so far(2 years) no issues with getting sick or bad eggs. I also go off a fixed set of menus(for the most part). I use spam a time or two a week and eat beans a few times a week. What do your diets look like and how often do you go to the grocery store per month? Any tips? Thnx!

 

[Almost There]

The only time I would ever think of forgoing a fridge/cooler is when I am on an interior camping trip and even then we usually pack in frozen foods for the first few meals. After that it is dehydrated foods or, depending on how much weight one wishes to have to carry, fresh food that doesn't require refrigeration (fruit/some veggies).  I use the foil packs of salmon, beef crumbles, chicken etc for interior camping because I know that it's only a temporary source of protein, not a long term diet.

When I lived on the road I shopped once a week and had to plan carefully because of the logistics of extra trips to the store but fresh foods of all types were the main items on the menu.

IMO, my health and the ability to continue to live long and free depends, at least in part, on eating a healthy diet. I have too many places to go and things to see to jeopardize that by limiting my diet because of a lack of refrigeration.

Oh and farm fresh eggs that haven't been washed or chilled are safe to keep for a long time, the scrubbed, sanitized and refrigerated eggs bought in the store...not so much. Personally I wouldn't trust them without a means of temperature control.

 

[Wabbit]

I hear ya on the eating fresh healthy and what-not. Prob should be a bit more important to me, but the cost is a bit prohibitive for me. If I could, i would choose quantity and quality of life lol, but atm I pretty much choose quality(which for me are "toys" to play with which = money!) My food budget atm runs about 200$ for two people. I eat what I consider is as healthy as I can, but all vegetables and beans are canned. If I decide to settle down on some property, then I plan on the garden for organic veggies, a hunting trip or two a year for meat, and chickens! lol my partner in crime really wants chickens, don't blame her, almost sounds like fun playing farmer a lil bit each day!

Just for my curiosity, what is your food budget per person approx? And how available is it when you are on the road traveling(easy to get...ish)? thnx!

Edit: As to the store bought eggs, will keep that in mind, haven't had a problem in 2 years, but that doesn't say anything other than maybe i have been getting lucky.

 

[Almost There]

I hear ya on the eating fresh healthy and what-not. Prob should be a bit more important to me, but the cost is a bit prohibitive for me. If I could, i would choose quantity and quality of life lol, but atm I pretty much choose quality(which for me are "toys" to play with which = money!) My food budget atm runs about 200$ for two people. I eat what I consider is as healthy as I can, but all vegetables and beans are canned. If I decide to settle down on some property, then I plan on the garden for organic veggies, a hunting trip or two a year for meat, and chickens! lol my partner in crime really wants chickens, don't blame her, almost sounds like fun playing farmer a lil bit each day!

Just for my curiosity, what is your food budget per person approx? And how available is it when you are on the road traveling(easy to get...ish)? thnx!

Edit: As to the store bought eggs, will keep that in mind, haven't had a problem in 2 years, but that doesn't say anything other than maybe i have been getting lucky.

Like with most things in life, we each make different things our priority.

Eating healthy foods is more important to me than most anything else but then I've never been the type to accumulate toys (I was in the other line when those genes were handed out... ). I also don't find that quality of life is impaired by lack of toys...oh wait, my mother thinks that my camping gear and kayak ARE toys...sigh!

Without sounding preachy, good food is easy to find. It's almost as easy to find as fast food... Grocery stores are everywhere. Shop only on the perimeter of the store and you're 85% of the way to a healthy diet - ok, gotta ignore a lot of things in the freezer cases these days.

My budget varies considerably depending on where I am. These days living through a northern winter, it's considerably higher than say the winters I spent in Florida where fresh produce was local and the shrimp docks could be walked to for ones' dinner.

I've not set and stuck to a food cost per week except many years ago when I tried being a starving artist. Then, food came second to gas money for getting to the next show. As soon as there was money in the pocket again the food cost went back to normal.

I hesitate to give anyone a figure for what should be spent because it depends so heavily on where the person is on the continent. Me, I personally probably spend more than most on food because I can.

Here's a website I just found that might be of interest to you now that you're asking questions:

http://grannysvitalvittles.com/real-food-economics-101-real-food-vs-average-food-budgets/

 

 

[Suanne]

Hi Bryan, My food storage is fairly similar to what you describe in your opening post. I travel in a car; so, I don't want to give up all the space that a refrigerator or cooler would take. Some of my strategies include taking dehydrated veggies and fruit from our garden. I also buy a few dehydrated items that I didn't dry myself. I have taken eggs along on my travels from our backyard flock, but typically don't buy eggs while out on the road. I buy fresh fruit and veggies that have a longer shelf life (apples, oranges, carrots, celery, squash, etc) unless I'm going to eat that day or the next. I find that using evaporation helps keep items cooler and lasting longer. I'll put things like fresh fruit/veggies, cheese, eggs in a mesh bag, place in the shade with some air flow, then cover with a moist towel. Periodically I spray the towel with water to keep moist. It keeps things cooler than the ambient temperature. I typically do not use canned items. Hope that helps. Suanne

 

[flying kurbmaster]

less then 60.00 dollars a week on groceries for two of us, vegetarians live on average 15 years longer, are rarely overweight, take less pills, have less cancers and other diseases. Vegans do even better. If you are serious about healthy living, want to cut your budget, live longer with less issues, leave a better planet for your children, consider leaving the alcohol, meat and dairy on the shelf. After almost 25 years of living like this I can tell you there is nothing to fear and you will lack nothing in your diet by not using them.

 

[GotSmart]

The quickest way to get someone to not eat something is to tell them that it is good for them.

I would fix a new food, serve myself, and tell my kids that they can't have any, it is very bad for them.

Worked every time.

 

[Wabbit]

The quickest way to get someone to not eat something is to tell them that it is good for them.

I would fix a new food, serve myself, and tell my kids that they can't have any, it is very bad for them.

Worked every time.

Not sure from your reply if you use refrigeration or not...lol. Either way, I get your point.

 

[GotSmart]

I recently had a wee problem with my engine. The first thing I did was stop buying ice, and quickly learned that with temps in the 70's I did not NEED it. I set up things for my solar so I will have the capability of running a fridge, but after 3 weeks of just using the power to keep my phone and laptop charged up and reading at night...

No panels yet but just off the vans generator I have enough juice to live well.

My food keeps ok, but when the temps go up I will have to rethink what I am cooking, and how much of it. I usually do 3 meals at a time.

 

[jimindenver]

We use the fridge when we camp and the solar has the ability to run it while sunny to reduce the propane usage if needed. It's not like the fridge uses a lot of propane but rather the solar sits there unused most of the time.

Before the trailer we used a cooler for drinks and a old Coleman ice box for the food. The ice box stands like a fridge and holds a block of ice in the top and two shelves below. Block ice last longer than cubed and it was good for a week if you kept it in the shade. The best thing is it kept the food dry and there is a tap to pull off the water for a ice cold drink. We also keep the food dry in a regular cooler by using gallon and half gallon jugs of water we keep in the freezer here at home. They are solid and much colder than the bags of ice you can buy, they have had some ice in them after two weeks with a good portion being in the 90's.

 

[SternWake]

I pretty much got Solar and a compressor fridge for boondocking in Baja, where the nearest store for ice was 10 miles and 1 hour away.

Now, I don't even think about the fridge, much like a person in a stick and brick.

It is always on, always 33.5F inside, and I always have enough battery power.

In between compressor fridges, I went back to store bought block and cube ice for about 2 weeks, and I was miserable.

 

[akrvbob]

I totally agree with Sternwake. If you have the money for 200 watts of solar and a compressor fridge (you can get a small 25 quart Dometic for $400) you never have to think about it again. It'll just be there as if by magic for many, many years to come.

Bob

 

[SoulRaven]

Having had many types of powered fridges over the years 12v, AC, propane, etc. I have totally reverted back to a cooler with block ice.

I do a lot of traveling, and I have come to the conclusion that powered fridges don't like the constant vibrations of traveling, so they have a relatively short life span.

I typically shop once a week anyway, so picking up ice is simple and easy enough, and there is nothing to break down or maintain.

While my diet is pretty much the same as if living in a house, there are an amazing amount of foods that you can get in a supermarket that are also canned and need no refrigeration at all. Many kinds of meats, beef, pork, chicken, fish, seafood, you name it. I try to keep a 30 day supply of food that doesn't need refrigeration just as a back up plan.

I recently opened a can of baby back ribs that I bought over a year ago, fully cooked, just needed to be heated, and I was totally amazed! Fall off the bone tender, and some of the tastiest ribs I've ever had. I'm going to be on the lookout for more of them.

While I certainly enjoy my cooler, there are an abundance of items available at various supermarkets to make even decent non-refrigerated living totally possible, without simply doing without.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I have a Norcold TF-65 built in 1982.  Its taken a beating, is an energy hog (18-20 amphours/day) and still works.
  -- Spiff

 

[highdesertranger]

I use 12v refers(engels). my oldest is 5 years my other 4 years old. these have traveled many thousands of miles, many of these miles have been off road. once a year I dissemble these and blow out the dust with a leaf blower. that's it. never a problem. they sip power and just keep going. those who live with ice must be close to a cheap ice source. for me ice was killing me the time and the drive. I have easily paid for mine and I do like an ice cold beer or two. highdesertranger

 

[Oberneldon]

I have a an Engel fridge and like that I can have fresh food. It also runs on both 12 V or 120V for those times I get shore power.

Brent