Keeping food cold whilst travelling

noelin
noelin Forum Participant Posts: 5
edited November 2022 in Caravan & Motorhome Chat #1

I have been a motorhomer for many years and have always had the same problem. I have to keep my unit in storage as I live on a busy road and my unit is too big to get on my drive so I can't get my fridge cold prior to going away and have to wait 'till I get to a site to get the fridge cold. This annoys me because I have a freezer full of frozen food that I could take with me and this would save me shopping whilst I'm away, but it generally defrosts before arrival and I'm told once defrosted you can't re freeze. Does anyone else have the same problem and do you have a get around - or does everyone just shop when they get to their destination bearing in mind with a motorhome you generally have to bus it to the nearest town / shops. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts.

Comments

  • Goldie146
    Goldie146 Club Member Posts: 2,448 ✭✭✭
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    edited November 2022 #2

    We are caravanners  rather than motorhomers, but I don't pre-cool the fridge. I have a large cool bag that I pack with frozen food and plug into a socket in the boot. Its stays frozen until we arrive, then I plug it into the caravan's socket while the fridge/freezer cools down a bit. We only travel about 3 - 4 hours and it doesn't defrost.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,135 ✭✭✭
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    edited November 2022 #3

    Why not run the fridge on 12v while you’re travelling to your destination and, when you’re close, stop at a supermarket and stock up? No buses involved and with a bit of planning you’ll only have a short hop from the shop to the site.

    MHs lend themselves to going places and doing this sort of thing and we have never bussed it anywhere even when we had bigger vans.

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited November 2022 #4
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  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited November 2022 #5

    How about going the night before to the storage & run the fridge on gas over night 🤷‍♂️ It might break a rule but if you don't say anything .... 🙄

  • Oneputt
    Oneputt Club Member Posts: 9,144 ✭✭✭
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    edited November 2022 #6

    Try freezing a couple of bottles of milk and put in the fridge with the perishables 

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited November 2022 #7
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  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited November 2022 #8

    When we have had caravans because of the now nine pin plugs and sockets and it seems much "smaller" wiring  and long length we never found from storage that the fridge would cooldown if already cold it could maintain most of the temperature

    With the two now PVCs and one coach built motor caravan with it seems the more powerful? alternators of commercial vehicle base  ,plus much shorter wiring to the fridge they all have managed to make the fridge work and lower temps while travelling 

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited November 2022 #9

    I found when I had a caravan, that  if everything was frozen solid and packed tightly, it was still pretty well frozen at the end of an 8/9 hour channel crossing. 

    Solutions are available depending on how much cash you want to throw at it. The cheapest is probably a 12V chiller/freezer that you can buy in the larger Halfords and similar stores.

    High tech solution - solar panels/inverter/ B2B charger/lithium battery and some fancy wiring switching to power the fridge.

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited November 2022 #10

     ..... nine pin plugs and sockets

     ... that must be where you went wrong. The old 12S/12N plugs & sockets were 7 pins .... the new plugs & sockets are 13 😉

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited November 2022 #11

    the last time I checked the current draw on my caravan fridge it was around 10A .... that'd flatten the biggest of batteries (lead or lithium) fairly quickly.

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited November 2022 #12

    Hence the lithium batteries & B2B. Lithiums will suck all the power an alternator can chuck at it.

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Forum Participant Posts: 3,880
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    edited November 2022 #13

     There was an option for a while to supplement the 7-pin road lighting plug with an additional 2-pin plug (like a sheilded banana plug) to connect pure 12v for interior use in the caravan. Perhaps this memory has crept in.

  • Graydjames
    Graydjames Forum Participant Posts: 440 ✭✭✭
    edited November 2022 #14

    My van is also in storage, but I find that if I pack the freezer compartment reasonably full, the stuff stays frozen until I reach my first site, even if it is a very long time - up to eight hours. I run the fridge on 12 volt as well - as many have mentioned here - but I find that is pretty hopeless and the fridge barely gets even remotely cool. Including a couple of ice packs, if you can squeeze them in, would also help.

     

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