Eating on the Road

[southernpride]

Well i hve been thinking hard about what to take on the road, like fridge/cooler, lunchbox stove, microwave ect.

Any suggestions. I'm not really a picky eater, just cant eat sandwiches all the time, and dont want to do the fast food, or truckstop food thing. any and all advice would be greatley appreciated. What products and foods do you reccomend, what do you think i should stay away from?

Thanks.

[larryh31]

Since you are just starting out on your trucking adventure with a mentor, you should hold off on buying any items like coolers and microwaves untill you get finished training and have your own truck. The space on your trainers truck will probally be very limited as he will already have his stuff on the truck. So bring some cash with you, when you meet your mentor, talk to him about eating arrangements.

Plus, you need to be aware of your companies policies in regard to how big of an inverter you can use to power your microwave, etc.

[Uturn2001]

As Larry said, since you will be spending the next 6 weeks on a truck with someone else your options are going to be very limited. Also space will be at a premium which is going to limit you to the basics.

So be prepared to be doing the fast food, truck stop resteraunt thing for the next several weeks.

[greg3564]

I'm not sure what Swift's policy is on inverters and the size you can get. As far as a fridge, most guys use the Coleman travel cooler that has a cig 12 volt power adapter. Then there are lunchbox heaters that allow you to heat up food. Microwaves will depend on what size inverter you can have, as they use a lot of wattage and have a large surge.

Here's a link to 12 volt stuff you can use.

http://www.truckertradingpost.thetru...ories-3-1.html

[Fredog]

Well i hve been thinking hard about what to take on the road, like fridge/cooler, lunchbox stove, microwave ect.

Any suggestions. I'm not really a picky eater, just cant eat sandwiches all the time, and dont want to do the fast food, or truckstop food thing. any and all advice would be greatley appreciated. What products and foods do you reccomend, what do you think i should stay away from?

Thanks.

great site with suggestions and recipes.
www.roadcookin.com

[inmate1577]

Personally I dont do coolers or carry perishable food and I wont blow perfectly good money to buy one either. The only thing that I carry that has a limited shelf life is bread. PB & J, canned soups and stews and snacks within easy reach. I have a 12 volt water heater for coffee, other than I carry water which unknown to most people...tastes the same whether its cold or warm and better for you than sodas and juices.

Coolers get in the way, add weight and when they crap out in about 6 mos. or less are you willing to shell out more money for the thing?


If you need to cook something either use the microwave at a T/S or get a $4.00 sterno stove and cook your own.

[Fredog]

Personally I dont do coolers or carry perishable food and I wont blow perfectly good money to buy one either. The only thing that I carry that has a limited shelf life is bread. PB & J, canned soups and stews and snacks within easy reach. I have a 12 volt water heater for coffee, other than I carry water which unknown to most people...tastes the same whether its cold or warm and better for you than sodas and juices.

Coolers get in the way, add weight and when they crap out in about 6 mos. or less are you willing to shell out more money for the thing?


If you need to cook something either use the microwave at a T/S or get a $4.00 sterno stove and cook your own.

I have had my 12 volt cooler for 10 years and it still works fine, it weighs about 5 pounds, fits nicely in the cubby hole in the sleeper..

[nickbtubas]

i recently bought a lunchbox stove they sell at T/S and so far it works great. I was amazed that it actually got hot... I got it at a pilot for $25 original was $29.99

[inmate1577]

Personally I dont do coolers or carry perishable food and I wont blow perfectly good money to buy one either. The only thing that I carry that has a limited shelf life is bread. PB & J, canned soups and stews and snacks within easy reach. I have a 12 volt water heater for coffee, other than I carry water which unknown to most people...tastes the same whether its cold or warm and better for you than sodas and juices.

Coolers get in the way, add weight and when they crap out in about 6 mos. or less are you willing to shell out more money for the thing?


If you need to cook something either use the microwave at a T/S or get a $4.00 sterno stove and cook your own.

I have had my 12 volt cooler for 10 years and it still works fine, it weighs about 5 pounds, fits nicely in the cubby hole in the sleeper..

Lets be real...that 5lbs is empty weight. Now the one you may have bought 10 years ago works because it isnt the cheap junk you can get everywhere today.

[ohiomohawk]

Go to Walfart and grab you one of those mini crock pots they only cost $11.00. You will save a ton of money with one of those. It works with a 100 watt power inverter.

It takes about a half hour to heat up a can, I plug mine when I have 30-40 miles left to drive and it is ready to eat when you stop.

You can also buy a 20oz of bottled water (pour in crock pot) and some hot dogs and simply heat them up for about 30 min and chow down.

It will save you $40-$60.00(or more) a week Truck stops(TA and Flying J) advertise some BS dinner for only $9.99 by the time you buy a drink and leave a tip it comes out to about $15.00, add a salad and you are talking $17.00.

[Drew10]

I use the Burton stoves, (I may add a crock pot to the cab). Works really well, can cook and heat just about anything you can put in it.
I shop at a supercenter about once a week, stocking the truck with groceries. Have an Igloo 12v cooler for keeping items cool. Both have worked well over the years.
As soon as you can get the Truckstop fuel bonus cards and start saving your fueling point. They can add up fast. Ive purchased everything I have in the truck with the points, from the cooler, stove, CB, etc...

[Soladad]

I have a 1000 watt inverter (largest one Roehl allows) and a $40 microwave from Walmart. Pack cooler (12 volt) with boxed Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, Health Choice, etc for evening meals. Lunch consists usually of sandwiches, finger veges and some other munchies. Breakfast is the Jimmy Dean line of omlets, pancakes with sausage, egg/sausage bowls, pop tarts or oatmeal. Never go hungry.

Soladad

[flood]

I have a 1000 watt inverter (largest one Roehl allows) and a $40 microwave from Walmart. Pack cooler (12 volt) with boxed Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, Health Choice, etc for evening meals. Lunch consists usually of sandwiches, finger veges and some other munchies. Breakfast is the Jimmy Dean line of omlets, pancakes with sausage, egg/sausage bowls, pop tarts or oatmeal. Never go hungry.

Soladad

we have a 1500 watt inverter (usx will let you have up to 1750).
we have a fridge http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...5DB&lpage=none having a real fridge means ice cream, milk that keeps for a few weeks, frozen food, and veggies.
1000 watt microwave, small forman grill, crockpot, gt xpress 101....? http://www.xpress101meal.com/?gcid=S...d=xpress%20101 this is the small one, we got a deal and have the big one for home and this one in the truck.

soladad thats a good list and we have most of it in the truck right now i'll just add cereal, canned soup, cup-o-noodles and walmart has precooked 1lb hambuger packs (like the new tuna package) that require no refrigeration. hamburger helper..... chicken helper... tuna helper..

southernpride the main thing is to wait until you have YOUR truck and to find out how big an inverter you can have... also remember that every time you change trucks you will need to move it all... we get a new truck every 9-10 months. and it's a pain but with what we have we can eat good food and stay out of the t/s.

[TruckerTony]

boxed Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, Health Choice

How many days are these good in a cooler rather than being frozen?

[BIG JEEP on 44's]

boxed Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, Health Choice

How many days are these good in a cooler rather than being frozen?

If your truck is kep around 65-70 those coolers would keep thos for about a week safely I kept cottage cheese in my 40 qrt coleman for about 1 week I would go shopping around the 6-7th .

[BIG JEEP on 44's]

I have a 12 volt water heater for coffee, other than I carry water which unknown to most people...tastes the same whether its cold or warm and better for you than sodas and juices.

.

Huh water tases the same cold or warm Yep in 16 years of lifting weights i know I just love chugging down that nice tall glass of WARM water ... :wink:

[Useless]

As far as "EATING ON THE ROAD"???

Don't do it at all!! The road is filthy, and eating on it is very unsafe!!

[BIG JEEP on 44's]

As far as "EATING ON THE ROAD"???

Don't do it at all!! The road is filthy, and eating on it is very unsafe!!

I have to agree .

[TruckerChris]

Subway, subway and even more subway. Sometimes the occasional "Pine Cone" type diner in a state that allows smoking inside. We can't do that here in california so it's nice after a long day on the road. I'm wierd, but whatever.

[1xtruckindj]

Used to do the plug-in coolers. Now just refill my ice chest daily with ice. I usually keep some milk, some soda, and perhaps some spreads for sandwiches...simple stuff. I keep cereal, bread, and as winter descends upon us, more non-perishable food on board. I still eat a hot breakfast a couple of times a week, and a hot supper about as often, depending upon what time I finish and where I am.

I do have one small mini-cooler that holds six cans of soda that I will plug in and keep next to the driver's seat, but I don't even use that all the time.