Truck cooking 101
 

Re: Truck cooking 101
 

If you have an inverter to handle the current draw of a skillet, go for it. Look at the current draw on the skillet, and make sure your iverter is rated a little higher. I use a "slow cooker" that I start in the forenoon and it's ready at noon or shortly after. If you don't have an inverter, look in the truck stops for one of the 12 volt ovens or something like that. They'll be a little slower than your skillet, but they do work too. Cost can range from about $20 to $40 or so.

I have a 1500watt inverter and it runs the microwave, Forman grill, coffee pot, and toaster oven. I got the toaster oven so's I could have biscuit, and other goodies that just cook well on the grill.

I picked up a 1000 watt inverter for $99. (not installed yet), and a 600 watt microwave at Wal-Mart for about $70.

I suggest idling the truck when using the microwave.

600 watts / 120 volts = 5 amps input into the appliance

600 watts / 12 volt battery = 50 amps draw from the battery (Plus the current actually drawn by the inverter)

How long do you want to leave all your lights on without having the engine running? If you happen to have one battery with a dead cell (which does happen) you could find that you don't have enough battery to start the truck when you're done eating.

You should have a 200 amp alternator, or higher. The truck should be able to keep up with the draw from the microwave when the truck is idling. Also helps keep the food in place and reduces cleaning up the mic if the truck is not bouncing.

you can get 12 and 24v microwaves too. quite expensive but save money in long run. invertors are the thing you want though. get on e-bay and pick up a cheap one.

Cooking over the Road
 

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A former co-driver and I both liked to cook; he was spanish and usually only cooked variations of tacos and burritos, ect. He taught me some very good recipes for tacos and burritos, with alvacadoes, special cheeses, sour cream, hot sauces, ect.

We would go to Wal-Mart and stock up on groceries and fill our shelves; mostly with everything to make tacos with, for his cooking and split the grocery bill. So, while one was driving, the other would plug in the skillet and make breakfast tacos with eggs, sausage, sour cream & hot sauce in the morning. Then at lunch time we'd make either chicken or beef tacos / burritos.

As time passed, we were even cooking fried chicken and fried potatoes too. Later, when I had another partner, I bought a rice cooker and started making fried rice, using frozen bags of vegetables, bean sprouts, onions, garlic, cut up chicken breast, ect _ it was great!

I had plastic tubs ( about 12" x 14" x 8" ) deep, from Wal Mart, that I had spread out on the lower bunk, with different things in them, for more "counter space"; they stacked inside of each other, when not in use.

We put the electric frying on a cardboad boxon the floor, behind the curtain, about 16" square & about 10" deep, with holes for the legs of the frying pan to set in; so it wouldn't slide. The person cooking would be behind the sealed curtain. I put my left leg through the seat belt, all the way up to my hip and sat on the lower bunk, to be secured, in case my partner braked suddenly.

The electric frying pan is also good for frying eggs to make tuna salad sandwiches, and for adding into the fried rice; or just egg sandwiches. It's also good for frying meat, like chicken breast, to put in a salad as well. A toaster would probably be good for the bread on the sandwiches too.

We used either toilet paper or paper towels to wipe the skillet kleen. If some food is burned on the pan, just pour a glass of water in pan, turn the heat on, and gently scrape at it with the pancake turner. Then pour out the waste water into a large wide-mouth jar, and wipe the pan clean with napkins.

I guess a person could cook the meat ahead of time, at home, so it doesn't spoil as easily. Cut it up into pieces, bag it and store it in the frig. Then later, you you can use it for tacos, chicken helper, ect.

I don't care that much for ground meat anymore, because you never know what they may be grinding up in it. It's also not good to eat meat with blood in it, because the blood carries toxins and wastes away from the invividual cells, so I try to eat chicken breast, if I eat any meat. I don't mind tuna either.

I'm on a break from the road right now, but when I go back, my rice cooker and electric frying pan are coming with me!

I found some recipes on the internet for making granola bars and power bars, which are very good, if there's not enough time to cook.

I've also obtained a couple of food dehydrators, for dehydrating fruits like apples and mangos, ect, for making and storing up munchies to snack on while driving late at night.

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I have a micro wave oven and a couple of electric coolers.
Here are some of the staples I take with me:
Egg beaters
Hard boiled eggs
Apples
Frozen veggies and stir fry peppers (they do thaw but that's OK)
Corn and whole wheat tortillas
Pre-cooked grains and brown rice
Teryaki sauce
frozen fruit
Milk/juice
Shredded lettuce
Cherry tomatoes
dry cereals ie. All Bran, Shredded Wheat
Baker potatos
Tofu
Salsa
Lots of different seasonings.
It's amazing what you can do with a few simple ingredients. I hardly ever eat outside of the truck and keep myself lean and healthy.

responding (lately) to mtdewr's queries --

get the George Foreman G5 grill -- it does it all.

and what it doesn't do, the Warm & Toasty oven from Sharp handles. it's a toaster oven, and a microwave. $118 from Wallyworld Online.

I looked for specs on this grill to determine if one of my 200 watt inverter (all Scneider will allow) could handle it but no luck.
Do you know how much it draws on high?
Thanks,
Randy

You aren't going to be able to run any cooking appliances on a 200 Watt inverter.

Not what I wanted to hear but thanks Rev.
Randy

oops sorry bout the double post...anyone else having problems using Opera?

Get atleast some 4 gauge wire I used 0 gauge but it's not necessary . Go to a stereo shop , and you will be able to get a set up that will allow you to easily and safely attach heavy gauge wire to the battery terminals quickly ,but securely ...This will allow you to remove it quickly and place your invertor and wiring in a duffle bag when you head to a terminal . If your going to mount the invertor mount it in a place that doesn't have anything flamable that will contact the invertor , and mount it so that the heat sinking can disipate heat when in use . I think most companies have ant-inertor rules ...But I think most drivers have them any way , as we need to cook , and the 10-15 amp accessory out lets don't allow for much electrical cooking appliances... I also had a small propane grill...not supposed to have those either on a truck , But it's no different tha carrying one on an RV ...

Says who?

Was told this in orientation last year . I was also told it against company poliocy ,and was against the law ...I didn't see the logic in it ,so I went right ahead and brought my propane grill .

I have found that many companies that DO allow inverters only allow the ones that will plug into the cig lighter.

What is the largest inverter that you can get like that and what would you be able to run off of it?

All I want to be able to do is keep the laptop charged, use a coffee pot, and perhaps either a toaster oven or something like a George Foreman grill. (one item running at a time of course)

It might be against company policy, but it definately isn't against the law.

300W is about as large as you can go with plug in. That is not much.
You can not run George's Grill or toaster over, microwave or hair dryer(1500W)

You CAN run most laptops, crock pot, and small TV if you boot it up by flipping on and off untill the power caps charge up. That is about the extent of it though.

1500W is about the smallest inverter that is "practical", but it reqires direct to battery installation.

Oh ok. :? not what i was hoping to hear but it's all good. thank you.

Just go buy a real inverter like a 2000w/4000w ,and some heavy guage wire , And hide the unit when going through a terminal ...it's not hard , and most drivers have them despite policy . Now if you don't think you are up to hooking it up safely then don't ...But it is realy a no brainer to install .

Thats pretty odd. My company will only allow a "hardwired" inverter that our mechanics install. the only requirements are a min. of 2500 watts and that they install it. I guess in the past they've had a couple of trucks burn to the ground because of an overloadad inverter.

Same here, hubby was informed in orientation he can have a 2500W inverter, but the maintenance shop has to install it. From the looks of it on here thats a blessing :)

12 volt
 

Hi:

I married to a trucker and recently opened a store that caters specifically to the professional driver. There is a 12 volt crock pot available, as well as toaster and a lot of other things that seem to be really great for being on the road. I can't compete with American prices, however I can provide information about various 12 volt items for on the road. I don't want to advertise but if you want to contact me about what is available I'll so my best to reply A.S.A.P.

Have a great day.

Man just reading over greenmachine's post made me hungry! I have been trying so hard to diet and exercise, but you know what? Screw it, I want some french toast, talk to ya'll in a bit.

My company only allows 300w inverters....too many braindeads burnt up trucks. Between my cellphone, laptop and speakers, I only use about 75w. Walmart has a small 2 qt crockpot that uses 100w and cost around $10. I use the 12v 5 cup coffeepot, lunchbox and pizza oven by Tracker as well. The coffeepot takes about 15 minutes to brew, but you can use that time for a post-trip. When cooking wth the oven or lunchbox, I usually give 30 minutes for cooktime.

I'm going to be working for Roehl (OTR), and I'm assuming I'll pick up this info during orientation, but I'm curious how this all works and am feeling kind of clueless. I'm not sure what a cab can accommodate space-wise, but I saw some pictures of someone elses truck, and based on what I'm thinking I saw, I'd like to bring a laptop, small TV and microwave. Is that realistic? Maybe even a small crockpot. Can you actually put in a small refrigerator? If not, what are can be used as an alternative? And in terms of those inverters, what do you recommend I pick up in order to accommodate those appliances? The only appliances I envision using at the same time might be the laptop, crockpot/microwave or TV. Such as watching TV while I'm cooking something in the microwave or using my laptop, etc.

Thanks!

My setup is similar Phantom433a, except I use the saucepan instead of the oven. I don't remember why I switched... But I love my little saucepan so much! I usually pick up Lipton pasta or Lipton rice that is already seasoned; I eat these at home, too. I toss Tyson chicken in with it; this chicken can be found in the bags on the canned meat isle. Also, I might buy a bunch of small cans of vegetables, i.e. English peas. I turn it into a meal when I'm not being lazy.
It is great for a single person on a truck, but I would probably have to do something else in order to fix dinner for a guest. Since it's work, I usually don't worry too much about having guests over for dinner 8)
I also have the 300 watt inverter. I let my laptop charge while I'm driving. I charge my earpiece and my cell phone overnight. When I'm ready to scan bills of lading, I unplug something and hook up my all-in-one printer (unfortunately, I have to buy another one since I recently broke the scanner :sad: ) My company is against inverters, too, so I don't go over the 300 watts. I wish I could hook an iron into it though.. or find one that will hook into a cigarette lighter...

First I would like say George Forman grills are garbage. they can't pan fry.
The coleman propane 2 burner grill. 2 thumbs up. That's my choice in warm weather. But you must never use them in truck.
I have seem the propane gurgle and spurt tall flames. So always, always out side with them.

Cool thread here. Hopefully I can help out.
Back in the day I worked in the repairshop and learned that you cook a lot of things in/on a pizza oven. the new guys use the spinning open air pizza cooker but I like the the silver square pizza oven. I could cook breakfast lunch and dinner in it. For eggs,bacon I would put some foil on the grate and that would work. Not ideal but it worked.
The shop manager didn't like my cooking skill until he got some of that bacon. then I turned into "Whats cookin!"

Nowdays I don't work in the shop and I drive.
I upgraded to more specialized gadgets. Less messy and Easier to clean.
2 PIC induction cook tops from on tv (Lower power version, not the big 2,000watt units. that's over kill)
3 Teflon 8inch pans ($8 each/thin disposable type)(I get a new set every year)
Medium toaster oven(Fits a full size frozen pizza)(Best gift I ever got as far as cooking)

For power you need to have a dedicated 5,000 watt inverter to run them all without over heating.
If you have a microwave(Not Me Any More) you might have to bump the watts up 500-1000.
Ill say again that's only if your running all of it together at once on HIGH.
Running only 2 one on medium and one on high, and the other is off, you can getaway with 2,500watt inverter.(That's what I have)

As far as wiring it in. Don't do it unless your are trained in that field. you could burn down the whole truck if installed wrong.
You must use the proper wire, in line fuse (Real Biggie), wire protection and routing(last thing you need is a wire hanging around the pedals).
It takes some experience to wire stuff in right. Just ask my old buick that went up in flames from poor wiring of a stock radio.
Cant stress enough. have it installed by a pro. Higher power means more safety precaution.

OK that's it before I get off topic.
I'll try find some links for what I have and come back and post em.
Maybe some simple but delicious cooking directions later too.

classadrivers.com/forum/food-health/38955-any-vegetarian-vegans-here-how-do-you-do.html

For those that can not use inverters ill see what I can dig up for dc items. they are making a lot headway in that tech field.
My first idea is JC Whitney. I remember they had almost everything imaginable in dc products. Cheep too!!