Travelling WITHOUT a fridge??!!

Gee we used to survive years ago. We would never have imagined protabel fridges and needing them. Weput the drinks out overnight and into the esky first thing in the morning and they kept cool. We don't drink beer or scotch.

Motherhen

Hi wild dog,

On our last trip we didn't intend to travel without a fridge but the fridge in our camper (non compressor type) couldn't handle the heat (41 to 45C).

So we ended up using the esky and buying a couple of bags of ice a day. I think we spent over $300 on ice in less than a month (it isn't a very good esky either). If we wanted to eat fresh meat instead of canned ham, I would buy cryovac packed meat (if I could find it).

A replacement fridge for the camper is on the shopping list before the next trip!

Cheers A

I like your idea about the scotch!

We use a fridge mainly because in our opinion there's nothing like having really good food when you're camping. We've never camped for an extended period without one so perhaps we're not the best to comment. Nevertheless, roasts, sausages, steak, fresh fruit and veg, fresh bread - nothing like it.

However, you do seem to have got a reasonably good formula with what you're doing - so perhaps stick to it. We'd suffer going 6 months without fresh stuff - you must be quite hardy.

Enjoy what you do

Regards

Paul

Got sick of wasting food when using eskies, beer never cold, always having to chase the shade, buy more ice etc.
Bought a fridge, never looked back.

Doubles as a second fridge at home when needed too.

We travel with a fridge in the vehicle, but always have a substantial supply of food that does not need refrigeration. A good question and I wonder how many are prepared for a ‘fridge failure’ in the middle of no-where….food for thought!

Mind you frequently walk in the bush with only ‘dry rations’.

Good luck out there…..

Of coarse you can travel and camp without a fridge. Just adjust your diet to non perishables or be very fussy on how to pack to preserve food. We have a fridge because we like the convenience and versatility of being able to eat whatever we like and not worry too much about how long too keep food.

There was a Shrilankan workmate who went camping with his extended family for 3 weeks on the Murray River in summer each year and he never used a fridge. He just brought along a trailer load of canned fish and bags of flour and spices - no meat or fresh vegetables other than what they could buy nearby if they went for a trip - which they didn't very often. They loved it but for us - no variety!

Have been contemplating buying a fridge for over ten years ..... Will probably still be contemplating it in another ten.

In a caravan it would be a requirement for me - but car based long term camps makes a fridge a waste of space ... not too mention having to spend time driving some where to buy more perishables to put in it to make it worthwhile draining the battery.

I use a 100l esky with no ice even .....

Plenty of alternatives to fresh meat and dairy products today ... doesnt have to all be powdered milk, dry crackers and cans of bully beef.

Part of my camp setup is a shallow hole in a shaded spot ... esky sits in the hole with water poured in at night ... makes use of the o/nite cooler temps ... wet sack over the top during the day.

Items in the esky are stored in individual tupperware style containers which provides additional insulation. Before closing the lid I place a ... cut to size, nylon breadboard over the top of the stacked containers ... acts as extra insulation.

Margarine, open longlife milk/custard, leftovers and the all important chocolate bars ... all survive quite happily.

Just spend a bit extra and buy smaller sized containers/portions of stuff that needs refridgeration after opening ... e.g devondale has mini sized milk packs that are great ... one per person per day for cereal and cuppas.

Biggest trick is to remember whats in what container and not have the lid open too long ... i.e. keep kids away from it ... LOL

Cans of beer/small stubbies in a wet sack in a tree are , by the end of the day - colder than most people expect they can be .... Scotch ??? ... pfffft .... Rum please .. lol

Yes its all old school and low tech ... but it suits my longterm camp setups ..... Simply a matter of using what best suits your needs ... I just dont need waldorf salads in the middle of nowhere ... I'll go to a fancy restaurant for that on the way home.

I didn't have one for years and years.
Now it is the second thing I pack.
Wouldn't be without it.
Ian

Hi all,
I bought an Engel 40 ltr fridge a few years back for our Fraser Island trip I tell you now that the other 2 family's on the trip with us had to put some of there stuff in as they got sick of buying ice, when they got back home they all bought fridges ,but having said that we use to freeze ice cream containers of water as in such a large block they didn't seem to melt as fast ,downside is they take up valuable room in the esky but it was a cheap alternative and as for bottles of beer in the bush I used a green keepers net and filled it then left it in the creek ,it takes a while for the lids to rust so don't panic about that LOL!

Regards John.

My family/friends used to always travel & camp just using an esky with ice. Then I got sick of buying ice and having it melt and destroy things. I started talking about buying a fridge to which my brother responded "You can buy a lot of bags of ice for the price of a fridge" (which is true). I bought one anyway, and my brother was happy to borrow it! After one or two short trips, he went and bought one himself.

I camp without a fridge.

Having said that, it is on my list of things to buy for camping, however it is a long way from the top.

A fridge is expensive:

Fridge - $1000
Double Battery System with cool electronic controls - $1000
Brackets / fittings to mount it - $500

Total - $2500.

I can get a complete set of Cooper Tyres for that and have enough change for a months worth of non-perishable food including a sack of potatoes.

Also the cost of camping food will go up too with a fridge.

I can see the obvious benefits, but there are many more things for camping that will see my cash before a fridge gets to the top of the list.

Cheers
Alan

before i bought my fridge I used to go to BOC gases and fill up some old polysyrene 6pack eskys with dry ice, seal them with duct tape and wrap a soaking wet towel around them when the polystyrene gets cold enough it will freeze the towel, then you have a whopping big ice block that will last for over ten days, mind you my big esky that was made out of three inch thick cool room panels is twice the size of the 80 litre engel but you could put twice as much beer in it so you have to weigh up the pro's and cons and i cant drink hot bleep anywhere

G'day Wild Dog

We travel without refrigeration, longest we have done is three weeks - the first week at least is fresh veges, carrots, pots, celery, onions, even lettuce, tomatoes - the next week pots onions and cabbage are still good, dried peas and other veges, dried beef is available and lasts for months, as are most veges. There is a NZ range of dehydrated meals that last forever, cost a fortune and taste like sh1t but you will get good nutrition. Drink red wine (better for you than beer) scotch too is great. Canned food, pasta, noodles, rice, and don't forget the tomato sauce. Tinned fruit custard powder and powdered milk. We make bread every second day. catch fish irregularly. Use an open fire for cooking and presto no gas.

We live in NQ and mainly travel in the winter months. Been doing this for forty years and it has not killed me yet.

The important thing is not gastronomical excellence but enjoy the remote areas of this great land of ours - and no fridge equals no hassles - and the red wine will compensate any misgivings.

Just do ot! Cheers, David

Travelling in Oz for many years we never had a fridge with
us because of lack of space, so no beer, butter, cheese and meet. We enjoy simple travelling and loose regularly
weight which is difficult to do at home.

The two last years we carried a very small cooler (Peltier) for
our drugs (medicine)

cheers
Andi

The last two times I went to Tassie (over Xmas) I took my 60L Evakool esky instead of my fridge. Three months before I went I froze down a 10L and a 5L plastic bottle of water. This took up 25% of my esky but did it keep things very cold. Travelling around Tassie I took at least one of the containers out every 5 days and refroze it at whatever van park, pub, etc I was staying at.

I had deliciously cold beers and cold food without the worry of a dual battery system.

I didn't take the fridge because I was never going to drive the ks to keep it cold enough or recharge my 36 ah AGM battery.

On an outback trip it would be a different story and the spare battery would be needed to drive the fridge while I was stopped overnight.

Buying ice is a pain. It melts and turns the contents of your fridge into slush (including the food).

If this doesn't cure you of tinned food nothing will!













Seriously though, a fridge is far from essential.

For me that old bushies saying does come into play, "any mug can be uncomfortable in the bush"

Having really good fresh cooked meals from fresh ingredients just makes the trip.

Geoff

You're a hero wild dog. There you go. Is that the reaction you wanted?

Hi Wild Dog

How things have changed - I remember with excitment when I saved enough money to by an aftermarket heater to fit into my HD Holden, no more freezing on the way to work , and sometimes I could even see the road in front of the car though the mist on the front windscreen !
Airconditioning was dreamland.

Over the years we went like most , but not all, through the various phases until we have a small (25lt) but effective fridge.

We rarely actually use the fridge for much actual food though as we have stuck to a more of less vegie based diet and like another poster above the right selection of vegies and bread etc sees it last for over a week during which time we usually pass a store and top up.

3/4 of our small fridge carries drink , the rest a bit of dairy and the more perishable vegies.

Nothing like a cold chardonay on ice at the end of the day watching the sun go down.

But in the winter months its hot coffee in Victoria and hence like you I really have little need for the fridge, ours sits between our front seats where the centre console used to be.
So takes no extra space and when its not being a fridge
it makes an effective cupboard.