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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Oct 02 2014 at 9:42am | IP Logged
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We are going to visit our ds at college Saturday. He plays football and we will go to the game and then have dinner with him. We would like to take something for dinner instead of going out since there are several in the family with food issues. The problem is, it is a two hour drive to get there, the game will probably last another 3 and it is going to be cold. How do keep food hot? We don't have an outlet in the car that works, or I would use the crock pot. I can only think to bring everything in a cooler then heat it all up on the camp stove when we get there. The problem with that is that it will take a while and, I'm not sure exactly where we would do that.
Ideally, we could keep it hot then just go to a park or something to eat it. I'm not beyond running out to Walmart to buy something, trouble is, I don't know if there is anything to buy for this situation anyway!
Help! 
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Becky
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Oct 02 2014 at 11:03am | IP Logged
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This is an expensive option (over $100), but I own a thermoelectric cooler that plugs into my car or a regular outlet and can be set to either hot or cold. It works very well. We bought it years ago when we lived in WV and were an hour's drive from Costco. It was a lifesaver!
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CrunchyMom
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I do not have one myself, but have you seen the wonderbag? Apparently, it turns your heated pot into a slowcooker for up to 12 hours!
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Servant2theKing
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Inverters aren't too expensive and plug into a vehicle lighter. You could plug the crockpot into the inverter; you just need to make sure the inverter you use can handle the maximum wattage your crockpot uses. If I remember right, the inverter pulls power from your battery, which is fine while the vehicle is running, but could run down your battery if you kept the crockpot plugged in when parked. Dh isn't here to ask and I'm relying on feeble memory. Nonetheless, might be worth considering.
Depending on the wattage of your crockpot, you might also try a jumpstarter like this. Forums for tailgaters, truckers and RVers seem to have discussions about using a crockpot while on the road. Have an enjoyable and safe trip!
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Oct 02 2014 at 12:59pm | IP Logged
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Becky Parker wrote:
| We don't have an outlet in the car that works, or I would use the crock pot. |
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If the outlet in the car is not working the most likely cuplrit is a very easy to change, relatively cheap fuse. And there should be something in the owner's manual about where they are and how to change them and what type to get. Or just go to an auto parts store and they would probably tell you if not help you with it.
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Oct 03 2014 at 5:41am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| I do not have one myself, but have you seen the wonderbag? Apparently, it turns your heated pot into a slowcooker for up to 12 hours! |
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That looks like exactly what I need! Unfortunately I don't have time to get one before we leave tomorrow but I'm keeping it in mind for next time!
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Becky
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Oct 03 2014 at 5:48am | IP Logged
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Thanks for the great suggestions, Ladies! We used to have a cooler like yours, Nancy, but it no longer works. Maybe we need to just buy a new one. 
I don't know why our fuse keeps blowing in our car, Jodie. We tried the crockpot on a recent trip and it blew. We had tried an electric skillet, to cook breakfast quickly at a rest stop while traveling and that blew the fuse as well. My dh knows how to fix it and does, but once it blows it's useless for the trip.
I don't understand why the thermoelectric cooler never blew the fuse. Maybe it has to do with the amount of power?
That jumpstarter looks like a good idea Servant, but again, if it plugs into the car I'm afraid it will blow the fuse.
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Becky
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: Oct 03 2014 at 9:51am | IP Logged
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Becky, a jumpstarter is a totally separate unit that does not need to be plugged into the car at all. Essentially, it has its own rechargable battery, which you recharge by plugging it into your home electrical system, or could recharge at ds's dorm. It can be used to jump start a vehicle, so has quite a lot of power. Electrical outlets are built into the unit for the purpose of using the unit's battery to provide electrical power (though what you can power is limited by the jumpstarter's capacity). I think it's similar to an inverter being used with a marine battery, but simply supplied in an all-in-one unit. We've found them in auto departments at most big box stores or in auto parts stores. Some even have an air compressor built in. The key is to check the maximum wattage of your crockpot and the maximum wattage a specific jumpstarter can handle. It would be important to check the length of time it holds its charge before using it for a lengthy time on a trip. If you had your meal already cooked in the slow cooker before hitting the road, then just used the jumpstarter to power your slowcooker on warm, it would probably be less likely to run out of juice. Life has been too hectic here for me to ask dh about this, but a good auto parts person could hopefully steer you in the right direction. In addition, reading product reviews helps when researching such things; really wish I knew more about volts, wattage and such! Maybe you'd have luck reading reviews here.
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: Oct 03 2014 at 11:06am | IP Logged
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We have this converter that plugs into our cigarette lighter. Maybe you could find something similar at your local Walmart or Target or Best Buy? Of course, it may blow your fuse too. :-/
What about bringing the food in coolers and using sterno cans to heat up (smaller than packing a camp stove)? Or just eat something that tastes good room temperature and go out for coffee or hot chocolate to warm you up.
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Oct 06 2014 at 5:37am | IP Logged
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When I asked the question I didn't have a lot of time to purchase something to use but we did come up with an option that worked great so I thought I would share. We have a soft sided cooler that does a lousy job of keeping things cold for very long at all. Because of this, I have always used it as sort of a picnic basket, keeping the cold foods in the regular cooler. But, as I was packing it with things like bread, chips, etc I noted the fact that it was insulated. So we took all that stuff out and instead put the crockpot of hot, homemade soup right inside the cooler. It worked great! We traveled 2 1/2 hours then it sat in a car with outside temps in the low forties. It was also raining so by the time the game was over we were wet and very cold. The soup was still too hot to eat without blowing on it a bit! It was exactly what we needed to warm us up. The kids kept saying "Mom, this soup is sooooo good!!" I make it all the time without such rave reviews so I think it was simply the fact that it was something hot and comforting when we were all shivering!
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Becky
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Topic: Could use suggestions/ideas!
