Ok, every time we've come up with a “challenge” related to the RV, the friendly folks on the Open Roads Forum have come to our rescue. Background; We're leaving South Texas on Monday 5/12 morning heading for Colorado to work camp. Problem; when we plugged in the ole 5th wheel, the refrigerator was DOA. No cooling in the 2003 5th wheel refrigerator. We now have the privilege of spending $2K on a new refrigerator. Problem #2. The wife is very good at preparing and freezing meals ahead of time for the trip and for future dinners. Now we have a bunch of frozen food and no refrigerator to keep them frozen. We will be stopping in Ft. Worth to get the new refrigerator installed Monday mid-day, but still won't have a cool refrigerator till probably Tuesday morning.
I know this is getting long, but it is therapeutic sharing with fellow RVers. We can always pack most of our non-frozen refrigerator items in a cooler and ice them down, but I've never had the frozen food challenge before. Our plan is to pick up some dry ice Sunday night and pack the frozen food in a second cooler with the hope that we can keep everything frozen till Tuesday morning and move it over to the new $2K freezer unit. What I really need is some advice on dry ice. I'm told that it must be stored in a well ventilated area. I can put the cooler with the dry ice and frozen food in the back of the pick-up truck, but it is likely to be 90+ sunny degrees in Texas on Monday morning. I'm told not to transport the dry ice in a cooler inside the truck because of the CO2 gas. I'm wondering if it would not be OK to store the dry ice cooler inside the 5th wheel during the trip to Ft. Worth and on to Wichita Falls till Tuesday morning?
I'm told that the cooler should be sealed with duct tape to preserve the dry ice? Would that trap the CO2 in the cooler? Should I just resolve myself to looking for more dry ice in Ft. Worth Monday afternoon and hope it will last till Tuesday morning? Long story short, I guess I just need to know the best way to transport some frozen food for about a day and a half. Thanks for listening to my whine, I feel better already. If you're in Cotopaxi, Colorado, stop by for a beer out of our brand new refrigerator. Cheers
Marie and Paul,
2005 Ford F350 PSD DRW LB CC
16K Draw-Tite Slider
2003 HitchHiker II LS 32.5 RLBG
I wouldn't put the cooler in the tv or the trailer (atleast not while it is closed up), co2 removes oxygen from the air and could cause problems, we had an airplane crash here recently attributed to dry ice in a cooler, the passengers were dead before impact. Not sure if it would have the same effects on a large rv. You would probably need to leave windows open at night if you do put it in the trailer. Duct tape may help, you would need to make sure it is really sealed.
We used to go to Canada all the time and bring fish home froze in a cooler with no problem and they were in the trunk of the car, put frozen food in cooler cover with at least a inch of news papers then dry ice wrapped in newspaper's and more newspaper's on top of that close cooler and tape up with masking or duck tape, should last for several days if you don't open the cooler, a day and half would be a
walk in the park,,,,,,
Richard
1987 ford f250 6.9 diesel
1997 Innsbruck by Gulf Stream 28ft fifth wheel with slide
and the wife and co-pilot Trudy
If you call your dry ice provider, I will want to know several things. The weight of product you wish to keep frozen, and the number of days. He will most likely sugguest one of those white foam typ coolers that are cheap. It should NOT be sealed air tight. As the dry ice evaportates, it can develope some pretty good pressures. Good Luck and happy camping. Bill
rgraham wrote: We used to go to Canada all the time and bring fish home froze in a cooler with no problem and they were in the trunk of the car, put frozen food in cooler cover with at least a inch of news papers then dry ice wrapped in newspaper's and more newspaper's on top of that close cooler and tape up with masking or duck tape, should last for several days if you don't open the cooler, a day and half would be a
walk in the park,,,,,,
Polishnurse wrote: If you call your dry ice provider, I will want to know several things. The weight of product you wish to keep frozen, and the number of days. He will most likely suggest one of those white foam type coolers that are cheap. It should NOT be sealed air tight. As the dry ice evaporates, it can develops some pretty good pressures. Good Luck and happy camping. Bill
Rgraham and Polishnurse are correct.
Crack a window and a vent in the 5er to allow some ventilation.
Wrapping the dryice with lots of newspaper is the key to extending the ice life.
Why is the 5er refrigerator is not repairable???
I (2-10-05) bought a 2002 F350 CC SWD PSD and a new 2003 Citation 10'8. Rancho 9000X & Toyo M55's.I have been a tent camper all my life. I wanted more comfort while doing my Willamette Backcountry Ski Patrol & Crater Lake Ski Patrol duties.11
put frozen food in cooler and place dry ice on top pf food dry ice freezes down then cover food with either heavy card board or lots of newspaper then use duct tape to seal around the top and place in the back of the truck and cover cooler with heavy white canvas tarp don't use the plastic tarps also go to www.dryiceinfo.com and read all able the use of dry ice
Me,Wife two boys ages 20 and 17 also two dogs
2008 Dodge Ram Quad Cab 4x4 6.7 cummins
2008 Jayco Eagle 341 RLQS 37' with b&w turnover ball & companion hitch
using rotochoks
add state map
As was said before,a day and a half is a walk in the park.Omaha Steaks sends their goods out all the time in foam coolers with dry ice.Lasts days and food is rock hard.
Shouldn't be a problem. I used to ship fresh frozen shrimp on dry ice, when we lived on the gulf coast, to my parents in Colorado. Duct tape a cooler good, and keep out of the sun. Oughta be fine. I may not make it to Cotopaxi, but will wave from Salida on the way by. The kids are taking me (read, I drive, my 5er, etc.) to Vandameres speedway for Father's Day.
Puller: '04 HD2500 4x4 SB,EC Duramax/Allison. Airaid intake, 4in. exhaust turbo back, ORU leveler.
Pullee: '02 Keystone Cougar 276EFS Reese 16k w/ slider.
(map is for current 5er only)
My family makes a yearly trip to Quebec, Canada every year from Pennsylvania. We use dry ice to pack the food in and imagine this, we put it behind the seats in our pick-ups (extended or crew). we put the ice blocks in paper bags and then around the food and over it. It only takes us about 3-4 pieces for a regular size cooler. We pack the coolers about 5pm on a Thursday, leave at 2:30am Friday, get to the first stop on Friday evening around 6pm, stay over night at a hotel, get up the next morning and travel 180 miles of dirt road until we reach the outfitter. From there, we take a boat to the cabin for about a 2 hour ride. We end up at camp around 2-3 in the afternoon on Saturday and the food is still cold. We have even placed the milk and eggs too close to the wrapped blocks and found them frozen....still on Saturday.
For the people that are scared that the CO2 will harm you, I am sure that they are being cautious. But, I am sure that you will use your vents, a/c or windows to let in some air at some time. Even if you are stopping to stretch your legs or get something to eat.
From my experience, your one day will not be a problem to keep your food in without spoilage.
Hope this helps.
dp
2006 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab
2006 Springdale 267BHLGL
Prodigy Controller
Honda EU2000is
Me, Wife and 3 year old camping buddy daughter
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