traveling on a ferry
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Printed Date: 13 May 2025 at 3:04pm
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Topic: traveling on a ferry
Posted By: ArenaBlanca
Subject: traveling on a ferry
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2019 at 2:15pm
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This past summer my wife and I took our 179 to Vancouver Island via ferry and came back to the states via ferry. In both cases, we had to turn off our propane and they secured the valve so the propane could not be used. We have traded in the 179 for a 195. The 195 has a two way refrigerator -- either shore power or propane. When we had the 179 we had a battery option to run the refrigerator. So what does one do when traveling by ferry when you don't have propane or shore power?? Okay, this may not be a problem when going to Vancouver Island or back but the ferry ride to Newfoundland is 6-8 hours for the shortest route or 14-16 for the longer route. ------------- Enjoy Life!! |
Replies:
Posted By: Olddawgsrule
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2019 at 2:50pm
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First, I've done this a few times and we re-provision perishables once there (up to 5hrs so far). I hear the frig is good if cold and not opened for close to 6hrs. Beyond that, I'd be adding ice blocks (warm beer is a European thing). Think of your frig as an upright cooler and work accordingly. Ice blocks in zip-lock bags (near the beer) and work your produce according to how it want it stay cold. Like I say, an upright cooler. Dry ice to me is a over-kill and not really needed. I did that on a 6 day canoe adventure that I packed some steaks in a small cooler with dry ice. Night five they were still frozen.. Over-kill for a passage. Don't over think it, yet think it. Ice blocks will do you fine. Packed around the beer, LOL.. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJduGeZNFgtptH67leItRFQ - Byways no Highways 2017 Tacoma http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=72408 - Truck Camper Build 2004 F150 My Overlander |
Posted By: Pod People
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2019 at 8:15pm
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We always have a quality cooler with us. A lot that we eat does not have to be kept at refrigerator temps in the high 30’s. We keep most of our veggies, cheeses, drinks, fruits in the cooler and reserve the refrig for necessities-eggs, milk, eetc. Having a small battery operated fan inside the refrig also helps keep it’s temp when not under power.Refrigerator management is a little different from the home, but it getss easier and a system will evolve after a few trips. Vann ------------- Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179 https://postimg.cc/0zwKrfB9"> 
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Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2019 at 9:20pm
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A pricey option for times like that is a https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Stirling-Cooler-Adaptor-Included/dp/B000A1FCIE - Free Piston Sterling Cooler . Ours was a different brand but looks the same as the one in the link except for the end caps which are blue. These are very efficient and will operate on 12V a long time without running down the battery. The one we have came from our local ReSTORE. It was donated by a drug company (I don't know which one) and was used to transport medications (no biological/radiological ones)by drug company representatives. It cools to 4C, even in 90F weather. It isn't silent, but it isn't really noisy either. Unfortunately, the Coleman model is not available and I could not find any others that specified FPSC or FPSE except for a FreeBird model which is a deep freezer and priced way beyond anything I could or would pay. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: seafans
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2019 at 10:16pm
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For camp trailers (caravans) in Australia most of the trailers have the Piston cooler. I don't know if it the sterling but it does run on 220 volt AC 50 cycles. From what I have see they work very well, better than propane even. |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2019 at 10:37am
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I've did a little poking around and those free piston coolers (smaller ones anyway) only use about 40-45 watts. That is less than half what the standard Dometic refrigerator uses. Too bad they don't come in a refrigerator shape so you can swap out the one in the R-pod kitchen. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2019 at 12:25pm
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They are a pretty good deal for a picnic or tailgaiting, but their capacity is not real functional for 4 or 5 days of boondocking. They measure capacity in "quarts" not cubic feet. 1 cubic foot is just a tad under 30 quarts, so for a 25 quart box, you're not getting much storage capacity. You'd have to take 3 or 4 of these puppies along to duplicate the storage capacity of the refrigerator in your r-Pod. And at 40 to 50 watts each, that's a lot of juice to feed them. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2019 at 1:29pm
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You might want to check out this video for a detailed discussion of retrofitting an absorption RV fridge with an electric vapor compression refrigeration kit. The company the Mortons got theirs from apparently does not make a kit for the smaller rPod fridge model but it might for the 195. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yte1V3CkDrw - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yte1V3CkDrw ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Ben Herman
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2019 at 3:27pm
| Worst case if you don't want to carry a cooler with you for the whole trip - or don't have room in your fridge for ice - go to WalMart or equivalent, get an inexpensive styrofoam cooler and a block of ice, load your food into it for the passage. Give the cooler away on the other end. |
Posted By: Olddawgsrule
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2019 at 3:56pm
That, on it's self, is a good idea to get through the passage. I like! As much s everyone is talking about technology and what could be better.. I go back to basic's. Insulation of the unit. Every style, type, cycles according to how well it is insulated. Loss of cold and retaining. What do you wish to give up in looks to keep things cold? In another group folks have build coolers from HD/Lowes structural foam that far out perform even the YETI coolers. Though it would be difficult to line our existing units with such, making smaller boxes to fit within is not. My mind goes further, as you now expect from me, and look at building my own frig and using the parts available. What I say is not just think of system, yet think of insulation as well. I'm attempting to figure out my Wife's dream of a draw frig and how to implement. Would require 3 different draws of 3 different temps.... Yes, she does challenge me! And I do so love a challenge! Insulation... My 2 cents. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJduGeZNFgtptH67leItRFQ - Byways no Highways 2017 Tacoma http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=72408 - Truck Camper Build 2004 F150 My Overlander |
Posted By: Pod People
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2019 at 6:05pm
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I started the earlier mention of using a cooler. Olddawgsrule is correct --insulation is the key. I said that we used a quality cooler-it is an Engel , but the best part is that I made an insulated cover for it. I used REflectix roll insulation https://www.lowes.com/pd/Reflectix-R-21-33-3-sq-ft-Unfaced-Reflective-Roll-Insulation-16-in-W-x-25-ft-L/1014123 which is available at Lowe's. It is 1/4" bubble wrap that is faced with reflective foil. I used three thickness of the wrap. Lowe's also has a special foil tape for joints at the seams. The top can be taken off and leave the bottom in place. We have kept ice as long as 9 days-we freeze it in gallon jugs and put i jug at each end. Makes good cold drinking water also. https://postimg.cc/ZBT11V3p">  https://postimg.cc/hzpHgTbw">  https://postimg.cc/qgD95c76">  https://postimg.cc/gnwfFwwS">  hope this helps Vann ------------- Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179 https://postimg.cc/0zwKrfB9">
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2019 at 8:09pm
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A couple years ago we bought a Lifetime 55 quart ice chest to take on a trip to AZ anticipating boondocking for most of the trip. Though we didn't really boondock as much as we anticipated due to our friends' camping preferences, I really appreciated the cooler. I have put drinks and ice blocks in it and it keeps everything nice and cold for a surprisingly long time. I usually fill big Costco plastic jars, like for nuts, with water and freeze it. I've had that ice stick around for as long as a week. The ices chest performs every bit as well as the high priced brands that cost over $200 or $300. Here's a link I found for it today. http://sunnypetra.com/index.php/lifetime-55-quart-high-performance-cooler-grey.html?utm_campaign=gs-2019-07-05&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign - https://sunnypetra.com/index.php/lifetime-55-quart-high-performance-cooler-grey.html?utm_campaign=gs-2019-07-05&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign Lifetime products, if I'm not mistaken, are made in Utah, which I think is still part of the USA. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 14 Oct 2019 at 5:10am
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If you want to add insulation to a cooler or refrigerator then its best to use a high r value foam insulation material like polyurethane and make it as thick as you have space for. The Reflectix type materials' insulation values are highly overrated for this kind of application because they depend on reducing radiation losses across a dead air cavity like an attic space. You don't have a cavity like that in a fridge or a cooler. So Reflectix foam is only about R 3 per inch and its about 1/3 inch thick so around R 3 for three wraps. Closed cell urethane is about R 6 per inch so a 2 inch space would give you R 12. To get that you can buy a cooler which already has 2 inches or more of foam in it. Ignore the fancy brand name, look for the foam, and don't forget to check that the lid also contains foam. Or, here's a DIY way to do it  : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC7UcJZFZvk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC7UcJZFZvk When it comes to insulation, like they say in the automotive world, there ain't no substitute for cubic inches. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |