A Vehicle for Travelling

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:57 pm

This may seem like a topic unrelated to MC, but my MC status has everything to do with the type of car we will buy.

DH's car died last week. The repairs would cost more than the worth of the car, and we've been planning on replacing it, anyway. We always drive our cars into the ground, and his was 14 years old.

The dilemma
We've always planned on travelling once we retired and DH will retire the end of this year. Road trips require eating at restaurants, something I rarely can do. Not being able to eat beef, chicken, potatoes or tomatoes really limits where I can eat. It seems that my options are the following:

Bring my kitchen with me
This would require a travel trailer and a vehicle capable of towing. We owned a travel trailer when our daughters were small, so we know what it entails.

We could buy a conversion van with a kitchen.

Both options are expensive, and the travel trailer would require us to pay a monthly storage fee because we don't have room to store one on our property.

Do destination vacations
Our Hawaii trip was a destination vacation. We flew to the location, stayed in a condo with a fully equipped kitchen, and bought groceries. It was a great vacation, but we'd probably only be able to take one trip a year this way.

Drive an SUV that will run a refrigerator
We will be going to the Chicago Auto Show this week to see if it's possible to keep a refrigerator and hopefully a freezer running in an SUV. We think we could have an extra battery installed just to run the refrigerator/freezer. I could cook my meats before we leave, refrigerate/freeze them, and heat them in a microwave in the hotel.

Take Cruises
I don't see this as a viable option because my intolerances are numerous and my menu choices are limited. They're probably fine for people with a few foods to eliminate, but I think I'd be hungry a lot, especially after looking at all the plentiful food choices others have.

Hope Zonulin Becomes Available Soon
I wonder if I could take Zonulin for a two-week vacation, eat anything my heart desires, and go back to the diet once I return home. Kind of like the Morning After pill.

What are some of the solutions you've found for travelling?

Gloria

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:18 pm

Gloria I have a Ford Explorer and do have a second battery installed and a small refrigerator and microwave in it. It works out quite well. For the battery look at the Optima battery line, they are designed to power loads like that.

Sounds like a lot fun

Take Care

--Joe

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:24 pm

Joe,

I'm so excited to read your response! You are the only person I know who has used a microwave in a vehicle. I just told DH and he is familiar with the Optima battery line. We've been looking at the Ford Explorer.

DH wants to know where the second battery is installed. Also, where do you put the refrigerator and microwave?

Gloria

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:43 pm

Gloria I have removed the 3rd row seating (now seats 5). For the battery it is installed in the back on the floor near the driver side in back of the second row seating.. I installed a larger alternator to handle the extra charging of the battery.

The refrigerator & microwave are installed in the back. I fabricated a bracket system that allows me easily install and remove the appliances. Additionally I have installed a large enough 102VAC inverter to handle other power needs as well.

--Joe

TooManyHats · Post by **TooManyHats** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:14 pm

Wow, Joe! That is unbelievable! You are quite the McGyver!

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:22 pm

That's pretty impressive, Joe!

DH said he could try to find someone to do the installations. He's pretty good mechanically, but I think your setup is a bit beyond his expertise. We can talk to the dealers when we go to the auto show.

You may have started a trend amonst us MCers. Thank you so much for your input!

Gloria

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:25 pm

The best ones to go to for something like this would be a RV dealer that has a good mechanic on duty. If that's not an option there should be a mechanic in the area that likes to customize various vehicles. I have found the 4x4 conversion shops to be a good source of parts for things like this.

Best of luck with this Gloria

--Joe

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:32 pm

Good suggestion, Joe. There's an RV show this weekend in Chicago, too. We were planning on going there also. We'll ask about it there.

Gloria

TooManyHats · Post by **TooManyHats** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:45 pm

This is why we love boating. It's like an RV only on water. I have my own stove and fridge. There's also a bathroom, but we keep it off limits for my problem (if you know what I mean).

The ingenuity on this board is unbelievable!

Bifcus16 · Post by **Bifcus16** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:55 pm

Hi Gloria,

We just picked up our new Jeep Cherokee a week ago - so it is very much the new toy!

As part of choosing our first 4WD, we bought a lot of 4x4 magazines (I guess you guys call them RVs). The options they have for putting in storage for fridges and other items is breathtaking. If you can't find a premade option to suit, there are a variety of people who will custom make a set up of drawers and sliders (so you can pull your fridge out) to suit.

You could easily get a setup with a second battery, and storage for a fridge and microwave. And sink. Then you are free to do whatever you want so long as you drive to your destination. Personally, I have gone the tent and little gas stove route rather than a microwave, and at the moment it is just shoved in the back tightly enough that it won't move.

Most of these you can remove the actual fridge etc when you don't need it. Some of the drawer units look pretty difficult to remove, though. So it might not work well if you want to be going from seats to storage regularly.

So my suggestion would be to have a good look at the RV show. Before you go to that have a look at some of the magazines so you can get a feel for the sort of options that exist (and maybe make better use of your time at the show). It is a small investment in helping you make the right choice. The actual vehicle you use can vary a lot, depending on your budget and whether you actually want to take it off road.

Lyn

PS: If anyone speaks Cherokee I am looking for a name for the new car - at the moment she is nicknamed "Wilma" after Wilma Mankiller - first female Cherokee chief.

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:10 pm

Lyn,

An RV is an abbreviation for a recreational vehicle. Sometimes we call it a travel trailer. A travel trailer must be towed. There are also motor homes which have the sink, stove, refrigerator and beds in one vehicle.

I'm not sure if you are referring to adapting the Jeep Cherokee or adapting a a travel trailer. Do you mean that the 4 x 4 magazines show how to put a sink in a Jeep? This is getting fascinating. I think I will look for a 4 x 4 magazine tomorrow.

Thank you for the suggestions. DH says we seem to be able to get any answers we need on this board. He's right!

Gloria

Matthew · Post by **Matthew** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:10 pm

Gloria and all-

I have a 1985 Honda Civic Wagon that gets between thirty and forty miles to the gallon high way. One does not need a big car with high gas milage to go on adventures.

I made an insert that goes into the hatch back with drawers for seasonings, tableware knives, paper products, glasses............A pull out shelf for a propane camping stove and a place to put a medium size tank for the propane. A five gallon water water bottle and a stainless steel bowl for washing up provides a source for gravity feed water at any time. Have plenty of room for two coolers. One with ice for every day food the other with dry ice that will keep food frozen for at least two weeks even in 100 degree heat

I eventually made a tent that fixes to the back of the car for those days of wind, rain and weather. So much for creature comfort.

I love the KISS principal and so much enjoy being able to go off on adventures and be self sufficient. with such simplicity .

I some how decided that throwing money at a big car that would tow a trailer and the expense of maintaining both was not worth it. Easily pulling out the insert I have my"normal" car back in minutes.

Have greatly enjoyed my escapes ever since.

Might not be the best for your life style and only hope to give you a few ideas that you can take off on .

Matthew

JLH · Post by **JLH** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:34 pm

I'd love to see photos of these great inventions and set ups.

We recently upgraded to a minivan (Odyssey from a CRV) to haul the dogs around. DD#1 said she didn't care how fancy it is, it's still a minivan. So I bequeathed it to her sister on Facebook!

Are there real refrigerators for cars? The ones we've seen only keep the temperature at 40 degrees lower than the outside air. I may be way off on that.

Post by **tex** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:42 pm

Lyn,

How about Chandra, (which means Moon), as a boy's name, or (Eminent, Illustrious), as a girl's name.

Ishwar, (Powerful, The supreme), boy's name

Izabelle, (Beautiful), girl's name

Avinash, (which means Indestructible), boy's name

Neerja, (Lotus flower), girl's name

Tex

Bifcus16 · Post by **Bifcus16** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:58 pm

Tex,

The group knowledge here is amazing!! Thank you. I like Avinash. I hope it is!!

Gloria,

Thanks for clarifying the RV matter. I was suggesting you put these drawers into the back of your motor car - eg, into Avinash. So the storage area behind the rear seats is all drawers and stuff. Doesn't work if you have a normal sedan type car a with a boot (trunk) - you need a car with a 'back door'.

Joan,

People like Engel and Waeco make proper in-car freezers as well as fridges. Mind you, they take up a bit of space and need power - hence the second battery.

Matthew,

2nd Esky (cooler) with dry ice for the frozens. Brilliant idea. Thanks for that.

Lyn