Chest freezer in my truck

[eaglemountainman]

I'm in Florida and have a muley hunt booked for Oct. in Wy. With this whole Covid thing going on, I'm not sure if I'll be able to fly, or if driving will be my only option. If that's the case, I'm thinking of buying a chest freezer and putting it in the bed of my truck. If I tag out, I could freeze my meat before I head home, then plug in the freezer at night, when I stay at a motel. While traveling during the day, the freezer should be an effective cooler till I stop and plug in again. Has anyone here done this? Curious how it worked out for you.

 

[Low_Sky]

I'm in Florida and have a muley hunt booked for Oct. in Wy. With this whole Covid thing going on, I'm not sure if I'll be able to fly, or if driving will be my only option. If that's the case, I'm thinking of buying a chest freezer and putting it in the bed of my truck. If I tag out, I could freeze my meat before I head home, then plug in the freezer at night, when I stay at a motel. While traveling during the day, the freezer should be an effective cooler till I stop and plug in again. Has anyone here done this? Curious how it worked out for you.

Worked great for me two years ago in Alaska. In two days waiting for my brother’s return flight from Fairbanks to the L48, two caribou bulls’ meat was frozen solid. His meat got packed into fish pack boxes and got checked on the plane. I drove my meat home to Anchorage in the freezer. Temps are a lot milder up here.

It was easy to do in Fairbanks. All the hotels have outlets for plugging in block heaters in the parking lots. For your purposes, you might want to bring a gas generator in case you can’t park close enough to an outlet.


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[realunlucky]

How is this an improvement over ice and a cooler? Are you getting it processed before heading home if so use dry ice? I think your making it more complicated than it is.

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[Tod osier]

I'm in Florida and have a muley hunt booked for Oct. in Wy. With this whole Covid thing going on, I'm not sure if I'll be able to fly, or if driving will be my only option. If that's the case, I'm thinking of buying a chest freezer and putting it in the bed of my truck. If I tag out, I could freeze my meat before I head home, then plug in the freezer at night, when I stay at a motel. While traveling during the day, the freezer should be an effective cooler till I stop and plug in again. Has anyone here done this? Curious how it worked out for you.

It works well. I've done it multiple times. One thing I'd say as a pro tip is to make sure the lid can't come open on bumps (maybe not as big and issue is you aren't driving the ALCAN), strapping the lid closed keeps the freezer a lot cooler. Get a small thermometer with probe to monitor temp. Nightly freezing is ample to keep the meat cold in fall temps.

As others said, if the meat isn't frozen a cooler with ice woudl work great.

 

[WCB]

I kind of agree with realunlucky...You could get 1 of those large white coolers fit the whole deer boned out and either just pack it with ice or get dry ice and be done.

With that said...a lot of clients did this when I guided. It was normally because there were three of them shooting deer and antelope. They had a good sized freezer either in the bed of the truck or utility trailer. Plugged it in at the lodge when the arrived. As they shot stuff it went into the freezer. worked good for them and with multiple people and animals each it saved room and headache not having to go for ice runs when they shot something.

 

[eaglemountainman]

It works well. I've done it multiple times. One thing I'd say as a pro tip is to make sure the lid can't come open on bumps (maybe not as big and issue is you aren't driving the ALCAN), strapping the lid closed keeps the freezer a lot cooler. Get a small thermometer with probe to monitor temp. Nightly freezing is ample to keep the meat cold in fall temps.

As others said, if the meat isn't frozen a cooler with ice woudl work great.

It will be processed and frozen. Good point about the thermometer. I do intend to chain and lock the lid.

I'm also thinking, if I have to drive anyway, I might as well investigate the possibility of a route that might take me through states with OTC tags and spend a few days. It would help to break up the 35-40 hour drive time. Being retired, time is not an issue.

Curious how the motel staff will react to an extension cord running to my truck. A little grease may be in order.

This is all just supposition at this point. I really hope to hell I'll be flying.

 

[Steve P]

Couple years ago I hunted in Ohio and met a father & son that did the same thing with a freezer. The son shot a nice buck, and at the end of the week he put the clothes he didn't use and sleeping bag on top to help insulate everything and was fine for his ride home.

 

[Mountain_Life]

Fill a cooler with frozen milk jugs a few days prior to leaving in the hunt, swap them with fresh jugs the day you leave and don't open it again until you throw your meat in. As long as it's not in the direct sun, it'll keep the meat cool for quite some time. Once your jugs melt, throw crushed ice into 2 gallon freezer bags and drop em in. Once the meat is cooled, it takes very little ice to keep it cool.

 

[Austink47]

You can get a converter and power the freezer while you drive. I would look at it from the perspective of what would you rather have after the hunt is over, a big cooler or a chest freezer, either will work.

 

[eaglemountainman]

You can get a converter and power the freezer while you drive. I would look at it from the perspective of what would you rather have after the hunt is over, a big cooler or a chest freezer, either will work.

Agreed. I can buy a 7-10 cf freezer for a lot less than one of the high end, big bucks coolers, which I would only use once or twice a year. The freezer would work all year round out in the garage with all the game meat, fish, bait and ice for the boat.

 

[Tod osier]

Curious how the motel staff will react to an extension cord running to my truck. A little grease may be in order.

THey would probably get you a cord if you asked in most places. I wouldn't worry about it. Ask when you pull in, there are a LOT of outlets outside most motels.

 

[rayporter]

cooler or freezer dry ice is the way to go

so worries about plugs or getting a genny stolen. it will be solid when you get home.

 

[Stalker69]

It works great, that is what I do every hunt. The advantages over ice chests and ice. 1st and most notible you don’t have the meat bleaching out in ice water becoming “ tofu” , or grey meat ! You can buy a big chest freezer for 1/2 the cost of an average size cooler, of witch you will most likely need more then one of per animal. The meat will freeze and stay frozen quickly and remain so during your travels. It won’t freezer burn ( dry ice next to meat, and wasted space in an already to small a cooler) You can get home and leave the meat frozen until it’s convenient to process your self or (take some where ). You can keep the meat after processing frozen in your new freezer. Plus depending on the size freezer you can transport yours and a buddy or two meat home, don’t have to stop for ice, and again you don’t have water logged grey meat, or what tastes like tofu. You can use it all year, and year after year. There really is no disadvantage other then needing 120v. Worst case, generator ran a couple hours a day if you need the freezer in camp. You can also get a control to use your freezer as a refrigerator if when you get home you would rather have an extra frig. By far the best thing we have ever done to transport meat. Deer, elk, antelope,pigs, javelina works fantastic no matter where we hunt mountains to desert. Also works for getting frozen food and drinks, water to camp. Making ice or keeping ice, for crown and cokes in camp is another huge benefit. And keeping bags of ice for other coolers, or frozen milk jugs ( another huge benefit that I won’t get into here) . Even if you have to put it on a trailer, it’s worth it !

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I did WY to SC last year with an elk and antelope in cooler with about 10lbs of dry ice..closed it and left it in the truck...2 days later still frozen...no wet mess when I got here.

 

[Stalker69]

It will be processed and frozen. Good point about the thermometer. I do intend to chain and lock the lid.

I'm also thinking, if I have to drive anyway, I might as well investigate the possibility of a route that might take me through states with OTC tags and spend a few days. It would help to break up the 35-40 hour drive time. Being retired, time is not an issue.

Curious how the motel staff will react to an extension cord running to my truck. A little grease may be in order.

This is all just supposition at this point. I really hope to hell I'll be flying.

We stay at motels all the time with our freezers, not once have they not allowed us to plug in, just tell them when getting a room and they will normally set you up on an end unit or where that’s convieniant and cord is out of the way. No different then we fish tournaments and have to plug our boats in each night to charge the batteries.

 

[Mediocre Archer]

I did this for a Wyoming hunt a few years ago. I see it was already mentioned, but do make sure the top cannot open with bumps and turn the chest so the lid closes with the wind. Other than that it worked great. You can even pack some frozen milk jugs in the chest to ensure you are still golden if you miss an outlet at all. Half chest freezer, half cooler. All delicious meat!

 

[hodgeman]

I've done this a bunch during fishing season. Works great.

Up here you see guys in trucks with those little 7-10cg freezers in the back all summer long.

 

[keller]

I do this every time.i don't like ice melting making meat wet and basically blood soaking it.have carried a small generator run a few hours a day meat has always kept well.this year two of us are driving to Newfoundland moose hunting and instead of a generator im going to buy an inverter and wire it in to the truck freezer can run while traveling.

 

[Squamch]

Lots of guys do this kinda thing here. Chest freezer and genny at the front of the trailer, quads on the back, wall tent in boxes...drive up north to slay moose then drive 2 or 3 days home.

 

[Smokeslider]

Have a buddy that pulls an enclosed trailer with chest freezer in it and a little honda generator. Worked great when he was on the road bouncing to different hunts. He ended up with 2 deer and an elk mostly in there by the time he headed home.