I’m curious what do you do on the road? Anybody that travels for work. Today I had a very slow realization I cook A LOT in my service van.... One of my favorite methods is my sterno cooker. This little guy goes to the woods with me to make coffee, travels the roads with me for work and even gets used in my garage for warm drinks when I don’t want to go outside in the winter to get to the kitchen. Ya I’m that lazy... I’ve also got a cig lighter plug in heated lunch box that gets a good amount of use.
Dont' forget the convection oven............................aluminum foil on the exhaust manifold......................
I don't do any cooking but usually have some snack food on hand. Carry lots of spare clothes as I'm out in any weather everyday, needs to be really bad out before I can call the day off, only do it a couple of times a year. I think I have ownership in Gatorade by now. Plus a tote full of paperwork, a couples tablets and a laptop and a dozen chargers.
When I drove over the road years ago I got pulled over and the officer said that I had smoke coming out of my fender! I was shocked it was a newer truck... He asked me to step out for my safety which I did and then smelled it I forgot about my dinner! I had a small pan held to the engine lift hook with wire to put food wrapped in foil to cook. I had a long burned and overdone steak on the pan! The officer thought it was hilarious and took a picture then told me to get my dinner it was beyond eating at this point... Used to cook on the engine all the time with that company and that pan worked amazing!
Me too. Laptop, tablet, emergency food and a heater pack with those disposable heated blankets and gloves in it. Never be to safe that’s for sure!
One time when i was flagging for a brush cutter, i asked the guy running it if he'd like some chili for lunch tomorrow. So the next day i brought my camp stove, a pot to cook in , and a couple of cans of chili, bowls, spoons, and crackers,lots of crackers. About 15 min before noon, i opened the cans of chili, set up the stove on the tailgate, and fired it up. We were cutting pretty slow, so there was no danger of spilling any thing. So, i just drove along real slow behind him , flagging as i went, we were on a really slow road, almost no traffic. And, about 15-20 min later i caught up with him and told him lunch was ready. Boy, that was good, it was a cold fall day, and the smell of that chili cooking as i drove along about drove me nuts, ha,ha. Probably one of the best lunches we ever had on the job. Improvise, adapt and over come, lol.
Man, and to think I used to just pack sandwiches when I was in a service van! Though, back then I would usually eat while driving to my next stop. Quicker I was done, the quicker I was home. Now, they make techs take lunch breaks, and 15 min breaks too. Just what I'd want to do if driving 2-3 hours home after my last call....stop for an unneeded 15 minute break! I'm a salesman now. About 50-50 home office and road time. Most are eaten in restaurants with customers. Otherwise, its almonds and protein bars.
For sure I've had many meals cooked over the manifold of a truck engine. When I worked in the sawmill, we always seemed to have a slab pile burning. If not, we'd at least get a small fire going with the slabs and other junk then at dinner time we'd just take our sandwiches out of our lunch boxes and toast them in our little camp fire. Made dinner taste much better. Oh yeah. We also used to get cider in the fall and bury some in the sawdust pile until it got "good."
I drove 140,000 miles/year OTR. About 10 years ago got a boring job so don't get paid to stare out a window. Just because I am a cheapo and didn't want to pay for truck stop meals, I carried a lot with me. A small camping propane grill, percolating coffee pot, and tin foil made many meals. Had a guy that drove for the same outfit as me and couldn't figure out how I was getting so many more miles than him. Not shutting down early to get a meal and be the gross old trucker hitting on high school waitresses on one night/morning might not be noticeable, but 26 days a month of losing a hour or more adds up in both lost miles/money and gross greasy meals stuck in your veins/belly. I also had some really beautiful/peaceful kitchens that I grilled in overlooking lakes, oceans, mountains, forests, fields, and deserts. A steak grilled in the great out of doors, crawling into my KW and opening the sleeper windows to fall asleep to a chorus of frogs, and making a pot of perk coffee in the am....God I miss that at times!
