What do you keep in the vans fridge/freezer

Pudsey Bear said:
That maybe you needn't?
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Well .... On my last trip, just 3 days away, I packed lots of stuff (I like options). I probably brought 99% back with me untouched :(
I think the only thing out the freezer I used was a bag of McCain French Fries?

I think the only sure-fire things that get used ... Butter/spread, bread, cheese, milk, teabags.

Something that might interest you, Kev .... I take bottles of mineral water to drink rather than using the on-board tank water (cue debate - drink or don't drink from tank), one reason being that on Autotrails it is not possible to manually clean or examine the water tanks.
Howev r, Roaming Rog uses a little electronic water tester to check quality on the PPM basis on the water from his Autotrail tank. Under 300 is safe (and distilled would be 0 ppm)
I borrowed it and tested my "Scottish Mountain Water" (from Morrisons) - 175 ppm; I then tested my "Kirkland Mineral Water" (from Costco in Sept 2021 so all the plastic leaching!!! ;) ) - 125 ppm;
I then tested my tank water, filled from my home tap 2 days earlier ... 75 ppm. The tank water was actually the purest of all three!
I bought the same tester and checked my home water direct from the tap and it was the same at 75 ppm.

So when it comes to carrying foodstuffs you don't really need to, quite possibly bottled water is one of them?
 
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on a 3 month trip apart from Iceland's in benidorm you cant get sliced bacon OR a decent tender steak or cheese . France has about 275 different cheeses & you cant get a good Lancashire or cheddar in Europe & the steak might look good at the butchers counter BUT its like shoe leather . so we just take the things you cant buy as there are some wonderful food in their supermarkets .
16 packs of bacon with a good 4 weeks shelf life ( we find Lidl the best )then taken out of package & in the freezer compartment kept in fridge
16 packs of Lidl ribeye steak they usually don't have a long life maybe 2/3 weeks so they go in the freezer first
cheese about 8 packs mixed these have a good shelf life & al so you can freeze cheese
coffee /coffee mate & tined goods etc etc etc to complement the nice things we like to buy & taste while touring & one supermarket in Auvergne we bought some faggots & they where gorgeous .cheyenne
 
Two lots of medication takes up lots of space, especially for longer trips. Foodstuffs are replenished every 2-4 days, either by a wander to the local shops, or from the hypermarket en route to the next stop. We're addicted to UHT Milk, so that stays in the food box under the lounge seat, and water taken from the fresh tank which was sterilised in early November 2022 in preparation for the oft postponed Winter Trip

Steve
 
marchie said:
Two lots of medication takes up lots of space, especially for longer trips. Foodstuffs are replenished every 2-4 days, either by a wander to the local shops, or from the hypermarket en route to the next stop. We're addicted to UHT Milk, so that stays in the food box under the lounge seat, and water taken from
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marchie said:
the fresh tank which was sterilised in early November 2022 in preparation for the oft postponed Winter Trip

Steve
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I presume you treat each fill up though?
 
We've had so many vans, but none from new so we have never and will never drink from the tank, Liz does use some for cooking which I suppose kills anything nasty, but for drink and teeth it's al bottled still water from whereever is cheapest.

However, no answer to the OP
 
Pudsey Bear said:
We've had so many vans, but none from new so we have never and will never drink from the tank, Liz does use some for cooking which I suppose kills anything nasty, but for drink and teeth it's al bottled still water from whereever is cheapest.

However, no answer to the OP
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Oi, I did! 99% of the stuff I keep in there I didn't need :)
 
2cv said:
Though we drink only bottled water, we test the van water using a gadget like this. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Measuremen...cphy=9046575&hvtargid=pla-1256544913180&psc=1
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I have very little faith in stuff like that at low prices, if you can compare a few of them to see how close they agree or don't then I'd buy on if close, but I have tried thermometers and spirit levels and found them to be miles out with each other, although a single spirit level is easy enough to test on its own some are not to be trusted, especially the cheaper ones.
 
wildebus said:
I presume you treat each fill up though?
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No, David. We empty the fresh water when we get home, then a 20-30 litre partial fill for the start of the next trip, with the full fill up on site, running it down to 20-30 litres by the time of departure. Chemicals taste awful, and most of the water consumption involves boiling for coffee [but not then pouring it over me ... (n)], and, if we were camping/backpacking, we would be less pampered with our water consumption precautions!

Steve
 
I go with just enough food to get me to France then stock up in there supermarkets with the stuff I like, Like cheval, steak tartare, whelks, octopus, squid, and a lot more of there sea food
 
I tend to take the essentials milk, bread and source meat, fruit, salad and veg locally wherever we are but I always take too much bacon with us because I like dry cured unsmoked streaky bacon and you can’t always get so I tend to overkill on trips. Tins are a thing I carry way to many just in case tins that again unnecessary weight.
As for water I have never drunk from my onboard tank always carry 3x5 litres of bottled water but filled from home not purchased every trip.
 
Greengrass said:
I go with just enough food to get me to France then stock up in there supermarkets with the stuff I like, Like cheval, steak tartare, whelks, octopus, squid, and a lot more of there sea food
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cheval? that would be horse then?

each to their own, biut I cannot deny there is absolutely nothing on your "like" list that would get past my lips! :D
 
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