Taking freezer on a hunt
Contributors to this thread:Hogs
From: Buff
13-Jan-17
Going on a short bachelor hunt, from mi to Florida, have a midsize freezer for the back of the truck, got 4 guys going, about 4-5 days, instead of running the freezer when we get down there for 2 days go get it cooled down, then run it all the way home, wouldn't it be better to use it as a. Cooler, and put dry ice in it instead of running it
From: Brotsky
13-Jan-17
Then why not just bring some coolers? Run it, freeze your meat solid, and then it acts like a cooler on the way home.
From: Buff
13-Jan-17
1 freezer will be easier to keep cool than 4-5 coolers. Originally planned I running the freezer, and we still can. I just thought with dry ice we could pretty much put it in and forget it, not a big deal either way, just thinking about it
From: Ben
13-Jan-17
I have hunted a lot with a smaller freezer (wouldn't leave home without it). They are great. We don't start the freezer till we shoot the first animal, then we start up the generator and run a tank of gas thru it. Then each day we due the same one tank of fuel. If we add another animal give it another tank. The trip home is a no run. The meat is half frozen when arriving home. Have carried up to 4 antelope quartered and backstraps & loins cut out and bagged. They are ready to bone out, cut up and wrapped when you get home.
From: LKH
13-Jan-17
There are some issues with treating a freezer like a cooler.
They are meant to sit still and are very weak structurally. If the roads aren't an issue it will work, but if you really load it, you could have trouble.
From: David Geyer
14-Jan-17
Freeze empty gallon water jugs inside it. Don't open it until necessary. You will be surprised.
From: Scooby-doo
14-Jan-17
I hunted Kansas this year and there was a group from PA s me from Colorado and had two pretty big freezers 20 cubic ft or so. They were also hunting Nebraska and Kansas. They had several mule deer and a few antelope in the freezers and had already been hunting for 2 weeks. I say use it and get it cold from the start. Get the game frozen and it will act as a cooler on your way home! These folks had been doing it this way for years and they said nothing like it for traveling with your meat and hides. Scooby
From: huntr4477
30-Jan-17
Empty gallon water jugs??
From: kota-man
30-Jan-17
I've been "laboring" over the same issue for sometime for an upcoming Bison Hunt. I thought about buying a big Grizzly or Yeti, then contemplated taking a freezer. This past weekend I decided to build a "Redneck Yeti". A few scraps from home and a couple hundred dollars of material and I got it done! 4x3x3 with 3 inches of foam insulation.
From: RD
31-Jan-17
The compressor "floats" in freezers and if the roads are bumpy you can break or crack the lines from the compressor. I always put a wedge in place so the compressor can't move when on the road, just remember to take it out when in use.
From: Kurt
31-Jan-17
Kota.....Redneck Yeti looks great! Should haul a lot of bison. Good luck!
From: MathewsMan
31-Jan-17
Another thought is to just throw a Honda generator on with the freezer and run it to keep the freezer operating. I've seen lots of guys come here to Colorado from places like LA, MO, FL that do this.
From: jjs
31-Jan-17
Use to take a 9cuft freezer when hunting in Manitoba, slide in the back of the truck and usually hooked it up at someone's house or business with no problem, made it easy for customs when coming back to the states.
From: wifishkiller
31-Jan-17
Been doing the same thing, get to the location and plug it in.
From: Bohunner
08-Feb-17
Honda generator and a small freezer is hard to beat. Get it good and cold before you leave and run it with the generator a couple of hours a day. Once you put fresh meat in it run it a little more. Nothing like a cold Coke and a frozen Snickers after a hard pack out.
From: AZ Toad
08-Feb-17
going on a Buffalo hunt in June in Arizona--planned on taking box freezer have big generator in the travel trailer and a Honda 2000 for camp--thanks for the info and suggestions--also taking ice chests--hope I have something to put in them
From: joehunter
08-Feb-17
Cheap freezer from Craig's list and a inverter works great. This one has been on 6 western hunts. Down some very nasty roads and even slid out of the back of the truck once and it still runs perfect.
From: Topgun 30-06
08-Feb-17
Yep, as it doesn't take much of an inverter that runs off your vehicle while you're going down the road to run a frig or freezer. The use a generator a few hours a day at camp until you get back on the road heading for home with your meat.
From: kellyharris
08-Feb-17
kota-man have you thought of getting carpet adhesive in a can and spraying that foam then covering with 1 or 2 space blankets to help insulate it?
From: planebow
08-Feb-17
We take a small freezer filled with gallon milk jugs filled with water and frozen. Used to run the generator a little day but last year decided not to run the generator. After a week the ice in the bottom half of the freezer was still frozen solid. Also have an old forest service sleeping bag that I keep on top.
From: kota-man
08-Feb-17
I hadn't had that thought, but I almost had it professionally spray foamed! The box worked like a charm. Hauled a Bison from Colorado Springs to North Dakota with no ice and it stayed froze solid.
From: Medicinemann
09-Feb-17
If you are going to use dry ice instead of the frozen water jugs, just make sure that you can GET dry ice, wherever you are going. I used to buy it for some of my cross country hunting trips....but it is not as available as it used to be.
Whatever you do, DON'T take the freezer off of the truck. I slept in the back of the truck for one of this Fall's hunts....so I took the freezer out and plugged it into an outdoor outlet to which I had access. When I put the freezer back onto the truck, I couldn't take the meat out, because it wouldn't have all fit back in when I repacked it....so I had to lift the full freezer back into the truck by myself....and then spend 30 minutes looking for my left "boy", which I probably left in the driveway!!
