Travel Freezer for Truck Bed?

[the force]

Hi, considering getting a small freezer for island fishing trips. I often stay with family for a week or two so it is a bit of a pain trying to find freezer space and shuffling fish around. I prefer to clean and pack my own fish so nice to be able to get it straight into a freezer.

Most of the time I would be plugging in, though would be good to have ability to run off a 1000 or 2000w Honda genny if need be (I haven’t done the math on power needs).

I see Costco or other vendors have the little 3.5cu ft models for around $200, they also have a 5cuft version for $250.
Thought I would check in here quickly in case someone has a recommendation or any nuances I should consider.
Thanks!

 

[N2013]

I did that for a trip to Cortes Isl one time. Worked well. Brought it over, plugged it in and stored all our catch in it. Kept it buttoned up on the way home. I scooped a Danby one last year from Costco and it’s been good. Even bought another one off marketplace. I’d recommended a chest one and ya, run the genny if you’re headed back home. Just make sure the catch is all identifiable and accounted for should you get stopped by a CO. Storage is always an issue on trips.

 

[Alex_c]

Did that on a trip before. Works well, but buy some ice if you’re at a camp ground that has quiet hours for generators.

Also be careful when moving the freezer, if you tip it at all, wait a while before plugging it in or else you can kill it. Don’t remember exactly why, something about refrigerant going where it’s not supposed to

 

[One More]

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/insignia-5-0-cu-ft-garage-ready-chest-freezer-ns-cz50wh0-c-white/14349742

I have this one and it's worked great for bringing back fish from the island. Only takes 2 Amps (240 watts) to run so a 12 volt inverter can be used as well.

 

[Sea Chaser]

Did that on a trip before. Works well, but buy some ice if you’re at a camp ground that has quiet hours for generators.

Also be careful when moving the freezer, if you tip it at all, wait a while before plugging it in or else you can kill it. Don’t remember exactly why, something about refrigerant going where it’s not supposed to

Oil moves to places it’s not supposed to.

 

[ILHG]

I use that costco frezzer in the back of my truck often. Every summer it takes a few trips. I use a 1000w Yamaha gen and it basically idols the whole time. You can run it for a few hrs at a time and notvrun at night. Leave your lid shut and it stays solid. I load up with food and ice inbound & then have my catch when outbound home.

Lastly it's a light unit. Easy to load with my wifevwhen empty

 

[kaelc]

My brother does this for trips from Fraser Laker and back. Puts a big heavy blanket over it when in transit. Doesn’t need a generator as it’s plugged in all the time except for the 14-16 hour trip and mostly full both ways. Skip buying the Honda. Use one of these, buy Canadian I know the founder. You could even add a lifepo4 battery I would think that could run it for a day or two depending on the size. https://www.cargenerator.com/

 

[Don Haraguchi]

Did this last year for our trip to Nootka Sound. (No more freezers at Tuta) Ran it off a Honda generator for a few hours every day. Worked like a charm.
Got the freezer on marketplace for like $100 or something.

 

[Rain City]

Wow, this is some serious Make Generators Great Again stuff. What an emotional ride that was

 

[kaelc]

Wow, this is some serious Make Generators Great Again stuff. What an emotional ride that was

You should see rich Americans bragging about installing a 10k $ generator, in cities that should never need it. It blows my mind when we have such reliable power in Saanich that the US can’t figure it out. Tariff’s and the import rules are going to hit Jonathan’s company pretty hard, a few more CAD sales will help.

 

[jackfish]

F150 Lightning owner here...just plug it in. 7kW power available in the bed, 9kW in the frunk. mmmmm, nice.

 

[Weatherall]

Wow, this is some serious Make Generators Great Again stuff. What an emotional ride that was

So..... It's an inverter?

 

[the force]

View attachment 115151
Did this last year for our trip to Nootka Sound. (No more freezers at Tuta) Ran it off a Honda generator for a few hours every day. Worked like a charm.
Got the freezer on marketplace for like $100 or something.

Nice rig! Yeah thats what I was thinking, once frozen it doesn’t need to run solid the whole trip.

My brother does this for trips from Fraser Laker and back. Puts a big heavy blanket over it when in transit. Doesn’t need a generator as it’s plugged in all the time except for the 14-16 hour trip and mostly full both ways. Skip buying the Honda. Use one of these, buy Canadian I know the founder. You could even add a lifepo4 battery I would think that could run it for a day or two depending on the size. https://www.cargenerator.com/

This is interesting… would also work in my boat a though I doubt the 5.7 carb idling is more efficient than a little Honda.

I use that costco frezzer in the back of my truck often. Every summer it takes a few trips. I use a 1000w Yamaha gen and it basically idols the whole time. You can run it for a few hrs at a time and notvrun at night. Leave your lid shut and it stays solid. I load up with food and ice inbound & then have my catch when outbound home.

Lastly it's a light unit. Easy to load with my wifevwhen empty

Exactly!

I did that for a trip to Cortes Isl one time. Worked well. Brought it over, plugged it in and stored all our catch in it. Kept it buttoned up on the way home. I scooped a Danby one last year from Costco and it’s been good. Even bought another one off marketplace. I’d recommended a chest one and ya, run the genny if you’re headed back home. Just make sure the catch is all identifiable and accounted for should you get stopped by a CO. Storage is always an issue on trips.

Yep, I’ve got my packing process dialled in and compliant.

 

[Rain City]

Nice rig! Yeah thats what I was thinking, once frozen it doesn’t need to run solid the whole trip.

This is interesting… would also work in my boat a though I doubt the 5.7 carb idling is more efficient than a little Honda.

Exactly!

Yep, I’ve got my packing process dialled in and compliant.

We did this for hunting in PG one year because it was 20⁰ for some god forsaken reason. We froze a bunch of giant blocks of ice in the bottom of the freezer to keep it cold when we didn't have power.