The problem with these 12v coolers is that they are peltier semiconducter cooled… they’re not like a real fridge with a compressor… they’re like the insulin cooler I made here on FUD… which is just a slow way to keep things cool… I don’t think they’d really work that well for long drives, basically they will keep things cold that are already cold if they’re running continuously but not much more
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It seems like in a car you could just keep them plugged in to keep things cool? In my case I can’t drive. I’m always travelling by plane. So sometimes that travel is 10-12 hours at a time (between being in my office or meeting, travel to airport and waiting around, actual plane ride, travel to the hotel). So my issue right now is if I ever had a multi-leg trip, which almost happened due to hotel issues on a recent trip, I’d get to one location, my coolers and ice packs would be melted, and I’d have no way to keep things cold for any subsequent day(s) of travel (save from putting a bunch of wet ice in my luggage that would then melt everywhere). So I’d think for that purpose, this might be useful.
Food is by far the most annoying part of travel. Everything would be so much easier if eating out were a viable option.
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Most know this, but just in case, remember that anyone with any medical condition can bring on an EXTRA carry on and not have it count as one of your pieces of carry on luggage. You just have to let them know.
Also works with places like 6 flags too btw. They have a special sticker you ask for and it can go everywhere you go or the ride operator can hold it for you. Must have the sticker though.
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Not sure if it helps, but when I drove for a living we had vehicle mounted & portable refrigerators. I always used the portable version of the brand Truck Fridge since I didn’t have a dedicated tractor at the time. I’m sure there are other brands out there that are cheaper and more expensive - I have only used this one brand. Works just like the 'fridge at home and worked with both 12vdc and 110v.
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Just for the record, canning meat takes very high temperatures attainable only in a pressure canner. Meat that is boiling water bath canned is not safe to eat.
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_05/strips_cubes_chunks.html
A friend of mine bought one of those electric coolers for an extended road trip and found it to be a piece of crap. It didn’t keep anything cold enough to prevent spoilage. His solution was to purchase food more regularly along the way.
As awful as this suggestion is, do you think you could find some prepared foods that are celiac friendly which you could eat? Basically, cutting some healthy food corners?
@elver your fridge suggestion appeals. I did some research a while back about portable fridges that could be plugged into the car, or that would maintain temp and they seemed viable. And the ice plus salt seemed brilliant. I’m fascinated. And in the mood to make some ice cream. 
And @bpollina that is a good point about carry on baggage allowance! The TSA liquids rule still applies, but they are very flexible about things that are frozen solid.
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I’ve done this successfully while travelling. My understanding is that the extra bag must ONLY contain medical supplies, so you can’t mix medical supplies with, say, your laptop and count it as free carry-on. And I’m not entirely food counts as medical supplies. When I travel, I pack only the food needed for my travel time (plus an extra meal or two) with no liquids in my carry-on. I put any liquid foods and anything that needs to be kept cool or that I don’t need for my actual travel in my checked luggage. I’ve never had a problem with this (except the one time I forgot that I had an entire tub of SunButter in my backpack). But I’ve heard from other people with severe allergies who pack all their food as carry-on that they often end up having to fight to count their food as medically necessary. Fighting with airport security is just not something I ever feel like doing when I travel, so I’ve just avoided that so far.
Good to know! I felt I knew nothing about canning, and it’s the truth!
My strategy when I need to pack some food and bring others (such as when travelling to the US) is to pack things like bread, dairy-free butter, dairy-free yogurt, and other things that are difficult to find in local stores in unfamiliar cities with no car, and buy fresh produce at local stores. I suppose you could also buy fresh meat if you had a way of cooking it. I’ve never tried that, and I have tried buying pre-cooked meat, but all of it has allergens in it or mystery ingredients. So after a couple trips where I practically starved, I now bring or buy canned meat, if I can (though in the US, even finding canned meat I can eat seems difficult).
Some have suggested to me that in future when I travel to the US I order Whole Foods delivery to whatever hotel I’m staying at. I’ve never tried this, and am not sure it would work on a business trip or conference with a tight schedule, but it might also be an option for getting food along the way. I’m going to Seattle later this year so will probably give it a try then.
Back to the food preservation, I’ve found myself wondering if you could dehydrate coconut yogurt into a powder and then just add water to eat it. I’m not sure if that would work or be edible. But that sort of thing is really appealing to me rather than bringing one or two big tubs of yogurt that need to be kept cool.
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Weirdly, I just found out my next business trip is likely to be a carpool road trip with colleagues. Good news is that I won’t have to worry about going through any airport security. And it’s only a four and a half hour drive, so it hopefully shouldn’t be an issue. (A week later I’m flying and it’s a four and a half hour flight.)
But I really do find travel so ultra exhausting thinking about the food aspect every time it comes up. Especially now since my allergies have been so bad and I’ve been reacting to unknowns. (I do see an allergist before leaving, and she will be doing some testing, but I don’t know to what and so I’m not sure it’ll tell me much that I don’t already know.)
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Sorry @Jen, nothing like adding more stress points to an already stressful trip
Oh, luckily I like travel. So that’s no problem. (I wouldn’t be doing it as part of my job if I hated it.)
But it’s just the logistics of trying to pack medication, medical supplies, and food into reasonably sized luggage that’s actually carry-able that stresses me out.
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So in my continual attempts to make travelling with my own food easier, I’ve been looking for a way to cool food without a freezer or power for a while now. I just came across this product called Techni Ice that looks like it may be exactly what I need! Supposedly stays cold for 8+ hours, which in a cooler I think would be good. I have no idea whether it would be okay for air travel, but I may buy some and test it out.
I also came across this product called Lava Lunch which is a dual-compartment lunchbox that keeps food hot and cold. No power needed like the Hot Logic Mini that I have…just a microwave to heat up the lave things. I wonder if it would work with those instant hand warmer pack things, therefore no microwave needed (but not sure how hot that would really get food…this sounds like it’s more to keep food warm rather than heat or cook it).