Suggestions on how to drive 30 hours with meat cost effectively

[BradySC05]

We are taking a trip to the north country this fall and instead of bringing the diesel truck and trailer like we have in the past (cost of fuel being so high), we plan on taking my f150. Any suggestions on how to transport the possible 2 moose back home 30 hours with limited space and cost effectively?

 

[Salmon River Solutions]

Dry ice, a ton of moving blankets, and tarps. If you want more, bubble wrap, it creates a cool air gap.

Home made temporary deep freeze.

We've done this with about 600 lbs of vacuum sealed frozen fish before. 14 hr drive but literally everything was still fully frozen solid.

Ken

 

[Invisiblecreek]

Backpack generator and a chest freezer in the truck bed


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[Colorado Cowboy]

I built a box out of old plywood and bought some !" foam insulation sheets and covered it with an old sleeping bag or (s). to fit in the bed of my pickup when I used to bring fish home from Baja. Add some dry ice and should work fine. If you get a chance to bone the meat as takes less space boned.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Freezer & generator. I do this now.

 

[wapitibob]

I’ve done it a bunch with Elk, a cpl coolers with ice works fine. The temps will stabilize after a day or so provided you hung it at night to cool it off, and the ice will stop melting. I then keep it in those coolers for a cpl more days till I cut it up.
Moose might fill that f150 up pretty quick.

 

[coyotekilla]

De-bone if possible. Freezer & generator would work. The Amish build ice houses with sawdust and ice, but space effective is box lined with blueboard insulation, some dry ice and a thermometer you can read from the cab.

 

[wowzers]

Backpack generator and a chest freezer in the truck bed


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Lot of pickups have a 110v plug in the bed now.

 

[BishBeCool]

good coolers that will fit meat/ice. block ice is great I believe they are 10 pounders at gas stations if you can find them. line the bottom of the coolers with the blocks, place meat on top. if you have sleeping bags (the light backpacking type synthetics or down work great), place sleeping bags in garbage bags and stuff on top between meat in lid. open drain plug and prop up the opposite end to allow for draining. don't open the coolers again. like one of the above posts stated, de boning will help with space management.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Lot of pickups have a 110v plug in the bed now.

Or just use an inverter and run the corn out the window. Big tall deep freeze holds a lot of meat but I'm not sure about two moose. Maybe rent a u haul trailer if you get two?

 

[Jack321]

Its amazing what coolers can do, even regular Igloo coolers. You don't need Yeti's or K2s or Grizzly's. (Dont get me wrong, they're NICE, to have, I have a 120qt K2 and love it.)

But my hunting group has several 150qt Igloo coolers from Costco and we've used them from New Brunswick spring Bear to Montana and WY elk, deer and pronghorn.

Never an issue.

The New Brunswick Spring Bear we drove 17 hrs through 3 time zones to get to NW Ohio for our first leg home. When we got to Ohio it was 95°F with a heat index of 112° at the hotel, and them Igloo coolers worked like a charm.

If your traveling 30 hours there will be hotels and gas stations involved.

We like to load up on hotel ice (its free!) each morning. We get some strange looks, but never had anyone say "no". If that fails, gas station ice is perfectly fine too.

Several fellas I know prefreeze half-gallon milk jugs and 2 liter pop jugs and load em in their coolers before they leave for the hunt.

I dont do this cuz on a 5- 7 day hunt, they do eventually melt some, that and my wife thinks I'm crazy for storing 20-30 jugs in the offseason! That and those jugs don't "move" like chunks of ice. I can rearrange bags, or shift ice into cracks and holes between the meat. So I just get ice at the hotels/gas stations as needed.

I do check them every morning and resupply Ice as needed.

Never an issue.

 

[repins05]

Cooler and dry ice if possible. Pre chill the cooler if possible before loading it and the ice that you put in will last significantly longer. If you are purchasing a cooler get white or a light color to slow heat absorption. I use a cargo hitch carrier and have a cooler that takes up the entire platform. Lot of meat with a moose and agree with above post that you are going to want to bone it out.

Our camp also use box freezers in camp and in the back of truck etc. Works well. I go with a yeti because I will use it later on at home etc. There are better options than the yeti though for interior room and ice retention.

 

[Jethro]

All the ideas mentioned work fine for transporting meat. That’s not difficult. Whatever means you choose, can you fit that in your truck and all other gear? If answer is no, then need to adjust your transportation.

Hitch hauler maybe? Moose quarters, deboned, processed? That makes a difference

 

[insanelupus]

Big coolers, dry ice, hammer down.

 

[noKnees]

I bring my newfound moose back to CT, butchered and vacuum wrapped. Its cold when I pick up from the butcher and I load it into a precooled coolers with some ice. Stays perfectly cold. I might look for dry ice if it was two or three days but for one day ice is fine.

I know the OP said F150.. but a word of warning for SUV folks. Dry ice inside an SUV and a 30 hr drive is a good way to get your self dead. The CO2 from the dry ice will make you sleepy and no amount of caffeine will help.