Thinking about emergency food in my Willys jeep

[Mark W.]

Ok I have talked about my 48 Willys CJ-2A before its been built with the idea of LONG trips some of them into the much less traveled parts of the PNW. I am currently finishing up the Structured Insulated Aluminum hard top I am building for it. In the ceiling of the hard top I built in two storage trays. The trays are 2.5" deep 11.5" wide and 21.5" long Into these two trays I want to pack a mini stove with a couple fuel cans (I already have this) A small cooking kit: Sauce pan, Tea pot, 2) Bowls, forks, spoons, a small kitchen knife, Plates and cups Think backpacking kitchen. This should not take up more then half of one of the Trays (I already have the Kitchen for the most part) So I have roughly 920cu in to fill with food. Water will be handled separately in a bulk container.

Because of their BULK I am shying away from traditional survival outfit foods.Plus I want to stay away from foods that are high in starch and sugar (health reasons)

Thinking 2 people 3 days

Shelf life won't need to be more then say 6 months as I don't mind rotating into the home pantry.

I'm thinking of making up a cardboard box the same size as the trays and throwing it in a shopping cart and wandering around Safeway (wife has worked for Albertsons Safeway for 38 years) and seeing how much chow I can pack into the trays.

Should be an interesting exercise

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[Certaindeaf]

Ok I have talked about my 48 Willys CJ-2A before its been built with the idea of LONG trips some of them into the much less traveled parts of the PNW. I am currently finishing up the Structured Insulated Aluminum hard top I am building for it. In the ceiling of the hard top I built in two storage trays. The trays are 2.5" deep 11.5" wide and 21.5" long Into these two trays I want to pack a mini stove with a couple fuel cans (I already have this) A small cooking kit: Sauce pan, Tea pot, 2) Bowls, forks, spoons, a small kitchen knife, Plates and cups Think backpacking kitchen. This should not take up more then half of one of the Trays (I already have the Kitchen for the most part) So I have roughly 920cu in to fill with food. Water will be handled separately in a bulk container.

Because of their BULK I am shying away from traditional survival outfit foods.Plus I want to stay away from foods that are high in starch and sugar (health reasons)

Thinking 2 people 3 days

Shelf life won't need to be more then say 6 months as I don't mind rotating into the home pantry.

I'm thinking of making up a cardboard box the same size as the trays and throwing it in a shopping cart and wandering around Safeway (wife has worked for Albertsons Safeway for 38 years) and seeing how much chow I can pack into the trays.

Should be an interesting exercise

No need to get all fancy, a couple boxes of cliff bars or the like should do.. they're not susceptible to freeze damage which is a plus.
If some small jars of peanut butter will fit, do that.

 

[Mark W.]

Oh but there are canned corned beef and ham and soups and Tuna and Mac and Cheese and Cup o Noodles and protein bars and Oatmeal and crackers and Jerky all manner of yummy stuff

 

[Certaindeaf]

Oh but there are canned corned beef and ham and soups and Tuna and Mac and Cheese and Cup o Noodles and protein bars and Oatmeal and crackers and Jerky all manner of yummy stuff

True. Back in my Montana days though I learned that canned goods aren't good to leave in your car in the winter.

 

[DirectDrive]

There are quite a few ideas for overland chuck boxes on the web.
Here's one that slides out of a Jeep :

 

[gearhead]

If you've already packed a stove in there and you'll have water on hand I'd recommend some freeze dried stuff. I keep it in the car on trips because it doesn't take up much space. There are some sea rations tucked away as well. They taste like death, but they'll provide calories. Certaindeaf's recommendation of cliff bars is definitely preferable to sea rations.

 

[dangerranger60]

I used to hunt with a guy that carried canned sardines, potted meat, and a couple Coors beers. his idea was that they would last a long time and he would have to be pretty hungry or thirsty to open one of those cans! DR

 

[DirectDrive]

If you've already packed a stove in there and you'll have water on hand I'd recommend some freeze dried stuff. I keep it in the car on trips because it doesn't take up much space. There are some sea rations tucked away as well. They taste like death, but they'll provide calories. Certaindeaf's recommendation of cliff bars is definitely preferable to sea rations.

Yep, I live on Mountain House when I'm out in the wild.

 

[gearhead]

I used to hunt with a guy that carried canned sardines, potted meat, and a couple Coors beers. his idea was that they would last a long time and he would have to be pretty hungry or thirsty to open one of those cans! DR

Solid choice. Coors is one of the best tasting beers when warm IMHO.

 

[Cavedweller]

Regarding shelf life considerations, If these storage compartments are in the roof of the vehicle, as it sounds like they are, they could get pretty hot if the vehicle is parked in the sun. If this is the case, I would not routinely keep any food stored in them. Rather, I would keep only the hardware (stove, utensils, etc.) in there, and have whatever food is chosen kept ready to go but stored elsewhere, and only loaded before a trip. If the vehicle is garage kept, that might not be such an issue.

That said, sounds like these compartments would be perfect for some MREs. Sounds like cans of Spam would fit well also.

If we are talking emergency food only, I'm not sure health considerations trump caloric content, unless you are diabetic or something like that. The ultimate health consideration is starvation prevention. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[bcp]

SPAM!

From:
https://valleyfoodstorage.com/blogs/inside-vfs/how-long-does-spam-last-shelf-life

"When stored with the proper conditions, Spam will last an indefinite amount of time. That's why cans of Spam don't have an expiration date. Instead, they have a "best-by" date. "

Bruce

 

[Alexx1401]

The stuff sold as Mountain House, is to me shockingly good for freeze dried food. Heard it mentioned here a good while back so I bought some to try. Damn stuff was actually good. Very light and easy to carry, simple to fix and tastes far better than I expected.

 

[Mark W.]

Regarding shelf life considerations, If these storage compartments are in the roof of the vehicle, as it sounds like they are, they could get pretty hot if the vehicle is parked in the sun. If this is the case, I would not routinely keep any food stored in them. Rather, I would keep only the hardware (stove, utensils, etc.) in there, and have whatever food is chosen kept ready to go but stored elsewhere, and only loaded before a trip. If the vehicle is garage kept, that might not be such an issue.

That said, sounds like these compartments would be perfect for some MREs. Sounds like cans of Spam would fit well also.

If we are talking emergency food only, I'm not sure health considerations trump caloric content, unless you are diabetic or something like that. The ultimate health consideration is starvation prevention. Just my 2 cents worth.

Yes I have type II so while I will have a small amount of the daily pills I take a couple of the medicines I take does not travel well at all. So things with a high sugar or starch content would best be avoided. And as I have learned over the last 25 years with this theres all manner of food that suits my dietary needs.

 

[Mark W.]

The wife is off to visit a friend today so the Sunday shopping falls on me today so I'll wander around the store and see what suits my fancy.

Oh on a side note we have a last ditch pantry box that has canned ham sardines and some other long term food not a lot about half a weeks worth. I was looking at it the other day and there is not a date less then 10 years old on any of it. Might be time to trade up LOL.

 

[Certaindeaf]

The wife is off to visit a friend today so the Sunday shopping falls on me today so I'll wander around the store and see what suits my fancy.

Oh on a side note we have a last ditch pantry box that has canned ham sardines and some other long term food not a lot about half a weeks worth. I was looking at it the other day and there is not a date less then 10 years old on any of it. Might be time to trade up LOL.

If you go to bimart Winchester 00 buck is $2.99/5 right now.

 

[monkeybutler]

Did anyone else notice how the thread title is truncated in the list of threads? On my iPad it reads

"Thinking about emergency food in my Willy…"

Or perhaps I am just the only one immature enough to mention it.

But cool idea. The only downside is rotating it, meaning you eat that stuff when you don't absolutely have to. Perhaps you don't mind as much as I would.

 

[P7M13]

I have an ancient stove top pressure cooker that I keep for car camping. I make a mix of grains - brown, red, wild rice & quinoa. done in 6 minutes once the valve floats.
High protien w/o the glycemic response. I also bring dried gatbanzo, black & mung beans. Done in 20 min from valve float. S
pices from dollar tree and hot sauce packets to bring sparkle to all the above.
Ghee for butter. Hard parmesan or Romano are cheeses that you can bring in warm weather.
I wouldn't store these in a car tho'.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Sounds more like ur talking camping food than emergency food (title says emergency food)? If it's true emergency food get something you don't like to eat. Amazing how long things last when when you really don't want to eat it.

 

[tinhorn]

I've also used my rigs as survival pods. My concerns included, What if there's no option to sit and cook? Not talking Jellystone here. I found individually packaged "snacks", paying attention to protein and vitamin D content. Not ideal, but it'll keep my belly walls from chafing for a few days. Jerky, nuts, and drinks are available in bulk at Walmart (online).

Items I would add are 1) individually packaged hand wipes, 2) a couple of those itty-bitty forks they sell at Michaels (who really wants to eat sardines with their fingers?), and 3) some vitamins, fish oil capsules, and baby aspirin in a tiny Ziplok bag.