To Cook Or Not Cook In Thy Automobile?

[Spacescifi]

Just curious.... if I am traveling, buy a portable gas stove, and decide to cook inside my car with the windows cracked or down, is that a REALLY bad idea?

 

I am thinking of using either butane or propane can?

I do not want electric as I do not wish to drain my battery.

 

I did a little online research and the consensus I have found so far is that if you enjoy living.... don't. Carbon monoxide is heavier than air and will be far more likely to grow toxic and kill while cooking inside a car.

 

Your thoughts? I do not want to waste money on a portable stove I never use. Since I never go camping, but do travel on occasion in my car and enjoy cooking.

 

 

Your thoughts? And yes, I enjoy living over dying.

 

Edited October 30, 2021 by Spacescifi

[Nuke]

depends on whether or not your car has a sunroof.

or do it the redneck way and cook your food right on the engine. and frankly something like 75% of the energy that goes into your engine is waste heat. use it, its good for the environment.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Nuke

[Spacescifi]

15 minutes ago, Nuke said:

depends on whether or not your car has a sunroof.

or do it the redneck way and cook your food right on the engine. and frankly something like 75% of the energy that goes into your engine is waste heat. use it, its good for the environment.

 

No sunroof... now wishing I bought one.

Would the engine be safe? Engine fumes?

 

Use a closed lid pan or pot I imagine?

 

[Nuke]

52 minutes ago, Spacescifi said:

 

No sunroof... now wishing I bought one.

Would the engine be safe? Engine fumes?

 

Use a closed lid pan or pot I imagine?

 

its an old trucker thing. a frozen burrito wrapped in tinfoil is probibly ok to sit in the engine compartment for a few miles. provided your engine compartment isn't oozing oil or antifreeze.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Nuke

[kerbiloid]

The steppe nomads were putting thin sheets of meat under the saddle.

[Gargamel]

Bad idea.    Not just fumes... but what if you spill your food?   Now you got spaghetti sauce in your upholstery.   The cheaper camp stoves are designed for backpackers, so they're tiny and lightweight.   It doesn't take much at all to tip one over, and cars aren't known for their culinary space. 

I've lived out of my car for multi week trips.   It's a blast.     Best minimalist option you can do is just cook on the ground beside your car.    Raining?  Use a tarp.    It's quite amazing how much room you can get under a properly set up 10x10' tarp that has almost no setup time.   Few bricks and some bungee cord and a couple poles and your good to go.   Cookstove and little camp chair and your have yourself a carside kitchen. 

16 hours ago, Spacescifi said:

Since I never go camping, but do travel on occasion in my car and enjoy cooking.

Well.... the jump from living in your car for a short period to camping isn't that big all .   If you get the tarp for cooking... it's not that much to then put the stove away and layout a pad and sleeping bag under the tarp.      It's then not that much to then throw all of that into a backpack and walk a short hike to a pretty campsite.  

[Spacescifi]

8 minutes ago, Gargamel said:

Bad idea.    Not just fumes... but what if you spill your food?   Now you got spaghetti sauce in your upholstery.   The cheaper camp stoves are designed for backpackers, so they're tiny and lightweight.   It doesn't take much at all to tip one over, and cars aren't known for their culinary space. 

I've lived out of my car for multi week trips.   It's a blast.     Best minimalist option you can do is just cook on the ground beside your car.    Raining?  Use a tarp.    It's quite amazing how much room you can get under a properly set up 10x10' tarp that has almost no setup time.   Few bricks and some bungee cord and a couple poles and your good to go.   Cookstove and little camp chair and your have yourself a carside kitchen. 

Well.... the jump from living in your car for a short period to camping isn't that big all .   If you get the tarp for cooking... it's not that much to then put the stove away and layout a pad and sleeping bag under the tarp.      It's then not that much to then throw all of that into a backpack and walk a short hike to a pretty campsite.  

 

Thank you!

The only problem is, if am in a parking lot, cooking... it would draw the wrong attention. A tarp just makes it happen faster (security guards).

So to cook I suppose I would have to do it at a park, or camp area. Either of which is ok.

[Gargamel]

8 minutes ago, Spacescifi said:

So to cook I suppose I would have to do it at a park, or camp area. Either of which is ok.

Parks, camping areas, rest stops, etc, they all have public bathrooms too, ones that don't make you feel guilty for using them without buying something.   They also usually have picnic tables, some under awnings, available too.   Walmarts are also very inviting to the traveller staying in their parking lots for short periods of time.  

[Spacescifi]

20 minutes ago, Gargamel said:

Parks, camping areas, rest stops, etc, they all have public bathrooms too, ones that don't make you feel guilty for using them without buying something.   They also usually have picnic tables, some under awnings, available too.   Walmarts are also very inviting to the traveller staying in their parking lots for short periods of time.  

 

Yes I have seen some parks in the area witj awnings... I may try that.

[kerbiloid]

33 minutes ago, Gargamel said:

The cheaper camp stoves are designed for backpackers, so they're tiny and lightweight. 

 

A shovel. They call it shovel.

First use it as a woodcutter axe to cut some bushes as firewood.

Then throw it as a throwing axe into a prey, and then as a battle axe to finish and butcher it.

Then use it as a pan to fry the meat (or the eggs), and then as a plate to eat it.

After all, use the shovel as shovel to dig out a toilet pit, hide the wastes there, and bury it back.

Then, feeling fed and comfy, you can also use the same shovel as a drum to make music.

 

If you prefer to have a soup, you need a roll of trash bags and canned food. Say, beans.

Don't forget to always have a roll of trash bags in your necessary even if you don't like soup. 

Use the shovel as shovel and dig a plate-sized pit.
Use a trash bag or two to pave it inside.
It is a lightweight single-use  soup plate.

Open the can. 

Of course, you don't need a can opener, it's an excessive weight and is just not true, it's for weak.
You have the trash bags, use one to open the can by hands.
Put it inside to prevent the sudden food loss, and use your knuckles, or even the same shovel to press its wall from three sides to make it be a triangle.
Then start repeatedly pressing the can and different sides from top and bottom to make it break at any side.

Shake out a half of the can into a trash bag to eat it with what you are going to fry on the shovel.

Add some water to the rest of the can, add part of your prey, and boil a soup inside the can using it as a pot.
As you can see, better try to break the can close to some of its heads, to have the pot enough deep.
Let the boiled soup cool to prevent a trash bag from melting and pour your soup into your in-ground soup plate.

Lay down and eat it with a spoon (without handle, which you have cut off to make it twice lighter and shorter) which you can always carry in a back pocket.
Use another trash bag torn apart as bedding.

Obviously, you can also use this spoon as a fishing lure to fish some fish and cook a fish soup. Or fry the fish on the shovel.
But then you also need a set of hooks and a roll of fishing line, to make a temporary fishing rod out of the cut spoon, the hooks, the line, and a bush branch which you can cut  off with the shovel.
You anyway should have the line and hooks in the necessary to surround your bed if you are going to sleep. Attach the same can with a small stone inside as a guarding bell for sleeping or fishing.

While you soup is cooling, prepare your shovel roast, adding the previously separated part of the canned food and the rest of your prey.

After you have emptied the can into the in-ground plate, boil some water inside and wash it.
Then fill the clean can with water and boil it for tea.

After eating the soup (from the in-ground plate) and the roast (from the shovel), drink your tea (from the food can, adding some tea from your necessary).

Now put the can into fire to burn out everything organic from it, and flatten it.
Make a ball from your used trash bags and throw it into the fire.

Use the shovel to make a toilet pit (or to widen the in-ground plate pit for that), use it, hide there the flattened burnt trash can and non-burnt remains of the bags, and bury the pit with the shovel.
Plant some plant on top. Even if it doesn't survive, will still look funny.
Try to mask it with leaves or so, because THEY can follow your traces.

Wash the shovel and the semi-spoon, put them into inventory.

If you don't have water around, you can use the same trash bags to condense it from air. Attach the same stone at bottom and put some small branches inside.
But it takes time, so use it only if you are crossing the desert same way every day.

Now, after getting enforced with this knowledge, have a nice day.

***

So,
reusables: the shovel and the spoon (without the cut-off handle), also recommended the fishing line and hook(s).
expendables: a roll of trash bags, a food can.

That's what they are trying to hide from you by advertising all those "camp stoves" and other furniture.

P.S.
Of course you can sharpen the spoon handle instead of cutting it off, then you can use it to hunt, say, bears.
But as you already have a shovel, you don't need it. So, cut off.

Obviously you should always keep the edges of the shovel razor-sharp. It's just a question of good manners.

[Vanamonde]

Do you really want open flame and a fuel source flying around the interior of your car in the event of a collision? 

[Spacescifi]

34 minutes ago, Vanamonde said:

Do you really want open flame and a fuel source flying around the interior of your car in the event of a collision? 

 

No. I am concerned about gas leaks too.

 

Since now I am considering cooking at parks. But once I put the stove in my trunk I am concerned about gas leaks.

I would take all necessary precautions and use google knowledge to that end, but still.... I am wondering if the risk involved cancels out the benefits of a meal I cook myself rather than just eating out.

 

On the one hand... I like and more importantly can trust my own cooking, since if I screw up I know why and can correct it.

On the other hand, if I get rear ended in a crash my car might blow up from a few spare butane or propane cans in my trunk.

 

Not a pleasant thought.

To cook or not to cook. That is the question.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Spacescifi

[Superfluous J]

10 minutes ago, Spacescifi said:

On the other hand, if I get rear ended in a crash my car might blow up from a few spare butane or propane cans in my trunk.

Would you have this concern while driving to a campsite? I never have.

[kerbiloid]

A solar panel on top and electricity inside.

[Spacescifi]

22 minutes ago, Superfluous J said:

Would you have this concern while driving to a campsite? I never have.

 

Good point.

Right now I am learning more towards buying a portable gas stove. Only because I really do not trust eating out and I am low on sick time available... in part from food poisoning FROM eating out at restaurants.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Spacescifi

[Nuke]

ive more than once gone fishing caught a couple small (at least by alaskan standards) fish and just built a camp fire by the water side and cooked em on the spot. find a couple natural y branches, stick em in the ground at either side of the fire. grab a strong stick and strip off the bark (brownie points if you know what woods make your food taste better). clean the fish in the usual way (split the belly, remove the organs, take the head and tail off.  a fish cleaned in this way will easily straddle the cleaned stick, simply place it over the fire using the y sticks. use the cook time to clean and stow your fishing gear. 

you can also eat foods that need no cooking. hot dogs and outer saussages are usually safe to eat right out of the package, as is anything canned. i once disgusted my sister by eating corned beef hash right out of the can without heating it. most canned goods can also be heated directly in fire provided you open them first (my sister once burned herself pretty badly by opening a can of beans that was sitting on the wood stove, she didnt understand how heat and pressure are related).  if a can opener is used i usually open the can about 60-75% but leave the lid attached. with pull tops you can kind of leave it half on.  when done you should take it out of the fire and let it settle for a couple minutes before opening the rest of the can. use of a pot holder or tongs is highly recommended. 

i cant imagine it would be too much of an issue to have a propane stove in your trunk. just pull over at a rest stop and cook right out the back of your car.  cooking while on the move is bad. source. 

[Gargamel]

The fuel canisters for the type of stove are quite small.   If you get into an accident that compacts the car enough to actually crush and rupture one..... well the “small” fire hazard this causes would be 4th or 5th on your list of immediate concerns at that moment.   
 

I’ve been camping since before I could walk, spent well over a year of my life in a tent, and spent over a decade in EMS.   I never heard of one of these rupturing.    Not saying it can’t, it’s just a “monsters under the bed” concern. 

[adsii1970]

Do what we did in the U. S. Army -

Place a can along the exhaust manifold of your car, in ten minutes, check the can's temperature. If it's hot, so are the contents. Enjoy. Cooked a lot of Dinty Moore beef stew while on Reforger that way!

Cookbook for engine manifold cooking: https://www.mafca.com/documents/scvc_cookbook.pdf

Article about cooking on the manifold: https://www.motortrend.com/features/1409-cooking-on-your-engine-manifold-destiny/

 

 

[Gargamel]

Honestly, we used to keep pizzas warm in a similar fashion.   The floorboards of the middle of the  cabs of older Ford E350 ambulances would get very hot.   Put down a pizza in its box, lay a jacket over it, and it’d stay warm all day. 

Edited November 1, 2021 by Gargamel
Typo

[Nuke]

5 hours ago, Gargamel said:

The fuel canisters for the type of stove are quite small.   If you get into an accident that compacts the car enough to actually crush and rupture one..... well the “small” fire hazard this causes would be 4th or 5th on your list of immediate concerns at that moment.   
 

I’ve been camping since before I could walk, spent well over a year of my life in a tent, and spent over a decade in EMS.   I never heard of one of these rupturing.    Not saying it can’t, it’s just a “monsters under the bed” concern. 

i use the coleman propane canisters all the time. they are well built and never had one do anything weird. though the regulator that came with my cheep bbq grill tends to freeze up from time to time with a new canister. one time i tried to thaw it out by dumping a glass of hot water on it, and the mass release of liquid propane into the lit grill this caused was rather explosive. the grill contained it.

[Gargamel]

I too have lost eyebrows to a coleman stove. 

[kerbiloid]

I melt a cup with icecream on top of the notebook or the router.

(The desktop is too cool to use it for that,)

[Jeb1969]

You are talking to the wrong person, although the idea of it seems rather like something out of an episode of Mr. Bean. I mean he did tie an armchair to the roof of his Mini and drive it back to his flat while seated in the armchair.  Or even in a different episode dress and brush his teeth in said Mini while commuting to a dental exam that he was running late for because he insisted on oversleeping.  What ever the case consider me in the Hast thou goest mad category. 

[Kerbart]

On 10/31/2021 at 11:37 AM, Gargamel said:

It's quite amazing how much room you can get under a properly set up 10x10' tarp that has almost no setup time. 

I'm guessing, but... up to about 100 square feet?

[Gargamel]

1 hour ago, Kerbart said:

I'm guessing, but... up to about 100 square feet?

Much less actually, some of it will be taken up by fastening it to your vehicle, and if it's raining you'll want to stay away from the edges.