Motorcycle food hamper!
 

OK guys and gals how do you carry your day to day food?
This was one thing that drove us up the wall and want to get it right next time. All we had was a soft roll bag that had everything thrown in it and cargo netted to the pillion seat on one of the bikes. There isn't that many options I know, all loose in a pannier or some kind of plastic box in the pannier or strapped to the back of the bike. I was thinking of trying to make a hamper type thing out of a Pelican box but not sure it would work and that would be an expensive cock up!
I know there's a lot of lateral thinking types out there so hit me with it :thumbup1:

Cheers
Pete

Do people carry food ????? Really ???

Well, I know I don't ! It's so impractical for many reasons which don't really need explaining.

I always just find a shop or eating place in the town I end up in and eat there. If i'm camping, just a few simple provisions tucked here and there in my luggage.

You obviously can't buy a Strawberry gateau or 12 eggs like this but bread, cheese, packed meat etc etc survive a trip to the pitch pretty well.


Having a top box helps a lot. Just pack your food into a smaller carsboard box in your topbox in a way it wont move about.

That's a question I've been trying to answer for over 30 years.
Maybe the collective intelligence here, can come up with something.
I usually just favour an old flour bag, tied off at the top.

also...............

Just for short runs to the shop etc, get a little draw string gym type bag. It folds away to nothing and can worn as a back pack.

Ted, that was the sort of thing I meant. We buy bread,cheese,meat, pickled chili's, jar of anchovies tea/coffee etc etc but doesn't all get eaten that day, it might last a day or 2 and this is the stuff i'm trying to pack. I also want to be able to get at it so when we stop to buy stuff (that we're going to eat later) I'm not then faffin around with roll bags and cargo nets

Cheers
Pete

Had a search and i'm swinging towards a Pelican case (as a top box, 350mmx250mmx100mm) with a few Tuperware type boxes to go inside that. I could add dividers for cutlery/ condiments and all manner of stuff.
I did have a look at plastic cantilever fishing tackle box but too much wasted space/wrong shape/not secure.
Like I said before during the last trip not having a working set up for this did my head in, we cooked our own food at least once a day most days through Europe/Turkey/Iran and the next trip will be mostly camping over an 18 month trip so for the sake of my sanity I've got to find a solution

Well if you've only got roll bags, take a large plastic lunchbox. It's firm enough not to crush your food and soft enough not to do any damage to your bags.

I came here to say this, learned it in primary school :D

"Well if you've only got roll bags". The whole point of the thread was for some ideas about getting away from them!:rolleyes2:
Anyway thanks for the input chaps, why didn't I think of that.

Here's a couple of things I've tried...

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/v...t/DSC00810.jpg

This small coolbox has been great, it's only 9"x7"x7" and fits perfectly inside my topbox. The only problem is it's not waterproof so has to be sitting upright.

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/v...t/DSC00813.jpg

This food thermos is pretty good too and is fully sealled so doesn't have to be upright. It comes with 3 stainless dishes with sealable lids designed to carry hot or cold food around. It works, to a point. I don't like the taste of stuff that's been in it for hours though. It's great at keeping ice creams cold though and I like to use it on day trips. Pick an ice cream up at the petrol station and then ride out into the middle of no-where before stopping to eat it. People passing then spend the next 10 minutes looking for the shop!

The problem with both of these is the space they take up. On my last big trip I just used a plastic click-top container for my food. However, I ended up with food poisoning for 5 days after eating some dodgy salami I had in there for a couple of days. Not a nice thing to experience. I'll be a bit more careful next time. The coolbox does a good job of keeping your stuff cool even in hot temps if it's inside your topbox. That's without freezer blocks. With them it's as good as having an onboard fridge. It's relatively easy to freeze them overnight on a campsite but I don't usually bother with them. Maybe, after my latest experience I'll start using them!

If you're looking for extra room to stow your daily food consider tank panniers. The ones on my Serow are gasmask bags!

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/v...t/IMG_3957.jpg

Or you could splash out on one of these...

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/v...t/IMG_3948.jpg

The Champagne and Fois Gras goes in the fridge which goes in the dry compartment of the sidecar, as does the chicken. The chillies and onions go inside the dutch over which goes in there too. The wood/charcoal/gas for the stove goes in the locker with the stove. The Chateaux Neuf du Pape is best kept in the wet compartment as the tent etc. stops it getting too shook up. I do have tupperware boxes for the cous cous , salt, pepper, tea, green tea, hot chocoate....... :thumbup1: :rofl:

Hope all you solo riders enjoy your pot noodle and cafe a la NATO :innocent:

:euro:

Andy

It would help if you told us your current luggage set up :confused1:

Cheap plastic food containers with sealable lids .Put them inside a flexible plastic beer six pack cooler with a small bag of ice .All of this goes inside the top box and wrapped in a towel or clothing for added insulation .

If one was running a sidecar outfit ,one would probably have a fridge too .:thumbup1:
[and one would have take along a servant to prepare the meals,polish one's boots , maintain the motorcycle,ask directions etc etc . ]:whistling:

Yes, unique ideas, Dod, and worth thinking about for a bit; but are you absolutely sure that a topbox is the right idea for an overlanding bike? Can I suggest that all that weight up high, and to the rear - many would find that so very clumsy, with all the weight in exactly the wrong place. And where would you put your rollbag if your topbox was there? To say nothing of the unusual look, and the rattling, shaking and banging of all the contents. And, I must say, what about this ice supply, which would not be easy to find in Africa or the 'Stans or anywhere, for example. Maybe a cocktail shaker rather than a topbox might be the thing, but I remain to be convinced. Please come back on this one? I'm open to persuasion.

Maybe it's just me, and your idea:smartass: is actually OK. :mchappy:

Denis old boy ,I fear it must be you .:confused1:
Most fishermen and campers keep their beer or food cool this way ,so it's hardly unique.A soft sided beer cooler can fit anywhere not just a top box.
My top box only contains light stuff ,like an extra layer of clothing ,overtrousers ,bog paper/notepaper,extra pair dry gloves ,very handy place to put the helmet when parked,you get the picture .Made out of plastic -[with rounded corners for safety,it's actually not very heavy,quickly detachable and waterproof -not a givi -just a cheap knockoff and cheaply replaced should the need arise .
Unusual look? Come now Denny boy ,you've seen bikes with top boxes before haven't you ?:unsure:


Heavy stuff goes down low in the panniers .

Ice is optional ,depending on availability ,but snow has been used on occasion as has bottle of very cold water or package of frozen food .
Wrapping your food container or beer cooler in clothing as insulation works very well and protects it from vibration.Vibration is not a problem on my Strom .[My bottle of Glenlivet is impervious to vibes anyway .jeiger]

Roll bag?Well my dry bag [large] fits in front of top box if solo , two smaller dry bags fit on top of panniers if two-up .
Very simple.

This is my preferred hamper [ I'll send you the cherries ].
http://www.alittleluxury.com.au/images/big/11245.jpg

Don't forget the gramophone!http://www.musicswapshoppe.com/images/picnic.jpg

I just place stuff in small empty spaces around the bike. Two things which I have found help a lot:

1) Buy tortillas instead of bread. Not damaged by being crushed or folded. Any other "dense" bread works almost as well.

2) Carry a small container just barely big enough to carry a piece of fruit. I use my cup for this purpose as it is just big enough for a large apple, peach, pear, etc. A short-term alternative on the road is a small paper cup from a fast food restaurant. Prevents the worst of the damage.

Everything else can normally be placed anywhere and I don't care much if it gets crushed a bit.

If it wasnt for the black and white, I'd of sworn that was taken at Ripley !!

Ted, our current set up http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6643871_n.jpg
So we have room for a small shallow topbox type affair or something for the pannier lids but both bikes will have 25 ltr boxes next time. (the XCH has 31 ltr at the mo)

Cheers
Pete

ahhh, I misunderstood.. I though you only had roll bags !! Well, if you have room for a small topbox, just put a small coolbox in one like suggested !!

I guess you could also keep empty pelican type cases bolted ontop of your side panniers, only to be filled near your destination with lovely grub & ale !! jeiger

I'm going Pelican case with a fabric cool bag inside (appox 50% of the box size).
I was just hoping that someone out there would have posted " get an xyz, cut it in half, turn it upside down, bolt an abc along side it and you'll have exactly what your looking for. By the way here are a few pics of one I made last night out of carbon fibre for £0.10".

Cheers
Pete
(Three guesses what the next post is :biggrin3:)

Our preferred method is dry foods (pasta, rice, cous-cous,packet soups,etc..) in Tuppaware type square box -as perfect a fit as possible to maximize space usage - right at the bottom of the pannier , then non- squashy foods in another container next followed by all the squashy, soft stuff on top as it's usually what we snack on in between main mealtimes. I've lined our panniers (alloy) with camping mat type foam to give a bit if insulation from the direct heat but it still gets hot in there of course (try opening the cheese box after a long day....PHEW!), so we only buy enough fresh stuff that we can eat within a couple of days.

You may find that dried foods, stored in plastic bags are the most space-efficient way of packing.

Boxes are actually the least efficient, because as they empty, there is a lot of space left unused. Halfway through the capacity of your Tupperware boxes, 50% of your space is wasted.

Plastic bags take the shape of wherever you store them, so are very efficient, the best possible. And they weigh less, and are free along the trip.

:scooter:

Cam,
I agree about the boxes but if I pack and use boxes the space stays the same, if I pack with bags I'm never really sure how much space I have!
Not sure that sentence makes sense?
It's a bit like having your waterproofs in the pannier, then it rains so waterproofs are now worn, loads of space in the panniers but you can't use it because the waterproofs have to go back in when the sun comes out.

We'll I know what I mean :eek3: beer

Pete

Hi P

If you have a rigid box, full of say pasta, and you use half the pasta over a day or two, then you have a half empty box to lug around. When it's empty, it still takes up the space it did when full.

If you use a plastic bag, it never has wasted space because it forms round whatever remains. So it's 100% efficient, where box only works efficiently when full.

I think you knew that...:biggrin:

:scooter:

Cam,
That's what I was getting at my friend, OK now you have all this space (because you food "bags" are empty) for 24 hours until you stop tomorrow morning to stock up on the few days food, what use is all that free space? It's just free space for a short period of time.
We had a similar problem with dirty laundry, I carried it in my panniers, so some days I could hardly close the lid, other days I had 10 litres of spare space. Solution : I carried my dirty laundry and my wife carried hers. Nothing changed in the panniers.

Cheers
Pete

With the price of Barbours being so high, who can afford a spare?:scared:
I haven't had a PM for yonks ,are you sure it's not your imaginary friend telling you these things?:wacko:

Enjoy the cherries!:thumbup:

OK!:thumbup:

If you use boxes that stack inside each other when not in use, you'll have more room for your mucky washing when it's not raining.

Cheers guys.
Getting back on track I'm not worried about space (well sort of), just a functional mobile larder. beerjeiger:scooter:

doesnt anyone use tins anymore?
 

everything comes in tins, including bread.
you dont need to keep them cool, they dont spill, they come in their own saucepans, they come in correct portions, the food inside is nearly always safe to eat
they are heavy, but you just buy a days food everyday

Quite a funny thread. I am the only one who carries pot noodles?

:eek3:

rab,
No your not but do you want to eat pot noodle every day for 12+ months?
That's OK for a every other day meal on a 6 week trip but dried/rehydrated stuff for a year or more!!!!

I'm off to restart a "motorcycle food hamper" thread :D:mchappy:

only students can survive on potnoodles, but they arent actually human. the rest of us would die of salt poisoning.
it does raise the point of dried food though, does rice and pasta count? a handful of pasta tubes with a powdered soup mix makes a tasty dinner. (hang on, thats a pot noodle..aaagh! but you can get some decent soups)
but, i have found that since dry rice and pasta takes a lot of cooking it dont half use up the propane, so back to the tinned for me

:thumbup1::thumbup1:

nope..
and breaks em down to fit in them zipper bags ..cheap as chips,

If you're not carrying a pillion, then a seat bag (tail pack) works well - especially if it's expandable. Sling a cargo net over it and anything inside is held in place, so very little gets shaken or mashed.

You could try a wine rack divider thingy from a cardboard carrier - get them in Sainsbugs - to keep tins / bottles upright and separated.

Last off the wall idea is to get an inflatable pillow or the like, to blow up and place on top of / around things in the top box to keep them from moving. Inflate just enough so it's all held firm when the lid closes.

Get a petrol stove so you don't worry about burning through the butane and use that dried food with wild abandon!

mm I think taking the toaster its a bit much!
any fool can be uncomfey Hehe

no serious as Ted says keep food buy en-route already cooked yes chance of trotts but it will clear a few days, I take T Coffee (lidal do them in sachets already with milk & sugar or just sugar.

If like ted camping or can see i am goingto be coving a distance with out any shops I take things that can be cooked on my stove (coleman) & not use too much water,
I know some use Army Rations, but not for me tins of beans, that type of thing is ideal.
any frut purchased i get some under ripe others ready to eat just have them in my panner wrapped up in jumper!
hay apple a day and all that

As far as flexible soft foods are concerned, I often take an extra large helmet. Filling the space around my head with the sqwuishy food, and icebags from the fridge I can of course keep the food and my head cool at the same time.
Works particularly well with soft garlicky cheese, full face lids giving more capacity and in transit security.
Handling is improved since the weight is off the bike, and my concentration is improved with the inbuilt cooling from the cheese. If you have a really long tongue you don't even have to stop to have a nibble. Cheesesticks can also be strapped to the bars for variety of accompaniment.

I'm amazed more people don't make more use of their helmet space! :eek3:


Gives a whole new meaning to helmet hair :)

and if you have a crash and lumps of cheese, guacamole and salsa oozes out from under you lid you will have a laugh at the expressions on the helpers faces!