Special needs and camping

http://www.instructables.com/id/Gas-Powered-Blender/

or take a reg blender and cut it apart (like they did in the link) and use a cordless drill to power it, charge the bat off your truck via 12v invertor

 

This one takes up less space. Basically a weed whacker motor attached to a blender:
https://www.americantailgater.com/product-p/9910901.htm

 

Since you like to camp, and in off populated places, I would stay away from ANYTHING in regard to the truck electrical power, even more when you have a kid with medical needs. What if you burn some fuses/cables and you got stuck in the wild with no help and a kid in need of medical attention?
Just buy a Honda generator and use it for blender and all power needs like radio, TV, charging phones, lights, etc. You have a truck and it has a bed right?
Also using the 110v from the truck outlet you will either:
- drain the truck battery with truck turned off
- keep the truck running and waste gas.
I use the outlet to recharge my drone batteries and in 1 hour it takes, the truck is running...and hate this.

 

I know you're getting a lot of great feedback on the forum and no doubt with a little bit of creativity you can make it work. If I were in your shoes I'd probably do the small generator solution. Assume you need a powerful blender to get things properly pureed for your child's needs vs. a blender that will sufficiently slush up a daiquiri and powering one of those off your truck would be hard IMHO.

all that aside, I have incredible respect for you - or any parent who raises a special needs child AND does the work to ensure the family enjoys an incredible quality of life in spite of your situation. hats off to you for doing what it takes to get your family out into nature and off-the-grid no matter how much work it takes to get there! Cheers

 

A portable generator is a lot cheaper than an ambulance or heli ride. Also you can use it home when/if you lose power and need to get the blender going.

 

Ive seen one of these in action and they are legit!

 

Why not buy a ARB Fridge to put in the truck? That would keep the food fresh for DAAAAAAAAYS. blend before you leave home, and boom youve got fresh food for that beautiful child of yours

 

Wow. So many awesome responses. Thank you all! I just got an email back from vitamix. They say I’ll need 2700watts. So I am thinking the inverter is a no go for sure.

Love the gas powered blender! I had no idea that was a thing. I could make one hellofa margarita for the wife while I am at it.

I may also have to play around with the drill powered blender over the next week or so and see if that had enough power.

Question for those with refrigerators. How much power do those draw. Do you have to run the truck every day too keep from draining the battery?

Love this community. Thanks again for all the ideas!!!

 

you dont have to run the truck every day for the fridge, but it would help keep your battery life. Buy you a deep cycle battery to run it. If you are looking for just a food storage option for the kiddo, you wont need one of the big ones, just one of the smaller ones would be easily powered by a deep cycle battery for a really long time.

 

Honda generator if you can afford it. Bombproof.

 

Almost hate to ask. OP how do you feed your child at home during a days long power failure? Is there a way to hand blend?

 

That’s a great question for sure. I keep a stash in the freezer that I can thaw on the wood stove if needed. I have also walked over to the neighbors with my blender and a bottle of wine to use their generator.
I could see doing a mix of frozen food and a fridge for longer trips.

 

That’s a good option for sure.

 

Do you tie the deep cycle battery into the truck or just charge it up when you return?

 

If you have the funds I would tie it in, if not buy you a couple, make sure they are charged up and you would be good to go. In the event your batteries do die, you have the capability to hook it up to the truck, but also that food will stay pretty frozen inside that ARB fridge for a pretty decent time, especially if you have a cooler of other things on ICE you could supplement with. I suggest keeping some Freezer Bricks in the ARB in the event of battery failure. But if you carry 2 batteries you will have A)one to run on B)one for back up and the truck can serve as a back up for the back up.

 

You have to take in consideration the lock rotor amps,it’ll be like 1500 wats at Star up. So a small portable generator will be the way to go.

 

Wow, didn't think about the many ways to blend.

OP, if you go battery route see what you can set up for solar to help keep things charged.

Also, years back, I bout this thing you plugged into the cig lighter and I was able to plug my laptop into it and use. Not sure if it could run a blender or not.

 

I have a special needs daughter and camping is one of the things we like to do with her. I’ve spent a lot of time making a small off grid camper battery system work. Running high watt appliances on battery power, and the batts and everything around that is an adventure and there’s a bit to it. Go with the Honda generator if you can make that work maybe as a first step. High watts off your standard car battery, not recommended without dual batteries and upgraded wiring, depending on the length of the wiring.

 

not sure if a traditional blender would puree well enough for g-tube application. I imagine sticking with a "nutrininja" or "vitamix" type thing is ideal for OP. Those G-tubes clog easy.