cooking roadfood ON your IDI

[pybyr]

Hello all--

I've used several past vehicles to cook road food as I travel-- with a Honda Element I used to put hot dogs and rolls in the oven-roasting bags and use baling wire to hold them against the exhaust manifold heat shield (steamed the rolls and dogs together really well), and in other vehicles I have sometimes been able to perch a soupcan in a warm spot on the engine.

It's great to arrive at a destination and have piping hot food waiting, and for way cheaper than going to a restaurant.

Have any of you done this with your IDI? I am thinking that the spot right behind the IP might be a good nook as long as I am careful that the food doesn't get into the throttle cable.

Ideas welcomed

 

[funnyman06]

I have not used my truck personally for cooking food, but my friend had a jeep and we would heat up some beans on it while off roading. Mmmm. Im thinking you could put them inbetween the IP and the intake and that would heat up pretty good.

 

[towcat]

anywhere in the engine compartment is good enough when you're driving for a 8-10 hour stretch.
I've gotten soft in my old age though, I look forward to a nice meal at a decent sit-down restaurant(think 30oz. bone-in prime rib)

 

[hesutton]

I've never tried to cook food on the motor, but this guy was really wanting to eat some tastey engine-cooked dear meat:

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Heath

 

[towcat]

I rebuilt the front end of a Nissan Murano a couple of years ago where it did a deer strike. The gut sac somehow got ripped open and the smell a few days later was positively nauseating. I had the engine compartment steam cleaned after the teardown and the smell still didn't go away completely.

 

[david85]

Are you guys kidding or are you actually doing this? Seriously I've never heard of this before.

I wouldn't do this with my truck because there are traces crank case vapor that get out past the crusty vally pan grommit. Although if its in a bag that could be ok. The honda element is a transverse mounted drivetrain, right? If its anything like other transverse mounted setups I've seen, the exhaust manifold is front and center so it would make an ideal. The IDI doesn't have much clearance around the exhaust manifolds (or anywhere else for that matter).

 

[SparkandFire]

when i worked at tower sites we did this all the time. Your not driving 2 hours back down the side of a mountain to go heat up lunch, if you wanted warm food you cooked it on the manifolds! guys would actually fight over space on the manifolds.

I could heat up a frozen burrito nice and hot by leaving it wrapped up in foil on the exhaust manifold heat shield (I drove a '92 F350 4x4 460) and leave it there until lunch...

Beats cold sandwiches everyday!

 

[Agnem]

Pretty common for locomotive crews to do this. I've never done it, but have considered it. I always found it easier just to haul a little grill around. I used to work with a guy... John Simkis I think his name was. Back in 78' he had a foil lined box that he would put a drop light in when he came in to work at the Exxon I was at. By lunch, whatever was in there was toasty warm.

 

[FordGuy100]

When I drove tractor I use to heat up ribs, hot dogs, basiacally any sort of leftover meat. I wrapped it in foil and set it on the exhaust manifold. Flip every 15 minutes. John Deere 4040. Exhaust manifold was flat on tip which was nice. But I had to atop when I started combining to much hassle to climb up top all those times

 

[Brimmstone]

My Bronco would heat up whatever I set into a little box mounted on the drivers frame rail real quick while driving. Those headers on the 429 get real hot real fast. I'm pretty sure after a 20 minute drive I could fry an egg on the hood of my dually it gets so hot.

 

[trackspeeder]

I never used any of my trucks for cooking. I have used a locomotive and the trackspeeder for warming up leftovers.

 

[DeepRoots]

when I forget to thaw something for the boys at work I go and tuck some frozen brick of meat on top of one of the caterpillars.
bout an hour and it's pretty toasty, throw a lil seasoning salt on it and come back in an hour. After that I just kinda throw it in the oven so the boys dont get weird about me cooking.

course I often joke about my specialty meals like "Bilge soup" "Humphrey Souffle" and "Cream of Athletic Equipment" (those nautically inclined ones out there, "The Humphrey" is a marine sanitation device)
I also tell them I keep ducks in the bilge (I mean where do you think the eggs come from?)

 

[international]

I had a box that was made to cook in for off-roading vehicles on one of my trucks. It mounted on the manifold. Search some wheelin' websites and I bet you'll come across one. It would heat anything up or make a nice roast! I should have taken it off the truck...

 

[david85]

Nobody has pictures?

 

[trackspeeder]

Nobody has pictures?

Pictures?? I never thought about pictures of the engine gourmet cooking.

I think it would scare most people away.