My sons and I are going camping in a couple of weeks. It's an annual "guys trip", we've been going for several years. The area where we go is dryer than dry, and the managers don't allow open fire of any kind. Electricity is not available to the campers either. I'm tired of getting up and having to drive 5 miles to the closest convenience store for my morning cup. I've mulled several ideas but don't really have confidence in any of them.

1. I've considered brewing a couple of pots the day before we leave, pouring it in freezer bags and storing it in the ice chest (not a Yeti), and then using MRE heaters to heat it up before drinking. It's been forever since I've had occasion to eat an MRE, and I don't remember how hot the heaters get. Also not sure where to find them.
2. I tried a little travel coffee maker that plugs into the cigarette lighter in the van. It took forever, longer than the trip to the store, and made a terrible cup of coffee.
3. I've considered taking a 12 volt car battery, hooking up an inverter and just using a regular coffe pot. This might have the added benefit of allowing us to keep our cell phones charged over the long weekend, assuming the battery has enough juice to last that long (I would think so, but I'm no EE).
4. I could just plug the inverter into the van and let it run, which would work fine, but doesn't solve the phone charging problem.

Any ideas?

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Does this guy deliver?

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We're going to Midland. It might not be too far for him.

Build It, no stoves allowed. I've thought about cheating, just long enough to boil water, but the coffee aroma would be a dead giveaway if "the man" drove by on a Gator.

If you NEED coffee that bad and don't mind a little hush hush type of work get a sturdy board that you can use as a base for this

http://smile.amazon.com/TOAKS-Ultralight-Titanium-Cook-System/dp/B00CGTWYIY/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&qid=1437780427&sr=8-32&keywords=toaks

Then get some solid fuel tablets and use it in floorboard of your vehicle so it's out of sight. I know that sounds incredibly stupid and counter intuitive but if you keep an eye on it the whole time it's not a big deal I promise. I've done it before in a really bad storm. Just keep a window open for the fumes.

And if that is too much I don't see why you couldn't use an electric water kettle and get a converter for your 12 amp. You should be able to find them in any truck stop. Electric water kettle with a french press and you should be good.

Make a batch of this to take with you. It's a nice break when it's hot as **** outside. http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cold-brew-iced-coffee-concentrate

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Cooking is part of the fun of camping. Small camp stove in bed of pickup. Can turn it off in a hurry, push it in, and close tail gate?

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I couldn't agree more. I'm leaning towards your solution, unless some good alternatives appear here.

Eliminatus, I'm sure your solution was a good one, but I wasn't able to make it past

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If you NEED coffee that bad...

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;-)

And yes, Milwaukee, it'll be plenty hot there during the day. At night and early morning though, it's actually cool. We got into the high 60's a couple of nights last year, and the mornings are cool and beautiful.

Then the sun comes up.

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I suggest you keep driving into the mountains of New Mexico where it will not be as hot as the face of the sun. Why would you camp in the basin in August?

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Because the music festival is in Midland!

Yes ursus, we live on cereal and sandwiches during the day. I took a homemade solar cooker one year to make hotdogs in, and it worked well. But everyone was so stinkin' hot that they didn't want to eat a warm meal.

FSGuide, that's the best "non-cheating" idea I've come up with as well.

Eliminatus, I hear ya. I grew up in Hobbs. After growing up in N Texas I took the family back for a visit a few years ago. The kids thought I had delivered them to Hell.

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I have never heard of a Coleman stove being considered an open flame. I would reverify exactly what is prohibited. That seems very odd.

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Agreed. That's pretty anal.

But if'n I had to make coffee with no open flame...... I'd fill a coffee mug with water, put foil over the top with a rubber-band around it.... Set it on the exhaust manifold of my idling truck for about 20 mins... and then dump in a spoonful of Folgers (or whatever) instant coffee. Won't be real hot, but hot enough.

Solar cooker/oven?

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Water-Heater-SunRocket-Sunlight/dp/B0098IW9JU

Along w a French press?

http://www.hot-canshop.com

Generators allowed? Pretty small one would be all you need...

I'm also on the I can't believe they don't allow stoves train... But if they really don't, why not just use another caffeine delivery method? I drink several cups a day most days but sometimes a 5-hour energy is just much more convenient.

It involves "fire"...but these work pretty good to warm up some water.
I've had the Starbucks VIA coffees while camping before. It's not the 60 year old percolator over a coleman stove, but you can get your coffee fix without

Sterno folding stove - $6.99 on Prime
Can pick up some sterno canned heat

http://www.amazon.com/Sterno-70146-Outdoor-Folding-Stove/dp/B00OBA6X9M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1437790735&sr=8-2&keywords=sterno+stove

Three pretty cheap options

Esbit Stove

Butane Backpacking Stove

Alcohol Stove

All of these will just get the water hot for you. You could use an aeropress/starbucks via/or make cowboy coffee. All of those options will crank out a pretty good cups of joe. Will it be faster than a 5 mile drive to a store? Maybe.

Until this thread, I never realized there is canned coffee....never paid attention, I drink coffee maybe 2-3 times a year (running check stations on opening weekend for the most part). Mt. Dew serves the same purpose.

Wow. I haven't had a thread with this many responses since "Which compact 9mm should I buy?"

I should clarify something though. This is for a big 3 day outdoor Christian rock festival, so when I say "camping" I ain't talking about being out in the middle of nowhere. We're in a big field between Midland and Odessa, right across the highway from Midland International.

Re stove vs open flame, I thought the same thing. Most places, when they say "No open flame" mean no campfire, but allow stoves. I called a few years ago, the first time we went, to clarify and they specifically said "no Coleman style stoves". I agree it's more than a bit anal, but as I said, it's a rock festival. There's about 10,000 people in and out on any given day, about a 1000 or so in the camping area, the rest locals or staying in hotels nearby. Of those 1000 campers about 85-90% of them are teens and very early 20's, and that age group doesn't always exercise the best judgement. So I guess I can understand the caution. The camping area is planted in grass, watered daily until the weekend of the festival, but it's pretty dry nonetheless. I'd trust my boys with pretty much anything, but some of those other kids...let's just say the potential for a tent collapsing, or someone falling, into the stove is very real.

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...fill a yeti rambler for each day you're gonna be gone. The first 4 days are gonna suck because the coffee will still be too hot to drink... By day 5 your coffee might have cooled off enough to enjoy.

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This idea is not without merit, but if I buy 4 Ramblers I might as well buy a generator. Speaking of, GSS I almost pulled the trigger on a small generator with this years tax refund. Kinda wish I had. They're awfully noisy though, at least the ones I could afford are.

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..Set it on the exhaust manifold of my idling truck for about 20 mins..

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I've had a similar idea, Shelton98 (you don't live in McKinney do you?). They have a few generator trailers parked around the perimeter to run floodlights at night, and the cabinets on those things get damned hot. I wonder if setting a pot on there before I go to bed would give me hot water in the morning? That would work fine with Bradley.Kohr's French Press idea, if the water gets hot enough.
BTW, one year I discovered they had left the breaker panel on the generator next to me unlocked. I was so happy, I ran to the store and got an extension cord and a cheap coffee maker, all set for the next morning...when I discovered someone had come by and locked the panel. Dreams crushed.

bevokilla, I've been looking all over for those! I saw something similar at WM a few years ago and tried a couple. It wasn't the best coffee I've ever had, but definitely not the worst. But you can't get them any more. Looking at that page, everything is out of stock, and I've found the same thing with other vendors. I wonder if there was a safety concern? Too bad, it was a cool idea.

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My initial thought is that maybe an intervention is in order.

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Been there, done that. My daughters pestered me into cutting back, and I have quite a bit. I used to go through a couple of pots a day at work. Now, most days I have one or two cups in the morning, and maybe a cup in the evening.

Iced coffee. Do a cold brew at home a couple days before leaving.