I finally bought that portable ice maker I've been wanting for the bus. Go ahead, laugh. : If I really wanted to "rough it" I would still be camping in a tent then, wouldn't I. Anyway, even I thought this might be a bit over the top, but it wasn't. We absolutely LOVE it! I finally realized that once our campsite is all set up, the only thing we ever have to break down and leave for is to make ice runs. You know how the bus fridges are. Just enough room for food or drinks, not both. And they make about enough ice for 2 drinks a day. So you still have to bring a small cooler. This ice maker easily kept up with all of our ice needs. Our cooler was always full of fresh ice and there was plenty for our vodka & cranberry bevvies. We even made sun tea and still had plenty to ice it down with. (tip- Never make sun tea in an empty plastic cranberry juice container. It will taste like Barbie feet.) It fits perfectly between the front seats and we affectionately refer to it as our ice slave. No more unhooking and folding everything up just to get a bag of ice. The ice slave will handle it. They are a bit pricey, but you can find them used all over on Ebay and other sites.
It's an Emerson. It got the best reviews that I saw. I would guess it takes a lot of electricity. It cranks out a tray of ice every 9-11 minutes. The ice making components are towards the rear in the top. When the ice is ready it dumps into the basket in the front. Under the basket is the water reservoir that you fill from the tap. It turns off automatically when the reservoir is empty or the basket is full. As the ice slowly melts, it drips back down into the reservoir to be refrozen. It makes little tubes of ice that any ice chewer will love munching on. You can also set it for three different sizes. Naturally, the smaller ice will freeze faster, so if you're in a hurry for a quick handful just set it on small.
