12 Volt Electric Frying Pan For OTR Drivers (pros and cons)

Are you looking for the best 12 volt electric frying pan to use in your truck, car, or RV? This one by Roadpro is by far the best one you will find.

Being a truck driver and having healthy food options are rare. A lot of drivers resort to eating unhealthy food at truck stops and fast food restaurants.

After several years the pounds begin to add up and before you know it you are 50 lbs heavier than you were when you started driving.

It doesn’t have to be like that though.

Get a 12 volt frying pan and you will instantly start to save money and lose weight. You’ll be able to make yourself bacon and eggs in the morning, an Italian sausage for lunch, and a steak for dinner.

The best 12 volt frying pan is this one by Roadpro. Ask any experienced truck driver that cooks in their truck and they will tell you that having this frying pan makes eating on the road a lot easier and healthier.



Roadpro 12 Volt Frying Pan Pros

Getting yourself a 12 volt frying pan has a lot of advantages that you are missing out on if you don’t have one. Below are several of the advantages that I have experienced since buying my frying pan.

1. Save Money (a lot of it)

This is what is best about having your own frying pan.

One of the biggest mistakes drivers make is they rely on overpriced food from restaurants and truck stops.

If you eat at a restaurant daily, even just one meal, you are wasting a lot of money. That money you could be saving to spend on something else.

Getting a 12 volt frying pan is one way to reduce the amount of money you spend.

The price for a few eggs, bread, and and bacon is way too high at any restaurant. If you have a frying pan you can go to the store and buy a dozen eggs, some bread, and bacon that will last you several days. You’ll save money by buying the food from the store and cooking it yourself.

If you are still not convinced that you need to get one take a look at the next reason.

2. You Can Eat Healthier

Easily the second reason to get the 12 volt frying pan is the fact that you will be able to eat healthier. Now you have the ability to make foods that have less fats and artificial ingredients.

Don’t want to make a hamburger? No problem, instead make a stir fry with your favorite vegetables and some chicken strips.

Since I started using my 12 volt cooking accessories I have found that managing my weight is much easier because I was making better choices of what I am going to have to eat.

You won’t be at the mercy of the truck stop buffet of restaurants anymore. High calorie, high fat, and artificially preserved foods will be a thing of the past.

3. This Thing Heats Up Fast!

This little (it’s not very big) frying pan heats up pretty quick. Plug it in an literally within seconds you will feel it starting to warm up.

After a few minutes it’s ready to start cooking!



4. It’s Portable!

When you are finished using it there is no problem taking it with you once you are reassigned a new tractor. Just unplug it and you are all set to transfer it to your next truck.

5. Perfect For 1 Person

It’s not big and bulky so you can take with you wherever you go. It won’t take up a lot of space in your already crammed truck.

This frying pan is perfect for making 1 person meals. I do admit that it is a little small for making big meals though.

6. Its Not Expensive

You can usually find one on Amazon for around $50.00, click here to see what the price is today.

That’s not a lot of money considering what you are going to be saving in return. I would say it’s a smart investment for every truck driver to make.

7. Hot Food Everyday

I can’t stress how nice a feeling it is to have a nice hot meal after a long day of driving. Making your food just has a different smell and feeling to it. I
call it a boost in morale.

My favorite is making bacon and eggs in the morning. Sure, it takes a little time to do but it’s well worth.

When you get your I highly recommend you make bacon and eggs in the morning (crack the window a little if it smokes) as your first meal with it.

8. The Lid Fits Nicely

It comes with a lid that fits nicely. You should use the lid every time you cook something or you risk oil and grease spraying out of the pan and making a mess of your interior.

Roadpro 12 Volt Frying Pan Cons

As much I like the frying pan there are a few things that you should be aware of.

1. No Non-Stick Coating

Don’t let this scare you. Sure, it would probably be a little better if it had a non-stick coating but it really doesn’t make much of a difference. The pan is made of aluminum which means foods do tend to stick to it even if you use oil.

This is the solution: Get yourself some of these aluminum pie pans. They work great at making cleanup a cinch. All you have to do is place it in the pan before you start cooking and then throw it away when you are done.

See, using one of these pans is actually less work than wiping down a non-stick surface.

The only downside to using these pans is that they reduce your cooking surface area by about 1 inch. The pie pans are about 5 inches in diameter, which is 1 inch less than the diameter of the frying pan. Not a big deal though.

Use this truck to make your cleanup much quicker because you won’t have to scrub or wipe anything.

2. May Be Small For Some People

The pan is about 6.5 inches in diameter which isn’t really big. For one person it works just fine.

If you are team driving and have to make food for 2 people then it probably isn’t going to be big enough for the both of you.

I have found it to be the perfect size for me.

3. Short Cord

The cord is only 4 ft. long. It would be nice if it was a little longer.

I use a 12 volt extension cord like this one (Amazon link) so that I can put it wherever I need it in my truck.

4. No Temperature Control

Don’t plan on adjusting the temperature of the pan, you can’t. When you are cooking you do have to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn the food.

Also, by using these aluminum pie pans managing the temperature is much easier and there really is no way to burn your food.

Have I ever burned something? I think so, probably 1 or 2 times. Once I figured out to use the pie pans I haven’t’ burned anything though.

I’m not sure how hot the pan gets but I would say somewhere between 300 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit.



Cleaning Your 12 Volt Frying Pan

There are basically three ways to clean/keep clean the 12 volt frying pan.

1. Use Aluminum Pie Pans: Aluminum pie pans (these pans here) is what I use and recommend. These pie pans are great because you put one on the pan and then cook your food on it.

When your food is done all you do is throw away the pie pan.

There is really no other cleaning involved. It took me a while to figure out how useful these pans are but I’m sure glad I did.

The only downside to using these pans is that they reduce your cooking surface area by about 1 inch. The pie pans are about 5 inches in diameter, which is 1 inch less than the diameter of the frying pan. Not a big deal though.

I do suggest getting a bunch of these at once so you have plenty of them in reserve, I usually get packs of 100 on Amazon.

2. Aluminum Foil: Another option to keep the frying pan clean is to wrap the inside of it with aluminum foil. Aluminum foil is cheap and works pretty well.

I have tried this method too but for me it’s so much easier to just use the molded aluminum pie pans.

The problem that I had with using aluminum foil from a roll is that the foil would tear pretty easily and then I would still end up scrubbing the pan when I was done cooking.

With the pie pans I have yet to tear one of them. They are much more durable than aluminum foil from a roll.

3. Soap and Water: This is the method I used before I started using the pie pans.

After cooking the food I would scrap off as much as I could from the pan into a garbage bag and then put a drop of dish soap and some water in the pan and turn it on for several minutes.

Let it sit like this for about 30 minutes and then pour out the water (and soap). Now all you have to do is wipe it down with some paper towels.

Again, this is not my preferred method, I recommend you bypass this by using the pie pans.

Roadpro 12 Volt Frying Pan Tips

Here are a few tips that will help you when you start using your Roadpro frying pan.

1. Power: The frying pan draws 13 amps at 150 watts. Make sure you connect it to an outlet that can handle the amp draw. Most truck 12 volt outlets can easily handle 13 amps but check beforehand just to make sure.

2. Get A 12 Volt Extension Cord: The cord on this unit is only 4 ft. long. You will probably need an extension so that you can place it in wherever you want in your cab.

3. Cooking Soups: Yes, you can cook soup in it. Use the aluminum pie pan though so your cleanup is easy.

4. Cooking Time Is longer: Something else to be aware of is that cooking time is going to be a little longer compared to cooking on an actual stove. Don’t expect to cook your bacon and eggs as fast as you would at home.

5. Don’t Leave It Unattended: Don’t leave the frying pan unattended while cooking. You need to be there to make sure your food is cooking the way you want it to and to take care of an problems that may arise.

As much as I like my 12 volt frying pan I’m always aware that these small cooking gadgets can overheat and become dangerous if unattended.