Kitchen Input

[Crozz]

I am looking for input from the Skoolie community. I have laid out my bus and measure most things by windows. For example my kitchen space is 3.5 windows at most. I will have some overhead cabinets but only above the kitchen. The issue at hand is with my oven/stove top, single kitchen sink, and chest style fridge freezer I am basically out of counter space and even more so drawers. Under the sink will be a regular water heater which also takes space away.

Couple notes:
I have an external propane grill that I will always have with me.
I am planning on a chest fridge from truckfridge.com.

Questions:
Anyone who has an oven who uses their skoolie as an RV actually use the oven?
Would 2 propane burners be suffice for 1-2 week outings? Think this would only get used at night or when its raining or such.
Is a microwave or toaster oven a better choice than an oven?

Basically i'm looking to remove the oven unit and go with a 2 burner counter unit and gain a couple of shelves and maybe a cutting board. Trying to get a feel for what folks actually use since my kitchen will be rather small and I value counter space. Any input is welcome!

[cadillackid]

if you are going to have a gennie, I would go with a single or double element induction HOB, they dont get super hot physically but heat the pans well.. and theres not the issue of open flame indoors, or condensation from indoor open flame in winter..

-Christopher

[SDR76]

I'm in the process of a small kitchen build myself. A 2-burner stove. A sink. About an 8 foot long Stainless counter-top. (half has cabinets underneath it; other half open). No oven. I have a chest freezer (but on the opposite side of the aisle), will run on 120v via inverter. I have had a RV for years, and think i used the oven one time. I think a stove inside, a BBQ outside, a sink to clean up, and your set!!

[milkmania]

9.9 cubic ft Magic Chef refrigerator
Small Stainless steel double sink
Microwave
Toaster oven
Small Toaster
Little breakfast sandwich maker
RV stove/oven (I use my oven, women like it when I cook!)
Magic Chef countertop dishwasher (will be built-in)
Eccotemp L5, plumbed for kitchen & bath
Bbq smoker
Weber grill

I like to eat

[family wagon]

I used the propane RV oven in my 5th wheel only a few times. Things never turned out well. Temperature regulation wasn't good, it didn't even have a thermostat as I recall, and things placed toward the left and right edges of the oven cavity always got burned (this is where the hot gasses from the combustion rise). I pretty much wrote off RV ovens. Also I don't like gas-fueled ovens in the RV nor in the house because of the heat they add to the room.

As alternatives, I've considered a small residential electric wall oven for the bus. It would require a generator, which is fine because I plan to have that much generator anyway, but even a small one is still kind of big. Takes up a fair bit of space and won't be used much, though it could be used as a storage cabinet when there's nothing baking.. Also considered a toaster oven. They're really not so bad, though it's hard to cook much of anything for more than two people in such a small oven.

What I'm hoping to go for, but haven't actually laid hands on to experience yet, is a convection microwave oven. This is basically grafting the toaster oven experience into a microwave oven body. It is dual-function and gives a larger oven cavity than any toaster oven I've seen.

I give a second vote for the portable induction "hot plate." Set it on the counter when it's needed, put it away somewhere and have free counter space when it isn't needed.

Or, if you like the external propane 2-burner well enough, just bring it inside and set it up on the counter when necessary.

A common trick for "free" RV counter space is to fit a cutting board so it sits over one of the sink bowls.

[SDR76]

Originally Posted by milkmania

9.9 cubic ft Magic Chef refrigerator
Small Stainless steel double sink
Microwave
Toaster oven
Small Toaster
Little breakfast sandwich maker
RV stove/oven (I use my oven, women like it when I cook!)
Magic Chef countertop dishwasher (will be built-in)
Eccotemp L5, plumbed for kitchen & bath
Bbq smoker
Weber grill

I like to eat

You have more kitchen appliances IN your bus than I do IN my HOUSE!! Im happy when I can heat water to make coffee

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by SDR76

You have more kitchen appliances IN your bus than I do IN my HOUSE!! Im happy when I can heat water to make coffee

That reminds me.... 12 cup coffee pot

If I'm going full time... I'm going to be comfortable!

[turf]

i have an oven and a generator. works out great!!!

i can run the genny, pop a frozen lasagna in the electric oven, and drive an hour down the road, then pull over and have a nice warm dinner.

[Tango]

Originally Posted by turf

i have an oven and a generator. works out great!!!

i can run the genny, pop a frozen lasagna in the electric oven, and drive an hour down the road, then pull over and have a nice warm dinner.

You could do the same thing by throwing it on the exhaust manifold.

[Carytowncat]

Originally Posted by Tango

You could do the same thing by throwing it on the exhaust manifold.

I saw a video where they wrap a turkey in foil, place it on the manifold, and then drive 5hrs or so and then enjoy the cooked turkey lol

[cadillackid]

dont forget the eSpresso maschine for those long late night or all night drives!

-Christopher

[Crozz]

Such good info! Thank you all and hope the conversation continues.

I have not yet decided on a gennie. I have been eyeing solar although I did not know you could run a generator while driving? We have the typical RV stove and I've read to put a ceramic tiles to balance the heat.

I am really torn. Not using the oven and going with burners only only costs me the oven feature but gives me extra needed drawers. Toaster oven sounds interesting and I need to learn more about the convection ovens.

Powerwise I've been leaning towards solar and propane... Guess I need to really investigate generators. Haven't really looked at price and features / benefits.

***Forgot to mention I live in Central Oregon where its like sunny over 300 days a year. Really helped push the solar idea.***

[slaughridge85]

We have:
Two burner propane cooktop

Chest freezer as fridge under the lift up kitchen countertop section for several extra feet of counterspace

Small ceramic kitchen sink

10 gal propane h2o heater

French press style pyrex coffee maker

Getting ready to put in the flat top wood stove tonight(we can cook on it as well)

And remember you can always use a dutch oven on a burner or inside a wood stove if you're feeling adventurous or if you don't want a dedicated oven to save some space... So far our setup has worked out really well for us. My goal was to use the least amount of electricity possible, so only my fridge is running on the juice.

[ol trunt]

Lots of ways to skin a cat. Although we have only 10 feet of living space we have a full kitchen including a 4 burner stove with oven, microwave, toaster, two basin sink, rice cooker, fan driven range hood and a below the counter frig. We use all of it.

mmmm- fresh baked apple pie!
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[nevittja]

Looks like you have everything you need. I love that pop-up top! How did you do that?

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

Lots of ways to skin a cat. Although we have only 10 feet of living space we have a full kitchen including a 4 burner stove with oven, microwave, toaster, two basin sink, rice cooker, fan driven range hood and a below the counter frig. We use all of it.

mmmm- fresh baked apple pie!
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Hummmm, only thing I see missing is a bottle of Vino.

[ol trunt]

Ha! Lets see-----second shelf left side of frig----along with sip size samples of Cazadores tequila, and Tanqueray gin. Help yourself!
Jack

[cadillackid]

that is one great looking bus!!!
-Christopher

[Crozz]

The wife and I have made up our minds (so far) and decided to CL our atwood stove/oven and go with a 3 burner propane counter insert unit. For an oven we are going to use a toaster oven. Some of them are very nice with some great features. We keep the drawer space and for the times we need an oven we will have a convection toaster oven.

Thanks for the input everyone.

We also decided to CL our current water tank for a different size but also are thinking we will put our hot water heater under the floor of the bus. This gives us more kitchen space and we can be creative with how to deal with draining and tempuratures.

Anyone ever place their water heater under their bus? We are thinking of boxing it in but using the space under the floor where the bus skin is still covering.

[mrblah]

Originally Posted by nevittja

Looks like you have everything you need. I love that pop-up top! How did you do that?

YEAH! That's a genius idea for people who don't want to raise the entire roof!

Build thread?