A newby question

bigred1cav wrote:
use a crock pot in the sink start your meal before pulling out for trip it'll be done when you pull in for the night.

Good idea!

use a crock pot in the sink start your meal before pulling out for trip it'll be done when you pull in for the night. A good propane grill is good. /We use a toaster oven for much and the Microwave for carryout food and rotisserie chicken warmups.

We are full-time and cook inside most of the time. If it's hot, we turn on the A/C. I do avoid using the convection oven when it's really hot, don't have a regular oven which is okay as I love the convection oven. Sure - take the toaster oven. You can always cook outside to avoid heating up the inside.

We cook mostly outside all the time. It keeps smells and grease out of the camper. We use our camper oven a lot though. Yes, it adds heat. Open fire cooking is messy with black soot over everything, foil wraps over a fire sometimes burn the contents since you can't see what's going on, Gas or charcoal grills are messy and have to be cleaned well or they make everything they touch in storage dirty too. That's why electric griddles outside work so well for us, and boiling water, creating steam works well outside on the Coleman camp stove.

LOL. What a variaty of responses.

My real question was, "Do you move cooking outside to keep from heating up the RV in the summer heat?"

I guess that is a no brainer though.

Our RVing experience sounds just the opposite from yours. It has taken time, but moving from tent, to pop-up, to travel trailer, and eventually fifth wheel, we have accumulated a lot of stuff and discarded a lot of stuff.

We started out pretty primitive. And our cooking gear was primitive also. A metal pot and hotdog sticks over a fire and a Coleman gas camp stove. When we got the first trailer, sleeping bags went and was replaced with sheets and blankets, and real plates and silverware, mostly from yard sales.

Fast forward again. One day we realized we really LIKED camping and we REALLY enjoyed our travel trailer, and we decided right then and there, it WAS our love-shack. And it was right then we decided to outfit it with the BEST. One by one, as we could afford, old worn-out equipment, blankets and even clothing was replaced by new, state of the art, elegant and (as romantic as possible) stuff. Tooth brushes were replaced with electric toothbrushes. Old pots and pans were replaced with some really nice stuff. Yard sale cutlery was replaced with new and inviting stuff. We even replaced all the silverware so it all matched.

Coffee pots were replaced, toasters, and cook ware was upscaled.

And we've kept it that way ever since.

We figure, the camper is our vacation house and we wanted it outfitted with everything "special." And the truth be told, the items in the trailer are of a better quality and style than what we have in the house.

We still carry with us some rugged cookware for fixing meals over a fire. We also carry a new and upscaled Coleman gas campstove. We also carry 2 electric griddles and an electric skillet. In addition the camper came with an oven, gas stove, and microwave. We also have a traditional (pretty red) toaster. We still carry a metal camp style percolator coffee pot for over a fire or on the gas stove, and also a four cup drip coffee maker. The Kureg died this spring, didn't want to replace it.

As objects fail, or time to replace, we look for the best we can afford and it goes to the camper first. After all, when we use the camper, we want it to truly be something special ... which it is.

So, why am I saying all this ... well ... here is your first opportunity to truly make your camper a "love shack" also.... get rid of the old toaster oven that will probably short circuit anyway and look for something new or an alternative.

While you are at it, toss out those old smelly, musty sleeping bags and get real sheets and blankets!

Old? Sure bring it. Worst case give it away.

Personally I do not like toaster ovens and yet many people do so you may as well have it along.

Something that works real good for a toaster is a cast iron skillet. Makes real even colored toast. But it is usually one side and slice at a time

Thanks for replies.

Those older toaster oven models may use too many amps for your rig. Plus in small spaces those older models could heat the place up and even be something of a fire hazard. If you like toaster ovens, I would look at replacing it with a new one for reasons of safety and usage.

We outfitted our motorhome with plates, pots and pans from the local thrift store. Total cost was only $5. Often children of the deceased donate household goods to the thrift stores. Note: I avoid buying the small appliances at the thrif store because of the above mentioned safety issues. I always get new appliances.