The kitchen is a standard part of a Camper van s. It ensures flexibility and independence and contributes to self-sufficiency. The extent to which it is used varies depending on the camper. But nobody in Camper van should do without it entirely.
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Why does a Camper van need a kitchen?
With a kitchen in the motorhome, you do n’t have to rely on restaurants and you don’t have to constantly eat cold food. Some campers consistently cook for weeks themselves. Others alternate restaurant visits with self-cooking. In any case, shopping in the supermarket and cooking yourself helps a lot to reduce travel costs . You also increase your flexibility and then eat when you are hungry. The mobile home kitchen is therefore unbeatable when it comes to self-sufficiency and independence . And even if you are not a big vacation chef: A kitchen also provides a great increase in convenience for breakfast or a snack in between.
Components of the mobile home kitchen
The kitchen in Camper van usually consists of
· A cooking facility
· A refrigerator
· A sink / wash basin
· Various storage compartments for food and dishes
Depending on the motorhome class, the kitchen can now be spacious or compact. In the camper van , the sink in the kitchenette is usually the only one in the vehicle. In large mobile homes, on the other hand, it is only intended for washing dishes (and teeth are brushed in the wet room).
The stove in the RV kitchen
First and foremost, every kitchen needs a cooking facility. This usually consists of a gas stove, but there are now alternatives.
We cook with propane gas.
The cooking facilities in Camper van are in most cases a permanently installed gas cooker. Z white or three flames enable simultaneous heating a plurality of pots. My recommendation is clearly a 2-burner stove . A 3-burner stove wastes space. Who actually cooks such extensive menus when traveling that three saucepans are required at the same time? We mostly only use one stove ourselves, very rarely two are used at the same time.
Cooking with electricity
If shore power is available, Cooking with electricity is of course an obvious alternative . The difficulty with the electric stove in the Camper van is to provide the necessary voltage for cooking on the go . However, there are solutions for this (e.g. with a solar system and inverter ) if you value a gas-free structure. This is mostly only possible for expedition vehicles.
Hybrid solutions: gas and electricity
Hybrid solutions combine gas and electric stoves . You cook on the go with gas and on shore power with an induction hob. In principle, this solution can also be improvised simply by carrying a mobile induction hob in addition to the built-in gas stove. This is stowed in the closet and simply taken out when shore power is available. A single hob is usually sufficient here too.
Diesel stove as an alternative for adventurers
Diesel cookers represent a niche solution. These are expensive and are actually only used in expedition vehicles, where a gas-free structure is important. Sometimes petrol stoves are also suggested here, but they are only suitable for outdoor use (see, for example, the devices from Coleman ).
A camper van oven
Luxury motorhomes still have a conventional oven. What can be very useful for world travelers or those who spend the winter in winter is then rather exaggerated for the ordinary holidaymaker. Who has to bake bread and cakes while on vacation? The Omnia camping oven, however, is worth considering. This RV oven is not a conventional oven. Instead, it is an attachment for the gas stove that can be used like an oven and allows a variety of recipes. If you have camper van enough space, it never hurts to have an Omnia oven with you.
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The sink in the RV kitchen
The sink should be easily accessible and adequately sized. The depth of the sink is important because it is pleasant to be able to sink a good part of the plates when washing up.
Many manufacturers try to develop clever systems: The stove and sink can be covered when not in use, and thus become a work surface. Personally, I find it visually appealing, but not particularly practical: When I cook, I need a work surface, sink and stove at the same time, which is why these covers wouldn’t do me any good.
Wastewater from the RV kitchen
Anyone who frequently washes dishes camper van should ensure that the sewer pipes are designed accordingly. If these are too thin, leftover food can easily get stuck and clog the pipe. You should also make sure that a siphon is installed. This is an odor trap that prevents unpleasant sewage smells from spreading in the interior. Otherwise, driving off after a long period of standing in the sun is often very uncomfortable. If no siphon is installed, you can help yourself by connecting the drain before departure.
Even if the drain is sufficiently large, you should generally avoid washing away leftover food. These not only cause unpleasant smells. They also end up in the waste water tank and are often difficult to remove from there. However, if this is necessary, it helps to rinse the waste water tank with Danchlorix, for example.
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The fridge in the RV kitchen
The refrigerator is very important. Here you will find all variants – from a small refrigerator for a few cool drinks to a large refrigerator that would also be a credit to a fitted kitchen at home. You can find more about refrigerator technologies and possible selection criteria for your mobile home refrigerator here.
Storage compartments in the Womo kitchen
Of course, you also need storage space and storage options for
- Dishes, pots, pans, cutlery, small parts and
- Food
Also consider small details that can be easy on your nerves (especially while driving):
- Hooks to hang up and dry tea towels
- Easily accessible storage options for salt and spices
In off-the-shelf motorhomes you have to make improvements, since many motorhome designers have obviously never cooked in a motorhome kitchen themselves.
Packing list for The mobile home kitchen
In order for your kitchen to be practically usable, you have to take some small parts (and of course Food) with you. In the camping accessories trade, there is all this especially for the needs of RV cooks. RV dishes can often be stacked and are light. However, you should keep in mind that this special equipment is many times more expensive . In addition, aluminum is often used for pots and pans to save weight. However, aluminum is suspected of promoting Alzheimer’s disease and is therefore at least to be viewed critically in the kitchen.
Ordinary accessories from specialist kitchen retailers work in the same way. You only have to accept compromises in terms of weight and stackability. But if you limit yourself to sensible amounts, this is not a problem.
You can find more Camper Van Accessories here .
Dishes for The mobile home kitchen
For reasons of space and weight you should you try to get by with as few accessories as possible. Especially when it comes to dishes, excess camper van hardly helps you: there is not enough space to “park” large quantities of dishes when they are dirty, and washing up is not a pleasure either (a lot of dirty dishes still take up space where you want to put the clean dishes ).
The following is sufficient as basic equipment :
- one pot
- one pan
- One soup plate, one small plate and one large plate for each person traveling
- One water glass and one wine glass per person
- A large salad bowl
- Small bowls (for muesli, salad) (one per person)
For the pots and pans in the motorhome , our choice currently falls on the Tatonka range. These are made of stainless steel and still very light. In addition, the Omnia oven is popular among motorhome travelers as a mini oven for on the go .
For reasons of weight, melamine is often recommended instead of porcelain for plates. Melamine should be food-safe, light and unbreakable. However, there are health concerns when melamine is heated . That is why health-conscious campers prefer dishes made of bamboo.
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When it comes to glasses, we prefer real glass – it is simply more pleasant to drink from it. During transport, you only need to ensure that it is stably stored (e.g. wrapped in tea towels or firmly anchored with clips or other systems for the kitchen cupboard). Wine glasses without a stem make it easier to store camper van.
Cutlery and kitchen utensils in the RV kitchen
Of course, it’s best to pack according to your personal needs. Here is a suggestion:
- Spoon, fork, knife (1-2 copies per category per person are also sufficient, e.g. 2 spoons, 2 forks and 2 knives for two travelers)
- a large knife for cooking
- A ladle (for soups etc.)
- A spatula
- Two cutting boards
- Lighter or gas lighter
- Pot coasters
- A bottle opener
- A corkscrew
- A can opener
- Kitchen roll / paper towels
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For the sink
- Biodegradable detergent
- Sponge, rag
- Dishcloths
- Garbage bags
The Food in the RV kitchen
The ingredients for the camper van kitchen should generally be chosen so that they can be easily stored in the camper van. With the following basics you can conjure up something to eat even when the market is closed. In addition, you always have side dishes:
- Rice,
- Couscous
- Noodles
- Legumes and
- Preserves (tuna, tomato sauce, pasta sauces, pesto, etc.)
- Soup cubes
- Cracker / crisp bread (bread substitute if you can’t find a baker)
- Pepper, salt and herbs
- Vinegar and oil (salad oil and oil for frying)
- A carton of long-life milk (for emergencies, if you forgot to buy fresh milk or the refrigerator is not running)
- Coffee
- Tea
Perishable food can be bought fresh at the market and either consumed directly or stored briefly in the refrigerator.
Buy a kitchenette for Camper van
If you buy a fully developed camper van, it always has a kitchen as well. You can, however, have details changed or choose from the list of upgrades.
But if you build your Camper van yourself , you can also construct your kitchen completely according to your wishes.
You can find devices such as gas stoves and refrigerators at your local camping shop, or online from the usual suspects:
Complete kitchen units you can can either be constructed by the mobile home builder. For typical camping buses (such as VW T4, T5, T6) there are also ready-made kitchen units off the shelf:
When the weather is good, outside to cook Camper van you can with a so-called awning kitchen or outdoor kitchen ( e.g. from Reimo or Frankana ) .
Mini camping kitchens
A particularly flexible and everyday variant of mobile home kitchens are so-called mini kitchens: similar to camping boxes , a kitchen module is only installed in a van when it is actually needed. Examples find you among others at:
Build the mobile home kitchen block yourself
An off-the-shelf kitchenette is not for you? Do you want to build your kitchen block yourself ? Even then, the information in this article is relevant. The best way to get suggestions is from people who have already done this job, e.g.
- Kitchenette from Prima-Geklappt.de
- The self-made kitchen by Simply-Irrestistible.de
- Forum discussion at campen.de
You can find further suggestions for building your own camping kitchen find on pinterest.
In any case, it is important to pay attention to ergonomics when building it yourself. Kitchen furniture that is too low and forces you to stoop over is no longer fun.
Recipes for the RV kitchen
The mobile home kitchen does not have to be limited to ready-made soups. I’m more of a creative spontaneous cook myself – whatever is there: you can definitely make something out of it. But if you want to achieve a certain result and cook dishes from the holiday country, you can hardly avoid recipes.
What distinguishes a motorhome recipe?
Special RV recipes differ from conventional recipes in that camper van one naturally tries to get by with as few pots and pans as possible, and usually has little space for the preparation . You should also keep an eye on the consumption of resources (e.g. gas) and avoid dishes that require hours of cooking.
RV recipe collections
Accordingly there for RV cooks own recipe collections. Here can find a selection:
- We start with a motorhome recipe blog . You can also find many recipes for the Omnia oven can find here.
- Doreen from sheisontheroadagain.com has collected recipes from bloggers.
- Vegan camping kitchen can find you on Denise’s food blog.
- Nima from Abenteuer-Unterwegs has collected some recipes.
- More recipes can be found at Camperstyle .
- The wanderer woman introduces you to particularly simple recipes for Camper van.
- Even Chefkoch has its own RV recipe category.
- Promobil also contributes a few recipes , and
- You can of counrse not leave out Caravaning.de.
- The article from Campz.de , for which some travel bloggers were asked about their favorite camping recipes, is brand new.By the way, you will meet two familiar faces from ourvanlife bloggers .
Conclusions
The mobile home kitchen allows you to cater for yourself independently of restaurants. kitchen rely on different technologies. The standard variant consisting of a gas cooker, refrigerator, sink and storage space has proven itself, but for special requirements it is worth considering alternatives.
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