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Packing Your RV's Kitchen
Rate it! Votes (5) | Comments (0) By Donna Flanders Posted August 6th, 2007

Packing can be methodical or haphazard. We have a friend who was new to RVing. Someone told him he had to have a chainsaw. He went out and bought one and has never used it when camping.

Certainly folks who are new to RVing can learn from their fellow RVers, but you have to take your own style into consideration.

If you have printed the packing list for the kitchen and bath from my website, you noticed there is a section for appliances that fit your cooking style. Pardon me if I get a little analytical here. But after computer programming for twenty years, I understand that you have to look at the output (dinner) to know what is required for the input (appliances and ingredients). I'm not a gadget person. Give me a cutting board, a good knife and I am well on my way to making dinner. However, I do need a small electric chopper because I make my own pesto and spicy vegetable dip that requires a lot of fine chopping. Other folks won't go anywhere without a bread maker or a slow cooker. I have both of these things in my kitchen at home, but don't use them often enough to take up precious storage space in the RV.

One other thing to look at. Do you entertain? If so, will you need extra mugs, flatware and perhaps even wine glasses. Do you carry extra folding chairs? Let's run through one scenario. You will be camped at an RV resort with full hookups. You are meeting friends. You will be splitting the cooking (three dinners each and out to dinner one night), so you need to come up with three really nice meals. You've decided on: Steaks, grilled potatoes and corn on the cob Chicken and vegetable stir fry over rice, Shrimp scampi over pasta You will need:

• Outdoor grill
• Large pot with a lid
• Large fry pan
• Small pot with a tight fitting lid
• Colander
• Garlic press
• Cutting board
• Sharp knife
• Possibly extra flatware, mugs, plates, and glassware

Let's look at another scenario. You have a family of four, two adults and two children. Although you have water and electric, you are not hooked up to sewer so waste water becomes more critical. You've decided to keep the meals simple. Here are 7 meals:

• A casserole you brought from home in a disposable tin pan (best the 1st night because you are tired)
• Grilled pork chops, grilled potatoes (in olive oil and spices in foil) and salad
• Hamburgers on the grill, corn on the cob on the grill, deli three bean salad
• Steaks on the grill, rice with chopped brocolli in it
• Fish in foil on the grill, baked potatoes on the grill, steamed baby carrots
• Pizza on the grill (use a store bought pizza crust)
• A cooked chicken from the store, potato salad (use the microwave to cook the potatoes), green beans

For this scenario you will need:

• Outdoor grill
• Small pan with tight fitting lid
• Cutting board
• Sharp knife
• Heavy duty tin foil

If you use paper plates, your dishes are minimal. If you make the rice head and steam the veggies in the microwave, you can cut back even more on dish washing.

Do you need to plan every meal before you get into the RV? No. You just need to get a feel for the appliances and utensils you typically use. It's tough making spaghetti without a large pot and a colander.

So, as you get ready to pack the kitchen for the first time, begin with a list of meals that you enjoy when camping. Use that list to determine what appliances are necessary to make those dishes. Certainly there will be exceptions as you take advantage of local cuisine and ingredients. Not all of us carry a lobster pot. But you'll need a good size pot with a tight lid when you head to Bar Harbor, Maine. And don't forget the griddle for blueberry pancakes! Never mind. That's my style. What's yours?

Donna Flanders and her husband Harvey have been camping for over 20 years. When they were ready to head from New Hampshire to Oregon, they traded their small trailer for a motor home and found a whole new world. They've since logged 50,000 miles in their RV. The Flanders so loved their new lifestyle, they turned it into a business to help others discover the joys of RVing. RV Vacation Planner provides custom RV vacation plans including trip routing, campground research, activity research, and itinerary, each based on the individual customer's requirements. Prepackaged plans also available. Donna and Harvey do all the research, you have all the fun. Visit their website for more information along with free packing lists and articles.

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