RV kitchen is the most exciting thing for many campers as it gives you freedom of preparing your own food. One thing however all campers need to keep in mind and that is “your rv kitchen cannot be exactly like your home kitchen” and if you try to do so, it could be the biggest problem for you while you are on road. The reason? space limitations.
The biggest limiting factor for an rv lifestyle is space. You cannot expect to stock all you need in a rv, you need to plan and strategize what all thing are necessary and then put it in rv. Even with class A motorhome you need to be careful with what your are stocking in your rv kitchen or rv in general. Utilizing your limited space is an art not everyone can posses but if you plan and strategize the stocking then it is no
1. Planning for Camper Kitchen Packing
Stocking up rv kitchen can seem easy but should be done with proper planning. Preparing a full rv kitchen checklist is the most primary thing you should do. A checklist will help you not miss things that are necessary. A checklist cannot be prepared on the fly and it should be done over a period of time. In case you are planning for a rv camping for the first time then you should take at least a weeks time to prepare this list. You can place a white board in your kitchen and keep writing things you need for use in your kitchen. Utensils that you use on daily basis, other items that you need often will make your list. All items however should not make into your rv kitchen list, as there is great difference in a rv kitchen and a home kitchen.
Plates that you use for a home kitchen may not fit in your rv oven and when this is the case there is no point of taking those plates in to your rv. You need to careful consider every item and pack it only when it will be useful enough while in rv. Other important thing you should keep in mind is multi purpose usable items should be given priority. An item that can come to use for many purposes should be in your checklist rather that multiple items. For example a mixing bowl can also be used for serving. there can be several examples which will save you space in your tiny rv kitchen.
Don’t buy things from specialty camper stores as this can cost you much more than buying from generic discount stores. Buying stuff from stores like Walmart, dollar tree could do a huge favor to your pocket. Mostly camper specific stuff usually is designed s that it can save space like it will designed in more compact way or it can designed to do multiple tasks. Most camper specialist stores would trade these items and buying them from them could be little expensive. If you can find those things in generic stores (which you should mostly) then go for it.
2. Mock up Kitchen Packing Strategy that works
Try a mock up stocking in your rv before your hit the road. Try this several days before and measure space and see whether things fit in properly or not. Last minute arrangements mostly lead to messing up and you have to either leave some things or pack extra things that take up the space. Or you can measure the kitchen space and that should give you fair idea of what all things can fit in easily and without consuming extra space.
RV not only gives you less space but it also means you cannot stock up things that can increase the overall weight. Once you have more weight the RV mileage will decrease and you will end up spending more on gas. Extra weight not only means more gas cost but it can also mean you are violating certain RV laws related to weight. There is something known as gross vehicle weight rating which is the total weight of all people in the rv, and all the things that are placed in rv. In order to find the exact GVWR you may want to check the rv papers or check with your rv dealer.
3. General rv kitchen checklist and Grocery checklist
Making and maintaining a kitchen checklist is vital when heading for long trip camping. Here is a general kitchen checklist that can be followed.
Camper Kitchen Checklist
- Knives for cutting
- Opener for bottle or can
- Dishes
- Bowls and platters for serving
- Cutting board
- Glasses for drinking wine, cocktails and other bottle beverages
- Colander
- Peeler
- Spoons
- Funnel
- Mixing bowl
- Drinking water
- Coffee and tea bags
- Ice bucket
- Trash bags
- Toaster and coffee maker
- Paper towels
- Pots and pans
- Pot Holder
- Dish cloth and towels
- Rice cooker
- Blender
- Frying pan
- Soap for hand, dish
- Dish rack
- Aluminium foils and Platsic wraps
- Match box and lighter
- Juice maker
Camper Pantry Checklist
- Milk. Juice and Fruits
- Eggs
- Pasta
- Butter
- Mayonnaise
- Sugar
- Flour and Rice
- Baking soda
- Vegetable oil for cooking
- Chips, popcorns
- Breads
- Salt
- Oats
- cereals
- Vegetables
- Cornstarch
- Spices
- Soup
- Mustard
- Frozen pizzas
- Nuts
- Vinegar
- Whisky/beer
- Cornflakes
- Chocolate
At some camps you can also find shops where you can buy items which you couldn’t pack but always remember to cross check with your checklist so that you don’t have to spend extra money on things which you already had. Most of times when one has camping number of times the checklist becomes more filtered and you tend to do well as far as kitchen stocking is concerned. try to buy stuff that is light weight, plastic item or paper work items can be useful and will save space and weight.
4. Buy Practical products for your camper kitchen
Buying cheap stuff is sometimes nice and save you a lot of money however if you are the one who loves camping more often then consider investing on things that are more practical and designed specifically for saving space. Since the country has a huge population that loves camping its no surprise that there are many manufacturer who design items specifically keeping in mind the RV kitchen use.
Spice Rack: Spice racks are tube structures that take very little space and you can have numbers of different species in different tubes. This definitely saves a lot of space and you don’t have take jars for each spice.
Aluminium Pans : use disposable aluminium pans when there are lots of people. This not only is easy to carry but also stack very well.
Bread Machine, vacuum sealer, coffee maker are some other practical items you can carry. But again it totally depends if you have been using them at your home. Carry things that you are used to else you will not touch those while you are on road.
5. Factors to consider in rv kitchen packing
RV kitchen needs to be organized since we have space limitations. In general there are x factors that you need to consider before shopping for your rv kitchen
1. It should save on cost
RV kitchen will be used once in while unless you are full time RVing and hence you need to be reasonable in buying stuff for your rv kitchen. Try to save on these items as your rv lifestyle will need other spending as well. Hence try to use home items as far as possible in your rv kitchen. However not all items can be used from your home kitchen thus sort all items on priority before packing.
2. It should be good enough for storage
Buy items that are compact, properly designed and should take less space as far as possible. Buying large size and bulky items will only make your life difficult.
3. Convenient enough for usage
Rv kitchen is a place where you want everything to be in proper place, it should be convenient and easy to use. Therefore, buy stuff that is convenient to you and you are comfortable with it.
4. Should be of good quality
Buying stuff that is cheap, smaller does not mean you compromise on the quality. Unless its a use and throw item consider for its quality and make sure you are not buying items that are of no use after first use. Try to balance between quality and price.
