RV Kitchen Accessories

ocean boondocking

Getting Started

If you just bought your first RV, you are probably wondering what you need to complete your Kitchen. Most RVs are different to some degree, but give you the essentials to cook a meal and store some food and utensils. There is usually a small fridge and freezer but depending on the size and year of your RV, you could even be blessed with a three door residential model. Let’s assume it’s your first RV, so your Rig wouldn’t be too big and probably would be used. You should have a two door fridge with  freezer, a two to four burner stove, a microwave and either a gas or convection oven. My RV came with a Microwave-Convection Oven. Since I boondock a lot, this option meant I had to run my generator to use the oven. I didn’t like this restriction so I removed my three burner cook top and the two drawers beneath it, to add a propane stove and oven instead. This meant I could use the propane oven when I was boondocking or the convection oven when I was plugged in. This was a pretty easy conversion but you may want to get someone who knows what they are doing to do it for you. I would only do this if you feel what you have isn’t working for you. Since solar power is getting better and more popular a lot of people are settling for electric cookers such as Crock Pot and Instant Pot style appliances. If you have a good size inverter this may work for you. These Pots do take up a bit of additional room though.

It’s Your Choice

When I purchased my first RV about 40 years ago, I didn’t have money to run out and buy all new Kitchen needs to make it functional. I went through the Kitchen in my home to see what I had two of and made that work. Older RV’s had very limited space for storage so having non nesting, non matching, cookware, took up a ton of room. Not only were these orphaned pots and pans ugly and nonfunctional, but I think they may have been used by my Grandmother in the 1950s. If that’s the way you wish to supply your RV kitchen then please do. I did and made due. You may find this method to take up a ton of room and it may not be the most efficient way to cook. I have progressed through the years and am now the proud owner of a set of Nesting Cookware Pots and Pans. I have a set of stainless steel, coated pots and pans that all fit together inside one pot and can be stored inside their own bag. The whole set takes up about a cubic foot in my cupboard and can be moved for the winter as one single unit. These are also usable with my two portable Induction burners which I use when we are plugged in to power and want to save on Propane. I can also use these burners outside while cooking on the BBQ or on hot days when I don’t want to heat up the RV. Portable Induction cook tops use very little energy and cook very fast. I recommend you try them out. You will need induction compatible cookware to use them, but if you are buying new ones, then steel bottomed Pots and Pans are usually rated induction friendly.

What To Eat With

ocean walk

The next must have for your RV Kitchen Accessories would be dishes. I use Corelle because they are hard to break. One sharp turn or bumpy road could smash or crack traditional dishes. The Corelle brand are tough but thin. They can transfer heat from your food to the bottom of the plate, so be careful where you put them down. I use a washable straw plate base, made for paper plates, to place my plate on. This works great as insulation from a hot plate. Of course paper plates are always an option and you con reuse them to start your campfire with. Disposable plastic is not good for the environment so its up to you to decide about anything made from that.  For my morning Coffee I use a stainless steel coffee mug. Its big and tough and has a lid to keep my beverage hot if I go outside. Corelle also makes cups and glasses but I find they don’t hold heat as long and my coffee gets cold faster. There are now clear plastic drinking glasses and wine glasses that look just like real glassware. If you worry about breaking real ones you might like these. Serving bowls with a colander strainer, can be bought so that they fit inside each other to take up less room. I like the aluminum ones. They are unbreakable, strong, and look nice at any meal or function. I also keep some different sized Zip Lock containers for storing left overs or precooked meals and side dishes. You can take them right out of the fridge and microwave the contents any time you want. Measuring cups and spoons can come as space savers, all attached together but don’t take up too much room. Don’t forget to get a vegetable peeler that you like. A good one will make your life easier and do the job faster. I like wooden stirring spoons for cooking. They are durable, strong, and won’t scratch my pots or fry pans. They don’t usually break and can last forever. A top quality can opener is always a good idea, but I haven’t found a space saver that works too well. You could buy a cork screw that is a knife, bottle opener, multi function unit, or just get one that doesn’t take up much room. Its always good to have one even if you don’t drink. We have had company for dinner who brought wine. Its embarrassing to have to push in the cork with a knife or a screw driver. A small cookie sheet and a Corning Ware baking dish might be good to have on hand as well. If you have the space to store them. Another good idea is to measure your utensil drawer and see if you can find a covered plastic container to hold all your knives, forks, and spoons. This way you can leave them there all year and not worry about Rodents or take the whole bunch all at once to the pick nick table if you are eating outside.

Coffee And Toast

I use a Coffee Maker that brews my coffee right into a thermos. This way it only uses power for a minute to brew and stays hot in the thermos a long time. This is perfect for taking outside or to use on the road too. If I am Boondocking, I usually use the generator to run the Coffee Maker. I try to use the toaster right after so I don’t have to run the generator multiple times. I have a toaster that is like any other. Its on for a minute then its done. If you don’t have power to use it you could use the propane stove. Don’t forget to bring along some dish towels and washcloths, sooner or later we all have to do dishes. If you do your dishes outside and rinse them with a spray bottle you will not be filling up your grey tank with dish water. One last thing. A mop and a broom. A Swifter will work well but I find I am cleaning the floor a few times a day. With a big dog who doesn’t know how to wipe his feet its a never ending chore.

In a future post I will cover the things you need to buy to stock an RV for a season or permanent stay. I hope this post will help anyone starting out or with a new RV to make sure they get the right RV Kitchen Accessories. It is my hope for you to have a great experience and enjoy your RV as much as I do. Please let me know what you think of my Post and how I could make it better. Keep coming back to see what’s new. Thank you for reading.

Dick Wright

6 COMMENTS

  1. Heather Posted on May 24, 2019 at 12:21 pm

    Thanks for sharing all those useful info. My uncle recently bought the RV he’s been dreaming of for over 20 years. He saved his whole life to get one when he retires so that he could travel around the country without having to pay. Finally, his dream came true. But after getting the RV, he realized he had no ideas about the objects he would need inside. Kitchen especially was a problem, as he planned to cook his own food but didn’t really know what he needed. Do you think an oven is a must? His RV doesn’t have one and from what he said, it’s pretty complicated to install it (due to electricity reasons). Do you think only a microwave would do?

    Reply
    1. Dick Wright Posted on May 24, 2019 at 4:17 pm

      Hi Heather.  Thank you so much for your nice comments and questions. First of all, most RV micro waves are also a Convection Oven. You can use it as a micro wave or an electric oven. This is OK if you are plugged in or don’t mind running your generator for long periods. Adding a Propane stove and oven combination means you can cook without electricity any time by using propane. So if you will have access to electricity whenever you camp then you will be OK. If you wish to stay where you have no services the propane is a great option. It only took me a couple hours to install mine. If you asked where you buy the propane stove they could probably hook you up with an installation. Anything else just ask or check out my other RV Posts. Thanks again

      Dick

      Reply
  2. Emmanuel Buysse Posted on May 24, 2019 at 12:26 pm

    Great post. Now honestly I think if you use your mind, you have an idea what you need, not? I mean that if you are at home and you’re in the kitchen, you also have these kind of accessories, and you have to use the same ones in your RV. Or do I see that wrong? Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if people actually didn’t knew this, in this way I want to thank you for writing this. 

    Reply
    1. Dick Wright Posted on May 24, 2019 at 4:42 pm

      Hello Emmanuel … Thanks for your kind comments. I do think a lot of this might be common sense, but I did explain why I chose the type of utensil or accessary I mentioned. It is hard to buy these things properly without some experience of trial and error. I have found that some people just prefer to go by a guide rather than walk into a store and hope they see everything they need. There are a ton of things in my kitchen at home that I would never use or have room for in my RV. That’s just my opinion though. Thanks again for your nice comments

      Dick

      Reply
  3. jpaliskis Posted on May 24, 2019 at 2:41 pm

    Hello Dick, 

    Great article, many advices, easy to read even for people who don’t know anything about RV’s.

    My husband and I wanted to buy RV a few years ago. We were looking on line to buy one, but there are so many different kinds, sizes ( too many choices), new ones, older ones , oldest.Finally, we found  one, we liked the selling price but didn’t like inside at all. Looked like 1950-1960s. We didn’t buy and I was happy with that.

    I found many good advices in your article. You really explained in details what we need to have in the kitchen. As a cook,  I really surprised how perfect you explain what kind of dishes,  utensils,even bottle opener and thermos to take to RV. 

    How do you think, if I take silicone stirring spoons instead wood ones , will be better? And you forgot cutting board !

    Anyway, your article is useful with a lot of advices!

    Reply
    1. Dick Wright Posted on May 24, 2019 at 4:47 pm

      Hello Jpaliskis … Thanks for your kind comments. I think you could use any utensils you want. My preferences may not be yours but just what works for me. Most RVs have cutting boards on the bottom side of the Kitchen sink covers. That’s why I did not mention one. Thanks again.

      Dick

      Reply
Post comment

Leave a Reply to Dick Wright Cancel reply