Oven install?! Yes or No

[Willywalderbeast]

Since I'm updating my interior we had the thought of redoing the countertop to black walnut butcher block we have left over from one of our kitchen remoldels we've done recently. That turned into thoughts of getting a new two burner stove since many new applications have a much smaller overall footprint and would give us more counter space. Which then snowballed into adding a stove oven combo and getting rid of the microwave! So I guess my questions are...

1. Who has a oven in their rig? Do you use it often? I feel like it would be nice for heating things up and we love eating roasted vegetables (easy and healthy) so this I feel would be awesome. Also my wife loves to bake so it would be a plus for her.

2. Does anyone actually use their microwave? We haven't used ours yet and don't really plan on it. We're never hooked up and I think it's kind of silly to fire up the generator to microwave something haha.


One other big plus would be all the storage we would gain by removing the microwave! I pulled the microwave out when painting the other day and the compartment is huge! Although I would lose the two small draws that are currently under the stove.

[Blue~Go]

I kind of did both: Removed the microwave and the oven. Huge amount of space gained by both moves. My thoughts (but this is just me of course).

1) The microwave there was no question. I never used one much at home, and in an RV that is not plugged in there are the added issues of needing 110 power (or LOTS of DC to feed an inverter) and plus it taking a large amount of space. Not to mention that in the Concourse it also means you have to do the limbo to use the regular stove burners. So that was gone almost instantly with no regrets.

If anyone wants to get an idea of the space gained (there is a lot of space even in addition to the actual microwave, that was behind it), I made a post here about removing the microwave and re-purposing the compartment and there are a number of photos. (I have since removed the compartment - see "limbo" above - but at that point I was still working with the cabinetry as stock. (Note that I think some Chinooks might have had the microwave placed below the stove top - mine was in the upper cabinet and I had a stove/oven below.)

2) The oven came out just because I was remodeling that area, and I didn't know if I would put it back or not (my Concourse came with a stove/oven combo, as did many). I do like an oven, in principle. I thought it was kind of cool/special in a 21-footer. And when living on a boat we used it ALL the time. I mean like every day to bake bread or desserts or other things.

BUT.... after having the Chinook for a year I had not used the oven once! And I realized that most things we had tended to make in an oven on the boat were things I didn't really need to encourage myself to eat more of (bread/pastry/cookies/pie). I did store pans in it, but the amount of space for storage inside the oven vs. the amount of storage with it removed is HUGE. Again, like the microwave, there is not only the space the appliance takes up, but "dead space" behind it as well.

So, I removed the oven, and while I was remodeling I put in a set of plastic drawers. Even those didn't use all the space, because they are only 18" deep vs. the 23" or so available, but what a huge amount of space. Used all the time every day. Hmmm.

Then there was also the fact that while the stovetop had three burners, two of them were waaaaay in the back (see "limbo"), and I noticed I used just the front one 95% of the time, and the second one maaaaybe 5% of the time. I could see two burners would be beyond fine, and one might do. Even two could both be at the front and then I could have some usable space all along the back.

Since my remodeling job got drawn out (cabinetmaker had to quit due to serious illness so I'm doing it), I've had time to experiment. For the past year I've had it set up with storage drawers under the counter, and a one-burner stove on top. I found that while the one burner was pretty much fine, I did use (and miss) the other space just to slide a hot pot over onto (say I make rice, then slide that pan over and let it sit, covered, while making a topping for it). I solved that in mock-up fashion in two ways. One is that I have a silicone "hot pad" on the counter which works as a non-skid trivet. And the other is that I took one of those inverter "U" shaped wire racks (that are meant to go on a shelf and divide the height of the space into two shelves) and set it in the back where there was now empty counter space. Not something I'd call permanent, but actually it's really functional. Not only can I set pans/lids on it, but since they are raised around 6" above the counter surface it has the pleasant "stadium seating" stepped effect. Hmmm. Of course even with a two burner cooktop you'd have much more counter space and still two burners. I have mocked that up but haven't tried it yet (but I did just find an old two-burner propane camping stove I used to use, so maybe I'll put that into service for a trial period).

But have I decided? NooOOOOooo. Funny thing is that just yesterday I went through all of the variations of the Force 10 marine stove/oven to see which would fit best (I think they have six different sized two burners ones alone!). Picked out the one that would fit. They look fantastic and cook really well (had one on a boat). And have safety features that RV ones don't have (gas shutoff if no flame, etc.). Window in door, lighted oven, no need to bend down and stick head in to light oven, real broiler, great looking stainless, pot rails if you want to store pots on stove while underway, solid/sealed stainless top with prop up top for easy cleaning, hide-away door (rolls under oven when opening - kind of cool). And they look great. So what's not to like?

Well, they're not cheap. And on the two-burner size the oven is smallish (there are three- and four-burner variants with larger ovens). And instead of TWO 6-7" tall, 23" x 24" drawers, plus one 4" tall, 23" x 24" drawers, I'd be able to fit just one 6" drawer (under oven, above wheelwell). Boo! And there is the fact that I never used the oven when I had it for a year. OTOH, at least I'd still gain the 10" of countertop at the rear (2-burner is ~14" deep). I have some shelves above that area now on the wall and while not world-shaking they are handy.

BTW, you mentioned having two small drawers under the stove. I presume they are only around 16" deep or so. Well, there is a false wall at the back (outboard side) of the stove. I guess they figured why make it any deeper than it would need to be for the models with an oven. What is behind there is the two copper propane pipes that come up through the floor, then one leads to the stove, and the other over to the fridge compartment. I made a very small two-vertical-sided box (picture a piece of angle iron standing on end, but made of thin wood), of which the other two sides are the outside wall and the fridge wall, to protect the pipes but this gains a LOT of space back there. With an oven, it would not be the easiest space to use, but with just a stove top and drawers beneath it can make for much larger drawers.

So the jury is out on stove/burners/oven for me, whereas the microwave was a no-brainer to remove and not replace.

BG

PS: Even though it's not quite up to the "luxury standard" of the original Chinook, I have actually found that the portable stove burner is really practical. I can bring it right out to a picnic table if I want to! Or, I suppose if I put in a "real" one burner stove, it could still function as a second burner if desired at times.

[A Rooney]

My premier came with a 2 burner stove and microwave,no oven! sounds like that would be nice!!Tho I am not a microwave lover,it does come in handy for certain quickie tasks,but Ofcourse that involves using the generator when off grid.I am somewhat reticent ,perhaps without cause,of cooking odors that linger,so I tend to keep my meals simpler than most. ROoney

[Blue~Go]

I am somewhat reticent ,perhaps without cause,of cooking odors that linger,so I tend to keep my meals simpler than most. ROoney

I hear you on that. Not that I tend to cook anything complicated, but if I'm going to be cooking salmon or etc. that's when I take my stove out to the picnic table.

[Willywalderbeast]

So I found an awesome deal on a new stove/oven combo off eBay and pulled the trigger!

[SMan]

All the other RV's I have owned had ovens and I miss not having one. My wife and I have a tradition of camping at the ocean on Christmas and cooking our traditional meat loaf Christmas day. We also would make croissants with strawberry jam and cream cheese in the oven. Those in the microwave just don't cut it. Since we got the Chinook we have cooked the meatloaf at home and re-heat it in the microwave and no croissants.

I have been enjoying your mods and will view this one with interest.

[Willywalderbeast]

SMan,
We're going to be on the road for Christmas this year as well! Hoping we can make it a tradition.

[Blue~Go]

Sman,

After that description, how can I not reinstall the oven?!??

Mmmmm.

[SMan]

SMan,
We're going to be on the road for Christmas this year as well! Hoping we can make it a tradition.

We enjoy camping on Christmas. We go to a place called Kalaloch on the Washington coast and up until recently no cell signal and radio only comes in at night. Uncrowded and great beach walks.




Yes BG ovens can be good.

[Willywalderbeast]

Was just up in that area when we picked up our Chinook from Hood River. The Washington coast was amazing!!! Can't wait to get back up there.