If, as one of the thousands of people across the world, you have chosen to embrace the motorhome lifestyle and take your shot at living on the road, there are a couple of absolute essentials that you simply cannot overlook.
Basic amenities, such as a properly functioning toilet and access to electricity, are among the most important things when getting your camper ready to hit the road. One aspect of living out of a camper that many people tend to overlook at the beginning of their journey is outfitting their RV with a kitchen that can adequately accommodate your needs when it comes to food. After all, you won’t get too far if you have to rely on roadside diners for most of your meals!
Regardless of whether your motorhome is a brand new model straight out of the salon, you bought it off of your brother-in-law or got a used one from Oaktree Motorhomes or another dedicated website, chances are you’ll have to look into the state of all the necessities and refurbish those that need to be improved.
In the case of toilets and electricity supply, most of the work is simply the matter of picking out the right battery, water tanks, and adjusting the plumbing. Renovating an RV’s kitchen is a much more complex and time-consuming process. It is also very dependent on the extent to which your cooking space will be utilized. Consider your needs and check out the following sample kitchen setups to determine the best approach for your motorhome.
Vacation Camper
Many RV and motorhome owners don’t use their machines for purposes other than weekend getaways and family road trips. If you’re one of them, you won’t really need a fully-equipped kitchen able to accommodate a balanced diet for prolonged periods. You’re also more likely to eat out often during a vacation, which means that more likely than not, the cooking space will be used to whip up quick breakfasts and midday snacks.
If you’re considering renting an RV for the summer to go on a road trip in, you should try to save money wherever you can, which is why there is no reason for you to opt for a full kitchen with an oven and four gas burners. It is a huge factor driving up rent prices – you could save that difference and spend it on holiday attractions when you get on the road!
As for prospective motorhome owners, there are more intricacies you need to go over when making this decision. If you’re solely buying a camper for vacationing and leisure purposes, it’s a no brainer to go for a vehicle with less kitchen space and cooking amenities. It will turn out to be a far smaller investment in the long run, as maintaining an RV kitchen is a costly endeavor, and it needs to be done frequently. With a lot of electric and gas work going into it, a motorhome kitchen can quickly become a major safety hazard, if it isn’t taken care of properly.
On the other hand, if you’re still uncertain about fully transitioning to an RV lifestyle, but want to own one for vacations anyway, you might as well splash the cash on the costlier option. Then you won’t have to regret your purchase in the future when you finally decide to start living on the road.
Mobile Living (and Eating)
Life on the road takes much more planning and preparation than a simple road trip, even a really long one. You have to ensure that your motorhome is safe and comfortable to live in for years on end.
Adjusting an RV kitchen for day-to-day cooking is more than merely a matter of having all of the cooking equipment at the ready. First of all, you need to take care of the electricity setup. It’s vital to do it correctly and with attention to detail, as it will have an impact on the stability and safety of your kitchen amenities. If you don’t feel comfortable or skilled enough to handle this, you might want to seek help from professionals. Electric heaters are a much safer alternative, but if you’re planning on using gas burners in the kitchen, you need to make sure that your installation is up to all the most recent safety standards and regulations.
Secondly, storage can easily become a real problem, especially if you have a complete kitchen, with an oven and four burners at hand. It may not seem like an issue initially, given the minimalist frenzy many people get into when moving into a motorhome, convinced it would prevent them from hoarding. However, this precisely is why you need to make sure that you use all of the available space cleverly, and that it does not obstruct you from accessing other parts of the vehicle.
Final Thoughts
There you have it – the two most common reasons people hop into motorhomes and what to look out for when adjusting your mobile kitchen needs to either one of them. Of course, these are just the basics of RV kitchen maintenance, but if you follow those tips, you’ll have an easier time during your adventures on the road!
