When we started RVing to music festivals with our friends Barry and Jen, the smell of bacon frying in the morning outside their RV Bertha was enough to wake the tired masses and take the edge off any hangover. You can’t share that sweet, smoky aroma cooking bacon on a skillet in an RV’s indoor kitchen. It wafts wildly and most boldly when the pork’s being prepared outside – while allowing those inside to enjoy their slumber after a late night’s rage.
So, when we went looking for our own travel trailer, we sought that outdoor kitchen. Amazing how many sales reps said we couldn’t get an outdoor kitchen in a unit under 27 feet or so. We eventually found Cafe Nirvana in our Coachmen Freedom Express 249RBS.
Like Barry and Jen’s kitchen in their trailer, Bertha, some outdoor kitchens come fully functional. Others are just a hole in the camper’s side where a grill or sink or fridge exist, but often not all three. Ours has a sink with hot and cold water, and a “dorm” sized fridge big enough to stash anything I need to cook or prepare, including a door lined with chilled drinks. And there’s spartan but functional storage. Plates, cups, and cutlery are kept inside.
A Coleman grill lies in wait, tucked on a slide-out table. It runs off a two-pound propane tank I keep stashed above the fridge. Even still, when we were negotiating the Coachmen’s buy, we insisted the dealer throw in a quick-connect LP gas hook up. To us, it wasn’t a “kitchen” without the ability to grill like the big boys.
Today, I cook most of the meals on the Coleman, often early, when the rest of the family inside is nowhere near awakening. No need for one of those Blackstone grills (not a fan of uniquely single-purpose appliances). My cast iron griddle surface lies in way to be placed on top to prepare hash browns, eggs, bacon, eggs in the basket, or a midnight grilled cheese.
The Home Depot NexGrill sits in the pass thru waiting to be pulled out, set atop a grilling table, and connected to the QC if a more convincing grill is needed for steaks, a slew of burgers, or just larger meal prep. Following Barry’s example, we had a brass T splitter created for those times we need to run two grills off the LP line.
Just like Barry’s trailer, Bertha, Mr. Charlie’s outdoor kitchen is All That, but inside is a second kitchen. It features a three-burner stove, an oven, the microwave, a gas/electric fridge and freezer, as well as ample pantry and storage space.
What once was a rarity, today the outdoor kitchen is a common feature. In fact, check out some sick outdoor kitchens from General RV. The Leprechaun Class C offers an exterior camp kitchen, plus an available exterior entertainment center with LCD TV, stereo, DVD and speakers. The Coachmen Apex mirrors our outdoor kitchen on a towable as small as 21 feet.
To get a sense of how insane outdoor kitchens can be, take a peek at these 62 Pinterest pix of outdoor kitchens.
On a post on Facebook site Fun RV Stuff, people had their own solutions and opinions. Linda said she has never missed having an outdoor kitchen. When she wanted to do more outdoor cooking when camping for Thanksgiving with family, she set up a table outside with the griddle, coffee pot, and accessories, “and everyone gathered around. We cooked pancakes, eggs, grilled cheese, everything and the kids helped it was fun and no one got stuck ‘in the kitchen,’” she recalls. “I’d do that again.”
Christina said she wished they’d make them with outdoor kitchens only. “I like the idea of an outside cupboards, fridge and sink,” she says. She doesn’t really need the cook top though. “That’s what the firepit is for.”
Forget cooking, some simply appreciate the convenience a fridge and storage bring so they don’t have to shuttle beer, soda, and utensils out from the inside. Some want that “kitchen” to double as an entertainment area, with a TV. The most I do to oblige on the entertainment front is keep my Harman Kardon bluetooth speaker tucked in the kitchen and let some Chris Robinson and The Black Crowes fly over breakfast prep.
The people we travel with know my kitchen is my happy place. I’m pretty territorial about preparing meals there. Like some man cave, I’ll shoo away others who come looking to cook – even my bride. You won’t hear many men say this to their wives, but when Robbie comes looking to help, I yelp, “Woman, Get OUTTA my kitchen!”