Here’s the answer to the question “should you cook food inside the camper and what are the alternatives?” I’m about to share something with you that most people experience with their new campervan, caravan or camper trailer.
When you purchase your camper you may decide like most proud owners, not to cook inside to avoid saturating the canvas with odours which over time can give your camper a bad smell. At first it seems like something only fastidious owners would do, but let me put it to you this way; If you were camping in a tent, it is common practice to do your cooking outside in the camp kitchen rather than inside because the smells and fumes dont ventilate well and absorb into the tent fabric.
Camper trailers and even caravans to some degree are no different except the cooking facilities in a Jayco, Goldstream or Coromal camper trailer (to name the more likely types) are more for convenience than necessity. Ideal if you’re stuck inside for days with rainy weather. Even still, it would be better to cook in your external camp kitchen or at least cook in the annexe if it was erected at the time.
If you have no choice and you need to go beyond cooking toast or hotwater inside the small space of the camper, then be sure to open the windows and roof vent to provide as much ventilation as possible. A working fire extinguisher near by is also essential. Foods like fish, meat and fried foods generally will leave a residual smell, as will washing cooking fats and greases down the sink.
The next thing you need to consider then, is what you will use to cook on outside the camper. You have a few options if you intend staying in camp grounds or caravan parks where gas or electric bbqs are provided for occupant’s use. But if you are roughing it, or camping in areas where there is a total fire ban or no public bbq facilities, then you’ll need your own set up. Its just good to have the right equipment anyway. BBQ’s are a great option over gas cookers.
To read our summary of popular bbqs with pricing information click on Portable Bbqs on the menu bar. Its a great place to start looking. Another place you can research for the best outdoor cooking setup for your camper is caravan parks. Holiday parks and campgrounds are the front line for testing and seeing first hand bbqs and camp cooking facilities in action. I’ll bet you’ll be taking notice of the many different configurations when you get a chance.
One last tip. Try and avoid rushing into the Camping mega stores like BCF or Anaconda to buy what they have on the shelf without first doing some homework. Again, look at the bbq options on the blog page and give some detailed consideration to your purchase. Look on Ebay if you’re after used items, often you can pick up entire camping sets at good prices. Bunnings have a cheap range of bbqs and although not specifically for camping, you might find one you can adapt or use for your purpose.
The criteria you should consider when choosing a camp cooking set up is listed below, not necessarily in order of priority. That’s up to you!
- Easy cleaning – bbqs can be messy and you dont want grease over your camping gear when packed up.
- Compactness – There may be a trade off between this and catering capacity, but it should store in a small space
- Portability – Being able to move the bbq or cooker when set up makes it easier to live with
- Robust support– Portables may sit on a table, but if freestanding it needs to be robust
- Catering capacity – Is the cooking plate(s) large enough to cook for 4 people Ok?
- Types of cooking – A split bbq plate is ideal and allows frying, grilling & cooking with pots & pans
Post your comments about this topic below, we’d love to hear what you have to say.
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One comment
I agree with the list for weighing up a bbq. We use our old round one on every trip and although it meets 3 of the 6 criteria, its a hassle to clean and its greasy. Not something I want to pack in the camper or back of the ute, so I put it in a big plastic bag. Liking the look of the bbqs in the research list, think I might try and get one of the cheaper ones.