Kitchen Tools/Gadgets - Montana Owners Club

countrylady · 11-08-2009, 02:33 AM

With trying to get our finances in order and with the possibility of me facing back surgery, we have decided to wait until early Spring to purchase our Mountaineer....

In the meantime, I am making starting to make a list of what to buy in preparation for our first RV adventure!
So, I thought I would start with the kitchen....I know that we all have different needs and interests, but what are some kitchen tools or gadgets that you use or would recommend?

NCFischers · 11-08-2009, 03:41 AM

Look through your kitchen drawers and pretty much duplicate what you have there that you use a lot. Then there's a coffee pot, toaster, mixer, griddle and crock pot for starters.

Emmel · 11-08-2009, 03:47 AM

Like NCFishers says, we have just about everything the same as what we have in the stick house!
Sometimes when we were out, we would say, we have that at home, then purchase another one for the Montana!

footloose · 11-08-2009, 03:56 AM

Like the others said, if you needed it at home you'll need it on the road. First decide how long you will be "out." If you are full-timing, then just move all the essentials on board. If you're going for only a week at a time, then duplicate the inexpensive items and "carry on" the more expensive items. Good luck with your back surgery. We hope you have a speedy recovery so you can "enjoy the good life" in your new Mountaineer.
Dick and Sharon

bncinwv · 11-08-2009, 03:59 AM

Ditto on the reproduction of the stick-house kitchen. However, be careful with regards to purchasing baking pans, pizza pans, etc. etc. The standard RV ovens are usually on the small size and will only take smaller baking pans. I speak not from experience, but from hearsay, namely because I am not allowed in the vicinity of the kitchen, unless there is a honey-do project there.
Bingo

simonsrf · 11-08-2009, 11:03 AM

As fulltimers, we've been working on this issue for 3 years and feel we have a pretty good handle on the situation. We carry only what we need.

Look for dual purpose items. Try not to have more than one...

Avoid glass or china, they WILL get broken eventually.

Get silicone baking pans.

Save space by only having the number of items you actually need. ie: we only have 2 glasses or 2 cups for each type.....except wine glasses!

Living in an RV is a trade-off between having what you need, and fumbling over what you have and don't need, so choose wisely and be flexible!

countrylady · 11-08-2009, 01:17 PM

well, it does make sense to duplicate...on a small scale...what you already have in your kitchen that you use everyday. I'm looking at getting some extra strength melamine type dishes (so far, have only found some on sale thru Plow & Hearth...any suggestions there would be appreciated) and using disposables for those days that I can't or just don't feel like washing dishes!!

Metal and plastic bowls, pans etc as opposed to glass....not only to keep from breaking things, but for the weight issue, as well.

I guess I was hoping for some things that would make one think..."hey, that's a good idea...why didn't I think of that!!" But that's probably for things outside of the kitchen area and that would be an entirely new thread, wouldn't it? LOL

Thanks for the suggestions...with all the holiday sales coming up, it will be a good time to get the bigger $$ items!!

exav8tr · 11-08-2009, 01:21 PM

One item not mentioned above is a portable ice maker, IF you use a lot of ice. We do. We started out with a portable one but it broke and rather than spend the money on a new one, we bought a small refer/freezer, 4 cuft maybe, and keep it in the front closet where the washer and dryer might go. DW does not want a W/D so it worked fine for us. We have limited glass items also. A crock pot for us is a must have as we do a lot of those meals, especially soups, stews and chili.... We will be reevaluating what we carry this winter as we are a little on the heavy side, so it the Monty (lol).

Best of luck on your upcoming surgery and keep us posted.
Hope this helps you somewhat. Above advice is very good indeed........

bncinwv · 11-08-2009, 02:01 PM

Phil has a good point. The little icemakers can be had for less than $100 this time of year. We liked ours so much that we now have one in the stick house as well.
Bingo

footloose · 11-09-2009, 03:39 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by countrylady

I'm looking at getting some extra strength melamine type dishes

We started full-timing in 1994 and have only once had broken dishes. It was in our first SOB which had a rear kitchen. We carry glassware and dishes and don't have a problem. Maybe we've just been extra lucky . . .
Dick and Sharon

jpkelpe · 11-09-2009, 05:15 AM

We use Corelle dishes and I love my electric skillet--can cook outside if you want--nothing better than breakfast outdoors on a nice sunny day. I do have a couple of corning ware dishes--some things I like cooking in glass in the microwave.

Parrothead · 11-10-2009, 03:50 AM

We are full timers. We have Corelle dishes - always have had - this is our 3rd fiver. We have real glasses that I made cushions for from garden kneeling pads. We have an electric skillet and a crock pot. It is nice to have some electric things in case you run out of propane or have a problem with the propane. We have the usual pots and pans. Small cookie sheets, etc. ride inside the oven. We have a small plastic tub up on the very top shelf of utensils that are not used very often, the often ones are in the drawers. I brought one of my big divided trays to use for pot lucks, etc. We have one large glass casserole dish that also has been with us for the past 15+ years and many, many miles. We have broken a few wine glasses but most have been the ones you get wine tasting so no big deal. We brought a lot of mugs with us thinking we would break some but haven't so we are probably going to off load some on the next trip to CA. We do have a full set of dishes because we have company sometimes. Good Luck you will change things as you go along.
Happy trails.......................

countrylady · 11-10-2009, 08:44 AM

Thanks for the great ideas on what you are using. I ended up taking the Corelle dishes off my list as there are no coffe cups available(they were on sale with Plow & Hearth).
Have my eye on another set of regular dishes...promised DH that we would have a cabin/north woods theme (nothing foo-foo)

, so looking at some nice dishes at Bass Pro!

Gonna put a new slowcooker on my Christma wishlist

An icemaker might be a good idea instead of having to buy ice all the time...have to check that out!

BTW, go to the spine specialist on Thursday to see what he says about the recent MRI and CT myelogram. Praying that surgery is not on the radar!

db_engineer · 11-10-2009, 01:12 PM

We carried stoneware dishes in the previous SOB TT, with pieces if the rubber shelf liner material between the pieces and had no breakage. For the Monty we went with carbonate drinking and wine glasses and melamine dishes from Target.

Don't forget the "church key" and cork-screw.

countrylady · 11-10-2009, 03:51 PM

church key?

Emmel · 11-10-2009, 04:56 PM

We use the rubber can coolies to cover our glass wine glasses. They just stretch enough to slide over the ends.
Also, I'm one of the guys that brings one of the small 1.4 cf fridges that sits outside under the awning. Picked it up at a garage sale for $20 and saved a lot on ice. It rides in the fromt of the truck bed and so far the rain(bad word) hasn't hurt it. If it quits, I'll go garage saleing again to find another.

Trailer Trash 2 · 11-10-2009, 05:41 PM

We usually take from the stick house when we replace them with newer kitchen stuff the trailer gets all the hand me downs. Of course I always need new pots and pans in the kitchen.

Trailer Trash 2 · 11-10-2009, 05:43 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by countrylady

church key?

Can opener, Beer opener, finger nail saver .

timandsusan · 11-16-2009, 01:57 PM

We finally bought a second 5 cubic foot freezer to put in the Monty permanently! For the past 2 years, we have been moving it back to the stick house and then to the Monty when we travel more than a few weeks--which is most of our trips! We took out one recliner and put it in the that spot--with the sofa and one recliner--more than enough room for TV watching in the living area. Our ice issues were answered with the freezer along with a big place for ICE CREAM!

simonsrf · 11-16-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by timandsusan

We finally bought a second 5 cubic foot freezer to put in the Monty permanently! For the past 2 years, we have been moving it back to the stick house and then to the Monty when we travel more than a few weeks--which is most of our trips! We took out one recliner and put it in the that spot--with the sofa and one recliner--more than enough room for TV watching in the living area. Our ice issues were answered with the freezer along with a big place for ICE CREAM!

Suppose the ice maker will fit on the top of the freezer? Might save space inside the freezer.

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