Oven or Microwave/convection? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Tammy · RV-Dreams Community Member

Oven or Microwave/convection?

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have both......

found that during boondocking....a convection requires generator or shore power to operate , plus as far as cooking I can use both when needed!!

never can have enough oven space around here and a microwave is standard equipment so buying one with convection takes up no more room than one without

My coach came with just a cooktop , I removed the 2 drawers below and added one with an oven !!

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

Not like a regular oven IMO, we opted for a regular Micro and a separate Large Toaster Oven. Maybe I did not use it correctly but the few times I tried to Brown something with a convection it did not work out....

lb311 · RV-Dreams Family Member

I think it depends on your rig and how much you're cooking. My Class C has a convection microwave and I've been amazed at how well it has done with all kinds of foods-- pizza, baked goods, etc. The small kitchen has no room for an LP Oven, so convection has been a godsend.

I loved it so much, in fact, that I bought one for home too when I remodeled my kitchen. At home, the only times I still use the big oven is for long cookie sheets or a large roasting pan. But since I rarely cook big meals anymore, I can make smaller portions in the convection oven just as well.

Dave Buck · RV-Dreams Family Member

I think it all depends on how much baking you do. My wife insisted that we have a regular oven. The fifth wheel we bought had both and we've been full time over a year and so far she had used the LP oven one time. After using the convection oven a few times she now uses it for everything. The regular oven just takes up space for us.

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

As others have said.. really depends on your cooking style.

Our bus conversion came with a propane oven & cook-top. We found we were just using it for storage of other things, so when we remodeled - we took the oven out, and replaced it with a storage cabinet. Now it holds a portable induction cooktop, a toaster oven, a rice cooker and some of my favorite pans.

But, even when I had a regular home.. I hardly ever used the oven, and when I did, I could have gotten away with a toaster oven anyway.

- Cherie

Tammy · RV-Dreams Community Member

I have never used a convection...probably safer to go with both. Will be cooking for five....four of which are kids. Thanks for all the replies.....I am so excited....learning all I can....but ready to go yesterday...lol. Sadly, it will be months to a year before we can make this dream a reality. Learning what I can though!

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Although my wife loves the convection microwave we found that we still need the regular oven.
For holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas where we get together with other folks and friends in the RV park we need both.

A few years ago Lee decided to have Thanksgiving dinner in September for our kids and grandkids in NH. We had 19 people at that dinner and it was a great success but that oven was a necessity.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Not mentioned yet, but still somewhat important to some folks, once you get away from hookups, you either need a gas oven or a generator to run a convection/microwave oven. We have one in ours and while Jo hasn't used it much, it is there if the convection goes out of if the electric does.

Terry

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

I use and love a convection or regular baking/toaster oven that fits in my pantry on the appliance shelf and my convection/microwave. I couldn't be without either. But I do like to cook and bake. Couldn't get a turkey in either though.

Sherry

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

WestWardHo wrote:
I use and love a convection or regular baking/toaster oven that fits in my pantry on the appliance shelf and my convection/microwave. I couldn't be without either. But I do like to cook and bake. Couldn't get a turkey in either though.

Sherry

I used to use my saber saw to cut a turkey in half longways. Cooled one half in the oven and one half in an aluminum pan on the grill. Covered it with aluminum foil.

I now use a Multi Function tool to cut the turkey. Last year the turkey was small enough that I could fit both halves in a pan in the oven.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

My in-laws carried a full sized electric turkey roaster in their RV basement. They used it once or twice a year. We buy a precooked turkey breast, slice it up, package for two and freeze it.

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

So far having the microwave / convection oven without a regular propane oven has worked well for us. We had an oven in the TT we used to have and I think I used it twice, that's a lot of space for a seldom used item.

But, like everyone else has stated, it depends on your cooking style. We grill a LOT! At least 4, sometimes up to 6 nights in a week.

The convection oven does not brown things as well and I miss the ability to use a broiler once in a while, but in the end, we're happy to have the extra 2 drawers in kitchen cabinet space vs. the oven.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

NWEscape: Most RV propane ovens do not broil, they only bake.

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Bill, now that makes me feel even better, less like I'm missing out on something!!

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

HHhhhhmmm..............upon calculating space consumption , when one replaces the oven with a toaster oven and other appliances to do the job of the oven it takes up more cubic feet of storage than the oven....adding convection to the already installed microwave uses the same space.....wouldnt it seem better just to have both seeing the toaster oven will not fit in the drawer space created by removing the oven option...

just an observation....plus the oven does not require a generator or shore power to function

tibbar · RV-Dreams Family Member

I want the stove burners with an oven below them. When we were out dry camping I used the oven for banana bread, scalloped potatoes, and baked fish. Not having to run the generator to cook was nice in that situation.

Ckerr · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lucky Mike wrote:
HHhhhhmmm..............upon calculating space consumption , when one replaces the oven with a toaster oven and other appliances to do the job of the oven it takes up more cubic feet of storage than the oven....adding convection to the already installed microwave uses the same space.....wouldnt it seem better just to have both seeing the toaster oven will not fit in the drawer space created by removing the oven option...

just an observation....plus the oven does not require a generator or shore power to function

I think the use of a toaster oven in lieu of the propane oven in an RV has more to do with what a pain in the rear end it is to light the pilot light than any real considerations of space... And the propane RV oven does take a little getting used to since it often doesn't heat has evenly as an electric oven does. In my experience it takes a little dedication to figuring it out to make it worth having.

That being said, my preference is to have both the convection/micro AND a regular oven.