The wife and I have a deposit down and a production date for our Escape, but we are still waffling between 13' or 17'. Yesterday's discussion involved food. She would like a microwave oven - and the 17' has a space for that. I am not much of a fan of microwaves, but she has a point. I prefer ovens that cook with genuine heat. Are these Maytag (formerly Magic Chef) ovens suitable for these trailers, or are they too big? Are there other brands worth considering? I would like the smallest oven available, I think.

Ron

I think that placement would be too difficult in a 13'. Usually the refrigerator goes below the stove, and that would prevent a range with oven taking that space.

I think the heat gain from a real oven in our 17 would be an issue a lot of times. I'm not a microwave fan either.... but I can live without a microwave or an oven when camping. Check out dutch oven cooking, and aluminum foil packet cooking. You may find you have all you want already. Invest in a really good grill. You'll want to cook outside most of the time, anyway.

Some microwaves are also convection, don't know about ones small enough
to fit in the Escape, how about a toaster oven.

On smaller boats without an oven it's common to "bake" in a pressure cooker. You can make bread even (but not cookies - have to live with a large "bar" cookie instead). A friend of mine had a Russian exchange friend, and when my friend made a large "bar" cookie recipe that used a cast iron frying pan for the cookie sheet, this friend called it "Big Cookie" (no article such as "the" in front of it). So "Big Cookie" it has remained. As in "I'm making Big Cookie tonight, if you want to come over when it's freshly made"

Or there are the Coleman ovens that sit on the range top, and fold when not in use.

The beauty of the stove-top pressure cooker or Coleman, oven over a microwave, is that they don't use electricity, so you have more flexibility (and can take either outside if it's hot, which you can't do with an oven).

My Compact II has the stove/oven combo. I lit it once a while back, just to see if it worked. I think I was the first person to ever light it in it's 30+yr life, as it had a little paint that burned off of the metal panel above the oven burner. Regardless, the interior of my trailer became VERY warm in a very short period of time. I can't imagine trying to bake a cake or something, as the trailer would probably become an absolute oven in no time! hehe
So currently I use the oven for storage...hehe
Just my two cents...

Joe

Ron,

Oven aside, get the 17....

I think an oven would be great for winter camping. Can you imagine the smells of fresh baking bread or cookies or cake while the weather is storming outside? oooooooo. But way too hot in the summer.

I have both a microwave and plain ole Black & Decker toaster oven. I give the microwave a workout, because I do most of my cooking at home, then transport the food frozen. It's great for heat and eat. Of course nothing beats a hotdog on a stick and a smore over a campfire... but, can't live on that for very long!

My partner Robert loves to cook, and is very good at it. (I love to eat, and it shows)
Our Fiber Stream 16' has a 3-burner Range with gas oven in the kitchen AND a combination Microwave/Convection oven in the pantry space above the refrigerator. As he also prefers to leave the King Bed set up, what we lack is counter space for his prep work. (We use Bed Trays to eat inside) While he's cooking, there's no room for me to be in the trailer too.

go for the extra length. when we fulltimed in a trailer for over a year we really liked the space. we had an oven and used it a total of 1 time. even with a 24 foot trailer in the middle of winter, mild temp maybe 50 f. it was unbearable to have the oven on. it just gets way too hot. also you have to buy all new baking trays that are smaller so they will fit in the oven. we have lived without a microwave for over 5 years now with no regrets. you will be amaized what you can do with cast iron and some dutch oven recepies. go big on the size and oven if you plan on staying in it a lot. but you will rarely use the oven. also you have to get baking sheets and pans that will fit the small size of the oven, but its easier to have it there than add it later as an afterthought. as they say "go big"