Do You Use Your Microwave?

[Huck]

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I'm thinking I won't use it much. I also did a little research on the microwave in the Parkliner and the last 4 reviews on Walmart for the microwave are all 1/5. Seems to quit working after a few months.

What are some ideas for the space? It has a light (dc) and power (ac), so it's more important than just storage.

[frank_a]

All I've done so far is replace the one that fell on the way home. Added better bracing too. But it's an awfully small space Huck. Usually all I use a microwave for is heating up my cold coffee, and making popcorn. I'll be interested in replies!

Frank

[deryk]

I've probably used my microwave 5 or 6 times in a year and a half. I'm thinking of pulling it out and putting a similar sized convection oven in its place so I could make a small loaf of fresh bread or biscuits/muffins etc. I had bariatric surgery a year and a half ago and eat a fraction of what I used to. But nothing like the smell of fresh baked goods in the morning lol.

[Jim Bennett]

I can't see ever wanting a microwave in a trailer, as being off grid most of the time, it would be quite useless. We use the space where one could go for food storage.

Even at home, it mostly heats things up, things that could be heated on a stove if needed.

Even though we have one at home, we never feel like we are missing it when in our trailer.

I MUCH prefer stovetop popcorn, though camping do ours over the campfire.

[steve dunham]

We use our microwave frequently . Heating water for washing dishes , thawing and heating food , reheating coffee ,popcorn , storage while traveling (bread- buns) ETC. Our old Scamp (1999) had the original microwave and it still worked after 14 years on the road . Usage has a lot to do with your lifestyle IMHO. If you don't use one at home ,you probably wouldn't use it on the road. We usually camp with electricity and my wife likes the microwave so having a microwave was NOT an option, Bought the microwave for our new Casita for $50 and after 1 year we have not encountered any problems . We use the microwave more than we use the cook top

[Night Sailor]

I am debating removing mine. I could set using it to reheat coffee for guests. I don't drink it myself, or for a quick meal with less cleanup. To make it work while boondocking means installing a bigger inverter, heavier cables which may not fit as my battery space is very tight. I find myself thinking I would prefer the space.

[stevebaz]

We dont use a microwave and rarely do at home. We do use our new wave oven and use a small one in the trailer. Nothing like hot biscuts and bacon in the morning with no mess inside the trailer.

[Glenn Baglo]

Reheating coffee is causing my stomach to convulse.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Reheating coffee is causing my stomach to convulse.

I agree reheated coffee is not very appetizing but me being "CHEAP" and at the price of coffee lately, I suffer through the pain ! I like my coffee "HOT" and the coffee coming out of a modern coffee maker is lukewarm to me ( Some blame the McDonald's lawsuit for the lowering of the temp) I take a cup of fresh coffee right from the carafe and put it in the microwave for 45 seconds to warm it up.

[Randy P.]

It really is a personal preference and as Steve said, if you don't use one at home, you probably wont miss it. For us, it's a great convenience and was one of the first things we added to our new trailer.

I was actually surprised on how many people didn't seem to use or need theirs. I understand if you primarily camp without AC but we use ours regularly. For us its well worth the space it occupies even in a small trailer.

[Timber Wolf]

We have a small one set up on the counter in our Scamp 16, and yes we use it. Particularly when my daughter starts in with “I’m hungry Daddy”. I say “go nuke yourself a weenie, mac-n-cheese, Ramen noodles, etc. and leave me alone”. O.K., I don’t really say the leave me alone part but I am thinking it.

[David Tilston]

Microwave cuisine is my specialty at home, so I am half way to putting a $40 700W microwave in my sons 1978 Trillium 4500. I am still looking for a cheep 1000 W inverter. The last one I got for $35. With 120 W of solar, I figure he can get about 1/2 hour of microwave a day out of that. Enough for a couple frozen burritos, and a magic bag for bed. The microwave will hang above the sink.

[Terry R.]

Have a small one with the dials instead of digital. Use it to microwave homemade frozen breakfast burritos, and other similar items before hitting the road.

Like to have it to reheat leftovers from an earlier meal, or left overs from a restaurant. It is pretty small and we still have room left for storage around it and on top. terry r.

[MarkyVasquez]

We use ours for lunch and dinner. We heat up frozen vegetables and canned foods for our side dishes. We also use a small crock pot and either freeze or refrigerate the extra chicken for use with other recipes.

[jen b]

We get everything done with the two burner stove top, but are also not traveling with the trailer for more than 3 weeks at a time so far.

No coffee maker, either - with just one coffee drinker among us that gets done with boiling water and the single-serving cone filter thingie.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by jen b

We get everything done with the two burner stove top, but are also not traveling with the trailer for more than 3 weeks at a time so far.

No coffee maker, either - with just one coffee drinker among us that gets done with boiling water and the single-serving cone filter thingie.

Same for us...and may I add: WHEW!
Nice to find that there are still some folks out there besides me that camp when they're camping...

[Lynn Musgrave]

I don't use my the microwave real often,but I do use it heat left overs(from the last evening campfire meal) for a quick hot lunch....grand-kids use it for popcorn. On the other hand I have never used my oven....and have only used my stove once or twice. IF i removed any of them it would be the oven,because I just don't bake ( except in dutch oven) while out camping.My grand-kids are old enough to use the microwave to make their on snacks.

[Marinab]

I took my stove/oven out of my trailer as I cook outside on the camp stove. In it's place I put a silverware drawer and a small microwave. I heat up leftovers, defrost the dogs food when I forget to take it out of the freezer and make breakfast burritos.

[CindyL]

We use ours almost every meal. It came with the camper and is one of the Sharp's that fits into the closet. Hubby makes meat outside; microwave makes veggies inside. We brew coffee in our pot that sits on the stove we never use (Hubby suggested taking it out, but you never know. We just have lucked out camping and not had rainy days on end yet.) We even bring our rapid tea pot to make tea from leaves.

Yes, I am a glamper.

CindyL

[honda03842]

We had a microwave in our motorhome and used it more like we used the one at home, to heat leftovers. When we downsized to small trailers, though they all came with a microwave, we removed the microwave. It uses space and is heavy and requires real power. We regressed to heating leftovers on our stove top which works just fine and for many foods heats leftovers even better than a microwave.

On the road for 7 months a year the microwave, for us, is not a justifiable use of space.

Norm