Would you use an oven???

[kimlouise]

Hi all,
We have just ordered a new 17.56-1 to be delivered in May for our Australian adventure in July. We still have time to add options and have been discussing the pros and cons of maybe getting an oven. We have 4 kids and will be away on this trip at least three months. Does anyone have an oven in their rig and do you use it??? Not sure either about how much storage space it would take away as I have not seen an expanda with one in it. Any ideas, suggestions and opinions would be greatly appreciated.
cheers

 

[achjimmy]

We chose not to, as we wouldn't use it but a few on here do and have optioned it. Personal choice I think.

 

[chartrock]

We chose not to have one as my wife says she is also on holidays and wont be baking, however we have bought a Weber BabyQ for me to bake with. :fear:

By the way, welcome to the forum, Kimlouise. This is a great place for ideas on van options.

 

[chartrock]

Apologies Jim, I stuck my edit in your post by mistake. It has be moved where it belongs.

 

[Capt. Gadget]

It was this same question that lead me to this forum in the 1st place and we decided that we would make better use of the Microwave rather than an oven .
I think it was this thread http://www.expandasdownunder.com/showthread.php/284-Smev-4bo-oven-16.49.1-ob?highlight=oven that I stumbled on when googling Expanda Oven
Cheers and welcome to the forum

 

[Billrw136]

We have an oven - have only used it once - cooked 2 homemade pizzas better than I thought. We also have a Weber Baby Q 100e. My wife did not really want oven - but as I do the cooking, she agreed to get one! We will probably remove the microwave and turn its space into storage. I hardly ever use a microwave. As somebody said it comes down to personal choice, but I don't regret ordering the oven.

 

[bully66672]

We ordered the oven in our 17.
Great if it's wet outside.

 

[NissPat]

We ordered the oven in our 17.
Great if it's wet outside.

Yeah, we thought the same. Very handy when you're bunkering down from the weather.

 

[jdonly1]

We only ever use the cook top and mainly cook out side on the bbq or the spit

 

[kimlouise]

Thanks everyone. I think we will have to go to the dealer and have a look. We are not sure about whether we will have to sacrifice the microwave to fit it in. We are updating from a 2004 Eagle camper with no microwave and rarely camp where there is power to use a microwave. We have a small barby but it might be more economical to buy a weber Q to bake in.

 

[kimlouise]

Did you lose much storage space? Do you still have the microwave? We probably wont use a microwave much but it seems to be a pretty important requirement when it comes time to sell the van. Ta

 

[expanda]

We chose to buy a weber instead of optioning for an oven.

At half the cost of the oven and it gets used a thousand times more and can do everything the oven can.

 

[Bushman]

We've always got buy without an oven, is trip we've used the Webber Q for any oven type cooking
We do use the microwave from time to time

You dont loose to much space with the oven generally and it not much bigger than a microwave.

I think in most cases resale would be more depended on A/C than an oven

 

[Aremac]

Another vote for the Weber. We didn't get an oven but did leave the microwave on for resale.
The Weber is an awesome little bit of kit, it does everything, roast/bbq/bake/pizza's.
It works well for us.

 

[Brad]

We use the webber q also and have the microwave. We went this option mainly to minimize the cooking smells in the caravan.

 

[linrod]

Hi there, we opted for the oven and microave in our new 17.56.1 due in March. I really wanted it but it did mean moving the microwave to above the fridge (which wasn't an option as we had also gone the 150l fridge) so to cover all basis we went roof air-con, oven, microwave and 150l fridge. Everyone happy and great for resell I'm hoping!!!!
Good luck so many options and so many things to consider.
Cheers Linda

 

[Doogle]

We did the same as linrod....added the oven, the 150L fridge and roof-mounted aircon and the microwave sits above the sink.
We also lashed out and purchased a WeberQ 100e when we want to cook outside (or have a BBQ).

We arrived back last Friday from a 2 week trip away to Warrnambool and used the oven twice during that time. As others have mentioned it will come down to personal choice. We wanted to have the option if and when we wanted to use it...although the WeberQ also does a great job of being your oven if need be - but if weather is bad (or you don't want to pack the Weber to travel with you) then having the oven in the van can be an advantage.

It does take some space from under the grill (that you would otherwise use for pots & pans etc, but the 17.56-1 has so much storage in it we have a full set of saucepans, two prypans and a full set of cups, plates (for 6ppl) in the cupboard just to the right of the oven and it all fits in easily).

I have some photos which show the oven and microwave layout (see below)
http://www.expandasdownunder.com/album.php?albumid=19

Dave

 

[linrod]

Nice van Doogle, I'm very impressed..lol. I think we have twins!!!!

 

[Doogle]

Thanks Linrod...I better say you have a nice van also then

 

[kimlouise]

Fantastic pics...looks perfect. It is the only time I have seen the oven set up in the kitchen. I don't think we will get the aircon in the roof (which would be the best option for the microwave. We didn't really want the aircon at all but we were told that it is not really optional). So much to think about before we make the final decision. We are just trying to make the van as organised as possible so that we are not stacking to full of extra stuff that needs to be dragged out if we just are staying somewhere one night.