Do you really need an oven?

As we like to go without EHU a few times in the year the oven is needed. The microwave is something I can also manage without and other small electrical cooking equipment, we don't have an electric kettle either. It all depends on your vanning lifestyle. (I've got a small slow cooker my only "extra.")

The oven in my caravan gets used probably daily (when away in it) as does the microwave.  I was thinking that a microwave that is combined with an oven element - as in my house - might be a good idea until I realised that the two ovens get used at the same time!

I didn't buy a s/h Carthago because it had neither an oven or microwave. The sales people said that retro-fitting them wasn't a viable option!! I suppose if I win the lottery I could specify it at factory build at a suitably exorbitant extra cost. 

The trouble with having the option to have this or that or not have that or this, is you'd end up with every caravan of the same model different. If for example, you look at second hand Mercedes you'll see what you'd end up with, they have a huge options list which results in no 2 cars being the same.

In the winter we use our oven regularly, in just the same way as we do at home, a full roast dinner has been know at times, and sometimes a pizza. In the summer we are more likely to be outside doing BBQ cooking. Could not manage without it, or the microwave.

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The advantage of an oven to us (microwave as well) is that we don't have cart around separate cookers, hobs and BBQ's. OK we might suffer when the weather has been extremely hot but I can't say we have experienced that very often recently, even in the South of France. The only exception to that rule is that we have a single cartridge gas ring which is quite small should we ever want to cook fish outside. Haven't used it yet!

David

we use our oven ,why wouldn't you

Looking at the Stanway the oven is a complete unit which drops into place in the kitchen area utilising the hob part of the oven as the "worktop" The Oven part may be a module in its own right or it may be part of a bigger assembly. Consequently assuming you want a hob (and possibly a grill) I think a good bit of re-enginering will be needed unless there is an off the shelf module that can be adapted from another Autosleeper product. So I expect that this will be a costly modification or one which for regulatory reasons Autosleeper won't be willing to do.

We are on our second East Neuk Fifer "M" On our last one we opted for an a modified galley with no oven (actually just a substitution of the "S" galley) which only has a hop and grill . This was a no cost change and gave use a super deep drawer. East Neuk now offer this change informally as an "option"

We used a Remoska pan/oven to heat food and do some oven cooking which met our needs but was dependent on hookup. When we sold that van this time last year the absence of an oven was  an issue for some purchasers and we have one in our new Fifer M. We do use it. It is a standard product but not without its limitations. We wont be cooking a three course dinner anytime soon so we are 50/50 about having an oven or not.

However with respect to the many Autosleeper fans it is a  product which probably has a traditional client base who would look for a full cooker. Consequently you may take a double hit here financially firstly to convert the van then on account of its reduced desirability at trade-in. Yes I know we always plan to keep our lovely new vans "forever" but it doesn't always work out that way. I can just hear 

"I sorry you are disappointment with our trade in sir but you see the van will be very hard to re-sell without an oven" 

 

Plenty of good pubs around.... 

David