When we decided to full-time RV back in June 2016, I knew that figuring out how we would manage our kitchen and cooking supplies was going to be one of my biggest hurdles. You see, we live in a 27-ft travel trailer, and honestly there is almost no storage, especially considering the kitchen in our home had been close to the same square footage as our entire RV. We figured that we were best just starting from scratch, so we re-homed almost all of our cooking gear from the house, and started our RV life with a skillet, a pot, 1 mixing bowl, and a slow cooker. I’m glad we did downsize, because there was no way we could have taken everything that had been stored in our cabinets at home, but here are a few things I wish we would have started out with, instead of thinking we were only going to be able to live with the bare necessities.
We have learned that there are several factors that should be applied when deciding if we really need a new item in our RV. Of course, every purchase needs to provide some sort of benefit, but when you live in such a small space, we also believe that it needs to meet at least two of the expectations below, before we will even consider making the purchase.
Will it save us money in the long run? We hate paying for propane, so one of our first objectives was to figure out work-arounds, so that we could minimize our propane usage during cooking.
Will it help us gain space? This is a very important factor, when living in 230 sq. feet. Our kitchen is absolutely tiny, and we would rather store food than kitchen appliances and cookware. So anything that will help us make the most of our small space, is almost always worth it to us.
Will it make life easier? Pretty much everything in our RV has to be of use or it’s just not worth it. While we do have a couple of pictures on our walls, EVERYTHING else is functional. If we are going to sacrifice a good amount of space for an item, it has to be something that will make a vast improvement in our lives, to be worth the space it takes up.
THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE.
Instant Pot
If you have the storage space, the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000W is definitely worth the room. Gone are the days of waiting for hours on your slow cooker. This thing is a beast, and is also extremely versatile. It is easily programmed, depending on what you are cooking, and can even manage to cook frozen chicken in under 30 minutes. We personally hate using out propane for cooking, so this was a must-have for us. Not only is it super efficient, but it also has several built-in safety mechanisms too!
Electric Skillet
Another great way to cut out your propane for cooking, is to invest in an electric skillet. Before we purchased this item, we were going through 2-3 bottles of propane a month. At $21 a tank, it became quite obvious that we needed to figure something else out. After some quick searches, I figured out that an electric skillet was probably the best way to cut down on our gas. The Rival CKRVSK11 11-Inch Square Electric Skillet was a great choice, and I am so glad I made it. We now are down to an average of 1 propane tank a month, and after the first month, the electric skillet pretty much paid for itself.
Fridge Airator
One of the things we didn’t expect when we started using our RV fridge, is how unevenly it would cool. Everything on our top rack was almost frozen, while everything at the bottom was just barely at the temperature need to keep safe. After doing a bit of research, we realized that a Fridge Airator was going to be necessary. We have had our for 8 months now, and it has been a tremendous help. Our fridge is a whole lot more evenly cooled now, and we haven’t had any more problems with food on the bottom shelf getting into the “danger zone”.
Fridge Brace
If you have ever opened the fridge, after a day on the road, only to have your milk or soda bottles fall out, then you probably know how much of a must-have fridge braces are. Trust me, for a little over $5 for a 2-pack, this is totally worth the money to not have to deal with the headache of cleaning up a busted gallon of milk.
Pizza Stone
One of the worst things about cooking in an RV oven, is how easily food gets burnt on the bottom. The first time I ever tried to bake muffins in our RV was a complete disaster. I pulled them out when the tops looked nice and done, but was so disappointed when I took them out of the muffin pan and realized that the bottoms were burned black and completely inedible. So, I was off to do some more research, and quickly found that a pizza stone is a MUST when baking in the oven. We place it between the heating element and the oven rack, and it has done an amazing job.
Collapsible Dish Rack
When we first moved into our RV, we purchased a roll-up dish rack to help us dry our dishes. Most of the RVers we knew suggested it, and we didn’t really give it too much thought, until we actually moved into our travel trailer. It turns out the roll-up rack was super bulky, didn’t dry items like plates and bowls really well, since they were just laying flat on it, and there really wasn’t a great way to store it. So, I started looking at other options and finally found this baby. The Collapsible Dish Rack with Drain Board was the perfect solution, and now I can actually stack our plates and bowls, so that they fully dry. It is so much easier to store, and it can still sit over our sink while I do dishes. I will admit that it is almost double the price of the Roll-up Drying Rack, but it was totally worth it for us, since the collapsible dish rack is much more convenient.
Collapsible Dish Strainer
Your probably starting to realize that the best products for an RV kitchen are ones that can collapse and lie flat. Luckily, there are tons of versatile kitchen items that do just that. This Collapsible Dish Strainer is amazing, and it was more durable than I had hoped.
Collapsible Mixing Bowls
Find it HERE
Collapsible Measuring Cups
Find them HERE
Command Baskets
We prefer the Large Caddy, but the small and medium also come in handy in really tight spaces. Place them on cabinet doors, or directly on the wall. We have about 15 of these spread throughout our travel trailer, and so far, we haven’t had any issues with them not sticking, even after hitting major bumps while driving down the road. Unfortunately, not all of the command baskets work so well (especially the ones for the shower) so make sure to read the reviews if you decide to try a product other than these. Find the large, medium, and small versions HERE.
The Wilder Lives 
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