RE: Indoor Cooking

[TG1956]

 
I ve seen many classified ads on this site and elsewhere that have said, " Camper has never been cooked in."  Is cooking in a popup a bad thing? Why is there a stove inside if you shouldn t cook in it?

[Turn Key]

 TG1956
Cooking is not a real problem unless your frying.  This will tend to leave odors in the material.  DW only cooks things like pasta and warming veggies in the PU.  Other then that, we BBQ or use the outside cooktop.

[Opie431]

 TG1956
I would rather cook outside in my large AAR then inside.  Since the first time when I had to keep running in and out to get things out of cupboards, I keep most food and dishes in Rubbermaid boxes that can put in the AAR. No smell or splattering inside and los of room to move around in.

[gsm x2]

 TG1956
We ve boiled water for coffee (and to warm up) inside.  Other than that, all cooking has been outside. That might change this weekend at the SoCal Rally.  Rain and high winds are predicted.  We ll see what plays out.
 
 gsm x2

[slowpez]

 TG1956
We tend to cook wherever we feel like it at any given moment.  Most of the time, it has been too cold to eat outside so we cooked and ate inside.  Bear in mind, we haven t had our PU during the warm months yet.  We bought it in August of last year.  We don t mind cooking smells I guess.  Isn t that what PU stands for?  []  Not using the indoor stove is sorta like keeping plastic on your lamp shades or your carpet.  What s the point of having something if you don t use it?

[Bearnkat]

 TG1956
Hi All,
 
 We normally only cook inside if the weather is bad outside. Sometimes when we re having a pasta type dinner, we will do the cooking inside. But frying or any cooking that may have any heavy odors, is always done outside. Normally the stove stays closed and the top is used for extra counter space. []
 
 C & T

[Red neff Barchetta]

 TG1956
Heavy indoor odor cooking such as frying is not a good idea for the same reason you shouldn t cook inside of a tent.  The canvas will hold the smell and then wildlife who don t trim their nails, but do sharpen their teeth, will associate YOU with the potato s, bacon, or whatever.  You should also clean off your outside stove every evening so it is dripping in yummy goo.
 Now if you usually go to RV parks, then you need to be wary of the toothless full-timer s who live there, lol.

[garym053]

 TG1956
IF you camp in Bear country, you may want to think twice on cooking in the camper!!! While we ve yet to camp where Grizzlies are present, there are Black Bears all over the place around here, and even though they are much less likely to attack, I still try not to invite them into our camper with food smells.
 Stove & grill are set up near the picnic table as far from the camper as we can set up the site! Dishes are washed after every meal and garbage is taken to the dumpster. Coolers are loccked in the Jeep. Over-cautious? Perhaps, but I would prefer not to be awoken by a bear looking at me, licking his chops, thinking this guy will last me the whole month!!!
 
 
 My mind spells things right, but my fingers don t always translate properly!!!

[wynot]

 TG1956
If you want a good example of why you don t cook inside, just have something that has boiling water (spaghetti, for instance).  You will have water droplets everywhere on the tenting...
 
 Besides, it s easier to sprawl out your stuff on the outside stove, especially since I built a large countertop for it.

[Zooey]

 TG1956
Last year we made a huge mistake by cooking bacon in the microwave!!  It smelled for weeks. I had to buy one of those odor absorbers to get the smell out.
 Take my advice... NEVER cook bacon in the microwave!![]
 
 Zooey[&:]

[cailin52]

 TG1956
We always cook outside because we camp with friends and its always a group thing, even if there is just two familys. Plus my stove inside is our entertainment center, tv, radio you know what i mean besides we do have a outside stove so why not use it.....
 also ever try one of those 3 burners with propane??? Awsome[]

[tlhdoc]

 TG1956
I cook inside most of the time.  My first PU only had an inside stove and cooking inside became the standard for us.   If the AAR is set up I do cook out there on the 2 burner stove.  I cook bacon, sausage and all other types of food in the PU.  The Sunbrella fabric doesn t seem to hold any odors.  We camp in State and National Parks most of the time and have never had a problem with animals breaking into the PU.  I also wipe everything with hot soapy water when we are done eating.  If we cook something with boiling water we just open a window and the top of the door to create a cross breeze.

[Gamecock Camper]

 TG1956
To each their own.  I personally like setting up what I call a " camp kitchen"  every time we camp.  The first two camping trips with our first PU we used the camp stove from the PU on the outside mount.  We cooked there.  It ended up being such a big hassle.  The stove was too small for any reasonably sized fry pan and it only had two burners.  On top of that, every time we needed something for cooking, setting the table, cleaning up the plates, etc.... we were digging through the camper drawers, doors, and dinnette seats.  It really added quite a bit of work to putting together a meal.  We decided to get a dining canopy and set-up a separate area dedicated to cooking.  This has worked out very very well for us.  It works well when we are camping by ourselves or with 6 other families (yes....we do that often actually).....  The " camp kitchen"  includes a Coleman dining canopy, a Camp Chef propane stove, three aluminum roll-up tables, one Rubbermaid storage bin (mainly for pots and pans) and a six drawer plastic cabinet for all the other kitchen gear (spices, napkins, utensils, plates, lighters, glad bag storage bags, foil, can openers, etc.....).  Then we have one Rubbermaid bin for the non-refrigerated food we bring.  It has worked out very well for us and we use it fully everytime we camp.  We tend to gain a few lbs when we camp too.  The food is always good.  We also use a Coleman oven (only use a store bought oven thermometer) on every trip.  A tradition for us is to make the Pillsbury apple and cherry turnovers for one breakfast. (yummmmmmmmmm).
 
 I have nothing against using the camper stove, but for me.... I d rather use it outside the camper.

[Gone-Camping]

 TG1956
I cook inside or outside depending on the weather and my needs. One of the reasons I bought the PU was for the convenience of cooking inside, something I couldn t do as a tent camper. I m careful of what get s cooked inside though, once cooked some fish (in the old trailer) and it took a few weeks to get rid of the smell, since then only mild things are cooked inside.
 
 Having one that has never been cooked in would be a good selling point I suppose, since it s unlikely to have any damages or orders associated with cooking. But cooking inside isn t a problem, unless of course, you re in Grizzly country!

[Ab Diver]

 TG1956

Is cooking in a popup a bad thing? Why is there a stove inside if you shouldn t cook in it?

 It s not a " bad"  thing, but if the owners is not careful, the smells and mess associated with cooking can attract animals and insects. If a roving ant hapens to bump into a nice piece of greasy meat that s fallen below the stove burner (and isn t cleaned up), his next move is to invite ALL his friends to the party.  The stove is there to use, if you so choose. Nothing wrong with it, just  clean up any mess. And as already said, the smells can hang around far longer than the meal itself.
 
 That said... like most others, we do virtually all our cooking outside. It s just part of the camping experience for us. The inside stove has been used to heat water for breakfasts and coffee, or occasionally for noodle dishes and vegetables if it s raining outside (and we haven t rolled out the awning), but that s about it.