Our First RV Trip

This is a post that starts with a discussion of “falling in love” with an RV Vendor’s rig. But not sure if we would like it, we rented one for a week long journey to Lake County CA. Since this is a food-related blog, this post focuses on our perception of the kitchen (aka “galley”) in the model we personally liked.

—**—

Leisure Travel Vans (LTV)

Some friends of ours on the East Coast have a van-based Class B recreational vehicle (RV), and a local couple have a larger Class C RV, so the idea of an RV has been in our orbit for a while. However, and neither of us can remember how this happened, we found this Canadian RV company called Leisure Travel Van (LTV) and fell in love with their Class C RVs: their Unity Mercedes (25’1”) diesel chassis and Wonder Ford (24’9”) gas chassis.

As we started researching, one thing led to another and we found ourselves visiting an RV sales outlet to look at the various LTV models, and a handful of others just to compare. OMG, it is so easy to jump into the fantasy and romance of being out there on the road. But this is a hobby (or lifestyle) that has very expensive, up-front costs, so we wanted to be sure we liked this way of travel before we took anything further.

Renting a Leisure Travel Van

BlissRV Rentals

We had the opportunity to rent an RV from BlissRV Luxury RV Rentals (located in Sausalito, CA) for 5 days, so that we could try out LTV‘s 2021 Wonder Front Twin Bed (FTB) model. The company, owned by Conrad and Derek, basically provided us a luxurious, stress-free, “try it before you buy it” RV adventure.

• We were the first renter of their newly arrived 2021 Wonder Front Twin Bed (FTB).
• They provided all the luxurious linen, house supplies, cookware, RV supplies and equipment needed, so we just brought clothes, a few toiletries, and food.
• The RV was very clean, and came fully ready to be driven off: full with propane, city water, and gas.
• As total newbies, they gave us a lengthy overview to operating the interior of the house and the exterior of the vehicle, and importantly answered all our questions.
• They also made a commitment to being “on call” 24/7 while we had their rig.

BlissRV is highly recommended if you want to give RVing a try.

Lake County Destination

We decided to make a trip to Clear Lake located in Lake County, California. We planned on going there for several reasons, first, it was only an hour or two away, so it would be close to home should the trip not go as planned. Second, we had been in the Clear Lake area in the past; going there with some friends for an annual wine + food fundraiser for social services in the county. Third, we knew that the fires over the last couple of years hit parts of the larger Lake county pretty hard, so we thought we’d go and spend our vacation money there, as they probably needed the support.

The plan was to stay the first two nights at Lake Place Resort, in Glenhaven; a full-hookup place (meaning they internet access, water + electrical hookups, and a sewage dump). Followed by two nights living off-the-grid (aka dry camping) to see how that went. So we arranged overnights, via Harvest Hosts, because I wanted to spend a night at a farm, and then at a working ranch.

The LTVs Wonder FTB

Power + Kitchen Utilities

To operate a modern kitchen requires a certain amount of utilities. This RV, the Wonder FTB, had a fully functioning small kitchen that provided all we needed to prep, cook, eat, and clean.

• The galley features a Corian countertop + sink cover, with drawers, upper cabinets, and a large pantry.
• 13.2 gallons of propane that is used for the stovetop and by the water heater.
• A 2000 watt inverter to run countertop appliances such as the toaster, microwave, and induction oven.
• Two house batteries, used for lights and fans, but also to power the water pump to distribute water into the plumbing system from a 33.5 gallon storage tank.
• A 3-way, 6.7 cubic foot fridge + freezer that are made to run on battery power, propane, or generator.

Wonder’s FTB Cabin Features

The inside of our rental RV (the house part) was around 19‘ long x 6’5” height x 7’6” wide just for the living space, not counting the cab and engine parts of the RV.

So as you can see, in the interpretive model above, the cab part of the vehicle can swivel its chairs around. But from then on we are in the house, where there is a twin couch that is used as two twin beds or, pulled together to become a queen size bed. There is also a cabinet-stored, pull-out table for eating or working. And lots of cabinets for a pantry, clothes, and general stuff. In the middle is a kitchen (aka the “galley”), followed in the rear by a normal-sized bathroom with a large shower.

My interest in particular is, of course, the kitchen.

The LTV’s Wonder FTB Kitchen

Over all, this model has one of the largest (trapezoid shaped) Corian counter tops (without a flip-down extension), and there is enough space to make a several course meal. I appreciated the larger kitchen space and found that I could easily prep, cook, and clean without issues. Although, this is a 1 person kitchen, the circulation around the kitchen was wide enough for my spouse to move about freely.

There is a nice sized picture window, that opens, and above is a ceiling fan to help air out kitchen smells and moisture. The kitchen is located near the entrance door, so if more ventilation is required we could open that as well.

The only issue we had is that the countertop is so deep at the sink end, that we (being tall) hit our head on the closed cabinets several times when reaching to the window or to clean in the far corner. We used this area to dry dishes since we hoped that would prevent us from reaching in too far. But do not take this issue as a criticism, loved having the counter space.

The kitchen has a two burner propane stove near the exit door. As those of us who have camped know, ventilation when activating propane-powered appliances is important. So we turned on the overhead fan, opened the kitchen windows, and only then activated the stove. The only issue for those of us with aging eyes, is that sometimes the flame is hard to see.

I have seen 1, 2, and 3 burners on the various RVs we looked at. Two burners is enough for me to cook most everything, and this seems to be a standard for LTV’s homes. Another very important thing to remember is to make sure the burners are completely turned off, and the hot metal prongs have cooled, before moving the shield back down.

A deep round stainless steel sink is the other important feature of the cooking area. It comes with a cover made from the same material as the counter top, that presents a wonderful visage of the clean lined counter. I have to admit, I would prefer that the cover was a double-sided Maple or Bamboo cutting board, cutting board one side and sink cover on the other so you get double duty from the cover. When we camped for the day, we just removed that cover to keep the sink usable, and it was only put back in place when we traveled.

When traveling, this sink is large enough to put things in it that usually sit on my counter. Things like a wash cloth, cleaning brush, or a plastic colander with fruit it in. Then, when we traveled, we could place these things in the sink, cover, and travel safely without those things flying all over the place.

One Important caution we heard was to not dump any particulates down the kitchen (or bathroom) sinks, as there is no garbage disposal on these rigs. Yes, it is true that some RVs have macerators, but I would argue to still not dump stuff down the drain. Drainage from the sinks go directly into the gray or black water containers, that have to be periodically dumped (emptied) and any food scraps could become a blockage issue.

The LTV RVs come with a kitchen pantry, and certainly this Wonder model had lots of storage. Even though we brought two very large bags of food, we did not put a dent in the amount of storage space in the pantry. Also, there are drawers below the kitchen counter and cabinets above that hold all the cookware and serving ware you may need.

However, since RVs and their tires have weight limits, the selection of what to bring (and where to store them) has to be carefully considered. For instance, I would not bring my large cast iron frying pans, but would probably choose my ceramic, non-stick, lighter weight skillet. (Unless of course I was a person who loved cooking over outdoor fires, then the cast iron would be my preference.) But for this trip we did not have to worry, as BlissRV had everything we needed.

One RV law is, “keep heavier items lower.” Even if latches are on the upper cabinets, or drawers, movement (or forgetting to close properly) can pop them open and cause things to potentially fall out during driving. But also, even if they remain closed, items may move about and opening these cabinets or drawers may result in falling materials. Remember, everything shakes, rattles, and rolls when the RV is moving down the road. Opening an upper cabinet only to have a heavy pan fall on you is not an ideal way to start the day.

One of the interesting choices LTV made was to have a table fold out of the cabinet for use as a kitchen or work table. I love this design element, as I can move it into the kitchen, plate up dinner, then move it over to the couches. Or I can just pull it out and use it as a work table.

The Dometic RMD 10 Series Refrigerator and separate freezer were made to operate in a constantly moving and shaking home. There are several items to be aware of since these are not like your usual home appliances. First, you need to turn them on a day before your trip to give them adequate time to get cold. Second, when we picked up the RV, we added a bag of ice to the freezer to help keep it cold, but also we were told they do not make ice well. Third, the fridge/freezer duo do not work well if the RV is not level (within 3% either side).

The last built-in appliance that came with the RV was a microwave/convection oven combo. This was the first time I had used a convection oven, and it took some reading first, and a Youtube video, to figure out how to use the thing. We then cooked a sweet potato and yam, and warmed up some tarragon-lime chicken breasts for dinner one night. Of course we cooked these foods on a night we had shore power as I had no doubt this would have cost us significant power.

That is the thing this RV kept us aware of, how much water and electricity we use; inherent power and resource limitations taught us how to conserve.

Planning Menus + Lessons Learned

Planning Meals

Another tip is to make the first trip meals simple, so you can focus on all the other things you need to learn about the RV. But further, this vacation was by no means cheap. So we figured we’d save where we could, and one of the things we could do is limit our eating and drinking out.

So, we planned our menus to get us through 4 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 5 snacks, and 4 dinners for two. Our planning resulted in us packing two Thistle delivery bags with food, some of which I prepared the night before.

• Breakfast choices would be simple.
  • Oatmeal with blueberries and crushed almonds + some hot/iced tea.
  • Bagels with: cream cheese, Havarti with avocado, or some peanut butter.
• Lunch would also be on the simple side.
  • Chicken salad (I had pre-made) on toasted rye.
  • Grilled cheese sandwiches.
  • Bagels and a topping (options already named).
  • Cheese plate with crackers, sausage, and apples.
• Dinner would be a bit more involved.
  • A veggie egg scramble with cheese (I pre-cut lots of veggies).
  • Sweet potato or yam with tarrgon-lime baked chicken breast.
  • Or a combination of anything left over.

We did well in the food department in terms of easy fixings, but we still brought a lot of food back home.

Lessons Learned?

Here is a list of some of what we learned about using the RV kitchen.

• Non-breakable, light tableware are a great idea for RVs. But I prefer to not eat off paper or plastic plates, and metal plates cannot go into a microwave. BlissRV supplied Corelle tableware which are lightweight, chip resistant, and microwave safe.
• Using non-slip cabinet liners, cork, or rug material are also a great thing to help keep dishes and cookware in place and limit some of the house rattling while driving.
• Ikea and the container stores are great places to pick up items to help store and arrange all manner of kitchen-ware.
• Stackable cookware are great for maximizing space.
• Definitely we would want a small bagel-sized toaster (BlissRV had one of course, they thought of everything).
• Some people swear by an electric skillet, others by an InstantPot, but regardless, one pot meals are great (less cleaning = less water usage).
• Keep it to only one cook in the galley, there is just not enough room for more.
• Clean up is important, the space is too small to leave messes that may attract pests or drive your spouse crazy.
• Internet and cell phone reception can be very spotty, even when offered by the site you are staying at. So if you want to work from recipes, print them out just in case.
• Once home remove ALL FOOD and clean the kitchen and appliances real well, to prevent pests and start off again with a clean kitchen.

Give it a Try

Frankly, nothing is better than eating breakfast outside on an early Spring day when the farm animals are still waking up, and the light is brightening and warming the day. Other than eating dinner, when the lights and activity are starting to slow down and diminish, and starlight becomes dramatically visible.

Vacationing in an RV, especially during a pandemic, is one way of getting out and about safely. Many people at least think so, the sales of RVs over the past year has skyrocketed.

• 1M people in USA now live in RVs full time.
• Ownership of RVs have grown: 11.2M USA households own an RV in 2021, 8.9M households in 2011, and 6.9M households in 2001.

Not sure if this is a pandemic trend indicating loss of jobs and homes, or a lifestyle choice. In either case, more Americans are using, and living full time in RVs than ever before.

—Patty

—**—