Outdoor Cooking.
Hi,
I am picking up my Hobby T500 Motorhome this Thursday, we have never owned one before so this is all very new to us, what sort of outdoor cooking appliance would be recommended, would it be something like a George Foreman Grille ? also where would we purchase the special toilet paper that is required and any recommendations for our maiden voyage, we are in the Dorset area so don't want to start off too far away, just the 2 adults ,no children.
Thanks for any replies.
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I've used a George for ages, also a REMOSKA ( some swear by them, others swear at them ) but I only cook in the motor van, outdoor cooking aint for me ! Now I've treated the 'van to the smallest, lowest power cheapest Microwave I could get 'cos its only a small van
I agree with MichaelT -- the cheapest s/market own brand toilet paper and the Aldi Or Lidl GEL BIO PODS as used in washing machines -- but they must be Gel & BIO -- so much easier & cheaper
!Tightwad at Crewe { aka Brian A B M }
P.S. Trawl thro this site for the information that is on here -- and if you have any Questions ask away -- some helpful people are on here from time to time !!
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I love cooking outdoors and use a Cadac Safari Chef ( the small version) I've done all sorts on this including my own home made flat bread! My neighbours thought I was nuts!
Like others have suggested, cheap supermarket toilet roll- I use Aldi's extra long 6 pack costing next to nothing. It breaks down fine!
Enjoy your motor home when you pick it up. Suggestions for sites would be helped by giving your location, but wherever you go you'll have a great time!
Gill
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Its a while since I have been but I quite like Haycraft near Swanage. Steam railway handy for getting into Swanage and good walking nearby. Another one is Crossways, again there is a train station available and a pub all within easy walking distance. Lots to see from both sites if you travel a little bit further afield, perhpas by bike?
I prefer a charcoal BBQ for outdoor cooking but I also do have a Cadac Grill.
peedee
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I'm a Cadac fan myself, but there are other makes. A plus is that you just wash it as normal giving it a deep clean when you get home. Also not using an electrical cooker/surface removes the risk of using too many amps and we all know where that leads us!
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Cadac Safari chef for us too, nice and compact fits under one of the bench seats. I also use an electric frypan (multi cooker) its a 1500w so can be used even on 6amp sites if you don't have other high amp user things on. A George Foreman type grill is also used in and outside of the van and in the colder months a small slow cooker goes away with us.
Take your time in buying all these things as quite often folk rush out and buy stuff thinking they will need it then it lays in the garage for evermore not being used.
As said by others any toilet roll is fine, don't be conned into buying the special stuff from a dealer its not required.
The Gel Bio pods that has been referred to are great to use in the bottom toilet cassette, rather than the expensive and messy Blue liquid that they tell you, you have to have, you don't. Just put a little water in the cassette (a cupful) then drop in a pod, this will keep the toilet fresh and break down any solids and paper, it keeps the cassette really clean to. If you have a flush tank (not all vehicles have them) you will be told to use pink liquid in it, you don't need to. Some folk use fabric conditioner (a little) others use a bit of Zaflora disinfectant. Basically anything you like the smell of, or just plain water.
Don't be afraid to ask questions on here, you will always get answer.
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Paulsy, not wanting to dampen your excitement, but you have been given the best advice already, "Don't rush out and buy".
So many of us ( me included) have fallen into that trap and end up with "must haves" taking up room in the garage.
As far as Toilet paper etc. is concerned, you have been given sound advice above, also the use of cheap Bio Pods is highly recommended. I use them and also use Zoflora in the flush tank. you may not have a flush tank so that is less expense.
My one "must have " is an external thermal screen cover from Silverscreen, Taylor made are also as good. Don't make the mistake of buying cheap ones as they don't last. Internal ones tend to give a lot of condensation on the screen when removed, this can be a pain. We use ours all year round as they keep the heat in, in the winter and help to keep the heat out in the summer.
If, as you say, you are starting from scratch, have you considered your gas needs? I use a Safefill bottle, initial outlay was £145, but have almost recovered that in refill costs as they are about one quarter of what you pay to exchange an empty cylinder for a full one. Being translucent, you can see the amount of gas you have so can top up before going away. With the initial cost to purchase a new Calor (or other) bottle plus the deposit, you will be half way to the price of a Refillable system, plus the system is yours to either use or sell on whatever your choice. With a rented bottle you pay sky high refill costs and you will never reclaim the full deposit that you paid. Even if your gas usage isn't high, your refillable will stay with you for the years to come, saving you money.
One last thing to consider at the moment, (not to overburden you with too much info all at once), consider your payload, don't buy everything plus the kitchen sink and then make yourself overweight when you put all your clothes food drink etc. in, it's easily done and could prove costly to your wallet and Licence. Take it steady and most of all enjoy your van.......
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As far as outside cooking is concerned I use a Cobb BBQ. I prefer to use charcoal and it also means I’m not tied to a gas supply and can take the Cobb on picnic etc.
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Agree with the advice re toilet rolls and bio-tabs. Also with the advice given about not rushing into buying anything. Far better to do without something on a few trips, and so identify a need, rather than to end up with stuff which is never used.
Take your time. You may find that you change the way you motorhome. After being used to caravanning, and therefore dependent on sites, our way of motorhoming changed, and with it the kind of equipment we use. We do have a whole array of stuff we now hardly ever use, and also things on which we rely.
We spend most of our time travelling in Europe and so we sometimes use (not exclusively) stellplatz / aires / sostas. This mostly means camping off grid and so we rely on gas. In Winter we spend our time on sites in Spain where often electricity is metered. It therefore makes more sense to rely on gas. As such we have a re-fillable gas system and solar panels. We take a Cadac, as mentioned above. Having these also means that we make use of non EHU pitches in the UK with the other club.
When on an unmetered electric supply, we make full use of a Remoska, a small George Forman grill and an induction hob. All of these can be used outside the van as well as our gas Cadac.
How, and where, you camp may well determine what you will need.
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We bought a Motorhome just over a year ago and rushed out and bought a few things. This season we are in the process of selling most of what we bought!
Not sure whether the Hobby has a "garage" or not but for many of us, the size and weight of accessories is critical. A Cadac suits many people because it is light and compact but it is not a BBQ it's more like a grill. We go mainly abroad so use a Weber BBQ. Much as I would love to take my Weber BabyQ it was too big and heavy so I bought a lightweight Weber with gas canister.
I would advise not buying anything until you have done one or two trips and got a feel for what you want. Look around and see what others do.
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Thank you everyone for your replies, have picked up our Hobby now (massive Garage ) and it is sitting nicely on the drive, lots of really good helpful advice from you all, another question please -
Recommendations/advice for which TV would be good, think it will have to be a 16" - Doing a bit of research on line I see the makes of Cello and Avtex with built-in DVD Player - there is an obvious difference in the price of them, Avtex being the greater.
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