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Old 07-23-2020, 01:59 PM   #1
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Cooking in an escape

Hello all,

I am about a month away from putting a deposit down on a new 21 escape (unless I find used). I love to cook and am hoping I can maintain that while living in the escape. What is y'all's experience cooking a meal in your escape? Any recommendations or tricks of the trade? Is a bigger sink worth it for clean up?

Also, does anyone travel with kids?

Looking forward to reading your comments
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Old 07-23-2020, 02:19 PM   #2
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A bigger sink is well worth it, in our case a double. Are you getting the counter extension? it helps a lot too. The only trick, if you want to call it that, is cook what you can outside on a grill or stove of some sort. Some folks setup an outside kitchen area, including using the outside shower for washing. Some get the shower put on the passenger side for this reason.
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Old 07-23-2020, 03:19 PM   #3
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@ padlin

Those all sound like great ideas! Can they install a double sink during production? What kind of sink did y'all go with? I like the idea of putting the outdoor shower on that side. Maybe I can have one on both sides. I will be getting the counter extension and will find something to fit over sink for prepping.

Thanks for the reply. More to think about!
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Old 07-23-2020, 03:29 PM   #4
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Not wanting to smell certain things all night long (e.g., fish, onions) we do much of our cooking outside depending on what is being cooked. We do use the microwave for heating certain things, primarily vegetables. While you can do it, think how you would adapt if your kitchen at home was the size of a clothes closet, which the Escape kitchen is. It’s the great outdoors. We enjoy grilling or cooking over an open fire. If we use the (smaller sized) InstaPot, we set it up outside and enjoy the smells while we are awake. Much of the prepping is done sitting at the dinette, which also serves as a computer station, a sewing center, and a dining table. We buy prepared foods that can be nuked if it rains. My better half, however, prefers her rain solution which consists of asking me “What was the name of that restaurant so-and-so recommended?” And as was mentioned, we typically wash cookware and dishes outside. We purposely had the outside shower placed low and back so that we could wash things under the awning in inclement weather.
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Old 07-23-2020, 04:24 PM   #5
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We are of the mind to keep the sink small, just large enough to hold plates. This leaves us more counter space for food prep and other things. It also minimizes the amount of water that goes into the grey tank, a thing one really has to pay attention to when boondocking, something we very often do. Our sink is plenty big enough, and quite deep too.

We have a 2 burner Dickinson Marine Range with oven that has a broiler. This thing is a great unit for cooking and baking, my wife has made some great food with it.

Here is a photo showing both.

Click image for larger version

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No microwave, as we take time to drink our coffee when camping so no need to warm it up.

This said, I do most of the cooking outside. This is why we do the adventuring we do, to enjoy the wonderful North American scenery. We mostly do dishes outside too. This is where I am very involved, I just love food prep and doing dishes outside. So much nicer than in a trailer of any kind. We also eat outside most of the time, other than when the weather is miserable, and sometimes when it is dark out.
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Old 07-23-2020, 04:42 PM   #6
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The double sink used to be an off the books option that ETI had in stock, no idea if it is now. It does come at the cost of counter space and under counter space. At the time ETI would give you the sink cutouts, which we use as sink covers for the right hand sink when not actively washing. I believe it is this one.
https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Sinks/Pa...77-000601.html

Compare this to Jim's picture. Back in 2014 you did not get a flat mount stove top and we opted out of an oven and range hood.
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Old 07-23-2020, 05:02 PM   #7
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The only issue with the larger sink is water use, depending if you have access to water or just the on board supply.
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Old 07-23-2020, 05:18 PM   #8
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Like others who have commented, we do most of our cooking outside and the cleanup too. In inclement weather or for quick overnight stops will fix something simple inside. We still consider ourselves campers and spend as much time as possible outside. Nice to have a soft, dry bed and own potty else we use our Escape much like we did our tent.
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Old 07-23-2020, 06:37 PM   #9
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Why not just get an appropriate sized basin or two to hold wash and rinse water? I like the flexibility this offers.
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Old 07-23-2020, 07:15 PM   #10
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I totally agree with you guys on enjoying the outdoors and I will be setting up some kind of outdoor kitchen. I will be living full time with a toddler for about 4 months at a time, so I need the kitchen situation to be flexible. We will be outdoors as much as the weather permits. I will probably go with the stock sink and if I want to upgrade later, I can do that.
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Old 07-23-2020, 07:18 PM   #11
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@ Jim Bennett


Thanks for the photo. Did ETI install that oven for you? Nice to hear that your wife has done some baking. Everyone needs a slice of banana bread every now and then.
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Old 07-23-2020, 07:20 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yardsale View Post
Why not just get an appropriate sized basin or two to hold wash and rinse water? I like the flexibility this offers.
I think most everyone does this, except no rinse water for us, as we prefer to just dry immediately and save water. I have always done this starting back in my backcountry touring days.

They also make a great wash basin for ourselves to do an evening sponge bath.
For us these basins are a must for outdoor use, and some inside too. We carry two that store together nicely. They are also great for carrying stuff out and in too.
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Old 07-23-2020, 07:25 PM   #13
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@ Jim Bennett


Thanks for the photo. Did ETI install that oven for you? Nice to hear that your wife has done some baking. Everyone needs a slice of banana bread every now and then.
I built the entire galley myself, and did the install of the range. Something easy and enjoyable for me to do, as cabinetry work is just one of the things in my building profile. I did a whole bunch of other stuff too.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...0ta-10461.html
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Old 07-23-2020, 09:38 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
I built the entire galley myself, and did the install of the range. Something easy and enjoyable for me to do, as cabinetry work is just one of the things in my building profile. I did a whole bunch of other stuff too.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...0ta-10461.html
Very nice work Jim, saw it today for the first time. Escape should buy the design from you, I think a lot of buyers will fork a bit more for this beautiful design, I know I would.
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Old 07-23-2020, 10:08 PM   #15
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Very nice work Jim, saw it today for the first time. Escape should buy the design from you, I think a lot of buyers will fork a bit more for this beautiful design, I know I would.
Wow, I second everything people said in the comments. Thank you for sending that thread.
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Old 07-23-2020, 10:36 PM   #16
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Very nice work Jim, saw it today for the first time. Escape should buy the design from you, I think a lot of buyers will fork a bit more for this beautiful design, I know I would.
Thanks. Unfortunately Escape must put price for the masses above better quality. It was a good thing Reace accepted my proposal to finish things the way I wanted.
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Old 07-24-2020, 12:27 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by stahake View Post
Hello all,

I am about a month away from putting a deposit down on a new 21 escape (unless I find used). I love to cook and am hoping I can maintain that while living in the escape. What is y'all's experience cooking a meal in your escape? Any recommendations or tricks of the trade? Is a bigger sink worth it for clean up?

Also, does anyone travel with kids?

Looking forward to reading your comments
We had ETI install a double sink from etrailer (the same one that Bob just posted earlier) and we love it. If you go with a 21C you will have more counter space than the pictures Jim and Bob posted of their beautiful 5.0's. Here is a pic of our 21C to give you some idea of counter space with a double sink. A wonderful size to cook in! These collapsible tubs https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 fit perfectly in each sink, so we can catch water and dump into the black to save grey water. If I want even more counter space, I throw a cutting board over one of the sinks. I use and like this one
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-43431-A...%2C216&sr=8-34 because it has adjustable feet so it stays firmly on when using.

If you choose a 21NE however, that unit will have a shorter kitchen counter area (similar to the 5.0) so a single sink might be preferable, but your dinette and bed would be bigger, so it's all a good and fair trade off! If I were going with a single sink, I think I would opt for a deeper sink than the stock one, to make washing pots and pans easier. Lots of threads here on beautiful sinks that others have installed. Fun reading! Hope this helps, -Bea
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Old 07-24-2020, 12:38 AM   #18
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When it comes to cooking, consider that if you create a kitchen that is like the one you have at home, you might as well stay home.
It's about trying something new.
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Old 07-24-2020, 06:20 AM   #19
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When it comes to cooking, consider that if you create a kitchen that is like the one you have at home, you might as well stay home.
It's about trying something new.
I might add that there isn’t any fiberglass trailer made by Escape or by SOB that has the square footage as a typical home kitchen, and the small space in a FG trailer serves as a bedroom, a dining room, a living room, and often a bathroom, not just a kitchen.
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Old 08-05-2020, 11:35 AM   #20
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I’m a bit of an outlier here in that, unless traveling and cooking with friends, I tend to use my kitchen as a kitchen. I’ve cooked all manner of meals in my teeny-tiny 19, but we’re pretty fastidious about clean up afterward. I like to barbecue outside as much as possible, but generally a lot is done inside as I don’t love schlepping things in/out too much. It doesn’t smell in our trailer (I’ve asked others to be honest and tell me), and I spread a towel on the nearby bed to act as my staging surface where I put prepped cut up veggies on cutting boards waiting for a stir-fry or such. I like to cook on the road, but usually keep our meals rather simple as I only have the three burners and a barbecue (unless I’m hauling my Dutch Oven gear) and it works fine.
Best wishes on your rig and upcoming travels!
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