Having admired foretravel, the build and quality, the same admiration is not shared with the cook. "how do people make diner with two burners, I use 3? How do they make yorkshire pudding without an oven? How difficult would it be to have an oven put in one of those? Would there be any counter space left? Is there enough counter space to begin with, it is hard to tell from the pictures?
I lean toward late 90's U320. The navigator and cook would give that up for a slide, oven and counter space. (help)
I would be moving from an 86 37' cross country tag axle, which has been a very good coach since 94 and 150,000 miles.
To give an example of comparisons; a one or two slide 40' American Eagle 2001 /02
Thanks in advance for any comments, advice etc. Tom
We pulled our stove and are using an induction stove now. It works great. no oven but the convection oven works but there are ovens in Foretravels from time to time and they can probably remod one in for you. We have cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner in there. I will say that the convection over takes some getting used to and it is not a standard oven.
Seems the more the coach costs the less there is to cook in or on. We sort of miss our oven and 4 burner and never used the convection option on the micro wave. Now we only have 3 burners, but have learned to use the convection part of the micro wave.
But we will never live down having my 85 year old mom that cooks a lot, with us for 3 weeks and we never lit a burner. Crock pot, convection, or micro wave the whole time. We did a lot of eating out, and brought home leftovers as well instead. She said we were "eating my inheritance".
We do carry a 2 burner electric stove for picnic table top use, along with a BBQ and use them a lot in the warmer weather. Our counter space works well, even with two of us getting breakfast or lunch together. You don't have to travel very far to get anything!
Google says you can buy the coach of your choice, no need for a conventional oven.
how to make Yorkshire pudding in a convection oven
Yorkshire Puddings (http://vermeulen.ca/yorkies.html)
Yes the only thing is you need to heat the oven up for a few minutes before you put them in. I have a Panasonic combi and it works good but you have to keep the puddings low in the oven to stop the tops burning. Also, they have to be in microwave dishes not foil
Most who buy a late 90's are happy with them, so now go find your dream.
My wife missed her oven/range, so we ordered one from Atwood. Modified the stovetop cabinet and installed it. Gave up some lower drawers. Meals out of the oven are great and chief cook is happy.
Al & Sue
(on the road in Ajo)
The combo oven and four burner old magic chef units burner output was not high enough to bring a large pot to boil. I have had to straddle two burners or heat the big pot on the barbecue out of doors . The gaggenau for sure puts out more btu's by far.
Would be tempted to add a countertop oven myself which unfortunately would need to be electric and stored when not needed.
Bob
We took out our splendide washer dryer as we did not use it very much and I built shelves in the cabinet and my wife bought a commercial type oven that runs on 120 volts and she loves it and it bakes very well.
We think the convection oven works very well. We have an outdoor grill that gets a lot of use. We also have an electric tea kettle mostly for heating water much faster than the stove top and it usually frees up a burner.
Amazon.com: Aroma AWK-115S Hot H20 X-Press 1-1/2-Liter Cordless Water Kettle: (http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-AWK-115S-X-Press-2-Liter-Cordless/dp/B000KDVTJI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1392575353&sr=8-2&keywords=Aroma+electric+teapots+and+kettles)
Sometimes you have to get a bit creative to make what you want. Do the best with what you have. Almost anything is possible with what comes in a Foretravel.
We like having a regular oven rather than using the convection oven, so we carry a Camp Chef propane outdoor stove/oven combo for times we want to roast a chicken or bake something larger than will fit in the electric toaster oven we have inside. On hot days it's especially nice to be able to bake outside without heating up the motorhome!
Amazon.com: Camp Chef Camping Outdoor Oven with 2 Burner Camping Stove: Kitchen (http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Camping-Outdoor-Burner/dp/B0013LLSZG/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1392576125&sr=8-7&keywords=camp+chef)
Tys and Don
I have a set of cast iron pot's, 6 inch to 14 inch.
Use charcoal.
Cook rib's, beef roast's, pork roast's, pork chops and chili & beans, beans and much much more.
Just takes time, but then that's what I have most of now.
And what a nice job those pots do when the cook knows what he is doing.
Roland
We are on our fourth Foretravel. The U280 had a gas oven and a dishwasher. Seems like we used the oven once for something.
As for the cooktop it must be under the movable panel the coffee maker sits on. Hmmm. We may try it someday.
Last night I baked a pizza in my U300's Magic Chef gas oven and it made my coach smell wonderful while warming it up of course. I'm baking some chicken breast patties right now for chicken sandwiches. Usually I toast the buns on the gas stove top burner with a modified metal toaster designed for a Coleman stove but tonight I decided not to toast the buns. Earlier today I made coffee in an old fashioned percolator on the gas stove top burner... and some hot chocolate too... and sometimes I heat up water with it when I don't want to start my gas water heater... How come these newer coaches don't have a four burner gas range with a gas oven like my 1991 coach? It would be a deal breaker for me if the coach didn't have a gas stove with a gas oven, and a gas refrigerator, water heater, furnace. I like gas appliances and the fact that they use so little power when I'm on batteries like I was last week when I camped out in the parking lot at work during the snow storm. :)
Yum! I think I want to do more traveling with Bill and Jo! I don't need no stinkin' oven if I keep their glasses filled. :P
We don't cook much at home or on the road. We do well with an electric waffle iron, toaster oven, the OEM microwave/convection oven, and four burner propane stove. One burner would probably be enough for us.
After reading this thread, I think I'd be interested in testing the products of some of you gourmets.
Good answers all. Interesting no one has thought the counter space compromised. We have been at this a long time and find we have slipped into full timing. We enjoy it, and some of the children are filling the house. The weber grill and George Forman (sp) oven are at hand. Crock pot and deep fryer are also along for the ride. The cast iron dutch oven and the rest of the set are on my boat, too heavy for this machine and the cook.
Cooking for 2 is one thing, Mum likes to cook in here for everyone. Many times 8 or more. We do it now in 1/2 the space of a FT galley, albeit the coffee maker is an original space saver and the blender built in.
i'm satisfied from the information above, an oven modification may be made without too much trouble.
Look at it this way, I do not see any compromise with the drive line and build/features. The wife looks there and poof, no oven and a "second thought" galley. (compared to the rest of the unit) Thanks again, Tom 86 Sportscoach crosscountry.
Tom,
I'm also one who cooks all our meals in/around the FT. I have even done canning in our coach. The 2-burner cooktop is a big limitation (not enough room for 2 large pans at the same time), but the portable induction hob that John S. carries is a good idea (I think someone else here uses one as well) as long as you have magnetic stainless or cast iron cookware.
The microwave in nearly all FT (certainly recent years) also functions as a convection oven. You treat it like a regular oven (it basically is, just with the addition of air circulation) - preheat then bake/roast however long your recipe calls for (I have never found the need to adjust the time/temperature of a recipe). The Sharp series have a turntable-off setting so you can do larger pans (up to a 13" pizza pan or a casserole dish). The older Advantium (a GE convection/micro with an added "speedbake" quartz lamp mode) cannot turn off the turntable so they can be a challenge for larger pans. The newer Advantiums (released last year) have 2 metal racks so you can even do 2 9x13 pans on bake (not on speedbake or microwave) if so inclined and not worry about the turntable.
Michelle
Don, thanks for reminding me about that oven you gave link on. We liked yours when we were in Dallas and Ruth asked me to order it and I forgot. I have now ordered it.
JohnH
We'll be trying out cooking in the coach next week. Somewhere along the line one of the previous owners replaced the microwave with a Whirlpool unit. I don't think it is a convection unit, but we do have the four-burner stove and oven. Jo Ann's pizza stone just fits in the oven. We're taking along the juicer and her Kitchenaide mixer. I don't know for sure where they will live while traveling, but the juicer will be out on the counter every morning. Of course the Bunn coffeemaker will go with us, and it will be out all the time. It will probably have to ride in the sink on travel days, though.
We always leave our coffee maker on the counter when we go down the road ... should be no problem. Same thing when we traveled with a juicer. They don't seem to go anywhere ... unless you have to make an emergency panic stop! Now ... a Kitchenaide would be a flying missile that I might want to avoid.
We have a portable Berghoff induction hob that gets used in place of the gas cooktop almost all the time.
It lives in a drawer (saves counter space) and gets pulled out when it's time to cook. We like the idea of having the gas burners as well as the electric (flexibility...), but really only use the electric. It would be nice to have two burners, so we will probably replace the gas cooktop with a dual induction stove.
We pulled the gas altogether. Built a drawer and put the induction stove in. It also holds pans too. We have a single burner one in there now have a double as well but decided not to install that and store it away. Gave us lots of counter space. We also pulled the sink and put in a single bowl stainless. That little short second bowl took up space and we have the same use but more space. We Velcro down the coffee maker too a kurig. Works great and we have twice the space.
...so all of you folks crank up your diesel gensets every time you wanna cook something? ...or you stay plugged in all the time? ...just curious ...(starting up old fashioned gas stove with percolator on the burner) ;D
If I understand induction cooking, you must use pots and pans that have a special type of bottom with the heating coil in them. Is that correct?
No, the pans just have to be metal that is magnetic. Scott, I have no problem starting the generator as that is what it is for. So yes if we are going to cook a while I start it up. I also start it in the morning to bulk charge the batteries after the night especially if we are driving. I like having no propane onboard too. It is not a big issue to start and it is quiet too.
Oh and in the summer I will run it all the time for AC too.
Royce, the induction does take a special pot/pan, must be steel or any thing a magnet will attach to. Most use stainless steel.
Induction requires ferrous metal pans (ones that a magnet will stick to)
Very even heat, cool cooktop, fast (generally) to heat up and cooktop doesn't get hot
True Stainless Steel in NOT magnetic,Stainclad is.
Does a change in altitude make a difference in the way the cooking is done?
Larry
I am David, kb0zke's wife, Jo Ann. We are now cooking in the coach most of the time. Since we are still at the house, I could use the house stove if necessary for another week and a half. I have used the Magic Chef oven twice, but I'm not impressed. I told David that I will have to adjust my cooking to more stove-top dishes. Our microwave is not the original, and is not a convection oven, so that will not help with pizza. David really likes my pizza, so I will have to do some experimenting.
After seeing Don and Tys's oven we bought one and Ruth loves it. She has even baked bread in it as well as regular things.
Amazon.com: Camp Chef Camping Outdoor Oven with 2 Burner Camping Stove: Kitchen (http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Camping-Outdoor-Burner/dp/B0013LLSZG/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&tag=foreforums-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957)
JohnH
JoAnn,
Our oven was off 50degrees from thermostat. After adjusted works even for pizza.. store bought not fresh made like yours.
Check your temps. ^.^d
John,
This is something my wife might be interested in. Is there any special trick to running this off your "big tank" in the coach? Do you need a second regulator besides the one built into the stove? Do you have a photo of the gas line connection at the coach end? I already have a quick connect gas outlet on my coach tank that was added by a PO, but I want to be sure it is in the correct position for this kind of setup.
Larry,
Altitude is not a factor like gas with induction cooking ^.^d
How did you adjust your oven temperature?
Harold,
takes a few times, little adjustments.
Determine temp of oven with a thermometer.
Remove thermostat knob, either a pull off or set screw.
There should be a slot the knob slides into that is a hollow stem, use a small flat head screwdriver to use into the stem, there is a small screw turn right to increase, left to decrease.
Open oven door to let out heat each adjustment
Thank you! I'll go give that a try.
As altitude increases, the boiling temp of water decreases. at 8,000 ' water boils at 197 degrees F. So hard boiled eggs take 25 minutes after boiling starts. A 3 minute egg is not much cooked.
So, times increase with any cooking that has water in it. Add 10 minutes to a 2 pound loaf of bread.
Since Scott's coffee pot requires boiling to percolate, it will make better coffee at 8000 than at sea level, since 190 is the preferred temp for coffee making.
I have experienced no changes required for my gas MagicChef 4 burner + oven.
Mostly facts.
See Dave M for grammar and spelling ::)
Yep, but...
The efficiency of the apparatus does not decrease and I thought that was the topic and or question.
Sorry if I miss understood. ::)
Chuck, right now we are running it off the little green bottles but will once home be using the 15' hose I have for the BBQ. I put a shut off on gas line manifold long time ago and this hose has a dedicated valve/regulator on the one end and is same size as stove one so should work ok. The one on stove comes off with tank so I just need a brass nipple/ connection to quick connect the hose too. This oven is well made and should last. By the way the bottles seem to last and last, so good value from them.
JohnH
I love our kitchen set-up. We are full-timers, and cook at home every day. I do all my cooking and baking in the convection/microwave oven. I thought it would take a lot of special tweaking, but so far, I haven't missed a beat. Those candied sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving time couldn't have been prettier or tastier. :D
For burners, we have only used our Gaggenau 2 burner gas cooktop twice. We find it too much of a hassle really. We use something called a Haloplate - a halogen cooker. They are portable, lightweight, get SUPER HOT SUPER QUICK, cool down quickly....basically all the good things an induction cooker does, only you can use any pot or pan that you wish. It heats with a halogen bulb. We actually have two of them, and at least one of them gets used daily. They both store easily in the pantry, on a shelf that looks like it was designed for it. We can cook everything from breakfast tacos on them, to pasta, to ScubaGuy's amazing chili in the dutch oven, and the halogen cooker never fails us. Definitely our favorite item added to our kitchen.
The only bad thing....you cannot find them in America. :o
Is the halogen cooker you mention a hot plate? If so where can you get one? I can find the ovens, but not a hot plate.
(https://www.foreforums.com/imagecache.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.philips.com%2Fis%2Fimage%2FPhilipsConsumer%2FHD4412_04-IMS-global%3Fwid%3D225%26amp%3Bhei%3D225%26amp%3B%24jpglarge%24&hash=3da0cb2d087ebfc9acd554c3964f9e76" rel="cached" data-hash="3da0cb2d087ebfc9acd554c3964f9e76" data-warn="External image, click here to view original" data-url="http://images.philips.com/is/image/PhilipsConsumer/HD4412_04-IMS-global?wid=225&hei=225&$jpglarge$)
PatC, that is it! We have two of those. A halogen cooker is similar to a hot plate, only the hot plate uses an electric coil, and the Haloplate uses halogen.
one of the really nice things we like about our induction stove in our sticks and bricks is that the cooktop does not heat up much (only the heat that is conducted back from the pan to the glass), and cools down almost immediately. Other solutions that actually heat the heating surface and then transfer that heat to the pan and then to the food.
Choice! Isn't it great to have them :-) I love the different viewpoints and ideas that we get on this forum
I have a induction hot plate and really like it, but I also have some cookware that I'm fond of and would like to try one of those halogen hot plates. I've seen the Phillips one above, but don't know where to buy one. If anyone finds a source, for the hot plates, please post where.
Interesting idea but I am like Tim, I really like our induction and with the residential fridge and AH there is no need for propane either.
My problem with the oven is that pizza and bread burned on the bottom yet weren't done on the top. I've made several casseroles with no problem, but they are more forgiving. Our microwave oven does not include convection. The convection/microwave was replaced before we bought the coach. I'm good with buying pizza bread but David would prefer home made.
A quick Google search for "burned on the bottom, not cooked on the top",
try this method to better understand and use a new oven. Really a neat way to map the heat, and get the best results in the future.
Why Does My Oven Burn My Biscuit Bottoms (http://www.home-ec101.com/why-does-my-oven-burn-my-biscuit-bottoms/)
Other search results said. 1. check the true temp with your handy little temp. gauge, set on the shelf, 2. then move the cooking rack up as well.
Our oven has the burner on the bottom shelf, therin it is the hottest. Moving to the upper shelf or deflecting the heat with a pan on the bottom will improve baking results.
When using compressed gasoline, in the woods. The 50,000 btu open flame M2 burner for the M59 Range often burned baked items, we placed a full aluminum cookie sheet on the bottom rack - no more burning the pineapple upside down cake ^.^d
That statement is worthless without proof, we need samples, and not just a photo.
Compressed gasoline ? What is that, never heard of it. Maybe LPG ?
Gary B
Dave, that can be arranged. Probally not in the M59 range unless it could be arranged during a WWII reenactment.
Gary the M2 burner uses unleaded gasoline in the 2+ gallon u-shaped pressure tank. Using a bicycle air pump to 12# pressure. Light the combustion pre burner for 4-10 minutes. Then turn on the combustion tube valve. Once the full burnerbis lit, turn off the pre burner. Flame should last 4-7 hours at 75%.
Manufacturer: Coleman
OHHHH. OK Like a Coleman lantern, Sorry the terminology threw me, my old head could not envision compressing gasoline.
Gary B
"Google says you can buy the coach of your choice, no need for a conventional oven.
how to make Yorkshire pudding in a convection oven
Yorkshire Puddings
Yes the only thing is you need to heat the oven up for a few minutes before you put them in. I have a Panasonic combi and it works good but you have to keep the puddings low in the oven to stop the tops burning. Also, they have to be in microwave dishes not foil
Most who buy a late 90's are happy with them, so now go find your dream.
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Barry & Cindy"
Now as a Yorkshire-man THIS IS something I am an expert on. I thank you for posting this. Now Joyce has no excuses.
Keith
OK, I found an Oven in a U320. Other things are being modified at MOT. I have found my "dream". A big learning curve from an 86 P32 454 37 foot tag. Took me years and years to know my way around that. Luckily there were few electronics and basic duck tape/vise grip fixes. This coach will present challenges. (not too many I hope)
Now, the Yorkshire pudding; preferably a heavy cast iron flat pan with one inch plus sides. Fat drippings and crisco get zizzeling, about 450 degrees, pour batter in; rises to golden brown about 15 minutes depending. No muffin tins! Cut into servings and enjoy with rich gravy and prime rib. The taste and texture is quite different from the muffin tin variety. Your mileage may vary. Tom and Mary
Sounds good.