Anyone use toaster ovens or air fry ovens or combo?

[msrdo]

We have a new to us 30 amp class C. Wondering if it's worth using a small toaster oven or combo oven as opposed to firing up the oven for small items.. toast, fries, etc.

 

[Larry N.]

We have a new to us 30 amp class C. Wondering if it's worth using a small toaster oven or combo oven as opposed to firing up the oven for small items.. toast, fries, etc.

We occasionally used a toaster oven in our travels, especially for something like garlic bread, but we more often used the convection oven function of our microwave oven (baking biscuits, cakes, casseroles, etc). If you're plugged in to shore power (or running your generator) then either alternative will be fine, but on 30 amp service you'll need to be aware of how much total juice you're using at the moment, since either the toaster oven or the air fryer will use a fair amount of juice.

Either one will also reduce heat buildup in the coach, and when we had a propane oven the heat distribution in it was rather poor.

 

[TheBar]

We don't boondock anymore so we went total electric. The electric hookup never needs to be refilled.

 

[RNS1]

Our convection toaster oven gets well used, second behind our air fryer.

 

[Derby6]

We have what I call a toaster oven. Tons you can do with it but we mainly make toast and use air fryer functions. You could bake or broil but I never have. Too date I have NEVER used an oven in any of my RV’s. We grill a lot and use stovetop.

 

[Isaac-1]

We have a convection / microwave that is used in both modes, as well as an air fryer, I have found the air fryers with either pull out drawers or top opening designs tend to work MUCH better than the ones that look like conventional toaster ovens with front glass doors.

 

[UTTransplant]

I have a big Breville air fryer. I use it all the time! The built in convection microwave takes forever to heat up, while the Breville take less than 10 minutes even for 450 (broil). It can hold a 9x13 pan, and comes with all kinds of pans for different types of cooking. We use it boondocking if the total time will be less than 20-30 minutes. Yes it uses quite a bit of power, but it is very efficient in getting things cooked.

 

[Isaac-1]

We also use ours when boondocking, but we have 420AH of LiFePo4 batteries and 1,110 watts of solar panels on the roof.

 

[Kirk]

We have used a toaster oven in the RV more than we ever did in the house.

 

[UTTransplant]

We also use ours when boondocking, but we have 420AH of LiFePo4 batteries and 1,110 watts of solar panels on the roof.

We have 600 amp hours of lithium batteries, but only 900 watts of solar on the roof. I just never think of people not having lithium and solar if they boondock a lot like we do. We are in the MH about 7-8 months a year, and the vast majority of that time is dry camping or boondocking. I am just not fond of RV campgrounds.

 

[Isaac-1]

We are about to do our longest stretch of boondocking to date on our upcoming trip to Yellowstone next month, though perhaps with a night or two of full hookups interspersed along the way. 2 nights dry camping before picking my wife up at the airport in Casper, then 2 nights full hookup to do laundry,grocery shopping etc, followed by 6 nights in Yellowstone dry camping, then 5 nights in Grand Tetons dry camping before my wife has to fly home from Jackson, WY, then maybe 1 night of full hookups and I am off to the FRVA (FMCA) convention in Gillette, WY for another 6-7 nights of dry camping, then perhaps more on my way driving home to Louisiana

 

[RRR]

My wife refuses to use the stove or the oven as it takes too much counter space after the covers are removed. The microwave is a convection bake and does quite well. We use an air fryer for lots of stuff. Cut frozen pizza, (Was better when Costco sold the unbaked ones). She has made cookies and cakes in both the MW and AF. For the AF we bent a stiff pie pan from a restaurant a little to fit. She has done some other cook wizardry with stuff I can't remember.

That and an electric fry pan, plus a propane fire pit I bought a couple years ago when the place we were staying has a no burn policy year around, Grandkids like to do the hotdog thing on it and I jury-rigged an old BBQ grill for the top. Haven't tried cooking anything else on it yet but that time is a coming.

 

[L-M-L]

The wife uses an air fryer all the time when we are camping.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

OP, a lot depends on being hooked up to shore power and using your 30A power cord. If that is the type of camping you mostly do, go ahead and use the toaster oven or air fryer as much as possible. However, either device will pull a lot of juice from your 30A system. My DW (dear wife) and I never use our oven. We use an induction cooktop mostly inside the rig, and outside for breakfast. I use my DW's mom's 60-year-old electric fry pan and our propane Coleman grill. When using the induction cooktop, toaster, drip coffee pot, hair dryer, air conditioner(s), or the electric fireplace, the first thing we'll do is turn off the electric heating for the hot water tank. Next, we stay very conscience of "what other electric items are running simultaneously". Although we have 50A service available, we still keep tabs on what pulls a lot of power, i.e., air conditioners on start-up, hair dryers, and most plug-in electric appliances.

So, keep an eye on what you are using each time, and you should be fine using your toaster oven or hair fryer.

 

[Sunnyfalls]

We have a 100AH LIFEPO4 battery which enables us to have 120VAC 20A 2400 Watts power capability to use for our coffee maker, hair dryer, microwave oven, toaster oven, 2-slice toaster, toilet heated bidet seat and vacuum cleaner when we don't have shore power.

To provide convection oven cooking capability without taking up much space or using much weight, we use our innovative Swedish design Omnia Cooktop Oven which we absolutely love as it vastly expands our camping menu options.

When we have 50A shore power, we have 14,400 Watts of total power capability which enables us to use our electric (240VAC 6500 Watts)/propane (44,000 BTU/H) tankless water heater and our 240VAC 3500 Watts Induction cooktop.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

 

[garyb1st]

We bought a toaster oven, used it once and it's been sitting in our house for the past 2 years. For us, even with our 35 foot motorhome, we didn't have room for it. The wife likes to cook and uses a rice cooker frequently. That said, if we had room we'd probably keep it in the RV.

 

[scottydl]

I bought 3 small appliances (gently used on FB Marketplace) to replace oven alternatives that we use all the time in the house, and replicating that in the trailer… a small air fryer, a pizzazz pizza oven (basically a round tray that rotates through a heating element), and a smaller George Foreman grill. We use & love them all for different purposes, and they’ll cook almost anything instead of an oven, while generating very little heat.

If your RV microwave is a combo unit with convection function, that’s a great option — but many models don’t come with those units anymore.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

I love the Pizzazz pizza oven. My brother in Raleigh has one, and every spring, when we spend two weeks at Falls Lake SP CG, we make sure to have pizzas at his house. It's cool how they cook the top and bottom of the pie.

As I mentioned in my prior post, we try to use electric appliances when hooked up to shore power, saving on propane use. However, when the weather is nice, nothing beats cooking over an open fire.

 

[DutchmenSport]

We have a toaster oven we use in the house, but not in the trailer. In the trailer we have a conventional "toaster" and use the oven for baking.

If you are really in a hurry, just turn on one of your gas stove burners, stick a slice of bread on a fork, and hold the bread over the flame of the stove. Toasts magnificently! (and fast). Just don't get it so close it catches fire! We do the same thing over a campfire too.

 

[SargeW]

The DW has both a toaster oven and a air fryer that she uses all the time. Also a Instant Pot for a variety of recipes. Haven't turned on the regular oven in years.