To all the traveling RVers, this question is for you.
How many of you stop ... And how many ... use your RV kitchen ...
We are probably 50 / 50. It all depends upon how far we are traveling, where we are going, our end points for the day's travel, how tired we are, how hungry we are.
Mostly, we have available quick foods we can fix in the camper when on the road ... canned soups, canned green beans, or something that can be reheated on the propane stove top. We may stop for lunchmeat sandwiches, Little Debby's, some fresh fruit, a glass of milk or soda, or what ever. When actually traveling, we very seldom do full scale meals, like first time cooked fried chicken or BBQ on a grill. But we do stop, get out of the truck, go to the fifth wheel, fix something, take the time to eat, and move on.
Other times we may stop and actually use a restaurant. When we do, it's usually fast food, like a McDonalds, Wendy's, or Burger King. We'll purchase the food and then take it back to the camper and eat there. When traveling, time is important. We do not speed or rush, but we cannot spend a couple hours sitting at a restaurant either waiting to be served.
And then, sometimes, we just have snack food in the truck and just keep driving, grabbing a candy bar or an ice cream bar at the gas station when filling up with fuel.
The farther the distance we need to travel in a given amount of time, the less likely we are to stop at an actual restaurant. Once at our end point for the day, we can unhitch and run into town, or wherever, and go to a sit-down meal.
In the end, it all depends upon how much time we have for the overall route, the time we allow ourselves traveling on a daily basis, and how we feel at the moment.
We have one other consideration too. We have 2 dogs, and we NEVER leave them in the truck alone, not even for a few minutes. We may put them inside the camper for a few minutes while we take care of business, but that IS only a few minutes. The dogs are never alone. That eliminates both of us going into a gas station or a restaurant at the same time. That's why we grab it, and eat in the camper.
Now... un until the last 5 years or so, we primarily ate at the camper and fixed meals at the camper once at the campsite. I absolutely enjoy cooking at the camper. But, that was when we were doing week-end get-aways and the 2 week summer trips.
Now that we are long-timers, (away from home 3 to 6 months at a stretch), eating out in an actual restaurant is pretty much as frequent as when we are home. On average, when on a 5 or 6 month trek, parked at one location for 4 months or so, we may actually "eat out" once ever 2 weeks or so. The rest of the time, it's just like home ... fix "it" at "home". Eating out is VERY expensive these days.... even McDonalds has ridiculous prices. We can't afford that every day.
One more thing... we eat well, and healthy, with a mix of junk food ever now and then. Because I camp host, we have no camping fees. The single most expensive part of our RVing experience is the cost of food.... grocery store and occasional eating out, or getting a pizza from a pizza restaurant. Any time we "in", it's always costs less per meal than it does when eating "out". Remember, when eating "out" ... unless it's a McDonalds, there's always "tipping" costs too, which makes for some REALLY expensive dining experiences. Who can afford that on a regular basis? Well.... you "can" max out your credit card and file bankruptcy ... but we have moral ethical standards we won't compromise on too.
