Fridge or Oven? (1 Viewer)

[Personize]

Hi Newbie here. Purchased our 1st Motorhome last year, 1992 Ducato Hymer Camp. We have only used it for 1 trip so far! 1st time out we had to turn home after the exhaust fell off! That’s now fixed & MOT’d just need a few small problems ironing out. We cannot totally understand the electrics but I’ll leave that for another day.
I have just spent 3 weeks removing the old Electrolux fridge, not easy at all, hidden screws & sealer. I had to resort to breaking it up from the inside to remove!!! A replacement Electrolux RM5380 is going to cost £600 + fitting. The question is, do we go ahead & replace the fridge or buy a combicool fridge box . These are 3 way but need sitting outside when using gas. Then we could use the space to fit a oven & hob. Seems this idea is more to our liking but not sure how easy this will be. Your thoughts please.

 

[JeanLuc]

We don't have an oven and have never missed it; for others it seems to be a 'must have'. But we could not manage without a fridge. If you have any plans to take the motorhome abroad, particularly if you plan to use aires, I would have thought a fridge is more important than an oven.

 

[Bellini]

Agreed. :thumb:

Fridge first. Oven isn't essential but, my opinion, a fridge most definitely is.

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[Dubiousp]

Fridge is the 1st for me

 

[Fireman Sam]

fridge

 

[lugnutt]

fridge for ...beer
oven for ...fb pie's

need both

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[ourcampersbeentrashed]

definitely fridge first xxxx

 

[Bluemooner]

Fridge for me as well

 

[Personize]

Was looking at Broken Link Removed. Next year planning to travel around Europe for 12 months. Was just thinking the above is 41Lt capacity and thought that would be large enough for Milk, Butter etc & a few beers. £600 seems a bit expensive for a fridge that is only twice the capacity.

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[mitzimad]

from what ive read on various forums the only coo lboxes worth having cost as much as a fridge twice the size, cheaper ones tend to be extremely power hungry especially on 12v and as you say cant be run on gas internaly
oven is a must have for us but its a matter of choice depending how and where you intend using the van

 

[MichelleRyall]

Definitely fridge and a Cadac for cooking outside

 

[maz]

Another vote for the fridge.

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[Personize]

Thanks for all your comments. You've all got me thinking now! I think 12months away without a cooker would be a problem. An oven would only fit in the space left by the fridge. The solution seems to be move the fridge location. Maybe in the Wardrobe?

 

[carolyn]

Fridge plus Remoska

 

[JeanLuc]

You say 'without a cooker' but surely you have a hob. An awful lot can be cooked on a hob.
We also carry a small Cadac gas barbecue that plugs into an external LPG socket on the van and a Remoska. But in seven years, we have used the Remoska once - just shows how much can be done on a hob. Also, I suggest you search for 'double skillet' on Fun before making a decision.

As for moveing the fridge to a different location, I would be very wary of that since the venting is a critical matter and presently it is all in the right place. Also, the gas, 12V and 230V supplies will all have to be moved.

If, as I mentioned above, you plan to use aires (and that is one of the great advanteges of a motorhome) you would not want to leave a coolbox outside the van. In fact, you are not suposed to leave anything outside on an aire, but experience suggests there is a bit of leeway in this respect so long as everything is packed away at night.

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[TheBig1]

if budget is a major consideration, I would be inclined to pick up a decent second hand fridge taken from a recent caravan. there are several caravan breakers around, and they are an excellent source of quality parts for older vans.

as for fitting, have a local mobile caravan engineer do the job for you. much cheaper than using a dealers workshop. I am not being rude, but the way you describe removing the old fridge shows you need a little professional help, especially with gas appliances for safety reasons:thumb:

as for ovens, we occasionally use ours, but its usually just used as another cupboard for pots and pans

 

[Personize]

This is still in the early stages of planning yet. 12months away the minimum. Europe does not necessarily mean warmth & Sunshine. Camp sites possible but not always. I am not saying we will endure freezing conditions, hopefully the planning will keep us mostly in the sunshine but living outside cooking on a BBQ will be infrequent. The whole idea of this little adventure is to see the real country not just chasing sunshine & Sand.

 

[sedge]

Look if it's a straight choice between an oven and a fridge, fridge wins.

BUT ... we have one of those cabinets doings (think it's Waeco) and used to use it tent camping on sites. It will use a 6kg gas bottle up in about a fortnight using outside or in a gazebo - if it happens to be windy at all you'll need a refill before the end of your holiday. Camping Gaz is about the same consumption and you can get that easily in France at about €24 a go - about £80 for starters with the bottle if you haven't already got one.

Where will it be - outside - on an aire, ready for the world and his dog to help themselves to beer, or nick it - on a campsite ditto, on electric someone else can helpfully unplug it, if there are ants and there always are they'll get in, if they don't get right in they'll get in the seals ......

Quite a lot of larger bottles (pop) are too high to stand up in it if you want perishables in it .....

I love that box fridge - it's an absolute boon if you have nowt else. But when you have got a choice I know what I'd do.

What do they weigh? How does that compare with this

http://www.jacksonsleisure.com/cara...s/spinflo-nelson-2-burner-hob-caravan-cooker/

They ARE good - we used to go camping en famille/friends - 10 of us ....... so I know them both well (the fridge and cooker) except our cooker is the older one that Flavel used to make. And no we're not selling LOL

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[MHVirgins]

If we had to choose between oven and fridge it would definitely be the fridge. Even a basic one to chill milk, butter, perishable foods, beer etc is a must even in the winter months let alone the summer:thumb:

 

[BreweryDave]

Fridge! And a halogen oven for everything else - have never used our gas oven and grill but it's a handy space to store onions and spuds etc!

 

[Personize]

Thank you good points! Going to see if I can purchase a smaller fridge to go in the wardrobe. Get it fitted by a gas engineer. This way I address your points & do not have to pay the cost of a fridge that fits back into the space left by my old fridge. Because this was an old model fridge I can only find 1 new replacement that will fit. At a cost of £600 seems a bit expensive. Fitting vents & flu do not look to hard. Providing a qualified engineer checks the vents and installs the pipe work should be easy! LOL

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[TheBig1]

a VERY quick way to devalue your investment in a motorhome is to start cutting it about and moving appliances. Putting a fridge in the wardrobe is an example of this for a number of reasons. not least cutting more holes in the wall and floor of the van can lead to leaks and potentially damaging the structural integrity.

dont dismiss second hand fridges immediately as they often get little use in a caravan over a couple of years. find an accident damaged or damp caravan being broken for spares and you can pick up the latest versions. this link is for a newer one than you removed from your van in working condition for just £150
Broken Link Removed

 

[maz]

living outside cooking on a BBQ will be infrequent.

The alternative to a conventional gas oven need not be a BBQ!

For example:

A Remoska http://www.remoska.co.uk/ runs on 240v but is low enough wattage to run off an inverter when off EHU.

A Double Skillet (if you can get hold of one) http://www.doubleskillet.com/about/ is used on the gas hob.

If you pay the £10 sub you'll be able to search through all the threads there have been on alternatives to ovens and how to use them.

 

[scotjimland]

I agree with Thebig1 .. puting a fridge in the wardrobe is a bad idea.. the van will become almost unsellable.. it will have patches on one side where the old fridge vents were.. and where do you now hang or store clothing.. ?

also fitting in the wardrobe may cost a lot more than you think.. it's not a straightforward job.. rewiring 12v and 230v supplies, re piping the gas line plus fitting vents.. say four - eight hours labour at around £50 per hour + fridge. Fitting in the existing location is at best an hours labour.. and you could do that yourself..

you don't need an oven.. but you do need a fridge.. bite the bullet and buy new, it's an investment and will add value to the van...

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[Movinon]

Broken Link Removed

"up to 25c below ambient". So if the ambient temperature is 35c, your fridge will offer an internal temperature of +10c. That isn't healthy. And it may not even be achievable. Fridges should keep stuff below +5c. The combicool should only be considered as a beer cooler.

We run a standard 3-way fridge internally, and a Waeco portable compressor fridge which keeps stuff at temperatures down to -22c. We have a gas oven which we dislike because it's gas, and carry a small electric oven for the odd roast when we have a hookup. We don't use it often, although it is tempting as there's usually free stuff at the side of the road.

The thing is, not having a decent oven won't kill us - not having a decent fridge might well do so.

 

[Puddleduck]

Fridge! And a halogen oven for everything else - have never used our gas oven and grill but it's a handy space to store onions and spuds etc!

You beat me to it Dave.

If you don't like halogen you could always get a stand alone microwave. An oven isn't essential but in hot (or even warm) weather a fridge is unless you are buying milk/butter and other bacteria friendly foods on a daily basis.

 

[Peter & Elaine]

Fridge for me
Cadic for outside and halgon for hookup
We do have a oven but its next to useless

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[robnchris]

Without doubt a Fridge, the bigger the better with a good sized Freezer compartment, we sold out tag axle which had a big fridge and fair sized freezer our new motorhome has a smaller under the counter fridge with small freezer compatment, and Autotrail in their infinite wisdom fitted an over the axle version when not necessary grrr.oh:

We use the cooker hob, slow cooker and remoska for all our cooking plus a cadac bbq, the oven will never be used.

 

[oldun]

As above - fridge plus remoska

 

[Reallyretired]

We use our oven a lot, but the fridge is most important, pretty well essential in fact.
If the cost is important buy second hand and put it in the correct place where the services are already present. Moving it anywhere else will devalue the van and probably cost a lot more if you are having it fitted.