Cooking in a Teardrop Caravan Kitchen

‘I don’t like cooking in my caravan’ is a phrase we often hear from campers who have a more traditional style of caravan or campervan. Inevitably having your kitchen within a confined space where you also sleep is not the ideal situation, especially when your away to enjoy the outdoors.

What is it like cooking in a Teardrop Caravan?

All our Teardrop Caravans have an external kitchen, with most models being at the back where you open the rear hatch, but some also come with the option of a side slide out kitchen. The outdoor kitchen means all your cooking smells, steam and smoke are outdoors, leaving your sleeping compartment completely separate. There are lots of different options for how you setup your kitchen in our Teardrop Caravans so we will discuss some of there here.

Hero Campers

With all the Hero Campers the kitchen is at the back, lift up the hatch to expose a stainless steel kitchen surface with integrated sink and storage drawers. There is enough space to store all your kitchen essentials and a rail system to allow for the attachment of utensils in whichever way suits you. The surfaces are easy to clean and the integrated sink is fed by an electric pump from the water tank and then waste water runs out to a bucket under the camper. The kitchen has space for a fridge within a large drawer and behind that a 12V and 240V power supply. For cooking there are a few options..

• Small gas stove - A small gas stove or a couple of stoves will fit in the drawers with the small cartridge gas cylinders.

• Induction hob - If you are on an electric hook up why not just grab an induction hob for clean and easy cooking, or pack your slow cooker.

• Large gas stove with gas bottle - A larger stove can be used on the kitchen work surface and then lead the gas pipe out to a larger gas bottle that can be carried in the front storage box.

Procamp Teardrop Caravans (Bushcamp/Explorer)

With the Procamp Teardrop Caravans there are two different kitchen setups with the Pioneer and Scout models (within the Bushcamp/Explorer range) all having a side slide out kitchen. This kitchen can be accessed inside the caravan and pulled out to become an external kitchen. Inside access is really for grabbing some snacks and drinks etc. Pull out the kitchen and you have storage drawers, a sink and a fridge. The cooking options on these models are the same as the options you have with the Hero Campers.

Then at the top of the range is the Bushcamp and Escape Explorer model where the kitchen is at the rear of the caravan. The hatch opens up to reveal a full kitchen that is ready to go. There are lots of storage cupboards, a fridge slide, power sockets and a light. This model comes standard with a sink and electric pump fed from the underfloor water tank. Optionally an integrated gas stove with sink can be installed. The caravan if optioned up with the hot water system will deliver hot water into the kitchen as well as a shower outlet on the side of the caravan.

Do i need an awning over the kitchen?

If the weather is ok then no you don’t need an awning and even with a little bit of rain this will not be an issue. So if you are doing a quick overnight stop you may not want to put an awning out. If the weather is bad and the wind pushing the rain into the kitchen area then you may want an awning to keep dry and stop the wind taking away all the heat from your stove. With the Hero Campers there is an optional kitchen awning which slides in above the hatch and creates a closed in area for cooking as well as space for a table and chairs. The Hero Camper kitchen awning can also be unzipped to create a half height awning. We think this awning is brilliant and such a clever design. For the Procamp Caravans there is a 270 degree awning available which is easy to pull out and create coverage down the side and over the kitchen, then walls can be zipped in if required. This style provides coverage across all outdoor areas of the Teardrop Caravan. If you are using a side slide out kitchen model then a simple straight out awning is available with walls that can be added.

We do find that we seem to setup differently each time we go away based on the wind, rain and length of stay or even just to create some privacy.

Please ask us any questions you may have, as we do have a lot of options available to customise your Teardrop Caravan to suit your style of camping.