How have you outfitted your Basecamp galley?

[S.Duckling]

Aside from food, what do you bring with you during your Basecamp adventures?

My first priority is coffee, so we bring along an electric four cup maker as well as an Aeropress.

We opted for no microwave so we have room for more kitchen items.

Aside from coolers and ice packs to keep your food cool ( that topic can be kept in its own thread [emoji51]) what necessities and fun items do you bring along?

[Piggy Bank]

This little stove top toaster is great. Folds flat about the size of a CD jewel case. Works on the propane stove (or a coleman stove if you use one on the pic nic table). The burner heat gets the screen part hot, so it toasts evenly (one side at a time)

Add to it a small silicone "toast tongs" (available at kitchen supply places) and you are set!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Lmnhead]

A topic close to my heart!

For coffee, we use a 32 ounce stainless steel French press. No power needed and no breakable parts.

I have no use for a microwave, so we opted out on that also. Instead we have a stowable compact toaster oven for muffins, cinnamon rolls, cornbread, etc. It's pretty versatile if you have hookups.

I have also taken along our Instant Pot, also great if you have power. Soups, rice, hard-boiled eggs, roasts...anything you'd use a slow cooker OR a pressure cooker for.

For propane cooking inside or on the grill, a cast iron griddle (or skillet) is indispensable.

We use collapsible dish pans for cleaning up outside, like a tent camper would do. It saves us from filling up our black/gray tank too quickly.

[S.Duckling]

Very nice! It looks like eating well is a part of your adventure! I like the toaster oven idea too.

[S.Duckling]

I'm afraid my trailer would smell like burnt toast with the stovetop toaster. I would need to practice at home first!

Thanks, Kris

[Gail Miller]

Originally Posted by Lmnhead

A topic close to my heart!

For coffee, we use a 32 ounce stainless steel French press. No power needed and no breakable parts.

I have no use for a microwave, so we opted out on that also. Instead we have a stowable compact toaster oven for muffins, cinnamon rolls, cornbread, etc. It's pretty versatile if you have hookups.

I have also taken along our Instant Pot, also great if you have power. Soups, rice, hard-boiled eggs, roasts...anything you'd use a slow cooker OR a pressure cooker for.

For propane cooking inside or on the grill, a cast iron griddle (or skillet) is indispensable.

We use collapsible dish pans for cleaning up outside, like a tent camper would do. It saves us from filling up our black/gray tank too quickly.
Attachment 294668Attachment 294669

Awesome!

[Kahaz]

We've tried every kind of coffee maker; of late, we discovered 'cowboy coffee', which appeals to our outdoor souls. It's a medium, old fashioned coffee pot. We usually cook over the camp stove outside, but can use the range. He actually uses the food saver, and packs up individual packets of pre measured coffee.
We keep cream in the fridge, but in case we run low, we keep a can of evaporated milk in the 'pantry'.

We didn't want the microwave, but the model we bought had it so we're trying to decide if we'll keep it there, or use the cabinet instead.

At a RV store, I found a very small-perfect for two people-dish drainer.

[Trae and Ann]

We have an MSR stove from our tent days that we still can't live without. Nothing like having water boiling in less than a minute for whatever you need it for. We also have a toaster oven that we can store under the bench. Our latest addition (although not used inside) is the BioLite basecamp stove with the pizza dome. (Name kind of suits lol). Kind of a cool company and product. Last a large cooler!! ... sorry couldn't resist

[MrKenmore]

For coffee, I have been using the very simple pour over method. I do this at home as well. Uses a #4 cone filter. Goes right into your favorite mug and doesn't take up too much space. We have the microwave. I am wondering how much we will use it. It it is idle, it may come out to gain some storage space. There's quite a bit in there!!!

Great setup Lmnhead! Looks like you have everything covered!

[swakyaby]

Useful thread! i have been collecting ideas for items from this forum. I have ordered the stovetop toaster (thanks Piggy Bank) so I can enjoy my poached egg on toast or muffin. I will be using my Aeropress coffeemaker--it's similar to a French Press, but it uses a small filter, and the grinds pop out neatly so there's minimal cleanup. I am considering the Magma nesting cookware set for it's space efficiency and induction compatible. I also have a small portable induction cooktop for when I have electrical. I like the idea of a toaster oven, but I'll see how often I actually will have electrical hookup before I store that bulky appliance.

[S.Duckling]

Originally Posted by Lmnhead

A topic close to my heart!

For coffee, we use a 32 ounce stainless steel French press. No power needed and no breakable parts.

I have no use for a microwave, so we opted out on that also. Instead we have a stowable compact toaster oven for muffins, cinnamon rolls, cornbread, etc. It's pretty versatile if you have hookups.

I have also taken along our Instant Pot, also great if you have power. Soups, rice, hard-boiled eggs, roasts...anything you'd use a slow cooker OR a pressure cooker for.

For propane cooking inside or on the grill, a cast iron griddle (or skillet) is indispensable.

We use collapsible dish pans for cleaning up outside, like a tent camper would do. It saves us from filling up our black/gray tank too quickly.
Attachment 294668Attachment 294669

I just ordered a Breville mini oven for our Basecamp. It arrives tomorrow. I never had an Easy-bake oven growing up ( too dangerous) so we are now calling the toaster oven "Easy-bake".

What brand do you have and where do you store it?

[S.Duckling]

Originally Posted by Lmnhead

A topic close to my heart!

For coffee, we use a 32 ounce stainless steel French press. No power needed and no breakable parts.

I have no use for a microwave, so we opted out on that also. Instead we have a stowable compact toaster oven for muffins, cinnamon rolls, cornbread, etc. It's pretty versatile if you have hookups.

I have also taken along our Instant Pot, also great if you have power. Soups, rice, hard-boiled eggs, roasts...anything you'd use a slow cooker OR a pressure cooker for.

For propane cooking inside or on the grill, a cast iron griddle (or skillet) is indispensable.

We use collapsible dish pans for cleaning up outside, like a tent camper would do. It saves us from filling up our black/gray tank too quickly.
Attachment 294668Attachment 294669

I just ordered a Breville mini oven for our Basecamp. It arrives tomorrow. I never had an Easy-bake oven growing up ( too dangerous) so we are now calling the toaster oven "Easy-bake".

What brand do you have and where do you store it?

[Lmnhead]

Originally Posted by S.Duckling

I just ordered a Breville mini oven for our Basecamp. It arrives tomorrow. I never had an Easy-bake oven growing up ( too dangerous) so we are now calling the toaster oven "Easy-bake".

What brand do you have and where do you store it?

I love it! Even better than an easy bake. Ours is also the Breville mini oven (you can see the instruction manual beside the wine in the photo). I store it in the cabinet where the microwave would have been. It only takes up part of the space, leaving room for the French press, a pitcher, foil, baggies, etc. I store large plates and cutting boards on top of it.

Another think I like are these clear storage bins. Not in use in this photo, but they are great for organizing pantry items by task. For example, one might hold cider vinegar, honey, cartons of broth, BBQ rubs, hot sauce...)

[S.Duckling]

Originally Posted by Lmnhead

I love it! Even better than an easy bake. Ours is also the Breville mini oven (you can see the instruction manual beside the wine in the photo). I store it in the cabinet where the microwave would have been. It only takes up part of the space, leaving room for the French press, a pitcher, foil, baggies, etc. I store large plates and cutting boards on top of it.

Another think I like are these clear storage bins. Not in use in this photo, but they are great for organizing pantry items by task. For example, one might hold cider vinegar, honey, cartons of broth, BBQ rubs, hot sauce...) Attachment 295097Attachment 295098

That looks great. I'm really glad that we opted for no microwave. We have a lot more storage and plenty of room for bringing along appliances if we camp with electric service.

[Len n Jeanne]

Originally Posted by MrKenmore

For coffee, I have been using the very simple pour over method. I do this at home as well. Uses a #4 cone filter. Goes right into your favorite mug and doesn't take up too much space. We have the microwave. I am wondering how much we will use it. It it is idle, it may come out to gain some storage space. There's quite a bit in there!!!

Great setup Lmnhead! Looks like you have everything covered!

We'd recommend this method, or cowboy coffee.

When we had the 16' Bambi and now that we're back (hopefully) to canoe trips where everything has to fit into the middle of a 16.5' canoe, we really think about efficient use of space.

You might think about asking whether, for a given item, there's

(1) a smaller sturdier version,

(2) whether the item has multiple functions, and

(3) whether it requires electricity. If it requires electricity, would you need to plug in the generator in the wilder places?

(4) Also, whether a preferred kind of food at home that requires cooking might have a just-as-nice substitute on the trip. Quick one-pot or salad suppers may be more advantageous than the standard separate protein-veggie-starch approach that require more kitchen ware to prepare.

The small trailers have a lot of charms, but abundant cooking and storage space are not among them. Unless it's summer and you can cook and do your food prep outside.

The propane stove normally works fine, but keeping the vent fan on for long periods seems like a waste of battery power.

Toast-making with a rack on top of the burner is one possibility, but so is simply browning the bread in a frying pan, with or without Texas toast-style pre-buttering.

REI and other mountain shops have so much compact lightweight gear suitable for small RVs. We bought a collapsible drip coffee cone that packs as a small disk. We brew the coffee directly into a thermos.

With cowboy coffee, you can even skip the cone and the filter papers. Just measure out the required number of cups of cold water into a pot, and 2 heaping Tblsp. regular grind coffee per cup. Sprinkle the coffee grounds on top of the cold water. Heat to a full boil, watching that the pot doesn't boil over. Turn off the stove. When the coffee grounds have mostly sunk to the bottom of the pot, sprinkle another cup (or less) of cold water on top to settle the grounds.

That's it. You may find a few grounds in the bottom of your cup, but this happens with French press and percolator methods, as well.

Kahaz, if you've got a better cowboy coffee method, I'd love to see it.

On clear storage bins, I'd recommend that these be non-rigid plastic. The hard plastic ones are apt to crack on rough roads, or just getting slammed in a cupboard door/drawer. To secure items inside a cupboard, spread the towels on top so the stuff is less apt to jump and shake around while in transit.

Maggie started a long-running thread called "small space living." It was focused on Interstate owners, but has lots of good ideas for small trailers.

[Trae and Ann]

going to try this our next trip out. We have settled for instant and this sounds way better... we are straight up black coffee drinkers so this sounds great Thanks for the tip Len n Jeanne

[Kahaz]

You've got the gist. You can do a YouTube search for exact measurements and times, if you like.
Jim premeasured the coffee into individual sealed bags to make it even easier,

Found shelf stable whipping cream at Trader Joe's yesterday! Will be throwing that in the BS next trip.