Adding an Oven

[JTChapmon]

We are looking at a 2018 that is superbly maintained but it does not have the oven, it has the Cuisinart Convection Oven/microwave. Question is can an oven be retro fitted into a 2018 30ft Classic?
Thanks

[uncle_bob]

Hi

With enough work ( = for enough $$$) sure it can. You would need to do some gas plumbing. The cabinet would need to come out and either be replaced or modified. They normaly do a different cabinet for the "microwave" version ...

Bob

[caronair]

Have you tried using the oven? It works well for baking and stuff. We have the same one.

[Foiled Again]

Agree with 3rd poster. My 2012 has a different brand of convection oven and it irks me because preheating it takes forever and overheats the whole trailer. BUT if I just want to heat a cup of water for tea, etc. I like the microwave.

My first solution is a portable electric oven. There are dozens to choose from - anywhere from $150 up about as high as you want to go. Set on a rolling rack outside it works fine for baking and so forth. A bit ungainly to transport, so best for snowbirding.
If you camp without hookups, consider cast iron cookware (buy in a thrift store or hardware store or pay too much.) There is a great thread here for Dutch oven cooking... start with one 12"inch Dutch with the rimmed lid (and IMHO add a "pot lifter" for safety). Alternately a few campers choose a "camp oven" which uses propane and seems best for feeding the multitudes - shines at rallies. Camp ovens can be found at camping supply stores or online. I have no personal experience with these.

[LilPeanut]

Yes it can be done. Gas line, 12v, and 120v electric will all likely be added or moved as well as the cabinet work. Not a giant deal to do but not an entry level job either. JC can make it look like new.

Before you go too far, check measurements above where you want the oven. Usually those have a stovetop and some have a solid flip up top, some are bi-fold tops that need less clearance. In the Classic, the microwave is not over the oven but beside it due to clearance as well as venting. With a stovetop/oven you will need a vent to the outside most likely. If you don’t have one of those already (some microwaves mounted over a stand alone stovetop vent outside, some just move air inside).

Venting, to me, is the bigger issue if you want it Classic-like. I completely understand the oven desire. We have a Classic and love it (both oven and micro). We also have a 2005 land yacht with no oven, just the convection, for now. The convection micro does work like people say, we have baked in it. But we love the oven in the Classic.

To get it all done by someone, I would guess $3-$4 grand. I am thinking $150 and hour. 2 days for lines and cabinets, half a day for venting, $500 for the oven. Half a day to install and clean up. That is a wild guess and might be low or high. But if you want the oven, you probably won’t be happy if it looks hacked together by Curly, Larry and Moe. Call JC and get a guess from them.

[rmkrum]

You mean you wouldn’t trust ‘the boys’ to do a good job?

[jondrew55]

I think the answer is that JC or a competent dealer can add the factory oven if they can get the parts. We asked about the opposite. Remove our gas oven to put the convection microwave in. We really don't use the oven, but had to buy a small microwave which we use all the time. The new GT we just ordered has the oven delete (a $475 option!) and the convection microwave installed. This way we get that built in microwave in the pantry removed and have the extra storage space.
You just have to figure out what's important to you. If you've found a nice used unit and there is just this one thing it does not have, you can probably learn to live without it or pay to get it retrofitted.

[Fungus]

Originally Posted by caronair

Have you tried using the oven? It works well for baking and stuff. We have the same one.

^1

Our oven works fine as a convection oven and a microwave oven. When we bought the trailer it was like my cat, sometimes it was agreeable...sometimes not. I replaced it.

Without shore power, we use a Blackstone griddle with a lid for the few oven things we might cook (baked potato, pizza). Propane comes from the low pressure port. The Blackstone rides along only if we plan a stop with no power and need the oven.

With shore power, we use an electric skillet with a lid. Baked potatoes. French fries. Spring rolls. Pizza. All work fine sitting on an inverted quarter-sheet pan (on the Blackstone, too). It is lightweight. That Blackstone is a beast.