RV Kitchen Sinks

Before I started checking out RVs and watching videos of other people checking out RVs, I had never before considered the size, shape, location or material of an RV kitchen sink.

The thought had never crossed my mind.

But after watching a few videos, and taking note of how I use our sink in our own kitchen, I’ve realised that a sink can make so much difference to your joy, or frustration, when cooking.

Of course, it’s not just the sink you need to consider, but the kitchen as a whole; how it’s set up, whether there’s enough space or storage, how easy it is to get to the things you use all the time, how easy it is to clean and all that other stuff. We’ll go into all those details in future posts, but for now, we’re just going to talk about sinks.

I’ve got a few things that are pretty important to me, but then I’ve also got a few pet peeves. Maybe this post will give you some things to think about when you’re looking for your own RV?

Types of RV Kitchen Sinks

Size & Shape

Unless I’m in a tiny campervan, I like a decent size sink. I’m not talking about a huge butlers sink, but at least one that you can fit a dinner plate into. (In my opinion, if the sink is too small it becomes almost useless for washing dishes and then, what’s the point?)

And I used to think that a round sink was silly, I don’t know why; but now that I think about fitting a dinner plate into it for washing… it makes perfect sense because it can still be small, but useful.

(I’m not even going to talk about double sinks in an RV. I know some have them; but they’re generally in RVs far larger than I would be comfortable with.)

Material

Stainless steel or plastic. For an RV, those seem to be the two most common choices. Yes, there’s porcelain, composite granite, copper even.

I’m not a fan of the plastic sinks so I’m gonna have to go with stainless steel. Durable, easy to clean and so common that it’s not going to break the bank buying an RV sized stainless steel sink. And to be fair, I’ve only ever had stainless steel sinks myself, so I’m more than happy with that choice.

RV Sink Designs

I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of RV sink designs that either inspire you, or leave you scratching your head.

Sometimes I wonder if the designers of these sinks (and RVs) have ever cooked in their lives (or done dishes). And then other times I’ve wondered how I’ve spent so many hours at a kitchen sink and never thought of this useful feature.

So lets look at a couple of designs that I’ve seen in RVs and my thoughts on each.

The RV sink with dark plastic lid and fold up faucet

The very idea of these drives me bonkers.

I understand the concept that folding down the lid now means that you have extra counter space; but when it’s folded up I feel like the plastic lid now cuts off any counter space behind it?

I’m sure I’d be constantly knocking it because I’ve now got a big piece of plastic in my way.

Am I missing something? If you have one of these, can you tell me if you like it or not please? They seem sooo silly to me, that I’m sure I must be missing the point about them.

Add in the burners to the sink set-up
And then I’m doubly confused at how this set-up can work?

How does having the burners so close to the sink work in reality?

I know you’re probably not going to be trying to cook a gourmet meal, but still, does this set-up actually work?

RV kitchen sink lids that do work

Okay, so the sink lids that I think do work are the chopping board covers, either plastic (not my favorite) or wooden (like these custom made ones). Or if you’re going to have a hinged cover, at least make sure it’s hinged at the back of the counter so that it’s not cutting off a portion of your counter space. Here’s what I mean:

Installing / Replacing RV Kitchen Sinks

I’ve found an article on Trails.com that may point you in the right direction if you need to replace a sink.

Have you found some other design of RV kitchen sink that works well? Share it with us in the comments and I’ll add it to the post as well!