Outback 277 Range Hood

[Bob Landry]

What were they thinking? Although there is a range hood over the stove. There is no vent to the outside fron the vent hood. The window behind the sink extends to the middle of the stove and between the window trim and the range hood, there is about 1" of clearance. I called Keystone and was told they don't put the vents in the Outback any more. The customer service person(using the term loosely) suggested I use the overhead vent. I havn't looked for one specifically in the galley area, but something tells me that there isn't going to be one there. Beside not being able to vent cooking odors, that really means that unless we want to spend a lot of time cleaning the wall and the mini-blind that runs behind the stove, the option is to hang a towel over that part of the window when we're cooking to catch splatter. When we were looking atthe trailer, I didn't specifically look for something that just made sense to be there and, it probably would not have been a deal breaker, but it is in fact, poor design/planning on Keystone's part, since this is a standard item on every trailer I have looked at and certainly a worthwhile kitchen feature. A shorter window in the kitchen would have resolved this and at least left a space for anyone who might have wanted to install a vent.

For those of you who own a new Outback 277, can you tell me what other little surprises I'm going to run across in this trailer?

[Festus2]

While having a window behind a stove might be aesthetically pleasing, but having thin, plastic combustible mini-blinds close to the stove's rear burners would give cause for concern as well. Not sure how close the blinds are to your stove but from a fire hazard perspective, it doesn't make much sense.
We fastened a clear, acrylic "splashboard" to the side and rear wall near the stove to protect the walls from splatter. Even if you do have an exhaust vent to the outside, you will still get splatter from cooking.

[wozzukes]

Where did you get the clear acrylic for the splashboard? Do they have that at places like Home Depot? We're taking a trip there this weekend to get a bunch of stuff for our "upgrades" before our first trip in 2 weeks and some sort of backsplash is on my list! Clear acrylic would be perfect since it wouldn't impede with the look!

Sorry to hear about the vent. Our Springdale does have a vent above the stove. I guess they just figure you'll be doing all of your cooking outside with the outdoor kitchen so there's no need for a vent, lol!

[ktmracer]

here is a link to how to install a range hood outside vent. Looks pretty straighforward.

http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22969&view=&hl=vent&fromsearch=1

[KanTC]

Our Laredo has a recirculating fan on the range hood too - no exterior vent opening needed, we were told. Our previous Keystone had the same range hood vent, as did some of the other manufacturers we researched prior to buying the Laredo last year... so it's not strictly a Keystone (or Outback) item.

We cook outside a lot, so I bought a cheap (Dollar Store) splatter screen to use inside/outside if needed. Use outside to keep bugs/leaves out of your skillet ;)
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/splatter-screen/24544

A clear splash guard/splash board is near the bottom of this page:
http://rvdiscountsuppliers.com/rv-parts-housewares-camping-accessories.htm

More here:
http://tweetys.com/splash-splatter-guard.aspx
http://www.adventurerv.net/splash-splatter-guard-camper-p-377.html

Hope this helps!

Terri, the Chevy co-pilot :)

[Festus2]

Wozzukes:

The clear, acrylic was obtained from Home Depot. It was a small sheet which, when cut in half, resulted in 2 pieces ----- one for the side and another for the back. I
smoothed and rounded the edges then used small velcro squares to fasten the cut sheets to the wall. They can be removed for cleaning when needed.

[DAF]

Where is your smoke alarm located? My Springdale has the vented to the outside range hood and if we don't use it while cooking the smoke alarm near the dinette will go off!

[Bulldog79]

Check for the following: staples coming from the ceiling in the bedroom, Hydralic arm coming loose for the under-bed storage, cabinet latches striped out causing doors to fling around. These are some of the things the dealer fixed for us.