Paper or plastic?

[RovinOn]

If we are eating outside the coach, we use paper, Inside we use the Corelle.

[EelKat]

Originally Posted by AppleValley2

Hi everyone -- I am in the process of setting up the kitchen in my motorhome. We plan to take a local trip to the beach for our first outing. I was wondering if I could get advice on what type of dishes do most people use in their RV's. I figured that we would stay away from glassware for obvious reasons, but was not all that excited about paper plates. The hard plastic plates I've seen at Target are not microwave-able. What advice can you give me?
Thanks, Tamara

When I first started planning on moving into a motorhome (6 years before I actual bought one) I went out and bought a set of "Blue Willow" chinaware. It was a 6-serving set, complete with dainty tea-cups and saucers. Real fancy, real breakable. No idea what I was thinking when I bought that set for my MH! LOL!

My newbieness was showing big time back than. I was just so excited about the idea of getting (and decorating) a motorhome that my brain did not think about practical logic.

In the years since than, my newbieness got sanded down and I changed a lot of my harebrained ways of thinking in regards to MH life, but for some reason, in regards to the Blue Willow chinaware, I still was planning to take that with me. 3 years of being in and out of MHs trying to find the perfect one, still taught my nothing about these dishes.

Than I buy a MH, and for the first time in my life, I actually DRIVE an RV...and it was an RV that needed shocks, and was in the back woods of Maine, requiring dirt road travel, so it was an extra-extra bumpy ride. The MH came with everything in it - they sold it as is, and it still have a vase of flowers on the table, dishes in the cuboards, food on the counter, etc, etc ...I never gave any of that a thought, when I started it up and drove it the 45 miles home, and just left everything where it was.

First bump in the road, told me right fast there was a bad shock in need of replacing, but it also told me that I needed to invest in a set of bungee cords and hooks to keep cabinet, closet, bathroom, and refrigerator doors closed ... also taught me to never leave vases on tables or food on counters, or glass dishes in cupboards, as by the time I arrived home nearly an hour later, everything that had been anywhere, was now laying in the center of the floor smashed to pieces.

I backed in the drive way, flattened my neighbors lilacs, got stuck in a snowbank, and my first thought was: "OMG! There's no way I can take the Blue Willow-ware with me!"

I don't like paper plates, but I bought a set of paper plate holders, "just in case", and I now am the proud owner of a set of bright pink plastic dishes, cups, and bowls from the local Dollar Store. At least now if they break it'll only be a $1 to replace and they won't do much damage when the MH tosses them out a cubboard at me!

[docj]

Originally Posted by Nancym

We use both paper goods and corelle too. I do have another question...what is the best way to bring wine glasses?

We started out with crystal wine glasses and tried all of the usual suggestions. But we use them almost everyday both indoors and out. Eventually we changed to these: Amazon.com: Camco 43861 RV Polycarbonate Wine Glass - 9 oz.: Automotive which are polycarbonate (Lexan) not acrylic which makes them virtually unbreakable. The plastic resists scratches and "almost" has the feel of glass.

[Ragingbull]

Solo cups and paper plates for most meals, Fancy Dollar store plastic for those special times!

[docj]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

I convinced my wife to buy a set of very expensive Corelle type French table ware. Wish I hadn't. The almost $500 we spent could have bought a lot of paper plates and cups! But it was guaranteed not to break and none have so far.

At the risk of being accused of being elitist, I think it's worth mentioning that porcelain china ("fine china") is nearly as strong as Corelle and it is a lot stronger and more chip-resistant than stoneware. At the upper end of the Corelle line the prices start to overlap the lower end of porcelain products.

We are fulltimers and took with us the set of Villeroy & Boch Cellini china that we were using in our sticks & bricks. After a full year of travel we have, I believe, broken two pieces when they fell out of an improperly latched cabinet (even Corelle would probably have broken in that situation) and we have a small chip on one plate. The pieces are stacked, but not cushioned and we do have an air-suspension MH. When we eat outside we usually use paper plates, but the dishes are used otherwise for three meals a day.

I'm not advocating buying our particular dinnerware for RV use, but I do want to make the point that Corelle is not the only durable option. What makes it strong is the fact that it is a "vitrified" (essentially, melted glass) product, unlike stoneware which is really baked clay. Porcelain dinnerware is also a vitreous product. You can tell the difference between vitreous porcelain and stoneware by seeing if you can shine a light through a plate; light goes through almost all porcelains.

[bsirby]

I bought a $40.00 set of 4, Stoneware dishes in August 2009 at WalMart. If they break it is no big deal. Some meals just do not work well on paper. I don't stack them any different when we're moving than I did at home. So far they are all in one piece. I do use paper for some meals, but not usually. I also have real coffe mugs and wine glasses. I hate plastic. I don't mind having to do more dishes. Guess everyone has their own preferences.

[Lincolnboy2]

Originally Posted by bsirby

I bought a $40.00 set of 4, Stoneware dishes in August 2009 at WalMart. If they break it is no big deal. Some meals just do not work well on paper. I don't stack them any different when we're moving than I did at home. So far they are all in one piece. I do use paper for some meals, but not usually. I also have real coffe mugs and wine glasses. I hate plastic. I don't mind having to do more dishes. Guess everyone has their own preferences.

[Bondad]

You can get most of the Corelle 16 piece (4 settings) sets from Amazon for $25.00 and with a Prime membership 2nd day shipping is free. It's hard to beat that price for dinnerware.

[historyljc]

Originally Posted by Lincolnboy2

+2

[Dunner]

Originally Posted by NuB2

We use Waterford and Fine China and throw them away after use to save on having to wash them and put them safely away. Only kidding of course! Love reading all of the posts and looking forward to getting out there with all of you awesome people.

Years ago, I new 4 guys that live in a rented house. They would go to a local auctions and buy a box of good china for a buck. When the china got dirty, they threw it away instead of washing it.

[TW]

Good China..... why eating from paper. We don't eat from Paper plates etc. at home.

[Dunner]

Corelle, paper and my late parent silver.

[hometwn2]

Correll, silver ware, real wine glasses, glass and stainless bowls and baking dishes and coated paper plates for some things.

[ghoststories]

No reason not to use the same type of table setting our MH or TT that we use in our home. Paper plates are ok at times, but we enjoy using real plates, and silverware.