Are you looking for a new caravan microwave?
These appliances can be very useful regardless of your lifestyle. Most people don’t want to spend hours in front of the stove when they’re on holiday. You can prepare meals before you leave and heat them up or even just warm the leftovers from last night.
Unsurprisingly, caravan manufacturers are aware that microwaves are popular.
It’s a congested market with many similarly priced and sized models. So which is the best caravan microwave in Australia today?
Let’s take a look now!
| Camec Microwave 25 Litre 900W | Sphere Microwave With Mirror Finish | NCE 23L Flatbed RV Microwave Oven | Dometic MWO 24 microwave, 24V DC (500 W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | Our pick  |  | |
Turntable | Turntable | Flatbed | Flatbed | |
483 x 281 x 399 mm | 483 x 281 x 396 mm | 315 x 205 x 370 mm | 449 x 280 x 336 mm | |
14.8kg | 13.9kg | 13.8kg | 10kg | |
900 W | 900 W | 900 W | 500 W | |
25 L | 25 L | 23 L | 17 L | |
5 | 5 | 11 | 3 | |
270mm | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Push-button | Push-button | Push-button | Push-button | |
1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
Best Caravan Microwaves Australia
Camec Microwave 25 Litre 900W
Runner Up
Camec is renowned for making great caravan-related products.
This Australian brand produces an excellent 25L caravan microwave oven. It’s a good size for camping vehicles and has a clean aesthetic to blend in with its surroundings. The door has a mirror finish to complement the mirror top lids on RV cookers.
When it comes to functionality, it’s difficult to find anything wrong with this caravan microwave. It has five power levels including a defrost mode. Meanwhile, there are eight preset auto cook modes for different food items.
The Camec has a standard output wattage of 900W.
This is an advanced machine but it’s easy to use thanks to the LCD display, which is also energy-efficient. There’s a child lock function so you won’t have to worry about young children hurting themselves or breaking it.
If you’re desperate to find a downside, it’s about 1kg heavier than some of its competitors. But that’s hardly make-or-break.
Finally, it costs about $180 with a one-year warranty. That’s more or less the norm for an appliance of this quality.
Sphere Microwave With Mirror Finish
Runner Up
Another great caravan microwave, this Sphere is an excellent model.
It’s really difficult to find anything bad to say about this 25L unit. Sphere is a well-known brand with reliable small microwaves for caravans. This one stacks up very well against the Camec.
This microwave has 900W output power like most of its rivals. It’s almost exactly the same size as the Camec but weighs about 1kg less.
Meanwhile, they offer a lot of the same functions. Like the Camec, the Sphere has five power settings and a digital control panel. This makes it very user-friendly. Parents will be assured by the child safety lock that also protects the microwave while on the road.
It also has an advanced defrosting function. You can choose to defrost by speed or weight.
It typically retails for around $200 and has a one-year warranty.
NCE 23L Flatbed RV Microwave Oven
Our Pick
NCE’s flatbed microwave is a fantastic product.
Typically, flatbed microwaves are more expensive than their turntable rivals, but the price isn’t drastically different. It’s only about $20 more than the Camec, which isn’t bad at all. Meanwhile, it comes with the same one year warranty.
The advantage of flatbed microwaves is that they have a larger cooking space. NCE claims that their 23L unit has 45% more usable area than a turntable of the same size. They also claim that it’s easy to wipe, a common criticism of flatbed microwaves.
Despite this, it’s slightly more compact than the previous microwaves we’ve looked at. It’s also light at 13.8kg.
Usually, flatbed microwaves are very durable. You don’t have to worry about the glass turntable falling out and breaking while you’re travelling. Arguably, this also makes it safer.
This NCE caravan microwave has a ludicrous 11 power levels. They almost give you too much choice. There are also six auto cook menus and it has a 95-minute timer. If you want to nuke something, NCE is here for you!
It’s definitely one of the best caravan microwave ovens available today.
Dometic MWO 24 microwave, 24V DC (500 W)
Honourable Mention
Dometic is another well-known caravan brand. Their MWO 24 microwave is actually marketed toward truckers. But it’s also suitable for caravan and RV use.
This is noticeably smaller than the other units on this list as you can see from the table above. It’s also significantly lighter at just 10kg. Remember, trucks have even less space than RVs, so this makes sense.
The Dometic is exceptionally durable. It’s also a flatbed caravan microwave so you don’t need to worry about dropping glass plates.
It’s extremely simple to use. Unlike the NCE turntable microwave, which has 11 settings, the Dometic has just three and a defrost function. They don’t mess around!
However, the problem with this is the question of value. At just under $800, it’s extraordinarily expensive. We’re not exactly sure why because they design it to be as basic and functional as possible.
It does have a one-year warranty but it’s difficult to recommend this as a caravan microwave. Maybe the size and durability make it more suitable for trucking, but you can get a unit that does a lot more for a fraction of the price.
Points To Consider When Buying A Caravan Microwave
When you buy a microwave there are a few things to think about. It’s not just about walking into a store and throwing down a couple of hundred dollars. Let’s look at the most important points now.
Flatbed vs. Turntable
Traditionally, microwaves use a turntable for heating. The turntable rotates so that the microwaves circulate evenly across all of the food.
However, there are a few disadvantages. Sometimes the middle of the dish fails to heat properly and the outside dries up. Also, you have to deal with the dish. These aren’t ideal for caravans because they can fall out and break, especially if you aren’t perfectly level.
Flatbed microwaves get around this by removing the dish from the equation. Instead, there is a rotating antenna at the base of the microwave.
They use advanced technology to evenly emit waves across the appliance to heat the food. Often they are more effective than turntable microwaves.
Sometimes flatbed caravan microwaves are more temperamental to clean but the brands above are adamant that they are easy to wipe.
It seems as though this style of microwave is the future for caravans as well as general household use. For more info, check out this guide on flatbed vs. turntable microwaves.
Cost
This may seem obvious but it may be the deciding factor when you’re looking for the best caravan microwave.
Generally, the simpler the microwave, the cheaper it is. However, this isn’t always the case as we saw with the Dometic above which is one of the priciest units on the market.
Turntable microwaves like the Sphere and the Camec tend to be priced quite similarly. It’s difficult to say that one clearly stands out above the other.
If you are looking at one of these, the decision will probably come down to price in the end, so look at the table at the beginning of this guide to see the best prices on offer for each of these units.
Weight and Size
Every caravan and RV owner has to bear these two aspects in mind when they’re buying new appliances. This isn’t any different with caravan microwaves.
It’s crucial to make sure that you have space for whatever product you buy. Remember that it will have to sit safely in a cut-out or on a shelf while you are set up at a site. Then you have to think about what to do with it while travelling.
Size is especially important because microwaves overheat. You can’t just squash them into too tight a space because there won’t be any room for ventilation. Make sure that you leave some clearance around the unit to ensure that it doesn’t become a fire hazard.
Meanwhile, think about the depth of the cupboard or storage area because you don’t want it to fall out while driving. That’s definitely something to remember if you have small children who can’t keep their hands to themselves!
Finally, make sure that your shelves can handle the weight of your caravan microwave.
Wattage
As you can see from the caravan microwave ovens above, all have output wattages of 900W bar the Dometic unit, which has a wattage of just 500W.
The advantage of a higher wattage is that it’s quicker to heat up your food. But there is a downside if you’re not careful.
Avoid running too many devices at once because there’s a greater risk of overloading your electric supply (whether from mains power or your 12V battery). Nobody wants to deal with that!
If you do plan on running your microwave off-grid, you'll generally need an inverter to convert your 12V DC power to 240V AC for the microwave. You'll also probably need some solar panels or a caravan generator to keep your battery topped up.
If running your microwave at a campsite, think about the amount of power available at your site. Different sites could have a variety of requirements so bear this in mind. LED lighting will reduce the amount of energy used.
Microwaves are not a ‘soft-start’ appliance and draw the maximum amount of current required right from the first second. If you are worried about overloading your RCD, you can always run it at a lower power setting (assuming your unit has this functionality!)
Fitting A Microwave
Caravan microwaves aren’t difficult to install. The first thing to do is find a flat surface inside your camping vehicle that’s big enough to hold it.
There may be a designated area designed to hold your microwave. Depending on the product, you might screw the feet into the shelf. Another way is to fit a bar above the microwave in the rear and front to keep it in position.
You may need to fit a shock mount or locate an area in the van where your microwave is most secure. The last thing you want to hear while flying down the highway is a loud crash!
Also, remove the rotating glass plate when you’re driving. Stow it somewhere secure so it doesn’t damage the door or fall out. Bubble wrap or similar is useful here.
Space is at a premium in every caravan but you still need extra for a microwave. The general rule is that they require about 100mm of clearance on each side.
However, microwaves don’t have to be a permanent fixture. You can always remove them and secure them somewhere safe under the van or even the boot of your car. As long as it’s safe, it doesn’t really matter.
Final Thoughts
Microwaves make life so much easier for everybody.
It doesn’t matter where you’re going or what you’re doing, a microwave for your caravan can be a good investment. From heating your leftovers to making breakfast, it’s such a flexible appliance. Realistically, you’ll use it more than a regular oven in your caravan.
They can also be a good complement to a slide out kitchen, as you can cook outside and then reheat your leftovers in the microwave later.
Just make sure that you consider everything before you buy one. Make sure that its dimensions are a good fit for your camping vehicle.
Flatbed microwaves are becoming increasingly popular and for good reason. The NCE 23L is one of the best caravan microwaves that money can buy. It’s very reasonably priced and has a lot of functions.
We don’t recommend the Dometic because it’s simply too expensive for what it does. Meanwhile, if you’re wedded to turntable microwaves, there’s not much difference between the Camec and the Sphere.
Whatever you choose, look after it and stay safe. If you have any questions about caravan microwaves please leave a comment below!
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Note that while every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this page, there may sometimes be errors. Check all specifications with the manufacturer before purchasing any product.
Something I would like to know is, do you have to set the digital clock to use the oven each time the power is disconnected when moving or free camping and the inverter is turned off. There are some microwaves that will operate without the clock being set.