What We Think of the Camp Chef Ranger II Stove
Product review time! In my article about the best RV Cooking Equipment this little champ is most definitely on the list. When we aren’t mooch docking at a friends house, this is always out on the picnic table. So what do we think of the Camp Chef Ranger II stove? In short, we love it! But I’m going to break it down for you and even let you know of a few pesky negatives we’ve encountered too.
Why don’t we start off with the Con’s before I dive into why we would buy it again. And can’t fathom being fulltime in the RV without it.
CONS
Weight – The stove alone – not including any propane tank – is 17lbs. It isn’t overly heavy, but it certainly isn’t lightweight either.
Bulky – Just like the weight, I don’t mean to make it sound like the stove is huge. It isn’t. However, it does take up some space in the camper. The dimensions are 5.5″ H x 20.5″ W x 14.5″ L.
Carburetor – You need to adjust your air carburetor. Fresh out of the box, when we turned ours on, the flame was ginormous. Don’t expect to pull it out of the box and have it perfect.
Difficult to Clean – Messes happen. The burners sit low beneath the grate and are on top of a manifold. Unfortunately, when things drip onto the manifold, you can’t get your hands in there to clean things up very easily.
PROS
Portability – Even at 17lbs, the stove is easy to set up and breakdown at each campsite. You simply need to connect (or disconnect) the propane.
High BTU – This little stove has two 17,000 BTU burners. When you turn the heat up, this stove get’s HOT and does so quickly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen water boil so fast!
Durable – The stove is made of alloy steal and aluminum. She’s tough. Even with all of the bouncing around while we travel, there has never been an issue with it getting banged up, dented, or broken.
Perfect Size – Yes. I did say it was a little bulky. In fairness though, there isn’t much else on the market smaller. Two burners are perfect to make a solid dinner on.
Adjustable – Out of the box the propane connection was on the right side. Using a screwdriver, within a few minutes you can move the connection to the left side of the stove if that suites your needs better.
Minimal Assembly – The only assembly required when you first buy your stove is to slide the burner knobs on and attach the propane hose. You aren’t messing with a bunch of nuts, bolts, and screws. It’s practically ready to use immediately.
Propane Hose Included – A 5 foot hose is included with the stove. So if you’re like us, and don’t really use the little 16oz propane cylinders, you can easily attach a standard grill size tank to the stove. No need to worry about running out of propane half-way through cooking.
The Camp Chef Ranger II Stove is a Must in your RV
We truly can’t imagine being full time in the camper without this little stove. It has become quite the workhorse for my outdoor cooking. We’ve found it to be small enough to pull out anywhere, yet large enough to accomplish the task. The few con’s we have on our list are honestly outweighed by pro’s. If you’re trying to find a good, reliable, outdoor stove for your RV Life, you aren’t going to go wrong by purchasing one of these.
