How Blackstone 17 Inch Griddle Changed Our Life on the Road

The first thing I learned about cooking in a 25 foot Class C motorhome is that the galley decides the menu, not me. I am June Halvorsen, 67, a retired school librarian from Salem, Oregon. Ray, my husband and a retired machinist, and I have traveled part of every year since 2021. Our rig has a two burner propane cooktop, a small microwave, a 6 cubic foot fridge, and one narrow drawer for cookware. In summer, cooking inside means heating up the whole coach and smelling bacon until bedtime.

Breakfast was the hard meal. Ray likes pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hash browns, and he likes them outside. For two summers he used our Gas One single burner on the picnic table, one pancake at a time. The wind pushed the flame around, and by the time the last pancake was done, the first was cold. We needed more cooking surface, not another gadget.

In spring 2026 we bought the BLACKSTONE 1814 17 inch tabletop propane griddle. It is the newest cooking tool we own. It rides in the outside storage bay in its own cover, and it sets up on the picnic table in about a minute. The cooking surface is 17 inches, 268 square inches, enough for nine burgers at once according to the listing. Ours mostly cooks pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hash browns. The stainless steel front plate and hood have taken the bumps of a dozen campsites without a rattle.

The first morning I used it, Ray made bacon on one side and pancakes on the other. I stood at the end of the table with a plate and moved food as it finished. We fed the two of us and another couple from the next site, and I never had to move a pan off the heat to make room. The built-in igniter lit on the first turn, and the H style burner kept the middle and the edges close enough that the pancakes browned evenly. That is not a small thing when you are cooking in the open.

What changed for us was not just the food. It was the rhythm of the morning. Ray cooks outside while I stay in the galley with coffee and fruit. The coach stays cool. The bacon smell stays outside. And because the griddle is one piece, there is no line of pans waiting for space on the two burner cooktop. When the last plate is filled, we eat at the picnic table, which is the whole point of camping.

On a 268 square inch surface, Ray cooked bacon, pancakes, eggs and hash browns for four in one pass, and I never once had to move food off the heat to make room.

Packing it is the part I worried about. The spec sheet lists the griddle at 21.7 inches deep by 20.5 inches wide by 14.7 inches high, and 9 kg. That is not a feather. Ray lifts it into the storage bay and I steady the door. It fits beside the cast iron Dutch oven and the Gas One stove case, which is the real test in a 25 foot rig. If we had a smaller bay, I would measure first. The cover has kept road dust off the cooking surface, and the stainless steel front plate still looks like a piece of equipment, not a camp toy.

The griddle runs on a 1 lb propane cylinder. I keep a spare in the storage bay. The built-in igniter means no hunting for matches in the wind, and the H style burner gives a wide band of heat rather than a hot spot in the center. On a cold morning I let it heat for a few minutes before the first pancake. On a hot morning it is ready faster than the coffee. The large capacity grease tray is a real help. I empty it after each cook, not during, which means I am not stopping mid-batch to deal with bacon fat.

Cleaning is the tradeoff. A griddle is not a nonstick pan. It must be scraped and seasoned after each use. I keep a scraper, a wad of paper towels, and a small squeeze bottle of oil in a bin under the sink. After breakfast, while Ray washes the plates, I scrape the surface, wipe it down, and put on a thin coat of oil. It takes about five minutes. The grease tray needs a wipe too. I use very little water, which matters when the fresh tank is low and the gray tank is filling up. If you want a pan you can rinse and stack, this is not that.

This griddle suits couples or small families who cook breakfast outside and want one surface for several foods. It suits anyone who is tired of cooking pancakes one at a time on a single burner. It does not suit someone who wants to cook inside on a rainy morning, because it is not a cooktop and it needs ventilation. It also does not suit a rig with very little storage, because 9 kg and that footprint take up real space. We have the bay for it. A smaller trailer might not.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If we were sitting at my kitchen table in Salem, I would tell you the BLACKSTONE 17 inch griddle is worth the space if breakfast is a big part of your camping day. I would tell you to buy a cover and a scraper at the same time. I would tell you to season it before the first trip, not at the campsite. And I would tell you that the grease tray is not a place to get lazy. Empty it, wipe it, and the griddle will keep earning its spot in the bay. Ray says it is the best breakfast tool we have carried. I say it is the best one because it keeps him outside and me off my feet.