Project DIY: Truck-bed Pullout Kitchen (and BS)

Jk(sort of). In my case I'm too old and worn to plan builds that require awkward lifts which is why I suggested sliding the stove out from under that cabinet. The supply hose would seem to prohibit that but if down the road you also find manhandling that cabinet bothersome you might consider instead of sliding the stove out from under, sliding the upper cabinet over the top of the stove. Definitely too late for this trip but I'm sure you'll continue to ponder different aspects as you try the systems out. Pretty friggin awesome in any case, hat's off.

 

Thanks, man. One thought was to have that cabinet slide backwards. Not sure why I cancelled that idea.. might be due to the contents being inaccessible when cooking or something. It sort of feels like the perfect layout is out there somewhere, remaining to be discovered.

 

After building my drawers i can honestly say a truer statement has never been said! I working on the sketches for 2.0 for myself and while i think my new design is great with material cost im honestly just considering buying a system but i also know that wont be 100% right either. Its a never ending battle with my OCD lol

 

Meant to post this last night. The lift handles make a huge difference! Finish line is in sight.

 

Looking great man. Would love to see this made out of poly

 

Wondering what plan you have for weather proofing / covering this storage space- I hope to run a RTT with Rack Set up very similar but cannot figure a way to use my existing Tonneau Cover..... or what to design in its place that is removable .

 

For this particular trip, I don't have any plans to cover it. The RTT itself acts as a little bit of a cover for light weather conditions. The cabinets themselves will be sealed with Spar Varnish. In the future, I was considering attaching some mounting brackets to the unused attachment holes of my bed rack to have somewhere I can mount a vinyl tarp to. Something like this. I know it won't keep out 100% of the water, and will keep out exactly 0% of dust, but it's more to act like an umbrella to "lighten the load" the varnish has to handle.

Edit: And to keep nosy people from poking around inside.

 

So I finished construction last night. I added a little cubby to the propane tank tray. Since there's a hole in the side of the cabinet here to allow the hose to pass through, I wanted to cover it up somehow. I figured, why not make a little enclosure? In any case, here is the last progress photo. I've already dismantled it and (since she offered) my wife is applying the varnish.

 

Nice offer, be sure to thank her.

 

Just got back from my trip. We had to cut a few corners to get the kitchen ready in time. But here are a few pictures to share. The water tank had not arrived by the time we were leaving (but I do have it now) so we had to make do with what we had: 7-gallon Aqua-tainer and 5 or 6 one-gallon jugs from the supermarket. We didn't use anywhere near that amount of water, so I may just install the 12-gallon tank and remove the water Roto-pax canisters to have a spot to hang my shovel again.

Overview:

The Front-runner utensil kit hangs nicely under the front of the stove box - very convenient.

Close-up:


I've learned a lot from my first trip, but overall I would say it was a HUGE success. The ease of setting it up is amazing. In less than 60 seconds, you could have a pot boiling and burgers frying. As a side note, the ARB Elements Fridge is awesome. It was pretty cold most of the trip (never got above 60-degrees on the "hottest" day and got below freezing one night) so I couldn't get a good sense of how much draw the fridge would need in "hot conditions" but it barely registered on the voltmeter in these conditions.

Things I would like to consider in the future: Storage on the wheel-wells and sides of the drawer slides. Anything we put there became a nuissance we had to deal with when opening/closing the slides. I have some ideas about how to solve this problem, but the sense of urgency is gone now as the trip is over. Another issue was rain-water. The tray that holds the propane tank needed some drain holes that I opted not to do now. This would be fine if the truck wasn't moving, but water sloshing around back there made it's way into the fixed cabinet and some boxes got a little bath. Drain holes in the right spots should solve that. But I also want to add some weather stripping to the doors that I didn't have time to do this time around.

Here are a few more shots of it in action (above photos, plus this one were taken in Boise National Forest):


Our last night (in Utah, near Arches) we opted to camp at an RV park (to use the showers and save some campsite-hunting in the dark). We had some kitchen admirers come and take photos while we were there.

 

Give yourself some time to process it, For me sometimes the second or third time through produces better ideas.

 

Truly commendable what you accomplished there. Turned out amazing.

Do you have a leitner bedrack?

 

Thanks! I have to say overall I am very pleased with it. Now that I can take my time, I'll tweak a few things.

To answer your question, no. I have a CBI bed rack. I like it, for the most part.

 

Update: I'm in the planning phase for version 2.0. I guess technically, it's v1.1 as I'm only adding stuff to the kitchen. My new goals:

1. Having pressurized running water
2. Be able to choose from two water sources: On-board 12-gallon tank (shown in post #1) or a hose I can drop in a bucket
3. Have a tap that is accessible for washing hands (run-off on the ground) or be able to fill a small tub.
4. Not use up much (if any) of existing storage (I will have to use some to run the pipes from the tank to the front).
5. Not require me to re-build any existing cabinetry
6. Maintain ease of setup as much as possible
7. Easy drainage/winterizing for those below-freezing nights

I do have some questions (opinions). I'm between two faucets: a swing-away 360-degree tap that only has a single input (meaning cold or hot, but not both) or a pullout with both hot and cold inputs. I'd like to be able to get one of those Zodi water heaters (or Camp Chef on demand camp water heaters) but I'd like to be able to run this setup without requiring the water heater to be connected. Do you think the hot/cold faucet is worth having or will the cold-only faucet suffice?

Here are some of the products I am considering:

Single-input faucet:
https://www.amazon.com/Shurflo-Faucet-Without-Plastic-94-009-12/dp/B01DUZ3IAK/ref=sr_1_2

Pullout Faucet with hot/cold:

$116 Whale RT2498 Elegance Combination Faucet/Shower, Pull-Out Handheld Mixer Unit, Hot and Cold Water, 5.5-Foot Hose, White ABS

https://www.amazon.com/MIXER-COMBO-TAP-SHOWER-WHITE/dp/B000FHETKU/ref=sr_1_2
(The pullout is likely too short to use as a shower, besides both water heaters below come with one)

Zodi Water Heater:

Zodi Outback Gear Hot Tap Travel Shower

https://www.amazon.com/ZODI-Outback-Gear-Travel-Shower/dp/B000X4IAMS/ref=sr_1_1

Camp Chef Triton On-demand Water Heater:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001J4AU2E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1

As always, thoughts/comments/criticisms/questions welcome!

 

Mixed temp is only really necessary when the hot tap water is too hot for comfort. Just a wag but ob water heaters might not get that hot so having two unmixed sources might be ok. I think there may still be a few ob pressurized water kits available that utilize a simple pump/filter system

 

I'm leaning towards the Shurflo, for now. I'm going to build a little slide-out that comes out from under the stove. Right now, that's wasted space. I'll have to have the faucet flip up so that it will fit underneath - only have about 2.5" of clearance there.

 

Very cool set up. Now my brain is burning with ideas.....

 

Awesome project!