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

Have you detailed your battery setup somewhere yet?

 

Nah, I did put some photos up in the Off-grid Q&A post, but basically what I have is:

RedArc DC-DC Charger
X2 Power Group 34 over Passenger Wheel Well
OGE Battery trays

Truck-bed Power:
Fuse Box in the small cubby next to the 110 outlet

Connectors/Outlets (Passenger Side):
2x 30Amp Powerpole
1x 10A Cig Socket
2x 2.1A USB + Voltmeter

Driver Side:
3x 10A Cig Socket

 

Alright, I think I have my base figured out. What I'm going to do (and hope for the best) is cut 4 strips of plywood to attach L-angles where the slides will mount. There are four "groupings" of holes on the slides, so these will determine positioning. The strip closest to the tailgate will be full bed width. The other three will be the width of the outer slides (which is wheel-well width). Then, at the far end, I will install some C-shaped metal under the bed bolts to act as hold-downs for the last plywood strip. The strip at the tailgate will get L-brackets installed and these will get bolted to my TC Bed Stiffeners. This should keep everything in place. A picture is 1000 words, so maybe this shows my idea a little better:



In fine-tuning the design in Sketchup, I decided to add some color and some objects to represent the piano style hinges. In doing so, I've uncovered a couple minor flaws (where the hinges would have to get screwed into the "end grain" of the plywood). I've modified the design slightly to eliminate the need for this. I also combined the two flip over cabinet doors into a single door.



I've got the materials to start building the base, so that's what I'll be doing this weekend.

 

Nice!!

 

Looking really good dude!

 

Made some progress today. (Would have been further along, but forgot I had a friend's wedding to go to )

1. First I cut some L-brackets from angle aluminum. I was a little hesitant as to how strong this would be, but I have little doubt this will be fine. The brackets are bolted to the slides using #10 x 1/2" stainless machine screws.



2. Once I got the brackets mounted, I cut the three wheel-well-width strips of marine plywood (4 in. wide) and bolted each slide to either end using 1/4" x 1" stainless machine screws. I carefully positioned the screws so that they would land between the ridges of the composite bed. This way, the plywood sits flat on the ridges. Once in place, I measured how I wanted the tailgate plywood strip to go. I had to cut it narrower so that it clears the TC bed stiffeners without having to lift the whole thing over the top.



3. Checking out the slide action:



4. With the final strip installed, here is the clearance with the tailgate closed:



5. And the clearance towards the cab:



6. Overall view of the base plus outer slides:



With this last picture, you can see where, at either end, I can install some L-brackets that can bolt (somehow) onto the bed stiffeners to keep this end in place. I'm not super convinced about my C-bracket idea for the back though (using the bed bolts). I have a feeling that the weight of the fridge will cause the last strip of plywood to bow in the center, so I might put some support in the center coming from above and pushing it down. All that's left now is to measure the width on the left that I will need to fit my fridge - this will determine the placement of the center slides (again taking into account the bed ridges). This will give me the final width of the kitchen so I can finally start that portion. Stay tuned!

 

Nice progress, the bolts go through the L bracket and tightened down with but or nylock nuts?

 

Very interested to see how this goes! very cool idea!

 

LOOKING REALLY GOOD!

 

Now that I've seen more of your overall setup.....are you not concerned about the heat from your stove under an extended awning? The tailgate is such a natural place to do your cooking, I've always been curious why people mount awnings off the rear like you have?

Project looks really awesome though - thanks for documenting!!

 

Not sure if you mean the ones going through the plywood or not, but in either case, just regular nuts. The ones holding the slides to the L- brackets have to be pretty small otherwise they bind when opening and closing them. The ones holding to the plywood are beefier. There's a washer at the bottom that bites into the plywood a little bit. I think I might apply Loctite when I reassemble, though (have to take it all apart to apply the epoxy).

 

It doesn't really generate that much heat, I think. A bigger concern is greasy smoke. But to be honest, I don't use the awning as much as I should. I mounted it to the back so as not to have extra width requirements for parking at a state park.

 

cook under mine all the time, never any issues, i was originally concerned but the heat and smoke dissipate quickly i even went as far to measure the temp with a gun only ever saw a 10 degree difference between where i cooked and the rest of the awing. conversely you gotta think about how hot places like moab are in the spring/summer/fall and how much that can also wear on the awning. OP is safe and if you are considering cooking under the awning youll be okay too!

 

Sub'd. Love your overall design and ambition!

I read through the tread but may have missed it, but won't the contents of your flip over cabinet get tossed and turned every time you set up the kitchen?

I understand how flipping it over gives even more kitchen counter space but I seems like an odd design and a stressed mechanical connection adding weight to the unit when extended. Perhaps consider detaching the flip cabinet so that it can serve its storage purpose but also be removed and set on the ground as a chair/stool/table? No flipping required.

 

Absolutely will get all flipped over. This was my biggest drawback with this design. I've gone through so many designs in my head and only reluctantly went with this one. I've considered a slide out, but then the slide would either block the controls of the stove. Plus the big cabinet on either side meant no counter space. I'm toying with the idea of putting a sink on the flip over portion, but definitely not in version 1. I'm not closed to the idea of a removable piece, though. I'd probably want some sort of legs to turn it into a table. I'll have to think about this one a bit.

As always, thanks for the comments and feedback. Sometimes the collective mind can solve problems that one alone cannot.

 

If you put dividers in it that are sized for pots, pans, lids and such should work fine.

 

You answered my question!

 

Ok, after much deliberation, I've decided to change up the design (yet again). Taking suggestion from @Rosewood I've changed the flip-over to a detachable unit. I weighed the pros and cons:

Flip-Over:
Pros:
Minimal setup (Flip and done)
Additional counter space

Cons:
Playing Bingo with my contents
Extra weight on side hinge
When put away, the access door is upside down (opens up and in the way)
Fully deployed, it won't fit under my awning (which means if I ever use my awning walls, I would have to push the kitchen into the bed some to make it fit. Not a big deal, but that means the locking mechanism can't be used.)

Detachable:
Pros:
No tumbling of contents
Any cargo bungee-tied to the top can remain in place
Detachable unit can be placed anywhere, even as a nightstand inside the annex of my tent
I now have a logical place to mount a paper-towel holder to the outside end.

Cons:
Additional setup (lifting and moving crap around - potentially heavy depending on what's stored inside)
Needs to be on the ground. This will become a nuisance if it's raining and will be too low to use as additional counter space.
Or I need some legs/table for it. This removes the the nuisances above, but adds more setup/weight.

All in all, I think the detachable unit's pros outweigh the cons and so this is the newly tweaked design:

Closed:


Deployed: