sagebrush2
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- Thread starter
- #1
I've finally built The Green Machine a custom pickup bed camp kitchen to go with the RTT over the bed. We packed up the dog and spent 3 nights in the Zirkel range in northern Colorado. We have a Crua Aer 2 person RTT. Just enough room for the 2 of us and the dog. We found a nice meadow up the mountain that we shared with some of our mosquito friends.
The pull out kitchen is 3 drawers in one. The main drawer holds the Euhomy 35L electric cooler and the 2 Dometic Go water jugs. Another drawer holds the Cooktron 2 burner electric induction stove, and the last drawer under the stove is the utensil drawer. The main drawer also holds the fold down sink.
The pull out drawer is made from plywood, covered in countertop laminate. The drawer slides support 150lbs. To add more stability, I have a cut down walking stick as a support leg that makes it rock solid as we are cooking.
We decided to use the back part of the drawer for the electric cooler, instead of as storage for pots and other cooking gear. The pots currently fit inside the Rubbermaid totes. This is also something we can change up as we use it. An annoyance is that the cooler lid does hit the edge of the tent when opening it, so it doesn't stay open by itself. I'll have to come up with something to prop it open.
The kitchen sink folds down and the sink partially sits on the edge of the truck, and partially held up by a wire. This is the weakest part of the design and needs some improvement. The Dometic jugs are held in place by custom 3d printed pieces, and a strap. They pull out a bit to get the spout over the sink. We decided to put the sink facing out from the truck, instead of on the inside, where the stove is. Getting water for a pot would be easier, if the jugs were on the other side, but we wanted to use the truck bed as a work surface as we cooked, and didn't want the sink in the way. A bit of a compromise, but that is what worked for us.
The frame for the camp kitchen is built using 2020, 4020 and 6020 extruded aluminum rails, and attached to the bed with 2 bolts in back and 1 bolt on the side.
The powerstrip is on the opposite side of where the plug in the truck is, so it snakes around the cooler, and use a drag chain to control the power cord as the drawer is pulled in and out. The other end of the drag chain is attached to the same piece of aluminum rail that bolts into the side of the bed, near the power plug.
This ends up being the main work area as we cook. The bins are a weak point, as getting to cooking gear and food involves sliding the bins in and out, and shuffling them. Maybe another pullout drawer for all of that stuff.
Here is the drag chain for the stove. It is necessary as you pull the drawer in and out, otherwise the cord would just keep getting in the way. The cord comes out the other side near the power strip.
On the driver side, I have an SKB gun case that I use to hold all the various tent poles for the awning, RTT etc. I have it on hinges, so it actually rotates so it sits vertical while driving, so it is behind the cab and out of the wind.
We have tried both a free standing awning, as well as this one. I still don't know which one I like better. This one requires staking down each pole. It is much lighter, and takes up less room in the truck, but more of a pain to set up.
Dog tax:
The pull out kitchen is 3 drawers in one. The main drawer holds the Euhomy 35L electric cooler and the 2 Dometic Go water jugs. Another drawer holds the Cooktron 2 burner electric induction stove, and the last drawer under the stove is the utensil drawer. The main drawer also holds the fold down sink.
The pull out drawer is made from plywood, covered in countertop laminate. The drawer slides support 150lbs. To add more stability, I have a cut down walking stick as a support leg that makes it rock solid as we are cooking.
We decided to use the back part of the drawer for the electric cooler, instead of as storage for pots and other cooking gear. The pots currently fit inside the Rubbermaid totes. This is also something we can change up as we use it. An annoyance is that the cooler lid does hit the edge of the tent when opening it, so it doesn't stay open by itself. I'll have to come up with something to prop it open.
The kitchen sink folds down and the sink partially sits on the edge of the truck, and partially held up by a wire. This is the weakest part of the design and needs some improvement. The Dometic jugs are held in place by custom 3d printed pieces, and a strap. They pull out a bit to get the spout over the sink. We decided to put the sink facing out from the truck, instead of on the inside, where the stove is. Getting water for a pot would be easier, if the jugs were on the other side, but we wanted to use the truck bed as a work surface as we cooked, and didn't want the sink in the way. A bit of a compromise, but that is what worked for us.
The frame for the camp kitchen is built using 2020, 4020 and 6020 extruded aluminum rails, and attached to the bed with 2 bolts in back and 1 bolt on the side.
The powerstrip is on the opposite side of where the plug in the truck is, so it snakes around the cooler, and use a drag chain to control the power cord as the drawer is pulled in and out. The other end of the drag chain is attached to the same piece of aluminum rail that bolts into the side of the bed, near the power plug.
This ends up being the main work area as we cook. The bins are a weak point, as getting to cooking gear and food involves sliding the bins in and out, and shuffling them. Maybe another pullout drawer for all of that stuff.
Here is the drag chain for the stove. It is necessary as you pull the drawer in and out, otherwise the cord would just keep getting in the way. The cord comes out the other side near the power strip.
On the driver side, I have an SKB gun case that I use to hold all the various tent poles for the awning, RTT etc. I have it on hinges, so it actually rotates so it sits vertical while driving, so it is behind the cab and out of the wind.
We have tried both a free standing awning, as well as this one. I still don't know which one I like better. This one requires staking down each pole. It is much lighter, and takes up less room in the truck, but more of a pain to set up.
Dog tax:
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