DIY Camp Kitchen - Bed mounted in R1T (with pictures)

[Northish]

Here's my take on an interim camp kitchen I built ahead of our road trip through the Southwest. I've had a great time building it and drawing inspiration from others, so sharing here in the hopes someone gets some ideas flowing.

The goals were:

• Keep cost reasonable since we plan to get the Rivian kitchen eventually.
• Be relatively easy to remove (tool less) in the event of a flat for spare access.
• No modifications to the truck.
• Be 100% useable with the tonneau permanently closed and a RTT over the bed.

The majority of the insert is made out of 3/4" plywood with a drawer on locking heavy duty slides. To install the whole insert you just push it in empty and then it falls into the tall ridges in the bed to stop lateral movement. Then one ratchet strap goes across the back of it to keep it locked down when the fully loaded drawer is extended. When the tailgate is closed the insert can't move forward or back.

The drawer holds 30L of water, an induction cooktop, pots and pans and utensils and an Ecoflow Delta Mini (for grabbing solar and sending power to the fridge, tent and cooktop.) The Ecoflow is not necessary but I really wanted to experiment with solar. All the cables running to the drawer are housed in drag chains so the drawer fully extends with everything attached.

The fridge is a Dometic CFX3 35 that just clears the tonneau with the insulation cover. It also has a drag chain to manage it's power cable and allow us to slide it in and out for access.

Behind the fridge is a storage cubby for miscellaneous tools and a small area for cable management. To the left of the insert is room for totes to hold assorted gear.

Now for pictures:

Edit 8/23/22:
A list of main components used in the bed insert build if you wanted to try your own:
- battery bank = Ecoflow Delta Mini
- cooler = Dometic CFX3 35
- cooktop = Duxtop Portable 1800W
- water containers = two GSI 15L water cubes
- drawer slides = 48" Vevor heavy duty locking 500 lbs
- plywood = two sheets of 4'x8'x3/4“ sanded birch
- plywood runners on underside of base plate that lock into bed ridges = 1/4" plywood (only need a 4' x 4' sheet)
- pocket screws = 100ct Kreg 1.25" indoor/outdoor blue kote
- wire drag chains = 2m of 10x10mm openable chain and 2m of 10x20mm openable chain
- 12V wire extension for cooler = 6ft 14awg 12V socket extension
- USB extension cables for power into tent = four 6' USB-A 3.0 extension cables (for power to each person in tent)
- 120V extension cables for truck outlets that get blocked by insert = two 15A rated 10' extension cords with low profile plug
- foam for lining drawers = 12 sqft of 5mm EVA foam
- 1 ratchet strap to hold back of insert down
- hinge for water compartment = 12" stainless piano hinge

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[RoadRunner]

Wow, great work on that, looks amazing!
How much time did it take to build, and how much $ for materials?

 

[COdogman]

Nicely done! Any idea on the weight? If a person was out there camping solo would they be able to remove it alone to access the spare?

 

[Northish]

Wow, great work on that, looks amazing!
How much time did it take to build, and how much $ for materials?

Just looking at materials and not counting the Ecoflow and the Dometic the most expensive parts were plywood for $180 and drawer slides for $150. All in I think the whole thing ended up between $800 and $900 in materials.
Edit: oh ya, build time... I started drawing it up on July 12th and then have chipped away at it on nights and weekends (definitely not retired)

Nicely done! Any idea on the weight? If a person was out there camping solo would they be able to remove it alone to access the spare?

I think it's about 60-70lbs but I can't reasonably lift it by myself due to it being such an odd size/shape. My wife and I together can without much trouble.

 

[R1Sky Business]

Careful, you may be making a business out of it now....!!!!!

 

[shrink]

Wow! Nice work.

If your trip through the Southwest comes through Phoenix and you need a charge (I have an old Clipper Creek EVSE capable of 80 amp charging and wired for 70 amps, which exceeds what the R1T can take), send me a message. Would love to check it out in person.

Happy, safe, and fun travels!

 

[agame32]

Wow, awesome work, sir! I’d just keep this as permanent. If it’s really only temporary, can I have it when you get the Rivian kitchen?!?

If you have any plans to share or sell, I’d be interested.

 

[agame32]

I’m also wondering if building the two “sections” independently with some sort of connecting latch would make single-person removal of each piece easier. It would probably add 3/4”-1” of width though and I see you’re pretty tightly fitted with the left-side totes. Really cool. I love all the detail in the cuts and the various sticky notes. Are you an engineer?

 

[Northish]

Careful, you may be making a business out of it now....!!!!!

Ha it's so tempting! Could be rewarding. But I'm out of time as it is with the day job (heading to Singapore as I write this) Maybe someday...!

Wow! Nice work.

If your trip through the Southwest comes through Phoenix and you need a charge (I have an old Clipper Creek EVSE capable of 80 amp charging and wired for 70 amps, which exceeds what the R1T can take), send me a message. Would love to check it out in person.

Happy, safe, and fun travels!

That's awesome of you, we appreciate it! This current trip will be centered around Canyonlands but we have our future trip sights on Sedona and Saguaro NP; we'll keep you in mind.

Wow, awesome work, sir! I’d just keep this as permanent. If it’s really only temporary, can I have it when you get the Rivian kitchen?!?

If you have any plans to share or sell, I’d be interested.

Thanks! And if the Rivian kitchen really kicks butt and meets all needs then yeah, I'd consider selling it I suppose...

I’m also wondering if building the two “sections” independently with some sort of connecting latch would make single-person removal of each piece easier. It would probably add 3/4”-1” of width though and I see you’re pretty tightly fitted with the left-side totes. Really cool. I love all the detail in the cuts and the various sticky notes. Are you an engineer?

That's a great idea to split it for ease of install; I bet it could be done with some thought. Version 2.0?
And yes, yes I am. Is it that obvious?!

 

[R1Sky Business]

Ha it's so tempting! Could be rewarding. But I'm out of time as it is with the day job (heading to Singapore as I write this) Maybe someday...!

That's awesome of you, we appreciate it! This current trip will be centered around Canyonlands but we have our future trip sights on Sedona and Saguaro NP; we'll keep you in mind.

Thanks! And if the Rivian kitchen really kicks butt and meets all needs then yeah, I'd consider selling it I suppose...

That's a great idea to split it for ease of install; I bet it could be done with some thought. Version 2.0?
And yes, yes I am. Is it that obvious?!

I'm sure u can get some power tools and a square in Singapore.

 

[Governor]

my fingers are crossed for you that the operation of your tonneau continues to function as intended

 

[Northish]

Amazing, nicely done!

I have a CFX3 35 with the cover as well. Looks like you just use the drag chain, no slides for the fridge, correct? I was hoping to put it on slides when my R1T comes, but not sure it will clear the tonneau with the slides and the cover.

That's right, there's really no room for slides with the cooler but honestly it doesn't need them. It slides nicely with the insulating cover and one less thing to buy.

my fingers are crossed for you that the operation of your tonneau continues to function as intended

Thank you. Yeah, hope for the best but plan for the worst. We're just not going to open it until we get home . Don't need it jamming open halfway through the trip.

 

[SASSquatch]

Northish - really impressed with your exceptional craftsmanship and creativity.

I would send these photos to Rivian so that they can see and appreciate the passion and ingenuity of their budding R1 community.

Well done.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[srh]

Very nice set up! Being an engineer, did you draw plans for the wood panels/cutouts, etc? And mind sharing?

 

[atebit]

This is excellent work! Now, treat yourself to some warmed-up gr(H)uel!

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