Internal or external kitchen?

[fireball]

Sb - have a look at the Shadow awning by Alu-Cab or the Batwing. If you keep your rear hatch door level you can use an awning like one of these that sets up super quickly and easily. The Foxwing is a cheaper option, but setup takes a good bit longer and you have to store and handle all the poles.

 

[dlh62c]

I vote for having both.

It seems the weather God always has rain or cold and rain or cold, rain and wind on my camping trips.

It always seems that wet gear never packs up as well or as easily as it does when it's dry.

 

[Ozarker]

Gotta go with DLH62C, have both options.

We precook meals in bags, just boil water. That's the rainy day stuff inside the tent. I can't remember cooking anything inside that stunk up the tent or vehicle or trailer, oatmeal is made inside, bacon and eggs outside. Frozen TV dinners can heat up in boiling water, so will sausage and hot dogs. Canned veggies, beans and corn warmed up don't smell to bad to us. Coffee smells great anywhere and is a requirement. Grilling is outside, light rain isn't an issue with an awning.

We have been out for overnighters all year, coldest I think was 18 degrees this past year here. It's a hassle getting fully dressed to stay outside then come inside to eat and peel off coats and/or wet gear.

I don't see any reason why a kitchen can't be accessed from inside or out, it's just a slide or a door or a lift top and inside doesn't have to be a fish fry.

If you're in a harder rain, you can have all the roof you want, you're likely standing in the water or mud. Rain blowing in on your skillet with some grease isn't fun to get popped with.

I guess you can plan on having the option or on bad weather days not have a hot meal and eat out of a can, bag or box. I did that too much in the Army and I'd rather have a warm meal.

 

[Happy Joe]

Here another vote for both.
A friend had an older popup with a stovetop that mounted either inside or outside the popup, enabling morning coffee /breakfast or rainy day meals to be made inside, and group interaction outside.
The outside interactivity was vastly enhanced with an awning.
The stovetop used propane quick disconnects and some extruded brackets to allow this.
As far as I could/can see there is little to prevent a sink/wet prep counter from using the same idea.

I really understand bear concerns; we never have food or cook inside or adjacent to the tent; however in more than 30 years of black bear country camping the most damage that has been done by bears in adjacent campsites was a cooler that got rolled around and the sacrifice of an open bag of chips. We try to avoid areas where bears have been acclimated to human food & trash. Generally we consider the trip a great success if we see a bear run/walk past camp.

Enjoy!

 

[Titanpat57]

I think outside..

Like others have said...some cover is definitely useful in inclimate weather so you can still meal prep. An awning also helps to keep ashes and bugs off your kitchen stuff....dust (and sometimes water), well that's another story...

 

[skersfan]

I went from tent to roof top tent to trailer with roof top tent to tear drop with outside cooking, with awnings all around. The wife hated each and every one, could never make her happy and want to go with me. I no longer camp on the trail due that, so I would suggest talking with the other half and see what her requirements are. I miss my trailer, but a happy wife makes a happy life.

If I was going to try it again, I would look at one of the little A Frame trailers,(Chalet, Aliner and now a host of others), the smallest one, redo the frame and suspension and go from there. They are warm, give more protection from the elements than a regular popup, have a lot of features that make the softer side happy. they can be set up to cook outside or inside, have showers, fridge, hot water. Keep the bugs out. I have had two Chalets, never truly off roaded one, but to the level most call off roading I am pretty sure they would work quite well. Now I am thinking again! Nope just bought a new motor home, my life of trail camping is over.

 

[TwinStick]

Or---get rid of that wife & have a happy life. LOL J/K---no hate mail please.

Everyone has their comfort level. It is important to respect your partners comfort level & be realistic. The older you get, the less you will enjoy set up & take downs. I try to work smarter, not harder as i get older. Ours is certainly NOT an off-road camper, but it sure will get us off the beaten path. We have a 2016 Starcraft AR One Extreme 18 QB. We pull it with a 2008 Power Wagon w/G-56 6-speed manual, dual batteries, 270 amp alt (199 at idle) & a custom inverter set up. It suits us fine. We had a 30' toyhauler. I will resort to tent camping when I go fishing by myself, after i retire. Having a camper REALLY restricts where i can park in some fishing areas.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/141517-NOt-as-good-as-the-Aussie-ones-but/page2

I cook outside as much as possible. Mostly just boil water inside in the morning for tea & coffee. Ours also has microwave & we also have a small microwave for the truck http://www.kmart.com/proctor-silex-...W043298183000P?prdNo=8&blockNo=8&blockType=G8 . I can run this on my trucks inverter set up, or use the eu2000i Honda gen if need be. If in bear country, i cook as far as possible away from the camp. I also do a LOT of pre-prep of food before we even leave to go camping. Nothing beats already cooked chicken, sausage, meats & veggies when the weather is "positively biblical" as someone else stated. Put everything on a plate & put it in the microwave & bam, instant awesome dinner. Anywhere, anytime. Excellent when hunting as well.

I know this is not most peoples idea of camping but it is ours. We have done it all (except a motorhome-which will never happen unless we win the lottery. US Army pup tent (2 shelter halves) & a tarp, tents, tent camper, toyhauler & now this AR One Extreme. No slides, no tent fold outs. Simple.

 

[goodtimes]

We have a pop-up truck camper with stove, sink, & fridge. Most of our cooking is still done outside. It's nice to have the stove for morning coffee and to boil water for pasta, mac & cheese, rice, etc., stuff that doesn't smell. We will cook inside if the weather is really bad but that hasn't happened too often.

That's pretty much what we did when we had a FWC.

We were fair-weather campers though. If it was going to be cold/windy/rainy/otherwise crappy for more than a day - we'd go somewhere else.

The world is too big to camp in crappy weather!

 

[Rezarf <><]

I enjoy the trailer life most since I live "around" the trailer not "inside" a camper. Sure you get a little more weather and conditions but that is why I am out there. My vote for a myriad of reasons is outside... Mostly for the first reason mentioned, but I am in bear country, don't like stinking up inside and cleanup/spills are less of a concern.

 

[coop74]

Outside...

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[lacofdfireman]

What size water tanks do you feel is enough for an expo or teardrop build. Say enough for 3 people with cooking cleaning, showers etc. I'm thinking 15-25 gallon range but am new to all this so just researching. Also where do you find long flat rectangular water tanks? Figure this size would save room in a build.


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[coop74]

What size water tanks do you feel is enough for an expo or teardrop build. Say enough for 3 people with cooking cleaning, showers etc. I'm thinking 15-25 gallon range but am new to all this so just researching. Also where do you find long flat rectangular water tanks? Figure this size would save room in a build.


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A good rule of thumb is about 2 gallons of water, per person, per day...

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[lacofdfireman]

Oh ok. Never heard that. Don't think I could shower with 2 gallons. To much body surface area. Haha


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[Nd4SpdSe]

It's hard but doable. We tried last year with my new propane shower, and on a 20L, we would just have enough for me and my girlfriend. She's used more of course, but we did our best to do a combat shower; turning it on only when needed. My trailer has a 16 gallon tank going on soon, but it's not rated for potable water. I already had the tank before we used the shower, so now it feels small, but it's still a good 2 showers each with some extras, enough to do what it needs to do, but not to expect to run off of that for a week with showers that's foresure. I'll be equipping the trailer with 2 Scepter canister holders, which I can mix-match for fuel or water, depending on the trip.