Stumptacos Home-made Camp Kitchen

Rezarf <><

Explorer
I might have to copy you, then drifta can't get mad! :D

Great looking camp kitchen there bud. Have some fun with it now!
 

RoundOut

Explorer
That is AWESOME!

I helped a buddy of mine make four chuck boxes for our new Scout Troop a few months ago, and I know how much work it is. And, it's even more work to do it without detailed specs. You have a great memory and vision and this thing looks great!


.
 

StumpXJ

SE Expedition Society
Photog and lostworldexpedition, thanks for the compliments. As I wrote in the last posting, I am not sure yet on how I will use this. My initial plan was to install tracks into the jeep, and this would roll out like the original Drifta kitchens do. I would have normally put one set of legs on the end that is outside of the jeep and the other side would rest on the rear bumper/cargo area. I installed the track system, but it doesnt work quite like I wanted it to. Basially I installed two 4 foot long strips of aluminum angle on the rear platform in the jeep, on the passenger side. The bottom of the kitchen has very small casters that ride on those aluminum strips. I was going to have ties downs on each end of the kitchen to secure it while in transit. No, the sawhorses wont be needed while camping ....LOL.

After the not so great performance of my track system, I am rethinking the idea. I will most likely make my own set of folding legs that will mount on the bottom of the kitchen, and it will just sit on the floor of the jeep (secured with straps obviously), and then I will use it as a stand alone unit under my awning when we are camping. Ths kitchen will only be in the jeep when we are on camping trips, and I didnt want to have to leave the tracks bolted to the floor when the kitchen is not in there as it takes up the flat space. I will build my own folding legs that will hinge down on each end of the kitchen, that way it is totally a stand alone unit. Maybe this picture will help as to the "where will this fit in your jeep" question. I have removed the rear seats, and installed a platform from front to back.


You can see the two aluminum angle tracks. This is where the kitchen was going to go.

DSCN0496.jpg


Here you can kind of see the small rollers/casters on the bottom of the kitchen. These were going to roll on the aluminum tracks, but I am re-grouping on that idea

DSCN0498.jpg


The weight of the finished kitchen is 38 pounds, with nothing inside of it. The cutting board is the heaviest part of the entire thing. This birch ply is very lightweight.

Nuclear Redneck, yeah its 12mm ply. The dimensions if memory serves is 48" in length, 17" tall and 16 inches deep. The grill opening is 24" wide, and 5 inches deep for a size reference.

Thanks for all the compliments guys, it was a lot of work, but it was cool seeing it all come together. I am very happy with the finished product, and even surprised myself honestly. I think I have about 22 hours into to it total, and the final tally, not including the track hardware is at $232.00. All I can say is the Drifta kitchens have VERY good pricing after completing this. Wish they were available outside of Aussie land.
 
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Momrocks

Adventurer
Without knowing how your track system fell short of expectations, can I suggest a second set of casters 3 inches in front of the existing ones? This would keep the kitchen aligned in the aluminum track. You will loose 4 or so inches of travel but it will stay straight.
 

eugene

Explorer
How did you decide on the grill section size, is there sort of a standard for grill sizes?
Something I've been toying with it putting something like that on the drivers side and that area under the grill open up to fit around the fender. so the while thing will sit closer to the outside.
 

StumpXJ

SE Expedition Society
Momrocks, I have 4 casters on each side, roughly 12 inches apart. It stays straight, and rolls easily, but I dont like the "permanentness" (word?) of leaving the tracks in the jeep, nor always having rollers mounted on the bottom of the kitchen. Once I installed the tracks, I pretty much knew I wouldnt like the set-up, especially since the kitchen will only be in the jeep during the time we are on camping trips.

So, what i decided to do was order folding legs for the table. I was going to make my own, but they are pretty cheap for a good set, and I found the perfect size. I ordered them this morning from www.tablelegsonline.com. Here is a link to what I have coming. http://www.tablelegsonline.com/shop/14-wide-hshaped-folding-legs-p-360.html?cPath=8

For roughly 75 dollars including shipping, I couldnt buy the steel and hardware here to make it for less than that. (when you get paid in US dollars, then buy raw steel in euros it gets VERY expensive.)

Hopefully this works out like I think it will. Now, all I have to do is throw the kitchen in the Jeep, strap it down, and go.

Eugene, I orginally made the stove area large enough to fit a Partner steel 2 burner outfitter stove. It has a little wiggle room, and just about any 2 burner stoves will fit with the lid closed, including the cheaper coleman's.
 
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stumptaco said:
So, what i decided to do was order folding legs for the table. I was going to make my own, but they are pretty cheap for a good set, and I found the perfect size. I ordered them this morning from www.tablelegsonline.com. Here is a link to what I have coming. http://www.tablelegsonline.com/shop/14-wide-hshaped-folding-legs-p-360.html?cPath=8
Thanks for the link. I was thinking of buying a folding table at Costco in order to remove the legs and install them on my kitchen project, but these look nice and sturdy with a decent price to boot. Could you please let me know how much they weight, it is not mentioned on the website (I am being overly particular about the weight going into my rig). I may go for the height adjustable legs.

Thanks again for the great thread, keep us posted.
 

aslostasyou

Adventurer
:hijack:

Does anyone think there would be a market to producing these? Not trying to impede stumpy...I don't even know if you were thinking along these lines but....

I have a semi-retired father who's looking for something to get into as a side-startup buisiness. He's a 40+ year veteran high-end wood tradesman and can build things that encompass top shelf craftsmanship.

Just curious what the concensus would be. Afterall - what brewed this was stumpy not being able to get the real mcoy.

Thoughts?
 

StumpXJ

SE Expedition Society
I think quite a few expo members would be interested, ive gotten a few PM's from folks interested or asking questions. It would probably make a great side job, but not something I would want to depend on for cash flow. At least not until the name got out. If he could do custom build stuff, I am sure it would go pretty good... Just my opinion though.

I certainly dont have the time nor the desire to build any more of them. I dont mind doing it for myself, but I dont get along well enough with wood to do a production run, so no worries about impeding! Carry on... :)

~James
 

ZR2nit

Adventurer
I think it would be a great idea for someone to make these things stateside. I am 100% in the market for one to attach to my 416 trailer that I am wanting to use as a expo trailer. I'm thinking of making my own as well.

Is there anything similar over here in the states????? I'm going to have to look into that??

Great job on the kitchen.
 

aslostasyou

Adventurer
I took my TDI Jeep Liberty out this weekend for some camping and really put it into perspective. What would you guys think about an option that can either slid into a rig like stump-tacos or, could mount on a hitch and swing away?

On my Liberty the rear half door swings left and the glass up. I'm building a nice cargo area this weekend and plan on putting a nice shelf on the rear door. If we built the kitchen so it would mount to a hitch (for those of us who don't want or can't afford a trailer) you could pull a pin and swing it right and then by making the mounting tube longer you could push it farther out to the pass. side of the rig leaving you a really nice cooking area. Prep shelf to one side, food and cargo items in the vehicle and kitchen in front. More for a base-camp vehicle but you could also remove it and the hitch and fold out legs and set it up if you want to take the rig on the trails. It would be light enough so's not to affect your wheeling I think.

I'm going to spend the weekend with my father at his shop and will be working up some designs to transfer to wood in the next few weeks. Any suggestions or ideas will be visited.

, Jason
 

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