Kitchen Cabinets

[Chris R]

Well, I just got back from 2 weeks on the road picking up the camper, and now that I'm home it's time to address some of the issues. The kitchen cabinet is totally trashed, and I'd like to figure out some way to maximize the space. Drawers? Cabinets? Baskets? Any suggestions?

Has anyone moved the water tank? Say, to the front lower cabinet against the cab of the truck? It's behind the axle on my F-150, which was a bit overloaded, so moving it forward and down should help with the weights.

 

[griz]

The bungee cords have to go. Thats like having running boards on your truck. Ha Ha
Check out the gallery photo's, u may get some ideas.
My self I have almost completed my renooo's. For one I made the counter top all one piece, an same height all the way along. For the cab's I used birch ply with solid maple doors an euorpean hinges 180* openings.
Should be completed tomorrow an if I can figure how to post pic's, that will happen.

my two cents from a canadain, oh guess its a dime now.................

 

[Overland Hadley]

my two cents from a canadain, oh guess its a dime now.................


Ouch!

 

[BenG]

On our older Keystone the water tank is located under the front bench/seat, so it sits center, with a battery on each side, and room for a couple of leveling blocks beteen the tank and batteries. Think the tank is about 16 gallons or so.

 

[Chris R]

On our older Keystone the water tank is located under the front bench/seat, so it sits center, with a battery on each side, and room for a couple of leveling blocks beteen the tank and batteries. Think the tank is about 16 gallons or so.


Where is your water fill located at? Mine is against the back wall, so I'm a bit concerned about running all the plumbing to the front. I'd imagine a 12v pump for the sink would almost be a requirement.

 

[BenG]

the water fill is located on driver side about midway, gravety fill, I do have electric pump for water to the sinks.

 

[Chris R]

Here are some of the ideas I've been throwing around:

• I decided to go ahead and move the water tank from behind the propane box, to under the front bench to gain more space and move the weight forward. And move the water fill to the drivers side of the camper, and move the sink to the forward part of the cabinet, so all the water plumbing is as close as possible to the tank. The hand pump is functional, so I'll try that before ordering a power pump.
  
• The existing stove top had very little adjustment, and it was a pain having the grill outside and the stove inside, so I'd like to plumb in a Coleman gas camp stove, which I can remove and use outside. I know I will need to be more careful regarding ventilation, but I don't have a problem with that. I'm not sure yet how - if it's even possible - to do the propane plumbing for it.
  
• Add drawers between the stove and sink, one for utensils, another for pots, pans, and dishes, and then two for food, and add shelves under the stove and sink.
  
• Maybe add a slide out table or two, on something like a keyboard drawer slides, to add kitchen work space and a place to eat while at the couch. I used the original pedestal table once on my trip, there just wasn't enough space to move around, or sit around it.

All I've done so far is the demolition (the fun part!), and order the water tank. Any suggestions?

 

[LuckyDan]

Here are some of the ideas I've been throwing around:

[*]The existing stove top had very little adjustment, and it was a pain having the grill outside and the stove inside, so I'd like to plumb in a Coleman gas camp stove, which I can remove and use outside. I know I will need to be more careful regarding ventilation, but I don't have a problem with that. I'm not sure yet how - if it's even possible - to do the propane plumbing for it.

Check out Craig333's photo of his set up. Coleman sells the stuff to hook up their propane stoves to bulk propane:

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4457/page__st__10

While there, look at Mark W. Ingalls photo of a Coleman camp stove that's a grill/burner combo. I think when mine wears out this is something to consider.

 

[Chris R]

Check out Craig333's photo of his set up. Coleman sells the stuff to hook up their propane stoves to bulk propane:

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4457/page__st__10

While there, look at Mark W. Ingalls photo of a Coleman camp stove that's a grill/burner combo. I think when mine wears out this is something to consider.


I found the hose to connect the camp stove to the bulk propane tank, but I'm not sure what kind of fittings I will need to tie that into the propane system. I have a flex hose inside the propane box, that goes to a hard copper line once it exits, then to a shut off valve, and a T fitting, which are all flare fittings.

I want to carry an outdoor stove anyway - but keep the convenience of putting the roof up and using it inside, too. I figure a set of latches or something will keep it from moving around the countertop.

 

[MakersTeleMark]

Check out photos 4&5 from post 5 here for some ideas to increase your work area a bit without interfering. Perhaps one under the railing to the stove, and one under the sink?

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/220285-203066-Companion-Tech-Thread

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Beware of carbon monoxide.

During our last meander (a three-weeker along the Gulf of Mexico, up the Eastern Seaboard as far as DelMarVa, over to Central PA, through West-pennsyl-tuck-essee, through Memphis, AR and back home) I got the bright idea to make coffee on the Coleman stove described previously inside our motel room (freezing rain out, plus my bride requires a shower every third day or so). The smoke/CO alarm tripped before the water even boiled in a space about 12 x 20 x 8 feet.

Beware of rubber hose LP delivery systems in enclosed spaces.

I once knew a guy who refinished floors for a living, until the fumes from his varnish ignited and burned the insides of his lungs. He's in heaven now.

If the building code says it's not a good idea for houses, which don't jounce and jiggle like campers do, then I assume it's not a good idea for my camper, either...

 

[dsrtrat]

The link shows the sliders I added to my camper.
dsrtrat

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/925/page__fromsearch__1

[*]I decided to go ahead and move the water tank from behind the propane box, to under the front bench to gain more space and move the weight forward. And move the water fill to the drivers side of the camper, and move the sink to the forward part of the cabinet, so all the water plumbing is as close as possible to the tank. The hand pump is functional, so I'll try that before ordering a power pump.

[*]The existing stove top had very little adjustment, and it was a pain having the grill outside and the stove inside, so I'd like to plumb in a Coleman gas camp stove, which I can remove and use outside. I know I will need to be more careful regarding ventilation, but I don't have a problem with that. I'm not sure yet how - if it's even possible - to do the propane plumbing for it.

[*]Add drawers between the stove and sink, one for utensils, another for pots, pans, and dishes, and then two for food, and add shelves under the stove and sink.

[*]Maybe add a slide out table or two, on something like a keyboard drawer slides, to add kitchen work space and a place to eat while at the couch. I used the original pedestal table once on my trip, there just wasn't enough space to move around, or sit around it.

[/list]

All I've done so far is the demolition (the fun part!), and order the water tank. Any suggestions?
[/quote]

 

[UglyScout]

The hard propane lines in my FWC are just standard copper lines with standard fittings that you can pickup at any real hardware store or even a Home Depot type store. I just bought some a week ago at HD when I removed my fridge. You can easily find the correct fitting to go from the factory lines to a flexible supply line for your stove.

 

[Chris R]

Decided to scratch the idea of using the camp stove, and just re-use the old RV stove since it was smaller and space was at a premium. While wandering around the garage, I eyeballed an old tool chest, and lo and behold, it fits almost perfectly in the space where the kitchen cabinet would go.





I also re-plumbed the camper, and ran all new electrical, in the small cabinet that I never used before (so I figured it wasn't much of a loss). I still need to figure out a countertop, and something to use for the cabinet fronts, but this is the final layout.

 

[clikrf8]

That is cool. This a great idea and I love the fire engine red. Lots of locked storage safe and secure in one spot.