Camper vans offer us a great way to experience a cozy atmosphere while traveling. The cabinets add elegance to the interior while recliners give us optimal relaxation. Carrying some packed meals pre-cooked at home can save you money, but it is not applicable when traveling for several days or camping.
A camper van slide kitchen is a pullout system where you can prepare your meals while camping or hiking. The system is equipped with a stove, a cooking surface, and a sink. Camper van kitchens are foldable to ensure they occupy minimal space. Most camper vans’ kitchens are made of wood, glass, and stainless steel because they are easy to clean, durable and light.
The camper van slide-out kitchen you choose for your vehicle or cruise depends on the space available and the number of people using it. This post highlights the common types of van kitchens and their features.
Camper Van Slide out Kitchens
There are many recreational van kitchen designs in the market today. Choosing an ideal model for your van depends on factors such as materials available, space, and the areas to explore. A wooden slide-out kitchen is ideal for a road tour during the dry season while a humid day calls for stainless steel and glass-made models.
Here is a list of common van slide-out kitchens for individual and group camping.
Camper Van Outside Kitchen
If your van has limited space, the campervan outside the kitchen box is the best deal for you. The wooden slide-out system has a gas stove on the surface and cabinets beneath to keep your foodstuff and kitchenware. Moreover, this model allows you to cook from outside while enjoying the beauty of nature and is ideal for dry season vacationing.
Ello Camping Kitchen
Ellobox camping kitchen is a sleek model designed to fit the booth of your car. The tiny system contains a double burner propane stove, water storage tank, and a solar-powered refrigerator. With this sleek kitchen, you can have your favorite meal fixed in a minute. Plus, it is economical because it keeps your food fresh using solar energy and your water warm.
Caravan Stainless Steel Burner Integrated with Drawer and Sink
Caravan stainless is a multipurpose system with a gas stove, storage cabinets, and a stainless sink. If you are cruising, this is your ideal slide-out kitchen because it is rust-free and water-resistant. Furthermore, its small size makes it portable and hence ideal for use outdoors.
Drifta Trailer Kitchen
Drifta trailer kitchen box is dark and stainless. Its slender and bold design allows it to swing out of your van and do your cooking outdoors. The box has compartments for storing utensils, burners, and foodstuff and comes with a table. The dark stainless steel simplifies cleaning since it is non-sticky and not easily corroded.
Drifta trailer kitchen boxes come in different sizes to meet the users’ diverse needs. We all love being bold and stylish and the Drifta trailer does the trick.
Overland Slide Out Kitchen
Overland slide-out is a three-compartment kitchen with a sink and a gas stove. The wooden slide-out is ideal for overland cooking and its medium size allows you to tuck it in the rear of your van. You can keep it under your sleeping area since its wooden body acts as an insulator keeping your rest area warm.
Bush tucker Kitchens
Bush taker kitchens are lightweight aluminum kitchen boxes ideal for camping. They come in different sizes depending on the van size. These kitchen boxes have inbuilt sinks, cabinets, and cooking surfaces. The stainless steel-made boxes are ideal for all-weather explorations and are easy to clean and maintain.
Camper Van Sink Stove Combo
If you are going on a cruise, not all kitchen boxes are ideal for your boat. Thanks to the sink stove combo which is both lightweight and water-resistant. This medium-sized cooking box has an inbuilt burner, sink, and drawer. All the compartments are slide-in making the box occupy minimal space. This slide-out kitchen is not only ideal for cruising, but also for outdoor ventures during the wet season.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Slide-Out Kitchen for Your Van
There are many slide-out kitchen models on the market but not all are ideal for your needs. Here is what to look out for in a camper van slide-out cooking box.
- Can it withstand the prevailing weather and environmental conditions such as humidity and salty surroundings? A wooden box is ideal for dry weather explorations while a steel-made box is ideal for all conditions. If a kitchen box contains iron, it is not suitable for your cruise because it corrodes easily.
- Can it fit into your storage space? A sliding kitchen for your car should be small to fit in the booth while that of a van can be medium-sized.
- Availability of building materials. The design you choose depends on whether the building materials are available and affordable.
- The number of users. If you are taking your family on a vacation, you need a slide kitchen box with multiple storage apartments to carry enough food and utensils for all members.
- How long are you going to use it? If you need a kitchen box for a few days, one made of plywood and other cheaper materials is ideal.
DIY Slide Out Camper Kitchen
Ready-made slide-out kitchens can be expensive or simply fail to meet your design and size preferences. But if you have enough time, you can design and build a DIY (Do It Yourself) camper van kitchen to suit your needs. Furthermore, building your slide-out kitchen is cheaper.
You need the following materials and tools for a DIY camper kitchen.
- Aluminum sheet/ plywood
- Drawer slides
- Washers
- Gripping pads
- Head screws
- Spray lacquer
- Tape measure
- Pencil
Once you have all the materials ready, you can build your kitchen in the following steps.
Step 1
Build a slide-out tray for the kitchen compartments. You can use plywood for building the tray. Ensure you cut the pieces of the slide-out tray accurately for seamless pulling and pushing of the tray.
Step 2
Cut and carve the handles to your preferred design. To make your cabinets more elegant, choose a sleek but easy-to-model design and cut the handles to a smooth finish.
Step 3
Assemble the parts of the slide-out tray using glue and finish nails. The glue helps you to hold the pieces together before joining them using finish nails. The good thing about finish nails is their invisibility but they form weak joints. To make the joints strong, you should reinforce them using size-4 screws.
Step 4
Fix the sink to your kitchen box. You should order a sink of your preferred size and design to fit into your kitchen box. When creating a hole to fix the sink, you should make it smaller than the width and length of the sink so that it rests on the hole without falling.
You can create a drainage system by connecting a pipe on the lower side of the sink.
Step 5
Fill out the holes on the plywood for a perfect finish. While creating joints, you may leave some holes on the plywood which may lower its physical appeal. To improve the elegance, smoother the surfaces by scraping with sandpaper before applying 2-3 coats of lacquer spray.
You can add a layer of light paint for a perfect finish.
Slidepods
Slidepods offer you exclusive comfort from serving as seats to the kitchen and rest area. If you fit your van with side pods, you experience comfort and convenience, be it solo or family adventure.
Advanced slidepods are soundproof, and insulated to keep the temperature moderated and minimize sound pollution.
Examples of Common Slidepods
Beach: This kitchen pod with a bed is the most comfortable and can fit in different vans. It has a storage compartment, sink, and a double bed. Beach slidepods allow seats to fold to a double bed.
- Caravelle: These slidepods are customized to utilize the available space in your van for maximum comfort and convenience. These multifunctional slidepods have a sink and two burners plus a shower.
The bed function is top-notch although there is limited space for your legs after raising the bed to seats.
- Kombi: This slide pod is fully removable with a kitchen on the rear side and a double bed on top. Kombi allows you to fit a table on the end giving you the best experience while dining away from your opulent dining table.
- Shuttle: This unique slide pod has an additional seat to the rear end in addition to the seat -cum bed. It’s ideal for a family vacation and has storage cabinets, a sink, and a working table although the third seat is not flexible like the double seats.
Key Takeaway
Camper van slide-out kitchens play a crucial role in making our outdoor experiences in RVs more interesting and memorable. You don’t have to spend much to acquire a kitchen box for your van, thanks to the DIY models. With the right steps and available materials, you have your ideal slide-out kitchen in five simple steps.
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