Outdoor kitchen (teardrop) vs having it in vehicle

[zimm]

Hello,

I'm researching my next trailer to pull with my lifted Jeep Wrangler to do mild trails/fire roads (overlanding) and also be able to set up in camp, campgrounds, or the parking lots of off-road parks.

My requirements are air conditioning, heat, and a queen sized bed. Solar and a 12 volt system would be nice. External propane tank and jerry can holders would be nice as well.

I'm really leaning towards a very basic trailer like the Runaway Venturist https://www.runawaycampers.com/the-venturist

But then I see these awesome tear drops with the outdoor kitchens like Bean and Colorado teardrop. However I'm thinking I'd rather have my food and beverages with me in the Jeep. I already have an ARB fridge in the Jeep and it's not hard to set up a table for the stove. However, I've never used an outdoor kitchen and it does look pretty awesome.

Any thoughts on either from those who've done it before? If the answer is "teardrop kitchen is so worth it", maybe I can still keep the fridge in the Jeep and park nearby to make cooking easier?

It's quite a jump from a $12k runaway camper to a $30k bean...

[Ottsville]

Even with a 28' tt, I still pull out my Camp Chef stove and cook on a table outside. If it were just me travelling, I would do a simple teardrop with some kind of canopy and a small table mount on the side and leave the fridge in the jeep.

[mtbikernate]

I have a squaredrop and pull the stove out to put it on a table.

I have the fridge and slide in my trailer, also.

I kinda like the idea of a kitchen on the back of the trailer, but then I think about some of the weather challenges I've had when I've been out camping and I think that having my kitchen in a fixed location like that would have been a bigger problem because it's harder to move to a suitable place. I'm thinking in particular about windy scenarios that can really mess with your ability to cook.

[tony.latham]

So... one reason the teardrop design has stood the test of time for at least eighty years is that it takes the work out of camping. Unhitch and you're camping. No kitchen to set up and takedown. (After each meal?) That's a big deal.

If I told my wife, I wanted to build a camper with a cabin that didn't have a galley, I'd be sleeping in the shop.





Tony

[tony.latham]

It's quite a jump from a $12k runaway camper to a $30k bean...

And frankly, you should look at Vistabule or Camp-Inn teardrops. Bean teardrops just don't pop for me. They seem too mass-produced.

https://vistabule.com/





Tony

[saywhatthat]

the real cost is how many time a year you will use it. Where do you camp are there bears ? Do you want to be part of the group . Will you be using the campground fire ring ? will you be camping and spend most of your time worrying about a $30K rig . Will a dent be just another story to tell around the campfire

[tony.latham]

Where do you camp are there bears?

I've been teardropping all over Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah for nearly two decades. Almost all of it in bear country. A lot of it in grizzly country.



Not one bear problem. A galley isn't an issue.



Tony

[Tom&Shelly]

Where do you camp are there bears?

I've been teardropping all over Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah for nearly two decades. Almost all of it in bear country. A lot of it in grizzly country.



Not one bear problem. A galley isn't an issue.



Tony

Gee Tony, did you give him back his fishing pole?

Tom

[zimm]

It's quite a jump from a $12k runaway camper to a $30k bean...

And frankly, you should look at Vistabule or Camp-Inn teardrops. Bean teardrops just don't pop for me. They seem too mass-produced.

https://vistabule.com/





Tony

Thanks for the links, I'll check those out

[saywhatthat]

Tony
Out here ass holes leave food out feed the bears . So there not impress with people
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/22/us/hank-the-tank-bear-lake-tahoe-break-ins-trnd/index.html

[Tom&Shelly]