Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hello all.
I'm working on galley ideas for the Command Post. Laurie has decreed that the nose of the camper, where the galley would normally go in this type of design, will instead be filled with cabinetry so that all our camping gear can be stored in the camper. The advantage of this is "instant camping," just hook up and go. The down side, is no galley.
I'm thinking that what I need to do is design a big rolling cabinet, with a sink set into the top. It will have a water inlet in the back and a faucet to hook up to campground water. It will also have a fold down table extension on each side so with the wings up, it will be close to 8 feet long. The Coleman stove will be stored in a door in the front of the cabinet. I'll get one of those roll around grey water tanks on wheels when politeness requires handling grey water that way, and for rough camping, I'll just run a hose downhill away from the camp 30 feet or so into the weeds. The rolling galley will be set up right next to the door, and galley supplies will be in the cabinets closest to the door.
The down side to this is that my rolling galley will probably get heavy pretty quickly. Getting it in and out of the camper will "inhale sharply." Anyone have useful comments on this idea, and/or ideas to make it work better?

Jeff0520 wrote:

The down side to this is that my rolling galley will probably get heavy pretty quickly. Getting it in and out of the camper will "inhale sharply."

I thought about building something like that in my tenting days. My thought was to give it gurney legs so that, when you slide it part way out, the first set of legs automatically come down to help with the weight; and, when the galley is almost out, the second set of legs come down and you're good to go! If the box is very heavy, you won't be able to slide it on the bedding. The mattress will probably have to be folded back. If you do that, you could even have a small set of stationary wheels, separate from the wheeled legs, to help you roll it in when the legs are already folding. There are lots of styles of chuck boxes out on the Internet; but, I would think it would be more fun to design your own.

I ended up buying a large wheeling tool chest to hold all my kitchen equipment, dishes and cutlery and attached the stove to the top with bungee cords for travel. It worked great. One or two large plastic boxes held non-perishable food. I still use the tool chest with the trailer; but, now, it holds "bear box" food and staples, for those times when it is necessary to roll ones food to bear box storage.

Another idea is to have your kitchen area slide out of the side, where the cabinets are located, maybe even including some of those cabinets in it. Have you looked at PArnold's build?
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=47901

The barn has a micro galley because of the rear entry so here is my answer to "The Kitchen"



I couple simple lightweight (but sturdy ) tables and the campchef dutch oven table.

S. Heisley wrote:Jeff0520 wrote:

I ended up buying a large wheeling tool chest to hold all my kitchen equipment, dishes and cutlery and attached the stove to the top with bungee cords for travel. It worked great. One or two large plastic boxes held non-perishable food. I still use the tool chest with the trailer; but, now, it holds "bear box" food and staples, for those times when it is necessary to roll ones food to bear box storage.

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=47901

Sharon's right my two stanley rolling tool boxes make great storage boxes and are critter proof. I latch it down at night and stack it on the coolers to keep the bandits at bay

S. Heisley wrote:
Another idea is to have your kitchen area slide out of the side, where the cabinets are located, maybe even including some of those cabinets in it. Have you looked at PArnold's build?
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=47901

I have looked at his build. That sliding drawer idea is pretty sweet. The reason I dont want to go that way is that I don't want any plumbing installed in the Command Post. I want to keep all the water outside where it can do no harm if it leaks, freezes, spills, or otherwise goes wrong. That also lets me avoid the usual issues of winterizing plumbing. We don't have to worry about bears in this part of the country. The only wildlife we have to worry about is raccoons, skunks, and crows. Believe it or not, crows can be amazingly bright about stealing your food. Before I go anywhere in bear country, I'd want to get out my old scout manual and read up on bear precautions for sure

BobHenry wrote:

...I latch it down at night and stack it on the coolers to keep the bandits at bay

If BobHenry does it, I'm in good company! I'm betting Bob's way works great with the smaller critters like raccoons. The wheels make it easier to move the food around and the compartments within the tool box make for good organization. However, if there is a bear around, that food had better be in a bear box because the bear would have no problem moving any of those boxes and the bear could care less how organized it is!

Hey, Jeff! Here's another idea:

What about quick disconnects for the water and drain; and a pop-in, pop-out sink so that no water is stored in the trailer but the sink and connections are easily added after you pull it out?

Instead of making it one large roll-around unit, why not split it into 3-4
"modules" - say a sink module, a stove/cooking module, a pantry module
and a cooler/fridge module? Or whatever single or combinations desired.
Each could/would have the accompanying equipment/storage included
depending how detailed you wanted to be. They would be easier to handle
taking them in and out and could be just connected together, or used as
"bases" with counters of equal or differing lengths placed between them -
offering the possibility of different shaped and larger work spaces and
layouts etc. Extra counter space is always useful.

Small 1x framing and 1/4in plywood - quality ply would be worth the money -
well glued together should be adequate.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

mezmo wrote:Instead of making it one large roll-around unit, why not split it into 3-4
"modules" - say a sink module, a stove/cooking module, a pantry module
and a cooler/fridge module? Or whatever single or combinations desired.
Each could/would have the accompanying equipment/storage included
depending how detailed you wanted to be. They would be easier to handle
taking them in and out and could be just connected together, or used as
"bases" with counters of equal or differing lengths placed between them -
offering the possibility of different shaped and larger work spaces and
layouts etc. Extra counter space is always useful.

Small 1x framing and 1/4in plywood - quality ply would be worth the money -
well glued together should be adequate.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

Absolutely!

S. Heisley wrote:Hey, Jeff! Here's another idea:

What about quick disconnects for the water and drain; and a pop-in, pop-out sink so that no water is stored in the trailer but the sink and connections are easily added after you pull it out?

That would surely cut down on the weight factor. I'll have to think on that one. Thanks for the idea.

mezmo wrote:Instead of making it one large roll-around unit, why not split it into 3-4
"modules" - say a sink module, a stove/cooking module, a pantry module
and a cooler/fridge module? Or whatever single or combinations desired.
Each could/would have the accompanying equipment/storage included
depending how detailed you wanted to be. They would be easier to handle
taking them in and out and could be just connected together, or used as
"bases" with counters of equal or differing lengths placed between them -
offering the possibility of different shaped and larger work spaces and
layouts etc. Extra counter space is always useful.

Small 1x framing and 1/4in plywood - quality ply would be worth the money -
well glued together should be adequate.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

Not a bad idea. The limiting factor on that is space. Unless I figure out how to make multiple modules fold flat or something, I'll run out of room to put them inside for travel. I'll have to think on that one.
In any case, whatever I build cant be TOO big. The entry door is only 27" wide. I am figuring I'll probably build it 24"x30" and about as tall as kitchen counters usually are.
Thanks

Here is some more brain fodder !

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=50835&p=941450&hilit=side+tables#p941450