[ColeAK]

As a designer I have to remind myself quite often that not everyone does or see's things the same way I do. I dry camp a lot and as such place a premium on water storage, but not everyone else does--most don't in fact. Most don't do 14 day trips, etc. You would put a refrigerator in--I think that is a terrible use because I prefer a dedicated cooler with actual capacity--not a tiny little unit shoehorned into the slide out where it is hard to use. The point is, your suggestion is not wrong--it is just the way you like to camp. Saying the many people that prefer baskets should want less practical drawers is another example.

I think putting an actual faucet in the sink and 5 gallon water tank in the slide out is impractical when I can have a 14 gallon frunk tank with a pump and sprayer 4 feet away, but MOST people prefer a faucet. They are not "wrong" they just prefer to do things a different way.

My approach has been to make the slide out strong, light weight, and weather proof. The individual compartments are fairly versatile and there is room for people to configure things the way they want them to a fairly large extent. There are drop in propane cook tops that fit the available opening for the one guy who wants propane in his EV. If you don't want a little 5 gallon tank and faucet and would prefer to use that space for storage, (like me) than you can easily do that. If you only want a single burner--again like me--than that can be done too.

With good solid "bones" to work with--in this case a high quality carcass--there are lots of options.

I guess that makes sense, especially considering it is your project

My thought has always been the entire camp kitchen concept is completely impractical for overland/backcountry/camping. It will mostly be utilized as a tailgating accessory, which it will work well for, both yours and the original Rivian concept.

should have called it the tailgater package.

 

[Gene]

I guess that makes sense, especially considering it is your project

My thought has always been the entire camp kitchen concept is completely impractical for overland/backcountry/camping. It will mostly be utilized as a tailgating accessory, which it will work well for, both yours and the original Rivian concept.

should have called it the tailgater package.

Yeah I will confess my initial reaction was, "That is pretty silly" when I first saw it as well. It's really about perspective though. I am into Skoolie's and I designed mine with 200 gallons of fresh water capacity and 2,000 watts of solar, a garage with lift gate storage for two electric trikes...and very comfortable accommodations for six cats. The point being it is not exactly practical for a 3 day camp on the beach the way the Rivian with a slide out kitchen would be--and I would do a lot more easy weekend camps with. Right now the thing the full sized school bus parked next to my house is best at is making it easier for the pizza delivery guy to find my house. At least until the zombie apocalypse of course...then I am golden.

Hard core overlander's and long term dry campers are not like other people man =)

 

[ColeAK]

Yeah I will confess my initial reaction was, "That is pretty silly" when I first saw it as well. It's really about perspective though. I am into Skoolie's and I designed mine with 200 gallons of fresh water capacity and 2,000 watts of solar, a garage with lift gate storage for two electric trikes...and very comfortable accommodations for six cats. The point being it is not exactly practical for a 3 day camp on the beach the way the Rivian with a slide out kitchen would be--and I would do a lot more easy weekend camps with. Right now the thing the full sized school bus parked next to my house is best at is making it easier for the pizza delivery guy to find my house. At least until the zombie apocalypse of course...then I am golden.

Hard core overlander's and long term dry campers are not like other people man =)

I have 4 primary camp set ups. Most used is a travel trailer, ORV 22BHS. 2nd/3rd is either our traditional bikepack/backpacking set up or our old northface dome basecamp with a mountain summit camp kitchen, complete with hot/cold on demand water, shower, 800w of solar 1.5kw battery bank, 12v fridge/freezer,…. We use it was basecamp for caribou/sheep/goat/bird hunting and for subsistence set netting salmon, least used is an iKamper RTT with either the full kitchen or backpack kitchen set up.


In my experience the biggest limitation for the rivian camp kitchen concept is the same as with RTTs. That they are attached to the truck (well and huge, heavy). They take up way more storage space and weight capacity than needed and if you need to move the truck you need to tear everything down and put it all back up and not that versatile as it can only go where the truck can go, why it is a great concept for tailgating

I have almost entirely eliminated ice/coolers for food storage. Now I have 3 Dometic fridge/freezers (varying sizes) and will never go back to dealing with ice.

 

[Gene]

I have 4 primary camp set ups. Most used is a travel trailer, ORV 22BHS. 2nd/3rd is either our traditional bikepack/backpacking set up or our old northface dome basecamp with a mountain summit camp kitchen, complete with hot/cold on demand water, shower, 800w of solar 1.5kw battery bank, 12v fridge/freezer,…. We use it was basecamp for caribou/sheep/goat/bird hunting and for subsistence set netting salmon, least used is an iKamper RTT with either the full kitchen or backpack kitchen set up.


In my experience the biggest limitation for the rivian camp kitchen concept is the same as with RTTs. That they are attached to the truck (well and huge, heavy). They take up way more storage space and weight capacity than needed and if you need to move the truck you need to tear everything down and put it all back up and not that versatile as it can only go where the truck can go, why it is a great concept for tailgating

I have almost entirely eliminated ice/coolers for food storage. Now I have 3 Dometic fridge/freezers (varying sizes) and will never go back to dealing with ice.

I 100% agree on the always attached to the truck part which is why I made the design with the option to be fully removable with an extra leg so it is free standing. For short term camping or trips with multiple stops--like my beach example above, you can just slide it out and use attached to the truck--call it "normal mode"--and for longer stops where you will be at the same camp site for several days or more and/or some members of your party will stay at the camp site while others may need the truck for a supply run or driving to a fishing spot, the kitchen can fairly easily be removed and set up free standing--call it "base camp mode".

 

[ColeAK]

I 100% agree on the always attached to the truck part which is why I made the design with the option to be fully removable with an extra leg so it is free standing. For short term camping or trips with multiple stops--like my beach example above, you can just slide it out and use attached to the truck--call it "normal mode"--and for longer stops where you will be at the same camp site for several days or more and/or some members of your party will stay at the camp site while others may need the truck for a supply run or driving to a fishing spot, the kitchen can fairly easily be removed and set up free standing--call it "base camp mode".

That is great, I thought Rivian should have had that design in the original. I didn’t catch that in your OP. What is the plan for electric cook top without the truck? My teens have a food truck (well trailer) and even with 1kw solar under full sun and a 6k inverter on a 1.5 kWh battery bank that could only run an induction cook top for 5-7 min.

 

[lethargic_wombat]

That is great, I thought Rivian should have had that design in the original. I didn’t catch that in your OP. What is the plan for electric cook top without the truck? My teens have a food truck (well trailer) and even with 1kw solar under full sun and a 6k inverter on a 1.5 kWh battery bank that could only run an induction cook top for 5-7 min.

Seriously though, thanks for the real world experience with energy draw on an induction cooktop. As much as I would like to move away from gas and like the form factor and multi use surface induction offers, that energy draw is a deal breaker. After reading through different van life build outs, I knew it would consume a lot of juice. But 5-7 minutes on a 1.5 kWh battery bank is not close to what I was hoping for.

I wonder if the energy draw is a significant factor in Rivian postponing their camp kitchen?

 

[racekarl]

But 5-7 minutes on a 1.5 kWh battery

How could that be possible? I typical induction hob is around 1.5 kW so shouldn't it run for closer to an hour on a 1.5kWh battery?

 

[ColeAK]

How could that be possible? I typical induction hob is around 1.5 kW so shouldn't it run for closer to an hour on a 1.5kWh battery?

We had a double burner that was rated to 1.8 kw per burner. By the time we got the pans to temp it only gave us 5-7 min of cooking time.
This one. Mirage® Pro Countertop Induction Ranges

returned them and use a camp chef 3 burner propane, they Can do 7-10 days running 3 burners 8-10 hours a day off a 15 lb propane tank

Our percolator coffee maker kills the battery in <10min. Can’t even brew a batch. What they have to do for coffee is use land power to brew it (or a generator) the. Plug into the solar/battery to keep it warm. On a sunny day the solar can support the fridge+freezer+coffee.

have this coffee maker.

Coffee Urn 40 Cup Stainless Steel

A coffee urn is perfect for large groups and gatherings. All commercial coffee urns are commercially rated and NSF listed.

hamiltonbeachcommercial.com

Have a modified and older version of this solar set up.100w 24v panels x10 (most of the time they only run 6 panels though), 1kwh 6k inverter with a 0.5kwh add on battery.

Lion Energy - Safari ME Portable Power Station Bundle

This kit comes with our largest portable generator—the Safari ME—that powers virtually anything you can plug into a standard wall outlet (15A) – power tools, refrigerators, freezers, air compressors, TVs, medical devices, blenders, and so much more! Combine this with our 24V 100W solar panels, a...

lionenergy.com

 

[camaroz1985]

Interesting concept. Nice to see you coming up with so many products for the R1 platform. Thanks for your hard work.

 

[Valahalla]

Gene, digging this concept so far and genuinely interested. I’m curious what options can be for cooktop that’s not induction? Is the design such that there’s another drop in solution?