Outdoor kitchen

After I decided  to go for a full camper conversion my immediate thought was while I didn't want a cooker and a sink it would be necessary to fulfill the requirements laid down by Irish revenue, tax and insurance people (see here). I don't think internal cookers are a good thing in these small campers so after seeing some great designs like this, I said I'd put it at the back. I couldn't do a sliding drawer, which I really wanted to do, because I was advised for revenue inspection purposes that this would be considered 'not fixed'. On reflection now I should have taken the risk and done it.

So: to complement the existing rear unit I built a kitchen unit consisting of a two ring gas cooker with grill, separate gas locker, sink and storage space.

Together with the sink, cooker and fridge it makes a handy little kitchen under the protection of the tailgate.

I used MDF and coated it several times with a matt paint. I repainted the side rear unit and used the bottom cupboard for the sink, which slides out on a drawer. The sink is a light stainless steel dog bowl. I picked it up in the local co-op, drilled a large hole through it with a hole saw and then stuck in a sink insert. I put in a 12 V foldable tap and have a little 12 V pump underneath to drop into the water container. The sink is plumbed to a flexible hose which goes to a dirty water container. All in, it was a fraction of the cost of a camper sink. 

The gas locker is an independent cupboard which makes use of the curve at the rear of the van. I put a drop-out vent through the floor, lined it with foil backed bubble wrap and stuck a carbon monoxide alarm in there too.

The hook is for holding the gas stopper when the regular is connected up.