Hilux 4x4 Forum

Hi everyone,

I am a proud new owner of a kitted out 2010 3.0L Hilux D4D and am well into preparing for my first 3 month overland trip. I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for a camp kitchen set-up that can be set-up and taken down every day as efficiently and easily as possible. I'm nervous that if we put everything in a loose box that it will be a real hassle every day. I've seen some on-line DIY "chuck-boxes" which look promising but they are also extremely heavy. Has anyone come up with a good solution to this problem? I'd love to see pictures of your set-up if it's something that you are able to set-up and take down almost every day.

Thanks!

Josh

I've seen some really great setups Josh, and often they are designed by the guy (and sometimes wife included) to suit their specific needs.

It all makes for very convenient camping indeed, however it depends on your own circumstances - how much camping / over-landing you're going to be doing. The reason being (to my way of thinking anyway) is that I don't just do over-landing. I still enjoy doing some of the rougher stuff as well and also, if I go hunting and have to recover a carcass from the veld or down in a kloof, I don't want all the extra weight of a fitted camping setup - it also leaves no room to load a carcass. (You'd be surprised how quickly a blesbok fills the load bin of a double-cab, let alone a kudu).

Additionally, if you decide to use the vehicle for recreational day outings, it doesn't warrant carrying all that kit when you don't need it. It's heavier on the vehicle itself and also impacts negatively on overall running costs, not just fuel economy.

Like I said, to each his own for his own needs, and I can speak only for myself. What I have done over the years is to pack what I need when I need it - all pre packed in ammo boxes. They stack nicely and lock into each other, so no shifting about all over the place, especially if you have cargo rails on the load bin floor with straps like I do. I have eating and cooking utensils with a gas stove permanently packed in one ammo box, another that gets stocked with non-perishable groceries (perishables go in the freezer), another ammo box with recovery gear and yet another for other general camping stuff. I also keep a couple of spare ones that I can use for clothing and bedding etc - they really help to keep the dust out. Each one is labelled and they are stored in a cabinet at home when not in use - this leaves the bakkie almost empty except for the freezer that I leave in there permanently. (It's nice to be able to dig in there for something cold to drink no matter what you're doing or where you are, and it's not heavy.

OK .... a long story, but the reason is to let you know that there is an alternative that works, even if it's a little less convenient to get at stuff, but then it only takes a few seconds or a minute longer than being able to open a side hatch with everything there (and as you get used to it, you develop a packing sequence that makes it a bit easier). Another benefit is that you can pack the heavy stuff low down with the lighter stuff on top which helps a lot with keeping the COG lower down and can make all the difference between rolling or staying on your wheels if you have to negotiate a challenging side angle (or for that matter becoming a positive statistic for the "moose test").

My suggestion to you is then this - try this way first, if it doesn't suit you, all you've lost is some ammo boxes that you will undoubtedly find a use for, storing other stuff in your garage / workshop. Then you can always look at setting up a permanent camper and take your time designing it without being rushed.

Thanks for the advice Andy. I was thinking of something that I could take in and out of the truck and set-up on a table that already had all of my kit in it would be the best solution since I wouldn't want it in the truck all the time. Originally I was thinking of a DIY box where everything has its own little place. That said, it may not be worth the effort to create such a contraption when a couple of Ammo boxes could do the trick just as well. I would still love to hear if anyone has specs for creating a DIY box where everything fits neatly tucked away though.

Josh, I understand what it is you're looking for and a single box that fits nice and neatly into a space like the area between the wheel wells with said box having ideally sized compartments for different things sounds like a wonderfully neat and organised approach.

Here's the thing .... besides the effort and expense to produce it, it becomes a heavy thing (even when empty) and cumbersome to handle. 99% of the time I load and off load alone so a system of manageable 'modules' makes more sense to me.

You can put a divider into an ammo box as well if you really want to, but I personally don't see the merit - it restricts space.

Good luck with your deliberations on the choices.

I'm still not sold on a built in kitchen...it is very pretty but becomes a pain when you are not close to the vehicle. IIRC Ledfly has a clip-in setup that fits inside the side hatch and is small enough to remove from the canopy and put on your table.

After how many years and owning an offroad trailer for almost 2 i still haven't found my final setup LOL Like Andy says, what works for you, but start with the ammo box setup and work from there

Here is my rendition of a travel kitchen / pantry. Bear in mind it was not our requirement to have the stove and washing up basin incorporated in the box. It is a box that holds kitchen/eating/cooking utensils and cleaning stuff.

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It will depend on your set up and how this works.
What canopy do you have?
If you have side doors in an alluminium canopy, you can build a box with an open side facing the outside canopy door. Below the loadbed height the kitchen can have shelves facing the inside of the load body with doors fitted, preventing things from falling out.
Remember that shelves take less space than drawers, are lighter and cheaper to build.
This can be made to slide into the back of the canopy from the back and bolted fast, so that it does not move around. You can put your fridge/freezer in front (behind the cab) where there is less bouncing if there is access through a side door to get to it.
On the opposite side you can do the same for clothing shelves, and other odds and sods.
In the middel at the back you can put in a bed for children or an adult.
RTT on the roof opening out over the front of the vehicle, will save place to put gas and wood on the roof of the canopy.
Again, difficult if we do not know your set-up.

Haboob wrote:It will depend on your set up and how this works.
What canopy do you have?
...
Again, difficult if we do not know your set-up.

Thanks for the advice Haboob. Here's some pictures of my set-up right now. There is a wrap-around awning on the other side of the bakkie that you can't see here. This is as I purchased it from Gerbers 4x4. I definitely need to consider the best way to customise it inside.

What I have described in my above post will work for you.
Make boxes that rest and bolt onto the drawer system below with the open shelves pointing towards the doors on the sides.
Find plastic containers from plastic warehouse shops which will fit securely into these shelves, so build your shelf according to the boxes you can find.
Have your biggest shelf at the bottom and go smaller as you go higher.
You will only get two or three shelves in the available space. The top being for smalls like spice and cups, etc.
On the opposite side of the vehicle you do thesame for your clothing cupboards, except you don't need plastick containers, just the shelves. We use shoe box size containers in clothing side for things like underclothes and socks. You can also use box for toiletries.
There is too much space for clothing on one whole side, so use for recovery gear, pots & pans, braai folding triangles for braai grid and pots to stand on.
The drawer system at the back is lower than the top of the loadbed. Don't waste this space, make the first/bottom shelf a drop into shelf which will give us space to just push things into this space, like bread or rolls when shopping, but will have to be taken out before removing the container to get things out. This way things do not fall around in the shelf, so you just remove the whole plastic shelf to scratch around in there.
Don't just make one shelf and pack containers onto each other, instead of making shelves, because then you have to unpack everything to get to the bottom container. You want a hassel free system.
You also do not need to take your whole chuck box to where you are braai-ing. Do your preparation at your vehicle and take what you need to the braai area.
You will mostly be parked next to where you braai in anycase.
I also have a table attached to the side of my vehicle, which makes it easy to work from the kitchen area, as you just unpack onto the table to fiddle in any container which has been taken out. Wolf packs or ammo boxes are too big for this and have a lot of wasted space. You can also do without lids for the plastic boxes you use, unless your shelves are too big and you need to pack boxes onto each other.
Hope you come right.
Happy and safe travels.

I suppose everyone has their own specific needs, I don't want to be bound to a specific vehicle, so I like this kind of "all in one" setup:

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or even one of these:
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Here is my version of a portable and also vehicle mounted chuck box. I like to keep it simple and small. It is for 4 people with the cutlery. Only the braai grid, camp cooking pots and hot wheel travel seperate to this as they are seldom needed on a roadside lunch stop.

Corrected the image to display. Hope it is visible now.


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Fixed.