Car Kitchen Guide

  

 

 

Building a Kitchen in my Car

 So this all started when I got tickets to Surf Ranch in the middle of nowhere California. The closest hotel I could find was over an hour away...so I decided to build a self sufficient situation. I have a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. If I fold the row seats down and move the front seats to the max front position, I can fit a full sized 13" foam mattress in it. I built the kitchen purely for fun and it works amazingly! I have taken it cross country and feel like it is optimal. I have privacy screens on the windows and can virtually stealth camp anywhere. The only addition I did to the kitchen later on was, since I ordered a bidet hose during the great toilet paper shortage of 2020... i didn't end up using it so I split my water hoses and extended it so now I can shower too! You can watch my YouTube VIDEO LINK to see how I built it and here are some picture links to the materials I used.

 

 

 

I painted this Coleman 12V refrigerator to match the kitchen. It works great! I have had drinks that I had pre-frozen remain frozen for over 4 days. Be sure not to pack food up against the inside fan for optimal chilling. 

 

 

I chose this little faucet because it was pretty low profile but would spill out over the sink when I used it. It's easy to wash hands and fill waterbottles. I plugged the hot water intake before install since I only have 1 water source.

 

This water pump is the heart of the kitchen. It only pumps on demand when the faucet handle is lifted. I I used a 12V adapter to plug it into my 12V power inverter. The pressure is great and it was affordable. I installed it on the inside back wall of the kitchen. Its out of the way and just "does it's thing" perfectly.

 

 

Since I wanted this kitchen as light as possible for me to be able to lift in and out of my car...and also for overall vehicle weight... I used these tiles for the backsplash. They are basically a thin layer of steel over compressed fiber, so they are super light, but you get a great finished look. They are easy to wipe down. I used a dremmel tool to cut them...but you can use a sharp razor box opener. I'm not going to recommend the tiles I used on the countertop. I got peel and stick octagons at Lowes...but they do not stick and frustrate me. I think a general peel and stick linoleum will work great...just don't use the ones I used.  

 

 

I store my small propane stove and all of my baking stuff in this rack. Be sure to check your interior dimensions in comparison to where your drain is and your pump is when you plan for your rack... mine barely fit. 

 

 

I am loving this addition to the Kitchen. I used multiple extender hoses so I can put it in my outdoor shower pop-up tent. I also use this to rinse off surfboards and sandy feet at the beach. 

 

 

Be sure to get a privacy shower that you can't see through in the sunlight. 

 

My sink was a bowl from Big Lots I drilled a hole in.