Iterating on the car kitchen
Even though it was just a very basic prototype, using the car trunk as a space for cooking worked very well. So much so that it inspired me to try another idea. What if, instead, I created a self-contained box with all the kitchen items inside it that I could simply grab from the trunk and put on a table to start cooking?
The upcoming summer trip was the perfect opportunity to test this concept, so I started building it. But this time I wanted something more polished and invested some time planning all the details.
The final product is simple, yet contains everything I frequently use on every camping trip. It’s basically two drawers made with euroboxes with several custom-made dividers.
Oh, that cardboard wrapped in aluminum around the stove is there as a temporary hack to prevent the wind from blowing the fire. I couldn’t find any option to buy with the perfect dimensions, so future me will have to fix this by making one.
During the long summer trip, I took note of a few small details that I’d like to change here and there, but I was super happy with the final product. Final? Well…
After loading and unloading the portable kitchen from the trunk several times during the trip, I came up with a specific way to position it that would give me access to the items in the drawers. Because I could open the trunk and work on simple dishes from there without having to bring the entire box to a table, I had one of those a-ha moments.
What if I create a platform to raise it and include a sliding mechanism like in the first prototype? Something similar to what you can see in the picture above, but higher. That would give me access to the rest of the trunk for storage, and I would even be able to cook without having to remove the entire box from the car.
Honestly, I couldn’t stop thinking about that idea during the whole trip — especially when we stopped at resting areas to make some coffee.