Build A Camp Kitchen and Camp Storage Trailer

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The nearly four-foot cube is not a pop-out, sleep-in camper, but rather a combination storage locker and camp kitchen that'll hold everything necessary for a weekend (and maybe even a weeks-long) trek to anywhere you can pull the unique trailer.
The nearly four-foot cube is not a pop-out, sleep-in camper, but rather a combination storage locker and camp kitchen that'll hold everything necessary for a weekend (and maybe even a weeks-long) trek to anywhere you can pull the unique trailer.
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Consolidated camper diagram 3.
Consolidated camper diagram 3.
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Consolidated camper diagram 1.
Consolidated camper diagram 1.
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Consolidated camper diagram 4.
Consolidated camper diagram 4.
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Consolidated camper diagram 2.
Consolidated camper diagram 2.
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Consolidated camper diagram 5.
Consolidated camper diagram 5.
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Consolidated camper diagram 6.
Consolidated camper diagram 6.
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Consolidated camper diagram 7.
Consolidated camper diagram 7.
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Consolidated camper diagram 8.
Consolidated camper diagram 8.

Though part of the fun of camping is shucking the amenities of society, even the most dedicated Natty Bumppos among us would agree that the quicker you set up camp, the sooner you can get on with the business of enjoying yourself. Since this compact camping trailer, designed and built by MOTHER’s research staffer Clarence Goosen, is already set up when it rolls into camp with a camp kitchen and camp storage, “roughing it” is made smoother than you’d ever imagine.

Build A Camp Kitchen and Camp Storage Trailer

The nearly four-foot cube is not a pop-out, sleep-in camper, but rather a combination storage locker and camp kitchen that’ll hold everything necessary for a weekend (and maybe even a weeks-long) trek to anywhere you can pull the unique trailer. Five stowage compartments, three utensil and storage drawers, a cool box, a stove holder, and a food preparation counter complete with overhead and sidewall weather protection make it one of the handiest conveyances to hit the trail since the days of the Conestoga wagon.

To keep the project within the capabilities of a person with average workshop skills, Clarence purchased, rather than fabricated, the 40 inch by 48 inch tubular steel trailer frame upon which his plywood camper rests. Believe it or not, the cost of just buying the parts to make a trailer exceeded the $200 price we were quoted for a new, manufactured one at a local hardware store. (Since then, we’ve discovered a source of even less expensive, partially assembled kits: Northern Hydraulics, Inc., Burnsville, MN, sells an equivalent trailer for $139.95, plus $30 shipping to anywhere in the continental U.S.)

The camper body is a self-contained unit built of 1/2 inch AC plywood on a 3/4 inch plywood base. Internal rib members measuring 3/4 inch by 1-3/4 inch, and beveled to 45 degrees on each side, strengthen the comers and provide bolsters for the horizontal and vertical inner partitions. Furthermore, angle iron clips placed at each of the box’s four lower corners bolt to the trailer frame and allow that chassis when the body is removed-to do double duty as a utility trailer! A 3/4 inch plywood platform mounted to the trailer itself serves as a subfloor for either configuration.

  • Published on Jun 28, 2012
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