Already deeply established in the overlanding game thanks to its off-road components, fridge/freezers, camping equipment and accessories, Australian brand ARB is branching out with one of the larger, smarter plug-and-play camper kitchens out there. Its new Slide Kitchen looks like any camper slide-out galley at first pull, but it swings, flips and pops into an L-shaped kitchen large enough to prepare (and clean up) a multi-course meal.
ARB certainly isn't the first brand with a slide-out kitchen to sell, as we've seen plenty over the years, including the Nomad Kitchen and the VanEssa tailgate kitchen. Usually such kitchens pack primary equipment like the stove, sink and maybe fridge onto a single slide-out, limiting the amount of workspace that campers have for chopping, mixing and plating.
ARB opens things up with a dual-arm design that creates a much more prep-friendly outdoor cooking space. The single slide-out does technically house the stove and sink but on a separate arm below the worktop. That arm swings out like a folding knife blade, bringing the stove and sink out into the open and leaving the full 49-inch-long (125-cm) stainless steel worktop completely clear for food prep and camp work. A drawer below the endmost section stores utensils, and the slide can hold up to 66 lb (30 kg) distributed evenly over the length of the worktop.
The stove/sink arm stops at 90 degrees for a comfortable L-shaped space, and the sink extension folds outward. The collapsible sink basin pops into shape, and the tempered glass stove flips for access to the three burners of the Thetford stove. The design doesn't include a water supply or tap so campers will have to bring their own to wash dishes in the sink. The sink platform holds up to 33 lb (15 kg), so something compact and light like the Geyser or GoSun Flow would probably work well. The sink includes a drain and doubles as a drying rack.
The Slide Kitchen can be mounted on its own or in conjunction with additional drawers and slides from ARB's Outback Solution roller drawer lineup, including the slide-out fridge shown in the photos. It's designed to be mounted on the passenger side for safe use when parked on the side of the road.
The Slide Kitchen is available in Australia and New Zealand starting at AU$2,795 (approx. US$2,165). ARB is currently looking at the possibility of bringing it to other markets, though it's not sure if or when that will happen. The company does have a global footprint with an established presence in markets that include Europe and the US.
Source: ARB