Northern California's Trail Kitchens makes car camping and overlanding easier with a line of folding kitchens and chuck boxes that store in the trunk and pop open at camp to keep you organized when cooking. Now it's making van camping equally easy with a modular kitchen block that secures inside the van and offers indoor/outdoor configurations. So forget the extensive camper van conversion, get out there and get cooking.
Van life continues to be big business, and the market continues to offer innovative vehicle and equipment solutions to help camper van nomads get on their way. Trail Kitchens makes the conversion process faster with the TK Van Kitchen.
A larger, semi-permanent version of the company's kitchen boxes, the TK Van installs via floor rails, D-rings or directly to the van floor. It brings with it a sink hooked to 53-L fresh and 53-L gray water tanks (or a 76-L fresh tank only). The greater water system also includes a pump, a faucet with 6-foot (1.8-m) hose that doubles as an outdoor shower, a carbon block water filter, and quick-connect filling and draining fittings. An on-demand hot water heater is available as an option.
Like any good camper van kitchen, the TK Van also includes a dual-burner stove. The stove lid covers the burners up to create usable worktop when not cooking, and a drop-down counter on the outdoor side of the unit offers outdoor prep space. Below the stove, a storage drawer holds utensils and kitchen tools.
The TK Van steps above and beyond the average camper van kitchen in that the module that holds the stove is removable. In fact, the removable stove pod is actually the company's existing outdoor TK Camp Kitchen with Stove. It pulls out from the affixed van kitchen structure, unfolds to create a larger kitchen area with dual work surfaces and storage shelves, and stands on a set of legs. So you can easily cook outside whenever the mood and weather suit.
The sink stays inside the van, but with the 6-foot pull-out sprayer, you can easily drop a collapsible sink on the outdoor kitchen and wash food and dishes there. Or put the sink bowl on the drop-down shelf next to the outdoor kitchen area. The whole set-up gives you extra flexibility in prepping, cooking and cleaning how and where you want.
The pull-out stove block is made from aluminum and stainless steel, and the sink area features a hardwood countertop. Buyers choose Baltic birch or composite aluminum facing panels, and bamboo panels are available for an extra $100.
The entire sink + stove unit measures 33 x 17 x 40.5 in (84 x 43 x 103 cm) and weighs 147 lb (67 kg), while the removable outdoor cooker module measures 21.3 x 16.9 x 28.3 in (54 x 43 x 72 cm) and weighs around 51 lb (23 kg), based on the listed weight of the standalone Camp Kitchen with Stove.
The TK Van Kitchen is designed to work with popular US-market vans like the Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit, Ram Promaster, Ford E-Series and Chevy Express. Trail Kitchens offers both driver- and passenger-side models. The kitchen starts at US$2,665, and options include a $260 rechargeable 12V power system and $150 water heater.
That pricing is well north of Trail Kitchen's traditional outdoor kitchens, but this one is an entirely different product that promises to streamline the kitchen design of any camper van build. It also includes the sink and full water system, along with the modular indoor/outdoor design - features that lower-priced TK units lack. It seems like an intriguing option for those who want to save a little work while getting a fully functional indoor/outdoor kitchen for their van.
The eight-minute video below provides a closer look at the design and use of the TK Van Kitchen.
Source: Trail Kitchens
