Part 10: Kitchen and Cabinets
In this post I’m going to try to cover a lot of material, including the approach for building the cabinets and different aspects of the kitchen, including the countertop, plumbing, and kitchen appliances. Let’s get going!
What I did, what I used, how long it took, and how much it cost?
Similar to the bed and benches, I build the cabinets out of 2x2s, 2x4s, and plywood. For the top cabinets I decided to use just regular hinges with struts, whereas on the bottom cabinets I had hidden spring loaded hinges. All of the doors have latches that lock shut as to not open when moving, and one of the cabinet doors has a lock with a key to provide a little extra security somewhere in the van. The bottom cabinet is topped with butcher block, which has a stainless steel sink inset, that is connected to both a hand pump that draws clean water from a six gallon tank underneath, and a drainage system that connects to another six gallon gray tank also underneath the cabinets. The cabinets were again finished with white paint and the butcher block countertop was finished similarly to the other natural wood in the build, which meant stain and lacquer. Outside of the cabinets, the other key kitchen appliances include our Dometic CFX 35W Electric Cooler, our Cusimax Single Burner Electric Stovetop, and a small two cup electric kettle by Bodum.
The kitchen and cabinet work took about 60 hours, which can be roughly broken down as 30 hours constructing the cabinets themselves, 15 hours finishing the cabinetry work, and 15 hours for all the plumbing work and sink installation.
The total cost of the kitchen area was $1060, which included all of the kitchen cabinet work, the plumbing, and the kitchen appliances (which does include the $400 cooler).
Why I did it (including counterpoints)
Building the cabinets out of 2x2s, 2x4s, and plywood: Again I went with raw lumber here because it was hands down the easiest approach, it gave me the most storage space, and used the least amount of materials. To give you a sense of what I did, I built out a frame from 2x2s and 2x4s and then just added plywood paneling to the sides that are exposed. Because of that, the backs of my cabinets are the actual wall of the van, and the bottom of the lower cabinets is the actual floor and the top of the upper cabinet is the ceiling. There are some upsides to making real cabinets (mainly aesthetics) but since the dimensions and shapes of the walls are so custom inside the van, I was really happy with how our approach worked.
Cabinet accessories (struts, spring loaded hinges, locking latches): The world of cabinetry has a level of depth that I never would have imagined. There’s not only thousands of ways to build a cab, but also thousands of ways to make the damn door open and close. We went with doors and not drawers in the build because it’s just flat out easier and gives you the most space. A drawer or two here and there might be nice in the future, but for a first build drawers with shelves inside works totally fine. Once we decided on doors, we went with a combination of struts and hinges that would allow the doors to open, and then stay open through a strut or spring. There’s one cabinet door in the van (for the closet) that doesn’t stay open and it’s usually not a problem unless the van is parked on an uneven surface. The spring loaded hinges and struts don’t cost much extra and are only marginally harder to install so splurge for better hinges upfront if you can. As for the latches, we found some RV latches that allow the doors to latch closed and then you can lock them. Honestly, they get the job done but the level of precision you need to install them so that they work with ease is a major pain. Might look for some different ones moving forward that perform the same function but work better. Lastly, we also installed a keyed lock on one of the cab doors so that we have something we can use to lock up belongings inside of the van. 10/10 would recommend just for a little more peace of mind.
Butcher block counter top: For the counter we went with butcher block that was stained and lacquered. With this, you definitely pay the price for it but the quality is incredible. We could have laminated some plywood and I’m sure it would have been just as great, but one nice thing about using the butcher block with the same stain as the ceiling is that it really ties the van aesthetic together really well. I have nothing bad to say about butcher block other than the price tag. If you have a little more in the budget, go for it.
Stainless steel sink with hand pump and six gallon tanks: I’m so pumped ;) about how our water setup turned out. When I decided to go with a hand pump and only having six gallons of fresh water I was a little concerned that it may be a pain in the ass but it’s been the total opposite. The six gallon tank lasts us two weeks or more most of the time. What we’ve realized is you can get water all over the place, so as long as you’re somewhat diligent about filling your water bottles from outside the van and not the van water, six gallons is plenty. Things would change a bit if you were using your van to really go off the grid, but if you’re anywhere that has even basic services you’ll be able to get plenty of water no problem. As for the hand pump, I actually love how it forces us to conserve water and not just keep water running all the time to do dishes, brush teeth, etc. I kind of want one in my house I love it so much. Definitely consider it in your build, or a foot pump, before automatically defaulting to an electric pump.
Dometic CFX 35W Electric Cooler: The Dometic CFX series is a bit pricey, but if you can afford it, I’m not sure there are better options for refrigeration. The amount of power it uses is absurdly minimal, the amount of space for two people is just about perfect for a week or even two weeks of groceries (depending on your diet), and the thing is so quiet you never even know when the compressor is working. Again, the price tag is hefty so it’s understandable to go for a more budget option, but give them a look at least.
Cusimax Single Burner Electric Stovetop: Back when I started designing the van, I thought 100% we were gonna have a double burner stove, and maybe even an oven, that were permanently built into the counter. Then I started digging into the idea of having a large propane tank in the van. I’m not saying that there aren’t ways to do it (you can certainly install a tank on the underside of the van or put together some type of airtight container inside the van that stores the propane tank and has all the appropriate safety mechanisms to deal with leaks) but ultimately it all just seemed like way too much work for something that isn’t even used that often. I looked at my weekly diet and tried to understand how often I eat hot foot, and it’s at most once a day. For some people that may not be the case, but if it is, then doesn’t it make much more sense to not permanently install something that takes up tons of space and is a bit of a hazard if done improperly? That’s what I thought, so i decided let’s keep the countertop space and just get a single burner induction stove, and it has been pretty great for the most part. It does get super hot and takes a bit to cool down before storing it back away, but that’s a small inconvenience for all the space we get to keep in the kitchen area because of it. And yes, it is a power suck on the battery, but we make it work with even a modest power setup, and if you had a battery setup that was double what we have (~2000Wh) you could run the thing as many times a day as you want.
Bodum Electric Kettle: Doesn’t matter if you slug multiple cups of coffee/tea a day or you never need the stuff, an electric kettle is the best thing we have in the van. For the amount of power it uses and the time it takes to bring two cups to a boil, it’s a necessity for tea and coffee but even better for those quick meals you need to make in a pinch that require boiled water. Ramen, couscous, oatmeal, soups,… the list goes on and on. Sometimes you don’t have time, other times you’re tired and just want food fast. The kettle rocks. And yes, a Jetboil does nearly the same thing but why rely on the propane if you have even a modest power setup?
What went well
Building the cabinets into the wall: As I mentioned above this approach worked so well for a van that has walls and dimensions that are non-standard. Unless you compromise a ton of space in your build, you’re not going to have perfectly plumb walls, so building a custom frame to match them maximizes the limited amount of space you already have. Additionally, This helps you cut costs a bunch by not needing wood to cover the sides of the cabinets that are not exposed to the inside of the van. Everyone thought I was crazy when I said I wanted to build my own cabinets, but at the end of the day, they’re not that hard to make, and their custom fit makes everything tie together so well aesthetically, while maximizing space.
Struts and spring loaded hinges: I talked about this above, but having things like spring loaded hinges and struts that keep doors open really helps out when you have a vehicle that may not be parked on an even surface all the time. And as I mentioned above, the extra cost and work to install them is minimal.
Simplified plumbing setup: The only way our plumbing setup could be any simpler is if we had the fresh water tank up above and it was a gravity feed, but that’s pretty unrealistic in a van. So with just a hand pump for the freshwater line and gravity feed for the gray water coming out of the drain it’s been great to keep things really simple and contained to such a small space. Makes troubleshooting a breeze in case of issues, and adds a level of inherent damage control as everything is in one place. Water and moisture inside of a van can be a nightmare, so if you don’t want to worry about it, keep it simple but still effective.
What didn't go well/What I might’ve done differently
Half inch plywood for cabinets: If there’s only one thing I learned about cabinetry that I could pass onto people, it’s to use three quarter inch plywood. Cabinets have been standardized on three quarter inch, so when we went with half inch because we thought it’s be lighter/cheaper and still meet our needs, we found time and time again that we had to make up crazy round about ways to make things work. Things like hinges, latches, struts, basically any accessory for a cabinet it going to be standardized on a three quarter inch thickness, so unless you want to build a bunch of quarter inch spacers (like we did) to make up for the gap, just get three quarter inch plywood from the start.
Plumbing connection points: One issue with our simplified plumping setup that I do need to address, is that we did not include a j-trap and we relied on oversimplified non-pressure connection points. With the j-trap, just be sure to include one unless you want to change out your gray water every week because of the smell. As for the connection points, it is true that from the drain to the gray water tank there is no pressure (just gravity fed) and so you don’t need the strongest connection points like you might with a pressurized system, but you do need to account for all the bumps and turbulence the pipe system will face as you drive. After one changing of our gray water tank, one of the connection points slipped off while we were driving and the next time we went to use the sink, the water never made it to the gray tank… It made it onto the floor instead. I reinforced everything with duct tape and it’s been working perfectly ever since. An easy fix for a problem that could end up being detrimental to your floor if you don’t catch it right away like we did.
Ventilation in the cabinets: We decided to store our battery unit in the cabinet, and because of size constraints we didn’t have much room for it to breath (literally). After sometime of running the inverter in hotter conditions and at high wattages, the battery started to overheat. It never got to the point where anything bad happened or it stopped working, but we definitely need to do something to address it, so we installed some vents and also a small fan that sucks air out of the bottom of the cabinet and into the main compartment of the van. This solution worked like a charm eventually, but definitely wasn’t planned for and still hasn’t been tested on days much hotter than 80 degrees. I think there’s nothing to worry about going forward now, but definitely something to think about for future builds.
Build tips
Picking the right hinge for the job: As mentioned before, there’s a million ways to make a cabinet, and a million ways to close the cabinet door. Take some time to understand the different types of hinges and advantages of each. One thing to note especially is that if you want to have some doors that lock, you have to have hinges where the connection points are not exposed to the outside, otherwise you’ve rendered your lock useless. Almost screwed this up myself, and installed an outside hinge on our locking door because they are much easier to install, but figured it out eventually and switched it up.
Cutting butcher block: When cutting a really nice piece of wood, be sure to treat it with extra care. Measure three times, cut once, and if you’re using handheld power equipment (like we were) take your time and be sure to get a new blade for cutting. It’s going to be hard enough as it is to cut through the hardwood of the butcher block, and it you want to get a relatively straight cut (especially with a jigsaw) you’re going to need the best blade you can find. Lastly, if you do need to cut out a hole (like the one we needed for our sink) be sure to make plenty of relief cuts to allow the wood to fall out. We stupidly just cut out the wood and then when it would drop out we used a mallet to punch it out and due to the thickness of the butcher block and the unevenness of the jigsaw cut, we actually cracked the butcher block, and were probably a hit or two away from snapping it completely. A rookie mistake no doubt, but easily solved just by taking your time and being patient.
