Trailer build kitchen thoughts. Fridge stays in the Jeep? Sink worth having?

[Louisd75]

I haul a lot of stuff around in the jeep for other projects when I am not on the trail so hauling around a big freezer in the back of the jeep all the time seems like a hassle and would preclude using that space for other stuff when not camping, it's one of the reasons I am building a trailer in the first place. Since one of the main purposes of my trailer is to have a nice full bathroom when camping the sink is essential for washing hands etc.. I know one could use a bucket or hose outside but I wanted it self contained. Can't believe how many expensive off road trailers are being sold with no toilets... must be a lot of constipated campers out there...

I take the fridge/freezer out when I'm not on trips. No sense carrying around extra weight when it's not needed, plus it doubles as ice cream storage when the good stuff goes on sale

 

[zimm17]

I haul a lot of stuff around in the jeep for other projects when I am not on the trail so hauling around a big freezer in the back of the jeep all the time seems like a hassle and would preclude using that space for other stuff when not camping, it's one of the reasons I am building a trailer in the first place.

Fridge is on quick release L track buttons. Removes in less than a minute. Normally I run around town without it, but when it's in place, it's nice to put the cold groceries in there and still be able to run more errands.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

Can't believe how many expensive off road trailers are being sold with no toilets... must be a lot of constipated campers out there...

Can't believe how many people want to haul their poop around with them...Must have been a lot of constipated humans for those 150,000 years that we didn't have toilets

 

[zimm17]

Can't believe how many people want to haul their poop around with them...Must have been a lot of constipated humans for those 150,000 years that we didn't have toilets

Well in most of today's society, it's considered rude to drop a "deuce" on the side of the road or trail. When I was "hauling poop" around with my Casita, having a potty 15 feet away came in handy for some road side emergencies. Especially with small kids.

Too bad my future trailer likely won't have a bathroom, I don't have the towing capacity. WAG bag and a 5 gallon bucket are like the answer.

Funny side story- on an overlanding trip we broke camp and were on our way down the mountain looking for the first trash can we could find to unload our camp trash and multiple WAG bags of waste. When we stopped, the bag we tied on the tailgate was GONE. We spent an hour back tracking and finally found it blown open on the side of the road and had a lot of fun picking all the trash up. Luckily the WAG bags were strong enough not to have broken.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

Too bad my future trailer likely won't have a bathroom, I don't have the towing capacity. WAG bag and a 5 gallon bucket are like the answer.

You might want to check out the Thunderbox. It's way better than hauling around your poop and as comfortable as a regular toilet. We've found it to be invaluable.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Can't believe how many people want to haul their poop around with them...Must have been a lot of constipated humans for those 150,000 years that we didn't have toilets

There are many areas in which decomposition can take decades, if it'll happen at all. Alpine, deserts, etc. In some US National Parks (such as Death Valley NP) you're not supposed to bury your poop, and are supposed to carry it out and properly dispose of it. Plenty of great reasons to have an alternative to digging a hole.

 

[FN4PAPA]

You might want to check out the Thunderbox. It's way better than hauling around your poop and as comfortable as a regular toilet. We've found it to be invaluable.

We had something like a thunderbox and used one of those pop up tents for a surround, the problem we had is that there is often a lot of wind where we go and the tent kept blowing way at the most inopportune time... So the trailer I am building is going to fix this problem albeit probably in the most expensive way possible...

 

[Teardropper]

Can't believe how many people want to haul their poop around with them...Must have been a lot of constipated humans for those 150,000 years that we didn't have toilets

There's nothing worse than pulling into a fine-looking remote campsite only to discover the surface shatters have been there...

We use a Cleanwaste.

Yeah, we haul our poop out.

Tony

 

[FN4PAPA]

There's nothing worse than pulling into a fine-looking remote campsite only to discover the surface shitters have been there...

We use a Cleanwaste.

Yeah, we haul our poop out.

Tony

HA! "Surface"... haven't heard that one...

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

There are many areas in which decomposition can take decades, if it'll happen at all. Alpine, deserts, etc. In some US National Parks (such as Death Valley NP) you're not supposed to bury your poop, and are supposed to carry it out and properly dispose of it. Plenty of great reasons to have an alternative to digging a hole.

To each their own but that's one of the myriad of reasons I avoid National Parks....Decomposition time isn't much of an issue when everything is well buried is a place where almost nobody ever visits. Not really doing any harm there under the ground.

We had something like a thunderbox and used one of those pop up tents for a surround, the problem we had is that there is often a lot of wind where we go and the tent kept blowing way at the most inopportune time...

That's why we skip the tent part. Nothing quite like a morning constitutional with a view! I'll try to stick the Thunderbox out of the way somewhere but the worst that can happen is someone will see me sitting on it...not a huge deal.

 

[FosterWV]

Running water for dishes (we cook big meals) and washing hands etc, has been nice. We keep it simple w a 5 gal container/jug, 12V pump, wall mount faucet and collapsible sinks. Take up little space

 

[billiebob]

Can't believe how many people want to haul their poop around with them...Must have been a lot of constipated humans for those 150,000 years that we didn't have toilets

yep, me too. there are flush toilets at every gas station. Road side pull outs often have outhouses. The options to NOT have an on board toilet are limitless.

We also use swimming pools, hot springs for showers... plus a swim or soak since they all have bathing facilities. One of the pleasures of overlanding is bathing in a mountain stream.

 

[Mischief]

Our cargo trailer conversion has a sink, and a porta potty, it's kind of a tiny house on wheels tho. The pop up trailer I'm working on now won't have a sink, just a water container and a bucket. We have an aquatainer (7 gallon?) that stays on the truck so we always have water available. It kinda depends on your priorities
We have a spare tank for the porta potty, which is also going in the new popup, so we can swap them as needed and dump when it's convenient. Neither of us want to wander out and dig a hole in the middle of the night, so yeah, we haul our poop out like everything else we haul in.
Paper towels are cheap and disposable and even dry will remove most food residue as long as it hasn't dried on, damp they remove the rest so washing dishes doesn't really require a sink or running water. Again depending on your priorities

 

[Ozarker]

Speaking of cargo trailers, I'm going to build mine out to haul my 1800 trike and camp in it.

Question: What about camp grounds, parks, that require holding tanks? Is this simply for RV's (Class A, B, C types) or do the require them in a trailer if you use the trailer as a camper?

Seems there will be times you need to "prove" your trailer is a camper, think vehicle search, camp regs, taxes. Any second home deductions will require features to cook, bath/poop and sleep, as a yacht for example.

I'd rather not have a holding tank, lots of reasons not to have plumbing.

I'll have electrical and a fridge, storage and beds, AC and heat. My shower is a backpack 7 gallon garden sprayer, pump it up and spray down. I've considered a hot water heater, leaning away from that in favor of a black bag or water heated on a stove and poured into the sprayer. It's more trouble, but how often will it actually be used?

A 5 gallon bucket works fine on the boat, it can go in the trailer, my boxer has her own methods.

 

[marret]

Speaking of cargo trailers, I'm going to build mine out to haul my 1800 trike and camp in it.

Question: What about camp grounds, parks, that require holding tanks? Is this simply for RV's (Class A, B, C types) or do the require them in a trailer if you use the trailer as a camper?

In my experience, the short answer is no unless you are staying in a place that specifically requires it like Boondockers Welcome or Harvest Host locations. Campgrounds typically have facilities. BLM and NFS campgrounds typically don't require it. National Park, probably not, but may depending on location. Other parks, probably not, unless again there is a specific requirement. Anyplace with tent camping typically does not require holding tanks.

Edit:
There are exceptions so one might want to check for any local requirements.