Outfitting a Basecamp Kitchen!

[Tom P.]

I'm SO satisfied with the living space (beginning month Three!)- on my way to figuring out the sleeping, venting, heating, showering, charging, filling, dumping, hanging out, even a little hosting... Traveling to come...

Cooking is going ok, too. But all the Stuff I have to outfit the kitchen is Terrible!

My plates are too big - they don't fit in the sink; one fry pan too small, another too big - I seem only to have one sauce pan these days and it's small-ish - my favorite French Dicing Knife is TOO BIG for this trailer - (seen emerging from my trailer with that in my hand will get me arrested) -

Anyone have good ideas for the perfect table setting for four to carry - that will match/complement my River Rock Decor - and have you found the perfect set of knives and serving utensils and how to store them? How about the ideal food containers for left overs or extras that do duty in the fridge well, and store in less space. Where/how are you storing your dry good, can goods, and condiments? Any found a great way to use the space way up front in the cupboards on either side of the fridge?

I suppose some bins that nest are in my future - and I've made one successful trip to The Container Store for a few little things - What have you found that you like for your Basecamp spaces? Thanks in Advance for your input!!

[Piggy Bank]

I don't have a basecamp, but did have a 22 sport. Some of these ideas may work for you.

Dishwashing. I like to have an IKEA pan to put dirty dishes in throughout the day. I usually do dishes after breakfast and dinner.
VARIERA box in larger size is great for this. Get the smaller one to use in the sink to wash up. Handles make it easy to take to the picnic table, or to walk the dirty water up to the campground sink to pour out.

Safety is important! Get a stovetop stainless percolator or kettle to heat water for coffee. A handle and spout are important. Get the GSI collapsible cone filter holder from REI. Uses a standard cone filter. Drip coffee into your stainless cup or a thermos. No clean up.

For dishes I found some I liked at Big Lots that are melamine and look like fiesta ware. $1.50 per plate so affordable. They have bowls and small plates too. Whatever you do, get something that can handle foods with sauces or salad dressings, and that won't blow away in the wind. Use paper plates and bowls for anything that needs to be microwaved.

For cups we like the Yeti short tumblers. Wind doesn't blow them over, and they work for beer, wine, water, or coffee* (careful on hot beverages. they hold the heat so well you can burn your mouth).

For pans we have tried a lot and settled on a 12 inch cast iron skillet (About $20-25). Also have a 3 quart sauce pan with lid. Large enough to make mac and cheese, soups, or pop popcorn. And a 5-6 quart cast iron dutch oven. We have a coleman propane stove and a Weber smokey joe small charcoal grill. This has worked well for us.

Toaster you ask? There is a fantastic folding toaster for use on the gas stove. Folds up the size of a CD jewel case. GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless Toaster $10 on Amazon

Lastly, accessories. Get a wooden cutting board. A good sized one. It can do a lot. Also a GOOD set of oven mitts/hot pads. Good tongs, a pair of silicone small "toast tongs" and a stainless 4-sided grater and a vegetable peeler. Fresh hash browns!

For dry food storage I got a couple of vintage pic nic baskets. They look good when left out and keep things from getting crushed.

For leftovers, we use ziplock freezer bags. Easy to fit into the space available

One more tip is to use those re-freezable blue ice blocks. Find a couple that fit in your basecamp freezer. Use a soft sided cooler bag for day trips and put the blue ice packs into it to keep your lunch cold (I like the blue bag at Trader Joes $7)

[raulsguitar]

Hey Tom!

I just picked up a Redrock BC and am loving it other than the many small issues, like some leaks, the bathroom door, one spot on the floor that squeaks really loudly... I was curious as to what you ended up doing for your galley? I think the 8" pans are a perfect size, and Walmart sells a Lodge 8" iron cast for $10! I bought the Lodge 3.2 QT combo cooker which are 10.5" and are two pans in one, with one pan pulling double duty as the lid/griddle and the other pan being a deepish fryer. Visions of dutch oven peach cobblers ran through my head when I saw it and the size just fits on the stovetop. how to pull it out of the fire is the dilemma.

For cups, I found some ceramic with cork bottoms and a lid coffee cups at Walmart. I don't like the SS ones because they mess with the taste. The corks are pretty sweet and the lid keeps things from spilling. It's not double walled so it doesn't stay hot forever but the lid keeps coffee hot enough for long enough to enjoy. I have a thermos that ill pour my hot drinks right after making them to keep them hot.

But I am curious as to what else you went with? In keeping with the basecamp theme, and because there's very limited storage, im trying to stay minimal and not deck it out. I got sturdy paper plates because they are microwaveable instead of melamine. appreciate your input! thanks and happy belated holiday!

[Airiana]

I fit all of this in my Basecamp 20X galley cabinets except for the table, which gets folded under the bed & brought outside for coffee. (I assembled the bed as king-sized with a tunnel underneath.)

From Walmart, prices may vary:

CLS Portable Dinnerplates Camping Tableware Stainless Steel set (actually impractical since they’re not microwaveable, but lightweight & look good). I’ll microwave food on paper plates. $26.99

A microwaveable lightweight option is Corelle (the small plates & bowls - the dinner plates are probably too big).

CLS Portable Cooking Utensils Storage Bag Pouch - Haven’t put anything in it yet - just bought because it matched the dinner plate bag. $11.11

Mainstays Stainless Steel 1 qt saucepan $5.57

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Steel 8” Open Skillet $19.95

Ozark Trail Aluminum Camping Table $29.98

From Airstream Supply Company:

Airstream Basecamp 14 oz mugs $18
Wood wine stopper $6

The horizontal galley compartments and those under the fridge are deceptively deep; it’s just a matter of accessing the space. I put small rectangular plastic bins inside, which can be slid out to access contents in the back. I’ve managed to squeeze in gadgets like a vegetable peeler, corkscrew, wine tumblers, can opener, apple slicer, bottle opener, jar opener, potholder, folded hand towels, oven mitt, tongs, ladle, spatula, coasters, small cheese board, etc. Every inch is used.

In the large space under the sink is some mayhem which I need to rethink: A mini Keurig coffeemaker, Orca tumbler, Stanley 40 oz Quencher, paper towels, napkins, dish liquid, sponges, disinfectant wipes, picnic table cover & clips. I’ll probably put a tension rod over the top shelf to hold the lightweight items up there.

But honestly, this is all “just in case” of a natural disaster which closes down all the Waffle Houses, IHOPs, Wawas and Walmarts. The last time we camped, we didn’t actually cook anything. We lived on protein bars & a charcuterie tray, in between hearty pancake, egg & bacon breakfasts. It was terribly unhealthy and we need to do better next time.

[GVBasecamp]

We went with the REI edition so there was a lot of kitchen stuff to start with but using the REI soft sided containers, we did one with knife and pairing knife, we kept the small included cutting board then there were sort of silicone backpacker tongs, spatula and spoon. We went with super cheap flatware from ace Mart restaurant supply, a pair of nonstick frying pans from.ikea

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/kavalka...lack-80576611/

They're decent and if they go bad on us it's less than 10 bucks for the pair. We added a small aluminum 1 qt pot with a lid from ace Mart restaurant supply

We added a bowl the exact same size as the sink which is a recommendation from the YouTube channel on Basecamp boondocking to limit greywater going into the blackwater tank where throwing it into the woods is allowed. Then we went with the old school blue enamelware plates, bowls, and mugs. REI included two yeti REI mugs as well. We bought some nesting snap ware to store things in either if there are leftovers or if we cook before departing and want to reheat (we have the microwave which we didn't specifically want but it was already in the floor model we bought).

Then we added a 1/4 measuring cup dry, a 1 cup measuring cup liquid plastic graduated, plastic measuring spoons of 1/4, 1 tsp and 1 tbsp. A mini pepper grinder that fit perfect in the bungee storage beneath the stove, salt shaker, some other spice containers. A wine bottle opener, two serving spoons can opener. Then a plastic container of paper towels, a snap closed roll of Lysol wipes for kitchen, concentrated dish soap, that dawn spray stuff (all cleaning products in one plastic container). We haven't hung a paper towel holder: what has everyone done so far that works?

We are debating on a drying rack or just hanging the stuff on the outside line to dry in mesh bags after washing.

We found it incredibly efficient to work in together and dinner cleanup was a snap. We adapted a lot of things from our years of car camping and backpacking so it was fairly easy to determine what we needed.

On our first trip we took longer to back the thing into the site than to set up camp which was wonderful without the tents and sleeping bags and ground pads and the outdoor kitchen etc. the REI set up included chairs, picnic table cover and picnic table butt pads (you don't realize you need these until you get them), and table that all stores in one soft container.

We definitely weren't missing anything on a meal for two of stir fry with vegetables and rice. The above stuff worked well to cut up the chicken, marinade it, cut up the veggies, cook the chicken and then sir fry the veggies and cook the rice for two. We don't have a small cast iron pot or small Dutch oven yet.

[Airiana]

“We added a bowl the exact same size as the sink which is a recommendation from the YouTube channel on Basecamp boondocking…”

That’s a great idea. Where did you find one?
I forgot pepper & measuring cups - thanks for the reminder!

What I did for paper towels is hang a bungee cord from the rail over the galley and suspend the roll along it. For outdoor use, I got a separate thin metal holder.

[GVBasecamp]

On the pepper grinder, my wife bought this one at REI:

https://www.rei.com/product/784121/g...pepper-grinder

Which was 9 dollars and fits perfectly in the little spice rack beneath the stove. It seems dumb and our daughter told us it is but it is perfect and works very well. We always assume if your 18 year old daughter thinks something is dumb then we are onto something.

The bowl is from our local dollar store as I think a fruit or salad bowl.

[Minno]

We don't have a Basecamp, but space is always a premium in any RV. I use a collapsible set of measuring cups in the trailer. Fits in a drawer and takes up little room. I also found a set of Tupperware storage bowls with lids that are collapsible down to discs. They store in very little room, and pop open with finger pressure to several different sizes. The lids snap on tightly so nothing spills in the frig. If you have some wall space, get magnetic bars from Ikea for holding knives. We have 2 on the horizontal spaced 2 inches apart. They hold all our sharp knives, and travel there. Knives have never moved (even on Alaska highways...). We found some little spice holders that are magnetic and also will fit on the magnetic strips. They also have never come off while traveling.



Kay

[DogMomDeb]

Originally Posted by Airiana

What I did for paper towels is hang a bungee cord from the rail over the galley and suspend the roll along it. For outdoor use, I got a separate thin metal holder.

I bought an Ez roll paper towel holder - pretty much a metal tube on a bungee cord for our old trailer. I had no where to hang it.
I can definitely use it in the Basecamp.

I saw on a for sale post for a Basecamp that someone had put a shelf unit with an open bottom on their kitchen counter to give more workable space. I’ll have to find that post.

[Comtngrl]

We have had our basecamp for 2 years. Cooking is my passion so I have a fairly well stocked kitchen. Items to suggest to the other great ideas include- Silicon storage containers - helps with left overs and can be microwaved if you like. The collapsible round dish for inside the sink is a great add for boondocking saves on the black tank for wash water. I use a lot of Command strips and “Beaners” to hang and add storage space. I added a magnetic knife strip from Ikea with command strips, and right under that I added a heavy duty command strips to attach an “Amazon” paper towel holder with shelf. On the front of my fridge I attached with command strips, a thin stainless sheet. To that sheet I added magnetic spice tins. they stay on while traveling . My utensils are kept hanging off and Ikea organizer which can fold up and stay in the above basket when moving. Same with our mugs which we hang from the “beaners”and filp over the rail and in the basket when in motion. We use a small pour over coffee pot with a stainless pour over filter, space efficient. Hope the images come through.
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[GVBasecamp]

How does everyone do their paper towels for the kitchen?

[Hardydale]

Hipcamping in NM, site host built this for us while we were there, beautiful wooden raised shelf, fits great creates a whole new space for stuff. Breaks down to 3 pieces for travel.