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Post by phatdaddy on Apr 13, 2024 23:40:41 GMT
Ladies and Gentle Campers, I give you the PhatDaddy paper towel holder =) View Attachment View Attachment Here to help you get a "leg up" on spills =) Who would not love that 😉 !!
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Post by BoxGods on Apr 14, 2024 0:03:41 GMT
We can do 3D printed organizers to help with containment and it's not going to be as big a deal as you are imagining to fold the top over. As for cork, foam, and wood etc. I am doing everything I can to avoid materials that absorb moisture which promotes mold/mildew and inevitably leads to "camper smell". Once we are a bit farther along I will start designing the organizers so everyone in the group can see what's possible and brainstorm different options. Thanks! There are also inexpensive flatware organizers with lids on Amazon that could organize/contain things. 🤔 Where does the water go that drains out of the sink? Nice! I'm a big fan of The Container Store so this kind of stuff is a lot of fun for me. There is really no way to drain the sink back into the kitchen because of gravity so there is a drain hole on the bottom that can either be drained into a bucket or you can connect a drain hose and run it away from the truck. Obviously you will want to use a biodegradable camp soap. There is also a 1/2" drain plug so you can fill the sink with ice and keep soda/beer cold on day trips / picnic's.
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Post by citiz3nfiv3 on Apr 18, 2024 16:41:23 GMT
What about extending out from the end? Maybe a long side snapped into a groove split 1/2 way along the end cap between the cooktop section and the fold out section? This might provide a little extra space adjacent to the cooktop and provide a ‘holding spot’ for the sink cover.. View AttachmentI do worry about extending too far out from the truck and/or the center line of the kitchen but having the leg there would help. How about using the spice storage tubes as the supports? View AttachmentI love this idea. Great use of the sink top for extra counter space. I would definitely use the extra space. Any idea when the kitchen will be produced/shipped?
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Post by camaroz1985 on Apr 18, 2024 18:44:31 GMT
I love the thoughtful design choices! One question: where does the sink drain out? Getting back to the discussion of inverting the drawers every time the kitchen is brought out/put back, I think we need to consider how items are secured down in the drawers even if they can't fall out. I envision a drawer full of silverware and plates making a loud crashing sound and getting scrambled each time the drawer is inverted. That can't be good for the drawer or items in it, even if it is not fine china. I know Rivian was going to use cork in their drawers, even without having to invert them, so that things didn't rattle around while driving. Could we do something similar, or is that too costly/complicated? We can do 3D printed organizers to help with containment and it's not going to be as big a deal as you are imagining to fold the top over. As for cork, foam, and wood etc. I am doing everything I can to avoid materials that absorb moisture which promotes mold/mildew and inevitably leads to "camper smell". Once we are a bit farther along I will start designing the organizers so everyone in the group can see what's possible and brainstorm different options. If the drawers are removable and symmetric vertically (if they have track, if not, not a concern) then they could be pulled out and set aside until the counter is flipped, always inserted in the upright direction for anyone who is concerned about making a mess of their silverware when flipping.
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Post by BoxGods on Apr 18, 2024 20:27:44 GMT
I do worry about extending too far out from the truck and/or the center line of the kitchen but having the leg there would help. How about using the spice storage tubes as the supports? View AttachmentI love this idea. Great use of the sink top for extra counter space. I would definitely use the extra space. Any idea when the kitchen will be produced/shipped? Because the Camp Kitchen drops into Slide Out Utility Tray for fast/easy install I have to manufacture these in order. We're working on the second and hopefully final production candidate for the Utility Tray now. I'm working on the kitchen in parallel but I can't lock that design down until the utility tray is clear for production. I'm hoping for 2 - 3 months. Going as fast as I can but "right" is more important of course. About to post some new renders for those interested =)
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Post by BoxGods on Apr 18, 2024 20:35:31 GMT
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Post by zac on Apr 19, 2024 0:47:34 GMT
Thanks! Do you have dimensions you can add to the pics?
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Post by phatdaddy on Apr 19, 2024 3:52:29 GMT
Thanks for the new images. So now having a better view of the underneath and ‘infrastructure’ supporting the ‘spice tube’ concept, and specifically seeing the space taken up by those, I had a comment…
Given the spice tubes are cylindrical but enclosed within an overall rectangular shaped housing, do we lose too much space with the curves of the tubes? Would more storage space volume be provided by rectangular shaped ‘spice drawers’ instead of tubes? I do think the cylindrical shape drawer matching the typical spice bottles shape is cool. But it pretty strongly suggests a specific utilization, whereas a set of similar-sized rectangular drawers might provide a bit greater overall storage volume and also allow for more user-defined storage options, be it for spices or larger cutlery, or whatever. Cylindrical inserts could always be made to fit in (one or both) rectangular drawers for those that want that specific utilization.
I also noticed the middle ‘tube’ between the two spice tubes and was wondering its purpose? Is that related to the delivery of power or supports the ‘carriage’ assembly somehow, or maybe the leg/foot support? Just wondering.
Lastly, you estimated 2-3 months on delivery (I understand it is an estimate). Since you are having to work the gear tunnel slide and camp kitchen in semi-tandem, do you imagine them delivering at approximately the same time, or even possibly being shipped together for those that plan to purchase both?
Thanks as always for the effort and the attention to detail.
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Post by BoxGods on Apr 19, 2024 11:28:34 GMT
Thanks! Do you have dimensions you can add to the pics? As a general reference the slide tray / drawer length is about 5 feet or 60 inches.
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Post by BoxGods on Apr 19, 2024 12:07:12 GMT
Thanks for the new images. So now having a better view of the underneath and ‘infrastructure’ supporting the ‘spice tube’ concept, and specifically seeing the space taken up by those, I had a comment… Given the spice tubes are cylindrical but enclosed within an overall rectangular shaped housing, do we lose too much space with the curves of the tubes? Would more storage space volume be provided by rectangular shaped ‘spice drawers’ instead of tubes? I do think the cylindrical shape drawer matching the typical spice bottles shape is cool. But it pretty strongly suggests a specific utilization, whereas a set of similar-sized rectangular drawers might provide a bit greater overall storage volume and also allow for more user-defined storage options, be it for spices or larger cutlery, or whatever. Cylindrical inserts could always be made to fit in (one or both) rectangular drawers for those that want that specific utilization. I also noticed the middle ‘tube’ between the two spice tubes and was wondering its purpose? Is that related to the delivery of power or supports the ‘carriage’ assembly somehow, or maybe the leg/foot support? Just wondering. Lastly, you estimated 2-3 months on delivery (I understand it is an estimate). Since you are having to work the gear tunnel slide and camp kitchen in semi-tandem, do you imagine them delivering at approximately the same time, or even possibly being shipped together for those that plan to purchase both? Thanks as always for the effort and the attention to detail. The central tube is where the support leg is stored when the kitchen is stowed. I did tinker with rectangles but there really isn't any gain because of the surrounding structure (the cabinet carcass) and the structural requirements of the drawers themselves. Keep in mind that the cooktop sits directly above. Because it isn't shown in the carcass images it makes it look like there is a lot of space that isn't being used. Once the cooktop is in place that area below is actually pretty small and when you factor in the storage tube for the support leg, you end up with two long narrow spaces about the size of the spice storage tubes. Other considerations: In an earlier version of the design I had the carcass 3 inches taller and had incorporated a "proper" drawer under the cooktop. The overall weight of the kitchen had ballooned to about 90 pounds and it was very unwieldy to load it into and out of the truck. It is a little difficult to explain, but regarding the drawer slides, "full extension" from the flat face of a cabinet is fundamentally different from full extension from 8 inches inside a really weirdly shaped gear tunnel. Loading became so much harder because in addition to the substantial extra weight, you have to tilt the kitchen down about 40 degrees, and radially about 10 degrees. One of my biggest design considerations is that the kitchen be truly easy to load into and out of the truck so that people are more likely to actually use it. If it takes 30-45 minutes and is back breaking and stressful...who wants to mess with that? If it's a fairly easy 10 minutes then spur of the moment weekend trips are actually worth it. It's also very important to me that the kitchen is easily usable by older people, or people with special physical considerations. Having the drawer on the end also starts to really tax the 60" drawer slides. As a general rule, people are much more likely to overload a structure or system than they are to under-load it. Obviously you can't always protect people from themselves, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. On the delivery dates. I could ALMOST start production prototyping on the kitchen now, and I'm so tempted to do that that I have an argument with myself almost daily. The biggest reason I don't is that any small change to the Slide Out Utility Tray could, (and likely would) have a knock-on effect on the kitchen. A lot of the kitchen's sub systems--think plumbing and electrical--require penetrations in the Utility Tray. I don't want to end up with a situation where people buying the kitchen have to be out in their driveways drilling holes into the Utility Tray. If it sounds like I'm being too cautious, yesterday is a good example. The top edges of the utility tray have a 180 degree bend that stiffens those edges AND makes it easier to drop the kitchen in place. The sheet metal shop wants some changes to the radius I used there. Not a huge deal, and pretty common for the production prototyping process. As it relates to the camp kitchen, the tooling to match that radius is going to be $2,500 - $3,000. Sorry for getting into the weeds. The short answer is that yes, because I'm running both projects in parallel, the kitchen should ship very soon after the Utility Tray. My best guess is 2 to 4 weeks. I would love to ship them both at the same time, but I'm not sure it really matters as you will want time to get the Utility tray installed and "dialed in" anyway.
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Post by phatdaddy on Apr 19, 2024 12:21:42 GMT
Makes perfect sense. Thanks for the info. Carry on! 😣
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Post by BoxGods on Apr 19, 2024 12:44:22 GMT
A weird thought. Rather than using the tubes as spice racks...maybe stainless steel "adult beverage flasks"? I know it sounds silly, but if I made them double enders it would be enough to store four fifths...vodka, whiskey, tequila, and either gin or rum, and you would have a very capable bar. Maybe sub in a nice brandy for after dinner?
Not sure if it's cool or silly, but food for thought.
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Post by leonbmx on Apr 19, 2024 14:17:45 GMT
Sorry for getting into the weeds. The short answer is that yes, because I'm running both projects in parallel, the kitchen should ship very soon after the Utility Tray. My best guess is 2 to 4 weeks. I would love to ship them both at the same time, but I'm not sure it really matters as you will want time to get the Utility tray installed and "dialed in" anyway. This is exactly the kind of thing that sets you apart from the others - your transparency and reasoning for design considerations and I, for one, am here for it! Keep up the excellent work!
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Post by BoxGods on Apr 19, 2024 14:28:14 GMT
Sorry for getting into the weeds. The short answer is that yes, because I'm running both projects in parallel, the kitchen should ship very soon after the Utility Tray. My best guess is 2 to 4 weeks. I would love to ship them both at the same time, but I'm not sure it really matters as you will want time to get the Utility tray installed and "dialed in" anyway. This is exactly the kind of thing that sets you apart from the others - your transparency and reasoning for design considerations and I, for one, am here for it! Keep up the excellent work! Thanks man =)
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Post by BoxGods on Apr 19, 2024 23:02:02 GMT
This is an alternative option for the spice rack tubes. They are 2.3 inches in diameter and about 10 inches tall. Capacity is about 18 ounces. Magnetic. Screw on tops with rubber seals. You can fit two per tube. Maybe Two bottles in one tube and 4 spices in the other...whatever combination works for you on a particular trip. Could use them for syrups or drink mixes etc. also.
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