Exterior kitchen is absolutely useless, diesel storage and heater instead?

[Maast]

Our outdoor kitchen is worthless - in fact it has negative value because it takes up room in the rear bunkhouse. If we cook outside its always on a propane grill anyway.

I'm thinking I could rip out contents, sell the stove top and micro fridge and use the space to put in a 15 gallon plastic marine diesel tank and a diesel forced air heater because what we DO use is heat - and quite a lot of it. We mainly boondock on the Washington coast and its almost always just a wee bit chilly and the furnace runs pretty much constantly and uses up a ton of propane.

I thought of maybe putting a generator in the space but the 3500 inverter generator resides on a rack on the back bumper and even though its relatively quiet that kind of noise would be too loud in a confined space and resonate through the interior.

Gasoline storage for the genny is in the back of the truck in 5 gallons cans and I wouldnt be comfortable with gasoline in such a small confined space anyway.

Any thoughts on a better use for the space?

PS edit: The lifepo4 batteries are going under the front bed near the 12v 3000w inverter in the underframe passthrough area, cables that thick are too expensive to run the 30 feet it'd need.

 

[justinm001]

Completely agree, never understood why they have these things. As I'm remodeling and fully custom building my dream rig rn I learned a bunch from my test rig last year on what works and doesn't.

We have a 12V cooler we keep in a bay and makes a ton more sense than a fridge as when camping we can move it to the table and such. Also its typically a freezer just for ice cream as we got a massive fridge only inside. Other uses for the cooler is for meat when grilling.

Those cheap chinese heaters use about .1gph on full blast and even though they're 5kw (the 8kw are just 5kw apparently) Thats 2.4 gallons per day if on the entire time.

No lithium/inverter system in your rig? Perfect place to store all that

 

[eXodus]

Completely agree, never understood why they have these things

Outdoor kitchen are selling RVs to people which never RVed before.

Same for outdoor speakers and TVs Which you can hardly use in the evening (bugs fly into the TV) and campgrounds are finally cracking down on because it annoys everyone around you.

15 gallon plastic marine diesel tank and a diesel forced air heater because what we DO use is heat -

That is actually a great idea.
Diesel is hardly flammable. It doesn't smell strong nor evaporates as easy as gasoline.


The Chinese Diesel Heater - the higher end ones are pretty brilliant devices for the money. They modulate according to the thermostat and are about 80-90% efficient in converting Diesel to heat.

The propane furnaces are stuck on the stone age. Wasting about 30-40% of the propane - going right into the exhaust. No modulation, just on-off.

 

[Alkaline]

Our outdoor kitchen is worthless - in fact it has negative value because it takes up room in the rear bunkhouse. If we cook outside its always on a propane grill anyway.

How about turning outside kitchen into a bad ass pizza oven:

 

[justinm001]

How about turning outside kitchen into a bad ass pizza oven:

OONI or others are great, we have a couple and use them all the time when camping

 

[justinm001]

Outdoor kitchen are selling RVs to people which never RVed before.

Same for outdoor speakers and TVs Which you can hardly use in the evening (bugs fly into the TV) and campgrounds are finally cracking down on because it annoys everyone around you.


That is actually a great idea.
Diesel is hardly flammable. It doesn't smell strong nor evaporates as easy as gasoline.


The Chinese Diesel Heater - the higher end ones are pretty brilliant devices for the money. They modulate according to the thermostat and are about 80-90% efficient in converting Diesel to heat.

The propane furnaces are stuck on the stone age. Wasting about 30-40% of the propane - going right into the exhaust. No modulation, just on-off.

Completely agree BUT we do keep zip ties and have XLR connectors wired up from our stereo to portable speakers when we there's something like the OSU Michigan game on and just pull the 65" from our bedroom (our coach has 5 tvs and I'm adding 3 more this week)

 

[eXodus]

Completely agree BUT we do keep zip ties and have XLR connectors wired up from our stereo to portable speakers when we there's something like the OSU Michigan game on and just pull the 65" from our bedroom (our coach has 5 tvs and I'm adding 3 more this week)

I've used to organize events with Bands and DJs so I'm all for people having fun. If you wanna have a RV based tailgate party - go ahead and invite me

Just seeing all those weird add-ons for RVs (which sell really well, but hardly ever used in practice) like those tiny outdoor speakers - they only make noise and have no depth to them.

 

[Checkthisout]

Our outdoor kitchen is worthless - in fact it has negative value because it takes up room in the rear bunkhouse. If we cook outside its always on a propane grill anyway.

I'm thinking I could rip out contents, sell the stove top and micro fridge and use the space to put in a 15 gallon plastic marine diesel tank and a diesel forced air heater because what we DO use is heat - and quite a lot of it. We mainly boondock on the Washington coast and its almost always just a wee bit chilly and the furnace runs pretty much constantly and uses up a ton of propane.

I thought of maybe putting a generator in the space but the 3500 inverter generator resides on a rack on the back bumper and even though its relatively quiet that kind of noise would be too loud in a confined space and resonate through the interior.

Gasoline storage for the genny is in the back of the truck in 5 gallons cans and I wouldnt be comfortable with gasoline in such a small confined space anyway.

Any thoughts on a better use for the space?

PS edit: The lifepo4 batteries are going under the front bed near the 12v 3000w inverter in the underframe passthrough area, cables that thick are too expensive to run the 30 feet it'd need.

This is a good idea.

A tool box is also a nice addition.

 

[0truck0]

Agree, those outside kitchens are for suckers, not without utility, but a large waste of space and resources.
The diesel heaters can mount in so many places and do not have to be with the gas tank, you sure you want to dedicate a large accessible space to it? Cant stick the heater under a couch or in a cabinet or somewhere useless otherwise?
I use a Jerry can on the outside with a quick clip detachable thing and the heater is under jacknife couch. The Jerry can has a straw plumbed into it. Your idea works, but that is a big tank, yea, I hate to handle diesel fuel, but is it that bad to refill every few days?
Keep in mind where you place the pump, pumps tick, so farther away from the bed the better. The silent ones are not any more quiet either.

 

[Reed Cole]

I suppose the size of the RV matters in terms of how much fuel you need, but 15 gallons does sound like a lot. I would get a heater and try it out to see how much fuel you actually go through before committing to a tank that big.

 

[Maast]

I suppose the size of the RV matters in terms of how much fuel you need, but 15 gallons does sound like a lot. I would get a heater and try it out to see how much fuel you actually go through before committing to a tank that big.

I've got a Espar diesel heater on an aluminum pilothouse-style that I used in/around Anchorage AK without any real insulation and a 5 gallon can was enough for a weekend trip, but we'll be spending weeks boondocking so the big tank will get used. And I really like the idea of when I'm filling up the truck and can also fill the tank with a filler mounted on the exterior of the trailer. I've found futzing around with pouring diesel in a cramped space always leads to it going everywhere.

Hell, if I could find a "on-demand" diesel water heater that didnt break the bank I'd install that too.

 

[justinm001]

I've got a Espar diesel heater on an aluminum pilothouse-style that I used in/around Anchorage AK without any real insulation and a 5 gallon can was enough for a weekend trip, but we'll be spending weeks boondocking so the big tank will get used. And I really like the idea of when I'm filling up the truck and can also fill the tank with a filler mounted on the exterior of the trailer. I've found futzing around with pouring diesel in a cramped space always leads to it going everywhere.

Hell, if I could find a "on-demand" diesel water heater that didnt break the bank I'd install that too.

I debated this and/or a hydronic heater using coolant to test but sided against it. An aquahot is great but tons of issues and lots of space. Got a 20 gal 1500w water heater instead.

 

[eXodus]

Hell, if I could find a "on-demand" diesel water heater that didnt break the bank I'd install that too.

I'm not sure why everyone these days is going "on demand"
From user experience - the "on demand" heater - need more time to actually heat up. They are using a ton energy (not very efficient when running) their advantages are - unlimited hot water and no standby losses.

you already have Espar diesel water heater - just install a heat exchanger for hot water. Start it - wait a minute or so - then you can go to shower. "on demand"

Got a 20 gal 1500w water heater instead.

that should solve most of the issues people are trying to solve with on-demand-heaters - more water capacity with better insulation.

My RVs fresh water tank is underneath the bed - lately I have been thinking about insulating that one and warm it up with excess solar, while boondocking.
Not like "hot" that would melt the tank. But to like 80F - that would increase the inlet temperature on the water heater.

 

[bedpan]

I cannot speak to the quality yet but have a look at JP Heaters.
I just got my Heater/Water heater combo. Its a 100% knock off of the Truma 6E. There are a number of companies making them but this JP company seems to be the only one that seems to stand behind their knock off and producing a quality device. I have read rumour that they manufactured for Truma before the patent expired but I have not researched this so not sure of the truth.

Anyways I have a brand new LPG model sitting in a box in my kitchen right now. I plan on installing it in my Cargo Trailer that I am converting to a Camper. I went LPG instead of diesel so I am not carrying two fuel sources. My cooktop will be LPG. My understanding is the design is near identical between the LPG and the Diesel.

I guess the only other thing to mention is their are knock off's of the JP Heaters. So watch what ya buy.

 

[0truck0]

On-demand water heaters are great for saving space in small trailers, not much else though.
They do not save water. When you stop the water (to save water) then the water in the no-a-tank gets too hot, then you get scalded when water flow is back on. They just do not make them for RVs where water needs to be saved.. These are meant for continuous flow, not a military shower. If you can do continuous flow then ignore this advice.
Small water heater is better if you have the space.

 

[Bobert]

I use 2 diesel heaters in my traavel trailer I was able to put a 15 gallon tank between the skirt of the trailer and the frame. A diesel heater takes up almost no room at all. You could probably do the heater thing and add an extra bunk or fantastic set of 30” dresser drawers.