Just put a deposit down on a Kodiak 285 BHSL. Other than lacking an outdoor kitchen, it has everything we want. And the weight (5700 pounds unloaded) is good for my truck, a Ram 2500 6.4, to tow it on long trips.My wife said she could forgo the kitchen, and we do have a grill and a Coleman burner. We'll just keep our drinks in a cooler since there's no outdoor fridge.

No outdoor kitchen here either. No miss. First thing set up is the grill clamped to the picnic table & the fridge is 2 steps from the door.

Congrats!FYI, we use electric griddles and an electric skillet for food preparation on the picnic table. Been doing it this way since tent camping days. We very seldom fix meals inside the camper, unless its raining wild or below freezing temperatures. Our current camper has an outside stove. But we prefer the electric griddles.And about that outside refrigerator. We've had one of these since our pop-up days when it came with an ice box and not a refrigerator. I removed the ice box and turned it into storage, and used one of these for refrigeration. The first on we purchased lasted 15 years. We now have one like this, 2 years old. Keep it on it's back and use for a cooler rather than a refrigerator. We can get more in it that way. Keep it plug in 24x7 and loaded with soft drinks all the time. Easy to move outside the camper, or take with us when traveling: Click here. No ice needed, works great, and no mess with water to dump as ice melts. Nothing gest wet. On back, is a cooler. On end, it's a refrigerator. One of the best "gadgets" we ever bought for camping.

DutchmenSport wrote:Congrats!FYI, we use electric griddles and an electric skillet for food preparation on the picnic table. Been doing it this way since tent camping days. We very seldom fix meals inside the camper, unless its raining wild or below freezing temperatures. Our current camper has an outside stove. But we prefer the electric griddles.And about that outside refrigerator. We've had one of these since our pop-up days when it came with an ice box and not a refrigerator. I removed the ice box and turned it into storage, and used one of these for refrigeration. The first on we purchased lasted 15 years. We now have one like this, 2 years old. Keep it on it's back and use for a cooler rather than a refrigerator. We can get more in it that way. Keep it plug in 24x7 and loaded with soft drinks all the time. Easy to move outside the camper, or take with us when traveling: Click here. No ice needed, works great, and no mess with water to dump as ice melts. Nothing gest wet. On back, is a cooler. On end, it's a refrigerator. One of the best "gadgets" we ever bought for camping.The problem with those is they claim to cool 40 degrees below ambient, which means on a 90 degree day my beer would be 50 degrees. I use a cooler full of ice instead.

Deposit made! | Good Sam Community

JAC1982
Explorer
Dec 11, 2017
Congrats! The outdoor kitchen is nice to have if you camp in hot weather, my in laws have one. We just use the Coleman grill, camp stove, and a cooler and that works fine too :) I like being able to set up my "outdoor kitchen" wherever I like, instead of being tethered to the camper, especially in campgrounds where the picnic tables aren't super close to where the camper is parked.
drsteve
Explorer
Dec 10, 2017
wa8yxm wrote:
For an outdoor kitchen.. I do not know if it is REI or CW or Both but someone perhaps Coleman, makes a collapsible outdoor kitchen.. You might wish to check it out. Here is a page from the Camping world web site.

https://www.campingworld.co.uk/en/us/Camp-Kitchens/c-60.aspx

When I bought my "guys weekend up north" popup, the previous owner included one of these folding kitchens. They're great, especially for boondocking. When collapsed, it's about the size of a folding camp table.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Dec 10, 2017
JWP127 wrote:
Just put a deposit down on a Kodiak 285 BHSL. Other than lacking an outdoor kitchen, it has everything we want.

I'm with those that don't view this as much of a loss. For sure, outdoor "kitchens" have become a popular trend in the last few years but my bet is they'll disappear again in another few years as more & more begin to realize there's just not much to them anyway - usually a basic sink, a simple 2-burner stove, some cupboard storage, and a 120 vac dorm style fridge that only works when you're plugged into shore power. We have no plans to upgrade from our current Freedom Express 192RBS but if we did we'd consider the FE 231RBDS, the problem being it does have one of these so-called outdoor "kitchens" which I view mostly as a waste of space. :(

Obviously I wouldn't know for sure until I actually owned one but I suspect we'd end removing the sink, maybe the fridge, and use it for cargo storage. Unfortunate, since this space reduces the size of the bathroom inside the camper which could have otherwise run the full width of the trailer. We too almost always cook outdoors and do use a 2-burner Coleman camp stove that pulls out from the side of the trailer, along with our Weber Q grill, but I don't find it to be an inconvenience to have everything else inside. Heck, if cooling drinks was such an issue I'd just toss 'em in an ice cooler under the awning and be done with it but as it is the fridge inside the camper seems to handle this task just fine. :B

Congrats on your new camper. :B
JWP127
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
Thanks for the tips! I like that cooler and I was looking at the kitchens. Going to get the cooler and going to ask the DW if she likes the fold up kitchen. I do like the extra space I get without a kitchen. It will fit my collapsible grill and my stove.

Keep the ideas coming!
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Dec 09, 2017
For an outdoor kitchen.. I do not know if it is REI or CW or Both but someone perhaps Coleman, makes a collapsible outdoor kitchen.. You might wish to check it out. Here is a page from the Camping world web site.

https://www.campingworld.co.uk/en/us/Camp-Kitchens/c-60.aspx
drsteve
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
DutchmenSport wrote:
drsteve wrote:
DutchmenSport wrote:
....

The problem with those is they claim to cool 40 degrees below ambient, which means on a 90 degree day my beer would be 50 degrees. I use a cooler full of ice instead.

For what it's worth, ours seems to stay pretty cold. When temps get that hot, we keep it inside the camper (for extra refrigeration). Seems to always be around 35-40 degrees in any weather. keep it in the shade outside too. Mine works pretty good. No complaints. But, if "ice" is your choice ... well ... like I've always said, there are no "rights" or "wrongs" when it comes to camping. We all just do it "different."

True. If we all did it the same, it wouldn't be as much fun. Although, come to think of it, I've seen a few people doing it wrong over the years...
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
drsteve wrote:
DutchmenSport wrote:
....

The problem with those is they claim to cool 40 degrees below ambient, which means on a 90 degree day my beer would be 50 degrees. I use a cooler full of ice instead.

For what it's worth, ours seems to stay pretty cold. When temps get that hot, we keep it inside the camper (for extra refrigeration). Seems to always be around 35-40 degrees in any weather. keep it in the shade outside too. Mine works pretty good. No complaints. But, if "ice" is your choice ... well ... like I've always said, there are no "rights" or "wrongs" when it comes to camping. We all just do it "different."
drsteve
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
MFL wrote:
drsteve wrote:
The outdoor kitchens I've seen use a dorm style 120v fridge rather than an absorption type unit, so it only cools when plugged in to shore power.

I've noticed lots of folks using dorm type fridges, ice machines, whatever they need, in CGs with available shore power. They use a cheap folding 6' table to set things on.

Jerry

Yup, lots of pop up and tent folks do that too. My point was they don't cool while going down the road... Which may or may not be a disadvantage. Just sayin'... people may assume the outdoor kitchen is just like the indoor one in their RV. It's not. Most of the outdoor sinks do not have a drain hookup to the grey tank, either. I see outdoor kitchens as a waste of space that could be devoted to storage.

Some people view them as a requirement. I just cook on a table under the awning, or with a tripod over the fire.
MFL
Nomad II
Dec 09, 2017
drsteve wrote:
The outdoor kitchens I've seen use a dorm style 120v fridge rather than an absorption type unit, so it only cools when plugged in to shore power.

I've noticed lots of folks using dorm type fridges, ice machines, whatever they need, in CGs with available shore power. They use a cheap folding 6' table to set things on.

Jerry
drsteve
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
The outdoor kitchens I've seen use a dorm style 120v fridge rather than an absorption type unit, so it only cools when plugged in to shore power.