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

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2017
Nice unit!
stickdog
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
Congratulations enjoy.
Veebyes
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2017
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.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
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.
drsteve
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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...