SUV car camping kitchen with sink and fridge - DIY organization ideas for family camper

For 2020, I wanted to cook up the best DIY car camping kitchen box I could fit in my Mazda CX-9 SUV (and eventually a Pacifica minivan) with good organization and hacks to existing products to make the build easy. I've been researching, sketching and prototyping ideas for how to organize all my car camping gear and have a functional camper kitchen with a Yeti 1000 lithium solar generator and TP-Solar folding solar panels, Alpicool refrigerator freezer, sink with running water, large counter space, and a place for all my cooking gear. I was inspired by then overloading style kitchen and the clever designs from the teardrop campers as well as the existing kitchen boxes and check hope these hacks and ideas give you inspiration for you car camper build!

Here is a list of the key parts I used. I didn’t include the price of the fridge, Yeti, or solar panels in the video since these are optional add-ons (I happened to own). You can just use a cooler and skip the fridge and power stuff. The other commercial camp kitchens I mentioned don’t include these in their pricing either so I was trying to compare apples to apples. Hope this is helpful!

Amazon links are affiliate and support the channel.

Homz 60qt Plastic Underbed Storage bins

DEVAISE 3 Drawer Mobile File cabinet

SAMMART 9.1L (2.4 Gallon) collapsible wash basin

Water Bottle Faucet Pump, USB battery powered

Aquabrick water storage, 3.5 gallon

Sydien 16.4ft/5m Silicone tubing

Joywayus Hose Barb 1/4" Elbow 6mm

25ft - 1/2 inch PET Expandable braided sheath

12 Magnetic Spice Tins

Magnetic rechargeable light strips with motion sensors

Perforated angle iron for runners (2x 4 foot)

Felt tape for runners

For refrigeration you can always go with a cheap cooler for a simpler setup that is much less money. I opted for a compressor refrigerator/freezer which is very efficient but costs a lot more, do what works for you. In this video, I had the Alpicool T50 dual zone which was awesome but just recently stopped working out of the blue - not recommended until they improve reliability but here is the link:

Iceco JP40 is my recommended fridge now:

I just purchased a larger, Dometic CFX3 75DZ dual zone fridge freezer to replace this, will do a video on this soon!

...if you get a compressor fridge, you’d also need some sort of battery to power it when the car is off. You could use a normal deep cycle battery hooked to a car charger but I already own a Goal Zero Yeti 1000 already and it’s a great portable package that includes the battery, charger, solar charger, and inverter in a tidy package that will run the fridge for about a day+ .

Goal Zero Yeti 1000 Lithium Portable Power Station

And I power this with these 60 and 120w TP-Solar (not Top Solar) foldable solar panels

[reneebrown]

Thank God. Someone is actually using their brains and doing things the easy way. It would be sooo easy to use this even in a van build to save time money and effort. Kudos dude. I'm not sure why people don't use a goal zero for their solar power. Most people I know dont need a huge amount of power while camping anyway.

[marcireale]

Amazingly well thought out. I like your use of so many off-the-shelf products. No need to reinvent the wheel.

[jbwalker]

I like how you demonstrate how you secure everything down to the vehicle. One issue I always have with people's builds is that they have too much loose stuff in their vehicles that will turn into projectiles in an accident. Its all fine and dandy if people can fit and organize everything in their vehicles, but not so much if it all kills them in an accident.

[aliblackmore]

so many smart ideas even i could put this together. many of these "easy diy builds" i've seen look overwhelmingly complicated. this looks functional, smart and doable.

[TresChica]

Thank you for all the close-up pictures of the hardware. I don't know the names of all the pieces but now that I've seen them, I know what to buy.

[arizonapersona]

I never understand why Some folks need to spend $2000 or more to do a setup when this is Nice and clean and Not expensive...Great build

[aros]

Awesome setup!! What I like the most was done on a “real family “ car. Not a Truck or Expensive Land Rover with over head cargo racks. And the detailed info about locking bolts&nuts. It is so hard to go to hardware store and stand in front of the 100’s of bins . That all look the same to me.

[virginiavoigt]

I love seeing someone who actually gives priority to cooking their own food while one the road. I think you will be healthier for your efforts.

[TravelingwiththeGramkracker]

Very functional and thought out build. Im a full-time rv'r and used several items "off the shelf" because it was much nicer than building things from scratch.

[timetriad]

Honestly, the fridge/freezer is the only essential. Everything else is just luxury for most. Kudos to your ingenuity and craftsmanship. 👍🏻

[mojojojo]

I owe you 1 .... you just saved me $ 3000 ... Great ideas .. made simple 10/10

[archanaudupa]

I have watched the entire video like a student. Its simply mindblowing and so useful. Thanks for sharing tiniest details and giving a crystal clear picture.

[oldmedicinecrow]

This is the coolest and most creative set up I've seen. You spent good money on the important stuff. That's good.

[jenlinds]

Thx for the info! It’s so nice to see someone doing things for function with precision & simplicity. I feel much of the current conversion community does much for the look (which is nice too, yet not everything) so it’s inspiring to see efficient & simplistic design

[KA-eusy]

I love the sink. Love the faucet especially your modification.

[allangoodger]

A lot of Aussies use 90mm or 100mm storm water PVC pipe and mount it on the roof rack. The amout of water is deteemined by what length you make it. Let gravity do the work.

[phyllismitchell]

I love your camping set up. It's efficient, economical, and best of all easy. My SUV is smaller than yours but I can certainly use your ideas. Thanks.

[jerseydevil]

The collapsible sink is identical to Ozark Trails one for 9.97 / Walmart.
Great sinks.

[NoNamesLeftFuk]

What the hell? Every one of my ideas in one video? Fantastic. Stealing this entirely 😂 thanks!

[onewomanandherdog]

I like the use of all the magnetic stuff in the filing cabinet.