no kitchen

[MudQueen22]

When I was growing up, my family had a travel trailer. Although it had a kitchen, we only used it once. My mother said it was too cramped to cook in, and she would rather grill outside or eat sandwiches. (And the rest of us agreed.) With the exception of the fridge for drinks, the kitchen took up too much space.

I've been looking online for a pop-up without a kitchen, but with a bathroom. I'm finding it is impossible. I wouldn't mind a sink, or maybe a fridge (could do without since we use ice chests), but am amazed at the number of units that do not even have a toilet. We used our toilet at least once daily in the camper (mostly at night). I'm surprised a kitchen would be included in nearly every unit, but not a bathroom.

It got me thinking.... if supply is meeting demand, how many of you actually use these kitchens in your smaller travel trailers and pop-ups? Has anyone removed the kitchen and added counter space and storage?

 

[Boopuff]

Look at tear-drop trailers. They are bare bones and the "kitchen" is in the rear, not inside. We had a pop-up with bath and full "kitchen" We moved the cooktop to the outside mostly to prevent the interior from becoming too hot in the summer. We had a gas line hookup on the outside.

 

[MudQueen22]

The problem with tear drops is that they do not have bathrooms and won't accommodate our family of four.

 

[MudQueen22]

Bump. Pop-up people?

 

[WorldWacky]

When we had a pop-up we NEVER used the kitchen. The cooktop was hung outside on the camper and the fridge served as my Dutch oven storage. We used coolers. The bathroom however, was used nightly as well.
Even now with the travel trailer, I tend to grill outside or use the Dutch ovens. I like the smell of bacon outside in the morning.
I do cheat by using the microwave to heat up a can of corn or beans, but that's about it. I even prefer to heat water up outside and wash the dishes out there.

 

[MudQueen22]

Did you remove the indoor stove for extra storage and counter space, or just leave it and work around it?

 

[tiggerdad]

R-pods. Our neighbor has one, has a combo shower/toilet, kitchen on a small slide out. Bunks in rear, dinette in front sleeps two. There is also a small outdoor kitchen at the rear.

 

[bama_ed]

MudQueen,

I very much doubt you will find a pop-up with a built-in potty but no kitchen. I owned a Jayco popup for 10 years until recently and followed that market. 2-3 burner stoves and a small refridge is the lowest, entry level accessory with the potty as an add-on option. So if you find one with a built in potty it will generally come with the kitchen already.

I understand your mom's opinion about an indoor kitchen but we did use ours when it was cold outside in the mornings (the stove heat helped warm things up) or wet outside (not fun for the cook). Our stove top was built in so we used a simple Coleman propane stove outside when desired.

If you can find a good used pop-up with the potty and kitchen you can remove the kitchen portion and convert it to more cabinets or storage. The fridge we had offered a small freezer section which was enough for our trips and the cooler section kept drinks cold without having to continually buy ice.

Bama Ed

 

[WorldWacky]

Did you remove the indoor stove for extra storage and counter space, or just leave it and work around it?

Our stovetop was a four burner unit that could be used inside or or out. The propane connection was in both areas. We always hooked it up outside and used the extra counter space for our clothing bins. It was a 1999 Starcraft Venture. The "bathroom" was a shower/toilet combo that had a curtain around it not actual walls or a door. This is similar to ours:
That bottom right-hand corner "counter top" is where the toilet/shower is. You lift the counter up and it latches to the side of the canvas wall.

 

[MudQueen22]

Thanks so much for responses. I'll keep these things in mind.

 

[FortForever]

Our latest pop-up had a stove like the one shown in the photo above. We just unhooked it and left it in the shed. It was too big and bulky so we never even brought it with us, just used our Coleman stove.

Some friends of mine just took out the stove and sink in theirs and made a long counter top there. I doubt you would find a model like that unless it was used and had been modified like this. I personally loved the sink and would not have taken it out.

None of our our pop-ups has ever had a potty, but we always had (and still do) a portable chemical toilet that we would find a place to stow away for overnight needs. Most pop-up bathrooms are not that impressive, although I do like the ones with the built in cartridge toilets.

 

[peg110]

Growing up, my parents had a pop-up and it was very (VERY) basic. Bunks in each of the wings, and a center section that was a dinette that folded down into a bed. This section was the ENTIRE width of the trailer too, so to get to the bunk in the wing on the one end, you'd have to crawl over the dinette/bed. Our Pop-up was mostly just sleeping accommodations or a place to stay when the weather outside was less than desirable (usually rain).

As a result we always had to use the campgrounds facilities which was usually a bit of a walk. However, for the late night moments...... We actually had a Potty stool to use (if you didn't want to walk in the dark). Of course as boys, my 2 brothers and I would just walk a bit away from the site in the woods somewhere and, well .... Water the local flora. My sister, however wasn't so lucky.

Anyway, since the "Kitchen" is of little concern for you, maybe the "Base Model" of a pop-up will do and then add something like a chemical, composting or cartridge toilet? That way you don't have all the "Extras" that come with a kitchen that you don't want. (Water tanks, stove, sinks, etc...)
Even if you aren't "handy" it may still be cheaper to buy a base model and have someone else add the extras that you want.

 

[phillymummer]

R-pods. Our neighbor has one, has a combo shower/toilet, kitchen on a small slide out. Bunks in rear, dinette in front sleeps two. There is also a small outdoor kitchen at the rear.

Thank you for that suggestion!

I have a backup plan in case the teardrop trailer worked out. However, where is the "outdoor kitchen" you mentioned? I just looked at pictures for a few different models and didn't see pictures of it or see anything mentioned. Is on certain models/ years, maybe?

 

[peg110]

http://www.forestriverinc.com/ImageHandler.ashx?ImageID=23527

If you look through the gallery, there is a "Standard Feature" rear garage which shows the mini kitchen


It also looks like in the floor plans that they show most of them don't show this version. However the RP-182G and the RP-183G do show them.