A new cutlery drawer for our Hybrid Camper
We’ve had our Lifestyle Reconn R2 Hyper Camper for a couple of years now, and have done some minor modifications to make it easier to live out of. The latest one is a permanent cutlery drawer that mounts to the kitchen, which has been absolutely brilliant.
There’s no designated spot for cutlery on the R2 from the factory, unless you specify a drawer, and its quite frustrating as you are using cutlery several times a day. For the first year and a half we just used a plastic box that we’d pull out and sit on the bench, but it was annoying to pull out and put away each time, and your cutlery was always mixed up and difficult to find.
After much deliberation and quotes, I took measurements and had a good mate of mine knock up a timber drawer, which I’ve screwed into the kitchen bench top.
We’ve coupled the cutlery drawer with a plastic cutlery holder, which keeps it on an angle and easy to grab. This is probably the best modification we’ve made to the R2 so far, as it gets used so many times a day and makes life a real breeze.
We could have purchased an aluminium drawer off the shelf, but they were mega expensive and it would have stood out. Lifestyle quoted on a timber draw for about 5 times what I paid, and we are pretty careful with our money.
About the plastic cutlery insert
Sarah found these online, after many hours of research, and they are fantastic. It’s just small enough to sit on one side of the drawer, with the other side left for our large knives, spatchelers, tongs and so forth. Anything that is larger (like BBQ tongs, scrapers etc lives in the bottom hatch of the R2 with the pots and pans.
The insert is called a Joseph Duo In Drawer Cutlery Tray, and you can get them from Big W for $20. Not bad, and they make life so much easier.
Making travel easy
With two young kids, we’ve learned that anything you can do to make travel easier, more efficient and more comfortable is worth doing. You’d be surprised how much of a difference a good kitchen and cutlery system makes to camping, and we are really pleased with the results. It’s made a world of difference to our travels around Australia, and we’d always recommend little changes and adjustments that make travel more enjoyable.
If you are in Perth and looking for an awesome carpenter to help you out, check out Clay’s Contracting Services.
