[Guest]

I built these boxes after being frustrated by the lack of a decent counter top height work space.

The connecting pieces are the front of the boxes when in transit. It's very solid and very handy but may be overkill for the weekend car camper. These boxes marry up as a load for a mule.

Trapper

 

[IveofIone]

Trapper, those are nice looking units. Well designed and commodious. I agree about the counter height work space. After years of backpacking and mountaineering and cooking at high altitude (on the ground and in the lee of a big rock) standing up to cook really appeals to me.

Your units look like they are built out of some pretty stout stuff to take the rigors of mule packing. For car camping I would suggest to those looking to build to try some Baltic birch plywood in about 6mm size. This stuff is hell for stout and will last forever if assembled with some decent joinery and modern adhesives. The thin wall plywood will keep the weight down and increase the interior volume quite a bit.

Ive

 

[Bill Allan]

I just picked up camp chef big gas 3 burner stove/grill and a Sherpa table last week. Haven't done anything with it yet other then setup and billed water make sure it was all working before leaving for a horseback weekend. I will say the Sherpa is pretty nice very light, easy setup. And stove is built like a tank. I'll post a review after using it.

 

[J3000]

I will say the Sherpa is pretty nice very light, easy setup. And stove is built like a tank. I'll post a review after using it.

I'm actually really curious about the sherpa. It looks like one of those things that is either great or completely crappy. I don't have a roll up table and the Sherpa solves that and includes more organizing space.

 

[Bill Allan]

Sturdy and light weight so far looks like a good setup. Zippers are heavy duty. Bags are heavy duty...

 

[J3000]

Sturdy and light weight so far looks like a good setup. Zippers are heavy duty. Bags are heavy duty...

Table feel solid? I haven't used roll top tables a whole ton, so I don't really know how to judge. But I'm just hoping it isn't wobbly/spindly.

Also, I've heard that there isn't much adjustment on the legs for uneven ground. Some folks have reported adding adjustable feet as a modification. Is this still the case? Or has Camp Chef added any sort of adjustment from the factory?

 

[Bill Allan]

No leg height adjustment. But hatchet and firewood wouldn't be a big deal to get it flat...

 

[J3000]

As far as the chuckbox/kitchen stuff, at the moment the wife still wants the cabelas kitchen, either the deluxe or normal. I am partial to this sort of chuck box design. Not giant, but I think it would work for us. Knowing us, we may end up with both.

Here's a video from someone who built one:

 

[Mark Walker]

That's a pretty slick box, Josh.
Thanks for posting that.

 

[Steelheader69]

I'll post some stuff tonight Josh. On my phone at work, so hard to post pics and type that much in 15 minutes lol. I've owned/own almost everything you are looking at getting.

 

[Guest]

Your units look like they are built out of some pretty stout stuff to take the rigors of mule packing. For car camping I would suggest to those looking to build to try some Baltic birch plywood in about 6mm size. This stuff is hell for stout and will last forever if assembled with some decent joinery and modern adhesives.

My boxes are made of 1/2" Baltic birch and yup, they've taken some abuse from mules.

Trapper

 

[Steelheader69]

I'm actually really curious about the sherpa. It looks like one of those things that is either great or completely crappy. I don't have a roll up table and the Sherpa solves that and includes more organizing space.

I have the Sherpa. It's a great little organizer. I bought it actually for my wife to use for her small basecamps trail riding. Fits enough stuff for two people, has the table top, can fit the little Everest stove in it. She only uses two of the padded storage boxes. Leave the bottom ones open for the stove and misc food, etc. It's held up for the last couple years pretty well.

I've had wooden chuck boxes over the years. Nothing wrong with them. Can customize the way you want them. But they are heavy. I didn't realize how heavy they were until I got an aluminum one. LOL.

Onto the Cabelas deluxe kitchen.

Here's the one I had, and Jeff Bandy bought it when I got my current chuck box. It's a great setup. Just something you have to assemble once you get to camp. You can pack the paniers underneath and then attach later (what I did). Or you can just bring everything into camp in dry boxes and load when you get there. I still had to have a couple boxes worth of dry goods even with this camp kitchen.

THis is my current chuck box. Overkill for most, but great for me. Made by Koffler boats. Marine Grade aluminum. Super light. Totally full, still easy for me to carry by myself. It has a secondary box that actually attaches to the back of this box for bigger trips. Then can make a pantry in camp. I don't use this feature very often. Usually I always have a tuff box (contico or stanley) with me.

I love this box though. Sets up in seconds and I'm ready to go. Legs and lantern hanger (not pictured) fits right inside the box. Then have a huge table top to prep on. I will say, only downside (and won't be for long) is like most things it's a tad short. So going to make the legs adjustible (trapper knows the pain in this LOL). Need to raise it up about 6". But to date, my most loved way to cook. I'm still tweaking it (have had it like 2-3 years now). Going to make some plastic boxes for storage in the middle shelves.

This is what my box looked like complete. That top piece snaps in behind the main box. At this point, loaded, I do need a second person. But it makes a damned nice setup in camp. This is usually the last thing I put in back of truck and first thing I pull out.

 

[Mumbles]

Josh, great video. I wish I had skills to build something like. Everyone here has some really great organized looking gear and I'm envious.

 

[splett]

I looked at the cabelas kitchen and imediatly did not like the storage almost on the ground too mousy.seemed like a lot of trouble just to have to pull out and store properly.

I have a chuck box my grandfather made...heavy.

I now use an aluminum table and a drawe\r system in the truck bed or a dry box and table for the suby.the tabe is sturdy and comes apart for storage.

 

[J3000]

I'm thinking the Sherpa looks like a good move.

Still undecided on the Cabelas camp kitchen thing. I do see them on craigslist though. So maybe it's worth a shot at used prices.

Pretty sure I'm going to knock together that chuckbox I posted earlier though. Just have to decide if I care enough to pay for baltic ply or not. Might head to the local wood place and price it out today if I have time.

 

[Salmo_g]

Josh,

The Cabela's camp kitchen might be OK at used prices, but I'm not so sure about its overall utility. I made my own camp chuck box from plans by Ted Trueblood in an old, maybe ancient, Sports Afield magazine. I used 1/4" plywood, but I like Ive's baltic birch suggestion better. I stapled and glued 1/2 x 1/2" strips around the appropriate edges as stiffeners and added glue surface.

I sized it to hold the 2-burner Coleman propane stove I used when I had a family. It held fry pan, pots, dishes, table ware, much of which I selected for light weight. The box had legs made of 1 x 4 that slid into slots in a Vee shape for stability and for places that had no picnic table to set it on. It's been years since car camping with the kids, so I sold it at a garage sale. Now I'm down to a couple plastic totes with my 1-burner Coleman that's adequate for my needs. Even lighter, and I don't need the minivan.

Sg

 

[Steelheader69]

Josh,

The Cabela's camp kitchen might be OK at used prices, but I'm not so sure about its overall utility. I made my own camp chuck box from plans by Ted Trueblood in an old, maybe ancient, Sports Afield magazine. I used 1/4" plywood, but I like Ive's baltic birch suggestion better. I stapled and glued 1/2 x 1/2" strips around the appropriate edges as stiffeners and added glue surface.

I sized it to hold the 2-burner Coleman propane stove I used when I had a family. It held fry pan, pots, dishes, table ware, much of which I selected for light weight. The box had legs made of 1 x 4 that slid into slots in a Vee shape for stability and for places that had no picnic table to set it on. It's been years since car camping with the kids, so I sold it at a garage sale. Now I'm down to a couple plastic totes with my 1-burner Coleman that's adequate for my needs. Even lighter, and I don't need the minivan.

Sg

I used mine pretty regularly. Worked like a charm (and you've seen me cook, in fact I used that exact table in picture when you were at that Hoh Down). It's better for a smaller get together, say 3-4 people where you can toss a small stove on it. Wouldn't quite be the best thing for big burner setups, etc. But using it with a small Coleman (or the Camp Chef Everest) it's a great table. Everything is within reach, hang utensils and pans in reach, toss up spices on the above rack. Great setup. Just more time to get it put together is all.

 

[nb_ken]

I've got one of those CC Sherpa boxes linked in the original post. It's nice enough. Works about like you'd expect. It's got collapsible legs so it works on the tailgate or the ground. I use it about 50/50 each way.

Not sure why it has a rolltop table top. I have never removed it. The whole thing just rides around like a big box. The space under the table top does make for a handy place to store a cutting board.

Ive nailed it, though. You do store things inside of things that fit into other things. The bins have places to put labels. First trip, I didn't bother with labels. Second trip, the bins were labeled. Still...

I got tired of digging through it when I needed something quick. So I got a bucket organizer. I keep a couple of knives, towels, plates, corkscrew (I was always losing that), stuff like that in it. CC box + bucket is as handy as anything short of Ive's boxes.

 

[nb_ken]

I made my own camp chuck box from plans by Ted Trueblood in an old, maybe ancient, Sports Afield magazine.
Sg

I've seen a variety of home-made camp kitchen boxes. I've also looked at a variety sporting goods store camp kitchens. Even the worst home-made kitchens are way better than the best store-bought ones.

If you have the time and the skill, you'll end up with a better box. No question.