self build pre-build ideas

[weekend warrior]

hi guys,
im getting pretty close on starting my second build now, after building a stealth day/camper, i now know what i will be requiring to make things a little more comfortable to camp for longer periods.

all sides and roof are now insulated with closed cell foam and polystyrene boards, skylight fitted, ready for boarding out.
im not going to carpet line, just paint a nice cream/ sand colour to add a bit more light and feeling of space, my last was carpet lined and it always felt dull inside.
my layout for my swb transit is going to be a rear kitchen layout as the first one was a vw style layout and once the bed was out there was no way of moving around to get changed, make a brew etc.

my ideas are as follows,
sink, im thinking of using a large stainless mixing bowl, drilled and plug hole fitted,
tap, (cold only) these seem expensive, not sure what to do here yet.
cooker, using a camping cooker, dual hob. sunken into worktop so i can access knobs easily from front and cover when not in use giving more work space.
water supply, water container stored in the back of the units and accessed from rear doors, a small submergable pump fitted inside and attached to container lid. (to fill water unscrew cap and remover pump from container, fill and replace).
waste, as above container with waste pipe attached to cap (unscrew and empty.

thats it for the kitchen really just stuck on tap ideas (low cost)
any views would be useful at this stage before i start the build and run into problems

cheers
martin.

 

[Rodeo]

Could you use a floor mounted switch for the submersible pump, ( I used a floor mounted machine emerg stop switch) then youwould only need a simple curved tube fitted as a water spout.Or are you looking for a tap with microswitch (which are expensive)? Caravan breakers?

 

[weekend warrior]

hi rodeo,
good think there! similar to your idea, how about a momentry button mounted by the water spout that seems good, i have tried caravan breakers and my local charges a bit too much and not really careful removing items which put me off using them for small parts, good for hinges and door catches though
brilliant idea, just sourcing a water spout now

cheers
martin

 

[Rodeo]

As long as the switch stays on long enough and not longer than required, then its ok.I used a floor switch , release and water stops.hopefully will save water that way, similar with shower, but thats a ordinary household light switch.

 

[n brown]

any household tap will do the job,there's cheap ones on e bay
when you do the sink,if you have the tools,put a rebated hole of the required size in a bit of ply and you can then hammer a depression in the bottom of the bowl so the waste doesn't sit proud. or if you're careful you can bend the edges of the hole with water pliers for a similar effect
if you use a tap you could put an inline pressure switch so the tap works on demand.you still need an isolating switch for this method

 

[weekend warrior]

yeah thats my plan, a momentary button with a standard household tap, im sure i have one lying around somewhere, a standard tap will stop drips while on the move. can i get hold of an tap connector that with take a hose type fitting?
mr b you are thinking the same as me, i plan on cutting a hole in a piece of mdf the size of the plug hole and using the cutout to sandwich the bowl and shape a recess so it sits nice and flush. seems a bit labour intensive but a mixing bowl cost all of £5 compared to a camper sink of £45 - £50 thats a big saving for an hours work plus i like little projects

loving the ideas guys
cheers
martin.

 

[n brown]

I've done a lot of mixing bowls and large dog bowls, nice price !

use a tap connector wit a short length of 15mm copper pipe,a hot air gun or gas hob will get the hosepipe flexi enough to stretch on to this,then a jubilee clip

 

[weekend warrior]

brilliant thanks for that mr b, yeah i have a large dog bowl but the mixing bowl i have is just a little deeper and being rounded looks more pleasing to the eye, 15mm tap connector will be just the job! :cheers:

thanks again
martin.

 

[Tow Itch]

Lost this train of thought.
Obviously not as cheap as a dog bowl but loads of kitchen units from folding campers and trailer tents for sale.
Many second hand ones in the range of £20 to £40 Some without taps but many with. Left and right handed bowls available. You can have lightweight stainless steel (often spinflow) units or ex caravan ones.

For example

Camper van/caravan stainless steel sink and gas hob. | eBay

Sink and hob camper caravan boat. | eBay

CAMPER MOTORHOME STAINLESS SINK WITH 12V PUMP + GAS TWIN HOB + CHARGER FUSE BOX | eBay This might have a ragged tap but loads of other gear.

Camper hob sink and grill | eBay

Caravan type ones

Hob, sink and taps for motorhome camper conversion | eBay

caravan camper hob sink heater | eBay

Caravan kitchen fridge sink oven grill camper conversion | eBay Including full oven and fridge

OK I can guess that it might be a bit of an effort looking for non taty ex caravan ones but stainless is fairly timeless and they are a complete integrated unit. look also for people scrapping folding campers. Folding camper units are more likely to have taps than trailer tent units.

Microswitch on tap versus pressure sensing switch. Each have their fans but a bust microswitch can be replaced with a simple push switch nearby. Pressure switches can dump water container contents if you have a leak. They can be noisy if "cycling" or "hunting" for lost pressure.

 

[Rodeo]

I used a Spinflow combined 2 burner hob/draining board/sink.about £20.serviced the gas burners, made new knobs.Didnt have enuf space to mount the whole thing, so I cut the hob from the rest and mounted them seperately.Works well in the space.wont be using the draining board for washing up, but it will be a good surface to put kettle or anything else thats hot on.