The Rubicon Trail will be a three day trip, so I need a decent cooking kit.
I spent weeks deciding on what tailgate table to buy. I needed something that could hold a decent stove. I also wanted it to be easy to clean, and it had to have a slide out. I went with an Outback Adventures TrailGater. Its a smart design. The table is stainless steel (easy to clean), and it has a slide out bamboo table. The backsplash is made of thick powder coated aluminum.
I was pleasantly surprised to find they’re rated at 40 pounds, more than enough for my needs. The quick releases are brilliant, just a bit of pressure secures the table in the stowed position. No rattling, extremely stable when stowed. The back splash part is heavy duty, and the hardware is high quality…and American made!
The hardware is very well designed, the unit doesn’t rattle at all.
I decided long ago I was going to get a Cook Partner 22″ 2 Burner Stove. I met a number of folks at Moab last year who swear by this model. Its made of very thick welded aluminum, designed to be easy to disassemble and clean, is fully serviceable, and weighs 17 pounds. Partners Steel has an 8-10 weeks lead time, but I was able to find a place that had one in stock. I got a veterans discount, free shipping, and no tax.
Having hypoglicemia, the stove is one item I was absolutely not going to cut corners on. Partners Steel makes 16 and 18 inch models, but those aren’t wide enough to heat a 10 inch pan and coffeemaker at the same time. These stoves are ultra tough, so they’re easy to store away, you can even stack stuff on it.
I need to get a 5 pound propane tank, but I need to sort out how it’ll be refilled. I want to avoid having to swap tanks, since I will be mounting it to the roll cage on the right side of the cargo area. Of course I bought the stove that has the propane hose connector on the left. The plan is to not have to move the tank, since it’ll be secured, but just run the hose to the stove.
The twin drawers should be installed in a week or two. I need to fabricate a cargo area platform. I’m not interested in paying the rediculous price of a commercial offering. Besides, everyone I met at Moab created their own. The stove will mount on the left, so it can slide out when I need to get to it, and I’ll have a 5 gallon water container with a hose and spigot for cleaning things.
More to come…
Overlander at large 