Introducing the Cascade Camper Kitchen Pod

"Do you want to spend months building your dream campervan kitchen or do you want to get out there adventuring in your campervan? We are here to give you that choice. Affordable, functional, and right now."

Zach Yeager, Owner, Cascade Campers

the Kitchen pod

For those of you who aren’t already familiar with Cascade Campers, our aim has always been to build high quality van conversions at prices most people can afford. We've skipped the pricey options and features, like recycled barn wood and butcher block countertops, that keep our products out of the hands of people who are dying to get out on the road without spending tens of thousands of dollars. The goal of our new Kitchen Pod is no different, high quality van components that won't break the bank. Zach has a gift for creating products that are simple, efficient and durable. We are able to provide high quality at low cost through efficiencies created by standard no-option designs.

Since 2017, Cascade Campers has built over 400 van conversions for the RAM Promaster City. We are bringing over five years or professional van building experience and decades of van adventures to tackle the hardest part and a key component for many DIY van builders, the kitchen. Our new Kitchen Pod is a functional yet compact from which you can start building the rest of your van around or finish off a van you are already working on. It includes a completely self contained water system, stove, countertop, and storage space to cook your backwoods delicacies or just a strong cup of camp coffee.

The details:

• It is all-in-one complete with stove and fresh/grey water systems

• This will fit in many different types of vans from the standard Sprinters, Transits, Promasters, Expresses or anything else with a flat wall to install it. They don’t fit in smaller vans like the Promaster City or Transit Connect as they have wheel wells in the way.

• Designed to be as simple as possible to operate and maintain. We prioritize longevity, simplicity, and ease of use over fancy features.

• Fully self-contained water system with a 5 gallon fresh water tank and a 5 gallon grey water tank. You can order it with 2 fresh water tanks if you don't need grey water. Our fresh water tank is the same battle tested one we use in our Promaster City conversions. Both tanks are easily removed for filling, cleaning, and emptying

• It is compact to leave as much open space as possible in your van while also having lots of space to prepare some amazing road food when you slide out the stove and fold up the side table. Make sure you have adequate ventilation whenever cooking inside.

• Dimensions 42” wide 14” deep and 36” tall (32” counter height). We know some of you might want a taller cabinet and for that we suggest placing it on a small platform giving you additional storage space under it.

• UPDATES - We have made a few updates based on experience and feedback since we first launched these. This includes a different faucet, stove moved to center of cabinet, drawer tweaked to fit a Duxtop portable induction cooktop. Video showing updates is posted on YouTube here.

Pricing:

$1,950 For the complete Kitchen Pod including shipping to the contiguous US

Options:

We have Green, Black, and White milk crates to chose from. Let us know what color you want.

Add ons:

$150 Second fresh water tank with submersible pump INSTEAD of a grey water tank. This way you have 10 gallons of fresh water if you already have or don’t need grey water. If you want a grey water bottle as well (2 fresh 1 grey) we charge an additional $65.

Subtractions:

-$250 If you come pick it up at our shop in Nevada City California. (Very cute and fun town in the Sierra Foothills that is well worth the trip)

-$25 If you don’t need the stove. Drawer is designed to fit several of the Gas-one brand stoves. These butane only stoves we have also tested: GS-3700, GS-3500B, GS-3950, GS-3300. It may fit others as well.

-$60 If you want to provide your own milk crates. Check out MilkCratesDirect for 9 more colors that we don’t stock. Get a mix of colors if you feeling extra fun! Cubbies are designed for standard square milk crates at 13 1/8” wide and 12” tall.

FAQ:

• Milk crates? Really?? We absolutely love milk crates around here and have been using them since the beginning! They are nearly indestructible, removable, stackable, plentiful and inexpensive. Gonna cook outside? Grab the crates you need and haul them out. Packing up the van? Take the crates in and fill them up. They are also available in many different colors so go wild! If you really don’t like the look of milk crates you could pretty easily make covers for them out of nearly anything. When you do post photos of them so we can all get inspired! The milk crates are held in with an aluminum lip that has proven extremely effective at holding the crates in place even on rough roads.

• Plywood construction? We love plywood construction! It is incredibly strong and super space efficient by saving space of framing. The way we make incredibly strong plywood components is starting with the highest quality Baltic birch plywood. We then cut slots and pockets for all the parts to fit together before we glue, clamp and screw everything together. Watch for a video coming in the future where we put a VW van on two of these cabinets so you can see just how strong quality plywood construction can be :-)

• I want a two burner stove! This is understandable and you can always take an extra stove with you and place it on the counter for those times when you need it. We find that in most cases we do a lot of one-pot meals when traveling as it saves a lot of clean up time as well as makes for a fun challenge :-)

• What’s up with the stove? We include a Gas-one butane stove with your Pod. This is the same stove we have included with all of the Cascade Campers we have built. The stove drawer super heavy duty locking drawer slides so you can use the stove in the drawer freeing up more counter space. We had included a dual-fuel stove but they are no longer available. The drawer is also designed to work with a Duxtop induction cooktop. This is a great option if you have a big enough electrical system to handle it.

• How does the water work? There is a submersible pump installed in the bottom of the fresh water tank. This tank is switched on by a switch in the faucet. The pump does require 12V power. You can easily connect this into your existing power system if you have one. If not order up a Roypow power bank. This battery pack will attach above the water bottles and will last for several containers of water between recharges.

• Is 5 gallons enough water? 5 gallons doesn't seem like enough water. We find that if you are careful this will last a long time. With the faucet on full blast you can run it for 6 minutes straight. If you are careful with how much water you are using it will last several days.

• Can I drink the water? Absolutely. Everything with our water bottle is food grade and yes the bottle is BPA free. Since the bottle is removable it is easily cleaned so you can keep your water from tasting stale. Because it is removeable you can fill it at grocery store drinking water filling stations. No need to carry around a hose as they take up quite a bit of space.

• How do I mount this in my van? You can either bolt to the floor or the wall of your van or both. The base of the cabinet is super solid 18mm (3/4") Baltic Birch core Hexa-grip plywood that can be drilled anywhere to attach to the floor of your van. We provide brackets that can be used to mount it to the wall of your van. It is important that you mount it in a solid way.

• Do I have to assemble it when it arrives? Nope! We ship our Kitchen Pods fully assembled on a pallet via truck freight.

• Is that flip up table food safe: Absolutely! We finish the backsplash and the flip up table with Emmet’s Elixir that is all natural and food safe. We would suggest re-applying the Emmet’s Elixir from time to time to keep the bamboo looking good.

• Dimensions of stove drawer? The drawer is 24” wide by 12 3/4” deep and 4” tall. The dividers are easily remove if you decide you want a different type of stove.

• Dimensions of the Pod? Pod base is 42 3/16 wide x 14 3/8 deep. Top dimensions are 42 5/8 wide x 15 1/16 deep with the extra versus the base hanging off the sides and front. Countertop height is 32" and to the top of the backsplash is 36"

Photos of the Kitchen Pod installed in a few different vans

-Wholesale inquires welcome-