Cooking out of a truck cargo area usually means digging gear out of a pile or balancing a stove on the bumper. This build tackles that head on: a removable slide-out kitchen for the back of a Ford Bronco that pulls out for open-air cooking and slides back inside when done. The clever part is that the whole unit stays removable, so the truck can still haul gear and carry the maker's dog when the kitchen comes out.
The construction is solid and well thought through. The cabinet is 3/4-inch birch plywood riding on metal ball-bearing drawer slides, with a green two-burner Coleman camp stove on a lower tray and a blue wheeled Coleman cooler sitting on the main platform. Mac's tie-down anchors with spring-loaded quick-disconnect rings in aluminum base cups, rated at 500 pounds, hold everything down, and the finished unit is strapped in with orange ratchet straps. That anchor rating gives real peace of mind on rough trails.
The process shows good discipline too. A hand-drawn graph-paper sketch came first, then a scrap-plywood prototype frame to verify height and slide clearances before any final panels were cut. The tray was tested with the stove and slides before committing. Finishing was patient: sanding through 80, 150, and 220 grit, then four coats of Minwax Polycrylic in Clear Satin applied with a foam brush, with light sanding between coats.
Results look strong: the stove tray extends fully past the open tailgate and stays stable, and the slides hold cookware and a loaded cooler without tipping or binding. One open question remains, since the maker is confident but not certain about keeping the propane tank in the cab while not in use, pulling it outside only while cooking. Possible future revisions mentioned include tie-down eyelets for the cooler or an aluminum frame.
Project by Auto Existence. Watch it on their YouTube channel: