This picture gives an idea how i had the underbed storage set up. On the left is a sideways milk crate that held our cooking kit, mugs, a drawstring bag for cutlery, etc - the 'kitchen crate'. On the right is a small butane stove; the crate behind that held canned and boxed goods.



I think the final crate count on this one was seven: see the diagram for more detail. Heavy lines indicate 'closed' sides of crates. Obviously the back two corners couldn't hold anything you needed easy access to - i don't recall now what all i kept in there. Must have been the Really Important Stuff. Or super-sekrit treasure.



i left the travelling life before i got around to implementing any further steps on this, but i had plans to install a kitchen area in the 'trunk' space behind the back seat. I wanted to fit a plywood platform with four legs to raise it to the height of the top of the seat back.



Then i planned to cut a couple holes in the plywood: one that the pump stem of a 5-gal. water jug could fit thru, with the jug sitting on the floor under the platform. The other hole was to be slightly smaller than a rectangular dish tub. That way, i figured i could have a sink w/running water that could be lifted out to empty the greywater. This would have also provided counter space at the other side of the sink, for food prep or to set the stove on. One reason i never got around to doing it was the necessity of having a place to keep the spare tire; however, a van w/roof rack could carry it on top and i'm sure there are other ways of dealing with that problem.



One of those screenhouses designed to fit over the lifted tailgate of a van and we'd've been *set*. As it was, in practice we'd put a dining fly tarp up alongside the sliding door and set up our living/kitchen space beside the van. Kept a couple of the collapsible camp chairs stashed in the open space between crates along with the tarp, ropes etc, and we were good to go at a moment's notice.