Volkswagen California camper with built-in charcoal grill. What could be more ‘summer’ and ‘the great outdoors’? Perhaps a VW California with two charcoal grills. . Its modular kit mounts inside the tailgate and unfolds into an outdoor kitchen suitable for mountain luxury homes. The metal and wood space is packed with multiple gas or charcoal cookers, plenty of prep space and organized storage.
The versatile modular design of Calicamp kitchen products, made to slide and fold out of the back of the camper, is reminiscent of Snow Peak’s Iron Grill Table. More specifically, Calicamp builds storage and cooking systems around the Volkswagen T5, T6, T6.1 Multivan and California lines. A full kitchen seems particularly useful for models that don’t come with their own standard kitchen, such as the Multivan and California Beach Tour, but for a true California camper with an indoor kitchen, it integrates with more cooking space. Additional grill options are also available. .
Each Calicamp kit starts with a sliding storage drawer sized to fit under the bed of your van. On the Multivan and California Beach, a large box takes up most of the width of the van and offers 280 L of storage space. The full California camper model slides between the passenger side wall and the rear wardrobe and holds 200L.
Calikamp
A hinged wooden lid transforms the Carikamp drawer into a storage box with a large worktop. Campers could always put their own portable stoves, cutting boards and other utensils on top without buying a fully expandable kitchen system.
However, the kitchen system looks worthy of consideration. It arrives folded on its side and is supported by adjustable legs. The skeletal frame includes an open center where campers can fill in mix-and-match modules, including up to three gas or charcoal cooking units. Buyers can fill some of that space with a cutting board/worktop and storage bins, and even add other options such as a windshield.
Calikamp
One of the available worktops can fit inside the frame or be attached to the folding edge. The kitchen design also leaves the entire storage bin cover as a separate work area, making the kitchen much more suitable for multiple cooking than the average slide-out tailgate galley. Also included is a pair of rods for hanging dishes and towels.
The folding kitchen can be set up in just a minute or two after you arrive. Calicamp components require no permanent modifications to your vehicle and can be removed within minutes.
One key feature not shown in Calicamp’s photos and renders is the sink. However, the company says it offers options.
Calikamp
Like many RV products and accessories, Calicamp was born from on-road experience. When traveling with his family in a campervan through Italy, founder Sven Baumann, an engineer and woodworker, found himself loading up on world-class ingredients at local markets. Volkswagen T6 California Returning to his camper, the family faced a dilemma. It was how they treated those fresh Italian ingredients with the love and respect they deserve, while cooking in a tiny kitchen block inside a cramped van. Baumann envisioned a better way and set out to create it.
Cooking with gas or charcoal in expandable modular galleys under blue skies or new stars can be hunted at local markets, foraged in the wild, and pulled. It’s not hard to see what promises an experience that far more closely matches the grade of ingredients from lakes and oceans during a van trip. And even if they’re just basic groceries packed into an ice-filled cooler, they’ll almost certainly smell and taste better cooked in a caricamp than in a car galley. No stains or residual odors left in the van.
Calikamp
Rather than selling all components a la carte online or in shops, Calicamp works with clients to develop custom setups to meet their needs. Stakeholders are encouraged to contact it to discuss options. Pricing will vary depending on build details, but Calicamp lists his 2023 prices starting at €1,295 (about US$1,450) for pull-out storage drawers only and €2,880 ($3,200) for storage drawers with kitchen systems. . The company builds each unit by hand for local installation in its workshop in Antwerp and plans to produce around 20 per year.
The videos below show how Calicamp opens and is set up in different configurations.
How to cook outside a VW California or Multivan
Source: Calikamp
