Part of our plans for SSDutch include using it with the Bantam trailer for camping.  While I have extensive plans to setup the Bantam with a full kitchen for camping, something that we had an immediate need for was a chuckbox, or “camp kitchen” for all of the cookware and dishes, etc.  I don’t mind sleeping in a tent, but the disorganization of tent camping really bugs me.  Getting the cooking stuff organized is a great first step towards camping sanity.

I’m a terrible cabinetmaker, so it was crucial for us to find an existing box to work with as a basis for our chuckbox.  I got lucky at the local military suplus store and picked up this great trunk.  The markings say “Texas Trunk Company” and it has a 1964 issue date.  I think it was for some kind of field office equipment.  It’s about 19 1/2” wide, 14” deep, and 18 1/2” tall as it sits in this pic:

It’s a beefy trunk!  The corners are all protected by metal, there are two big carrying handles, and the lid is held on by 4 heavy latches:

The lid has a rubber seal, and is roughly 3” deep, so I put a hinged plywood door on the face of it:

And 1/4” masonite dividers inside for cooking utensils, tablecloth, etc:

The main box then flips on it’s side so the opening is to the front.  The top compartment holds saucepans and a frypan, coffee cups, salt and pepper shakers, etc.  The rightmost compartment holds the 12” frypan, the larger pot, cutting board, etc:

I put in more dividers for a silverware tray:

And for 2 washtubs, which store the plates and bowls for four:

Everything in the chuckbox - I’m sure we’ll add more as we use it, but there’s still quite a bit of room yet: