Our Van Kitchen: Dishwasher, Upright Fridge and Propane Oven

We cook almost every day, so the kitchen got the most thought. The dishwasher is Michael's "favorite part of the entire build": a FOTILE in-sink dishwasher that also works as a second sink, and on the delicate cycle it uses about 3 gallons of water.

The fridge is a Bodega Cooler 80L upright fridge/freezer. With a chest fridge "you're basically playing Tetris"; the upright one has a big freezer for our Asian-supermarket stock-ups. We added vent fans because the fridge in our old van overheated.

For cooking we switched from butane (we used to carry 12 to 20 cans) to a Contoure 3-burner propane cooktop with an oven, fed by a 20-lb tank in a sealed, vented locker, because propane is heavier than air. A portable range hood hangs by the stove and keeps grease off the roof-fan screen, and the faucet is touchless, which helps us save water.

Bodega Cooler is one of our partners.

What we learned

• Give a 12V fridge somewhere to dump heat: a couple of 12V fans and vents in the cabinet.
• Propane is heavier than air, so the tank lives in a locker that is sealed from the cabin and vented to the outside.