Chuck Box for Camping

News & Tips: Chuck Box for Camping

A few weeks ago we talked about making a Camp Box for storing your cooking utensils. Today let’s talk about making a Chuck Box. A Chuck Box is different than a Camp Box. It’s what they used on back of the Chuck Wagons on trail drives.

 I made mine to fit snugly inside my box trailer that I take up on my camping, fishing and hunting trips. For weekend long elk hunting trips all my gear and four-wheeler won’t fit in my pickup so I had a little box trailer custom made for me.

chuck box trailer camping

Here’s why you might want to consider making a Chuck Box whether you have a trailer or just to set in back of your pickup. Mine will hold most of my food for the week. When it’s shut, my food is protected against the weather, birds and bears (somewhat).

 So I store my food in it. I restock it every trip but leave in coffee, sunscreen, spices and so forth. I still store all of my cooking utensils in my Camp Box. But here is where the Chuck Box gets handy. I made mine with hinges so the front lays out. I put small chains on the sides so it only opens to a 90-degree angle. You can set your Coleman stove on the ledge and set a lantern on top to have light to cook by.

A buddy of mine had an attachment which hooked into a 5-gallon propane bottle which allowed us to tap into it for his propane operated stove and lantern. BPS carries these trees. I made my box wide enough (four-feet) so I can set two Coleman stoves on it side by side and you can angle your Camp Chef on the side so you can do multiple cooking chores at one time. I only made my box 2-feet tall but if I make another one it will be at least 3-feet tall.

Custom make yours to meet your needs. I put a couple of drawers in mine and used a dowel rod to make a paper towel holder. You can install eye hooks and hang your spatulas. I’d suggest before you get started to run down to your local Bass Pro store and look at their wide selection of cooking gear. Then if there’s some special gear that you want you may build around that. For instance if you’re a big Dutch Oven buff you may want to design one end so you can store a couple of Dutch Oven’s and all of the necessary gear that goes along with that.

I never have done it yet but I’ve always been meaning to bend some conduit in an L-shape and make an overhang so I stay dry while cooking. Currently I just use an awning and set it up at the back of my trailer. That way if it’s raining we can set the table and chairs under it as well and eat dry.

The last step will be to paint it so as to protect it from the elements. I think I did mine with Thompson Wood Seal paint but I’ve seen a lot of them painted with a good outdoor paint. I also caulked the cracks in mine to keep the water and bugs out.

There’s just something that a good Chuck Box adds to a camping trip.