A chuck box is a light and portable box that is used to store and hold camping items, including pots and pans, crockery, and cutlery. It needs to be portable because you will use it for camping, but it can also be used in the yard, on days out, and for any picnic or outdoor event. Despite its portability, the box must be spacious enough to hold all your most essential items.

It should also be sturdy and fold up into a reasonably small box. One final consideration is that it should be lightweight enough to be easily portable. Wood is a natural material choice for a chuck box. It provides strength and rigidity, and depending on your choice of timber, it is still portable. Below are four DIY chuck box plans, including some for kids.

The chuck box plans include compartments for different items. Grabbing your camping kitchen gear can prove beneficial to check that it fits in the compartments. The designs can be modified by moving a few shelves around so the finished chuck box better meets your requirements.

The 4 Useful DIY Chuck Box Plans

1. Chuck Box Plans From Scout Life

Although most chuck boxes have a flat top section to house a camping cooker or stove, it isn’t strictly necessary. The chuck box plans from Scout Lilfe are simple to follow, but you will need to cut the wood down to size and screw and hammer nails.

The box has outward sloped legs, which support it when it is open and in use. Elevating the box off the floor makes it easier to sit or kneel in the kitchen and prepare food. Therefore, the legs need to be sturdy enough not to break when you apply a little pressure. Angling the legs out and using decent fastenings will help ensure the table is secure.

The guide uses simple fastenings like wing nuts and carriage bolts to attach the legs to the box, and an eye screw and swing hook to keep the door closed when not in use. The drawers are made from washtubs, and the box has slide rails for easier insertion. A chain attaches the door to the box to ensure it doesn’t flap around.

2. Camping Kitchen Chuck Box Plans From Tom Builds Stuff

Tom Builds Stuff has a challenging list of requirements when building his chuck box. The box will hold a propane stove and bottle, as well as pots, pans, dinnerware sets, flatware, and utensils. It even has room for mixing bowls, spices, and a coffee maker.

The designs include fold-out tops on either side of the box to ensure plenty of workspace. This effectively doubles the workspace for mixing and preparing food. The shelves holding the food and all other equipment are behind the front doors, which support the folding tables. There’s even an additional work surface, as the back of the box collapses to create a table for doing the dishes.

The entire box sits on two sets of legs, which provide elevation and enable you to create a flat surface. It folds down into a convenient and easily portable chuck box for your next camping trip.

This is a functional chuck box with a great deal of storage and an intelligent design to make the most of every inch of the box. It is more complicated than the other plans, but it will be worth the effort.

3. REI’s Camp Kitchen Chuck Box Plan

The REI camp kitchen chuck box plan is less complicated than the previous plan, but it is still a functional and practical design. It has room on top for a stove and gas bottle, as well as smaller compartments for utensils and a large compartment for bulkier items.

Everything has its place, and this kind of organization is essential when trying to save space. The chuck box is made to the original author’s specifications, so you might need to adapt the dimensions according to the size of your camping stove and other items.

4. Chuck Box Camp Kitchen Design From Instructables

Learning how to build a chuck box is not difficult. At its most basic, a chuck box is just a box. As such, a basic camp kitchen is easy to construct. Ensure that you measure all your most commonly used camping kitchen utensils, including your favorite camping stove, and add dividers to the box to create storage compartments, like in this chuck box camp kitchen design from Instructables.

This DIY chuck box plan also teaches you how to create a stand for your chuck box. You may not need a stand if you have a decent tailgate or a lightweight, portable camping table. Otherwise, a stand helps lift everything off the ground, making preparing food easier and keeping nature at bay.

Free Chuck Box Plans

A chuck box is a convenient addition to a camping trip. It keeps all your cooking utensils and accessories together and provides a convenient area to prepare food. Filling a chuck box means you don’t have to find storage bags and boxes for your camping equipment, and with a lightweight chuck box, you can ensure that you can carry the camping kitchen around with you.

Featured Image Credit: Instructables