Side or rear kitchen

[Shakira]

Hi there. We are purchasing our first Alphard end of April- very excited! 
My husband will be doing the conversion so firstly I’d like to know people’s thoughts on whether we should have the kitchen fitted at the side or rear?! This will be our everyday vehicle so to have use of both side doors with children and dog may be the answer , but interested in your thoughts! 
Also what companies do you recommend to search for kitchen units etc.. many thanks look forward to hearing your views/advice x 

[Rojie]

Hello Shakira,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

So you are expecting to purchase a flat pack kitchen, and do all the fitting yourselves ?

Rear kitchens tend to be cheaper. Side kitchen often offer more room for facilities and storage.

 

One of the major considerations you face is how often you (how many) intend to sleep in the vehicle, and how comfortable, you want to be whilst sleeping.

Of course, how many will be sleeping in the van, pop top, tent, is important.

(Pop tops are not cheap, and, in my opinion, you must have them fitted professionally).

 

A side kitchen tends to have a Rock and Roll bed. Many are very narrow which won't matter if you sleep in it infrequently.

Hopefully you have bought an 8 seater with the swivelling middle rows seats (if you need a rear conversion)

There are wider Rock and Roll beds available

A rear kitchen gives you a wider sleeping area, but less storage space.

Side kitchens tend to be more roomy, and often have more storage space.

 

It helps to consider what facilities you will need, and those that you hope for.

Number of sleepers, sink, gas hob, fridge, toilet, etc, etc.

 

You don't have long to make some key decisions.

 

Good Luck and Happy Days.

 

 

[ThuMentaliss]

3 hours ago, Shakira said:

Hi there. We are purchasing our first Alphard end of April- very excited! 
My husband will be doing the conversion so firstly I’d like to know people’s thoughts on whether we should have the kitchen fitted at the side or rear?! This will be our everyday vehicle so to have use of both side doors with children and dog may be the answer , but interested in your thoughts! 
Also what companies do you recommend to search for kitchen units etc.. many thanks look forward to hearing your views/advice x 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High! were located in West Sussex (Shoreham district). There are many different versions of what is the workable within a confined space however, right now there are two popular styles of side kitchens the one that became the trench mark of the VW custom builders and the later one which the sink and gas rings sit behind the drivers seat back,  this model is in my opinion more appealing, but I consider it to be a possible fire Hazard, the rear type of conversion is fitted across the rear of the vehicle  I fitted this style into my Bongo ..... problem is with this style is that you can end up having to cook on the outside with the tail gate up and raining,  it's all about choice

 

[Shakira]

Thank you so much for your reply.

We are also in Shoreham and it would be great if you could send me your details and we could possibly pop along at some point. 

2 hours ago, ThuMentaliss said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High! were located in West Sussex (Shoreham district). There are many different versions of what is the workable within a confined space however, right now there are two popular styles of side kitchens the one that became the trench mark of the VW custom builders and the later one which the sink and gas rings sit behind the drivers seat back,  this model is in my opinion more appealing, but I consider it to be a possible fire Hazard, the rear type of conversion is fitted across the rear of the vehicle  I fitted this style into my Bongo ..... problem is with this style is that you can end up having to cook on the outside with the tail gate up and raining,  it's all about choice

 

 

[ThuMentaliss]

Sea front road over the bridge go through round-about towards worthing look to your left you will see white Alphard parked in drive (only one along here) mornings best for us

[Shakira]

Oh my I know exactly where you are as I spoke to your lovely wife after seeing your van parked up a number of weeks ago! I took her number to arrange to pop over, but we hadn’t got round to it! 
Will definitely call to arrange with you if that’s ok - sorry there will be another white Alphard driving around soon, but not as nice as yours- We love your wheels!! 😉👍

Edited March 14, 2022 by Shakira

[Shakira]

21 hours ago, Rojie said:

Hello Shakira,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

So you are expecting to purchase a flat pack kitchen, and do all the fitting yourselves ?

Rear kitchens tend to be cheaper. Side kitchen often offer more room for facilities and storage.

 

One of the major considerations you face is how often you (how many) intend to sleep in the vehicle, and how comfortable, you want to be whilst sleeping.

Of course, how many will be sleeping in the van, pop top, tent, is important.

(Pop tops are not cheap, and, in my opinion, you must have them fitted professionally).

 

A side kitchen tends to have a Rock and Roll bed. Many are very narrow which won't matter if you sleep in it infrequently.

Hopefully you have bought an 8 seater with the swivelling middle rows seats (if you need a rear conversion)

There are wider Rock and Roll beds available

A rear kitchen gives you a wider sleeping area, but less storage space.

Side kitchens tend to be more roomy, and often have more storage space.

 

It helps to consider what facilities you will need, and those that you hope for.

Number of sleepers, sink, gas hob, fridge, toilet, etc, etc.

 

You don't have long to make some key decisions.

 

Good Luck and Happy Days.

 

 

Hi there.
 

Thank you very much for the info. 👍☺️
 

Yes we do plan on having a pop up eventually which will enable more space. 

 

We are purchasing an 8 seater - correct, that is currently being imported from Japan. 
 

My husband is a carpenter and so I will leave all the workings out to him, he would like a rear kitchen as this enables more room, but so many I see have the side kitchens. We also have a dog and school age child so to have both doors available would make life easier! 
 

We very much appreciate your advice thank you 😊 

[Shakira]

Hi there.
 

Thank you very much for the info. 👍☺️
 

Yes we do plan on having a pop up eventually which will enable more space. 

 

We are purchasing an 8 seater - correct, that is currently being imported from Japan. 
 

My husband is a carpenter and so I will leave all the workings out to him, he would like a rear kitchen as this enables more room, but so many I see have the side kitchens. We also have a dog and school age child so to have both doors available would make life easier! 
 

We very much appreciate your advice thank you 😊 

[Rojie]

5 hours ago, Shakira said:

 

Hi there.
 

Thank you very much for the info. 👍☺️
 

Yes we do plan on having a pop up eventually which will enable more space. 

 

We are purchasing an 8 seater - correct, that is currently being imported from Japan. 
 

My husband is a carpenter and so I will leave all the workings out to him, he would like a rear kitchen as this enables more room, but so many I see have the side kitchens. We also have a dog and school age child so to have both doors available would make life easier! 
 

We very much appreciate your advice thank you 😊 

 

Just a thought.

Depending on the age of your child, and depending on how long you may choose to keep the van; your child could sleep across the front seats in a hammock style set up.

Leaving more room for both of you and the dog.

 

We have a Sprollie, and you would not believe how much his presence has affected the design and configuration of our van.

It is also extremely surprising how much larger he is in the van than outside !!!

 

Good luck with your choices.

Expect a long lead time for conversion.

[Rojie]

1 minute ago, Rojie said:

 

Just a thought.

Depending on the age of your child, and depending on how long you may choose to keep the van; your child could sleep across the front seats in a hammock style set up.

Leaving more room for both of you and the dog.

 

We have a Sprollie, and you would not believe how much his presence has affected the design and configuration of our van.

It is also extremely surprising how much larger he is in the van than outside !!!

 

Good luck with your choices.

Expect a long lead time for conversion.

 

Sorry, another thought ! Do you have sunroofs? If you do a pop top becomes more difficult.

[Gilly]

Hi.

I have just bought an Alphard van.I would like some one to fit a rear kitchen and wondered if anyone had a recommendation.Thanks Gill

[rsbeattie]

Hi all 👋, I’ve just purchased my first alphard, had some previous experience with imports but this is the first family friendly one I’ve got. Baby on the way!!!! 
 

we purchased ours already converted with a rear kitchen and pop top. We looked at loads of side conversions and they defo have more space for cooking, preparing etc. and storage BUT! At the cost of a rock and roll bed. 

 

I’ve done loads of pressing on them and the crash testing and the mot compliance and what the difference is and basically I don’t think I can get comfortable with he idea of strapping my baby in his seat to the rock and roll bed, not only is it really far away from the front seats but something is telling me not to do it. So we went for a rear conversion and the middle row of seats left in. 

 

which means we have three seats that spin round to form a seating area for all of us with room to spare! And then the bottom coverts to a bed for 2 then pop up has space for another 2. So perfect for our small but frowning family at the moment. 
 

I don’t think we could find a more suitable layout for such a young family, and with the added bonus of isofix on the middle seats it’s a win win. 
 

I hope you find what your looking for!

 

 

[Rojie]

23 hours ago, Gilly said:

Hi.

I have just bought an Alphard van. I would like some one to fit a rear kitchen and wondered if anyone had a recommendation. Thanks Gill

 

Hello Gilly,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

I can recommend a rear conversion specialist who does exemplary work, at reasonable cost. BUT

They are near Exeter !

 

If you need a 'must have' reason to use him I could send you (privately) a photo of my fully veneered Maple rear kitchen.

 

And, btw, some members believe you cannot cook 'indoors' with a rear kitchen. You can (but not a fried breakfast).

All you need is a EHU and a induction hob.

 

[Gilly]

Hi.Thank you.

We could drive to Exeter,that's fine.Would love to see your kitchen and the price

Thanks so much for replying

Gilly 

[Gilly]

Hi... Would the guy in Exeter be able to change the configuration of the seats/seat belts around.We would like two seats facing two seats with a collapsible table in between?

Thanks Gill

 

 

 

[Rojie]

6 hours ago, Gilly said:

Hi... Would the guy in Exeter be able to change the configuration of the seats/seat belts around.We would like two seats facing two seats with a collapsible table in between?

Thanks Gill

 

 

 

 

I have sent you a PM.

[Rojie]

20 hours ago, Rojie said:

 

I have sent you a PM.

Hi Gill,

 

Did you receive my personal messages ?

[Gilly]

I didn't....Will try to work out how to get the them?!

[Alasdair]

13 minutes ago, Gilly said:

I didn't....Will try to work out how to get the them?!

You'll see the envelope symbol next to your profile name at the top right of the screen, beside notifications 👍

[Rojie]

2 hours ago, Gilly said:

I didn't....Will try to work out how to get the them?!

 

As Alasdair says. The messages should be there waiting for you.