Wrangler has enough cargo space to keep drinks cold and food spicy.
It doesn’t matter if you love eating out at restaurants or cooking at home. Either way, there’s a show on TV for you. Is your desert of choice a cupcake? There’s a show about those. Always thinking about the next place you’re going to try the ribs at? Just pick a channel. If you’re on this site, you’re more than likely a Jeep Wrangler owner. If that’s the case and you like the idea of cooking at a picturesque campsite, check out the video up top.
In the above video by Youtuber Flo Lum, she and her husband are avid campers who own a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Sometimes they stay with family or friends while out on their adventures, but if they happen to be in an area where they can’t just run over to the nearest fully-stocked fridge for a snack, they won’t go hungry. They’ve turned the back of their JK into a mobile kitchen.
The setup consists of a custom-made cabinet framework that fits a variety of containers that slide into it. On the left, there’s a portable fridge that can be set to act as a freezer, if necessary. That means no lugging around a cooler, filling it with ice, draining the melted water out, and disinfecting the inside to prevent mold. Food stays cool. Cleanup stays minimal. And there’s still plenty of space above the fridge to store gear, such as a (disassembled) outdoor cooking device called a Skottle.
There are two stacked bins to the right side of the cooking station. The bottom one contains a variety of useful things, including stackable pots and pans with a detachable handle, a portable coffee maker, spices, and plastic storage bags. The top bin is full of everything needed to keep the dishes clean.
Two buckets fit inside of one another. One is used for washing and the other is used for rinsing. When the top bucket is not being used for cleaning dishes, it holds dish soap, stainless steel plates, cutlery, and even a large collapsible bowl. A fold-out counter and cutting board on the inside of the rear swing gate provides a flat surface for meal preparation.
It’s an impressive setup, but totally overqualified for making classic camping food: fire-roasted hot dogs and s’mores.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
