by Betty Carew

Created on: June 12, 2010

Basically a chuck box is made for camping to serve as a place to store your dishes food or utensils. They are a mini version of your cupboards at home but on a much smaller level. They are ideal for keeping your things in one convenient place instead of having them scattered all over. Chuck boxes are not difficult to make and you may have them as fancy or basic as you need them.  Here are the basics on how to make a homemade chuck box.

The first thing you must determine is how large or small you want your chuck box. This will depend on the amount of room you have and your mode of transportation.  If you do a lot of camping and are using a truck for transportation you can make a chuck box that can attach permanently in the back of the truck box. This way you can pack and unpack it easily when you arrive at the campground and return home.

Making a chuck box

Obviously only you can determine the size of your chuck box but there is a standard formula to follow. This will give you the basic guide to making the box and all you have to do is to adjust the appropriate size to suit your needs.

To make your chuck box you will need a sheet of three quarter inch plywood, one and one quarter inch deck screws,  a power saw, a screwdriver, hinges for the doors, screen door hooks and perhaps a sturdy piece of rope.

From your sheet of plywood you should be able to get a chuck box that will measure thirty inches high, fifteen inches deep and twenty four inches wide. If your chuck box needs to be larger you will need more plywood. If you make it smaller you should have plenty of material to do the job.

Another option at this point will be deciding if you need some sort of thin padding around the inside of your chuck box. By doing this you will help protect any items of glass that you will be transporting without having them break such as dishes or jars of pickles. Keep the padding thin if you chose to do this.

You also have the option of attaching cup hooks to the top inside part of your cupboard to hang up mugs so they will be out of the way. Make sure the cup hooks are bent upwards and far enough apart to hold the mugs in place so that they will not break.

Start by putting the outside of your box together first. Use the deck screws to attach each piece of the exterior of the chuck box.  Place your screws approximately six to eight inches apart as you attach each piece of plywood.

This will complete the box on the outside but now you will want to place shelves

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