Part 2, Stove/Sink Combo

We wanted a minimal sink and stove, mainly for the purpose of brushing our teeth and making coffee. We seldom cook inside unless it is very ugly outside, and even then it typically involves heating water or warming soup. We relax outside and cook outside most of the time because we like to camp and that is what camping is about!

Note: We now see (in 2022) Four Wheel Camper (FWC) offers a flush-mount, stove-sink option of some kind with their shell models. It lists for for $625, about what this cost us (they only offered a stand-alone burner in 2019). We'd consider that if ordering today. For non-FWC builds, this info will hopefully still be useful.

Stove/Sink Combo

We purchased a Dometic Stove/Sink Combo made by an Italian company called SMEV (Model MO8821LUS). It comes with the stove on the left or the right of the sink-we chose the right so it is away from our camper wall. It has a nice looking flush glass top with a fingerhole in it to lift it up. The burner is rated up to 3,700 Btu/hr and has a push button piezo lighter and a high and low setting. It does not come with a drain or a faucet but we purchased both along with the SMEV from PantherRV. The SMEV was a little over $600 in 2019. Still works and looks great in 2022! We have recently changed to a new faucet, less prone to freezing (more on that later).

The top of the furnace cabinet in our shell had a 4-inch deep compartment with a hinged lid. Unfortunately, our Stove/Sink unit was about 6 inches deep so the countertop had to be raised. Rather than rebuilding the entire furnace cabinet we simply made some inner vertical walls 6-inches high that are fastened inside the 4-inch walls of the compartment to raise it up. The countertop with the hole for the SMEV was then set on top of these inner walls. This process is depicted below.

Top removed, SMEV too high.

As you can see, the sink is about 2 inches deeper than the existing compartment on top of the Furnace/Battery compartment. So without totally rebuilding the cabinet, we needed an easy way to raise the countertop.

Had to trim 12v & USB box

The 12v and USB ports on the outer wall of the cabinet were in a small box. We had to trim it slightly to center the sink where we wanted it. I think it is a good practice to keep propane connections and any electrical wiring or device that could spark separated by isolated compartments like this.

Raised walls inside existing

These inner walls worked great and after painting them black, it looks somewhat normal. This was way easier than redoing the entire cabinet! We planned to attach the top, but I found that when the camper is not level it can help to tip the front of this countertop up so the sink drains better so we left it with only a thumbscrew fastener to fix it at the needed slant.

Existing propane manifold

The propane line from the propane compartment feeds a 2-port manifold which then feeds the furnace through one of the ports. The other port is plugged if you did not order a burner with your shell. Since this manifold is just below where the stove/sink combo sits, it was very simple to hook up. If you are knowledgeable in SAFE installation of propane appliances you will know how to do this. If you are not, I urge you to consult an RV propane appliance expert.

In the photo to the left, the spare port is on top of the manifold which is just inside the plastic furnace grate on the front of the furnace compartment. We were a little nervous about the propane plumbing but this existing manifold made it very easy.

Caution! We are not experts and strongly recommend you have an expert do any propane appliance installation or at least review your work! It is important to follow the User Manual and any applicable fire safety guidelines where you live for clearances, connections, leak checking and ventilation.

Countertop with formica surface cut to fit

We found a faux woodblock formica at the Restore for $5 that was big enough for this countertop and our Lagun table top, So they match! And we like the vibe.

T-Molding for the edges

The original countertop had T-molding so we learned more and took the plunge. A slot is cut into the edge of the top sheet with a router then the T-molding is inserted, along with construction adhesive and clamped. We used thinner T-molding. Caution each T-molding requires a very specific slot dimension and slot cutting bit for the router.

Final Result!

After 3 years the SS finish is like new and the burner Piezo igniter works every time.

Raised wall with adjustable tilt

After painting it black, the raised wall looks reasonably good, and well worth avoiding a more difficult modification to the furnace cabinet. We left the front edge movable, but with a thumbscrew so that we could tilt it up and lock it in place. This is really handy when we can't quite get the camper level and water does not want to flow toward the drain in the rear of the sink. We learned this after a few test trips. If we were installing another sink, we would seriously consider a slight permanent tilt toward the drain to make drainage less susceptible to poor camper leveling. Or make it adjustable, but use flexible water and drain pipes if you do!

Video of Stove/sink and Table

This video from tje Sagebrushers YouTube channel depicts the stove/sink installation progress discussed above, but also includes the Lagun Table at the 5:30 point.

Components used in this video

Here are links to the components I used, except common hardware store things like hose clamps, screws, etc. I am an Amazon Affiliate and earn a small commission on Amazon links but it does not change your price.

Dometic Stove/Sink Combo*: https://pantherrvproducts.com/mo8821lus/

24” LP hose: https://amzn.to/3Rz40po

Faucet: https://amzn.to/3eow1So

Drain*: https://pantherrvproducts.com/ac540/

T-molding: https://amzn.to/3KO5Kc9

Lagun Table*: https://www.lagunusa.com/

*Note, there are very similar and less expensive knock-offs on Amazon for the Stove/sink combo and the Lagun table, but I cannot vouch for them so I am only providing links to the actual items I used from other online vendors. I get a small commission only for Amazon links but I want to link only to the items that worked for us. You may want to explore the less expensive brands, but do so caution! As an example, the similar stove/sink combos I saw on Amazon do not appear to have a piezo-igniter button.

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