About 3 months into owning our 2020 Black Series HQ17, we knew we'd end up HATING our
all in one Dometic kitchen burner/sink combo. We could not actually use the two burners at the same time due to space and lack of propane flow. Then we quickly realized once you had the glass lid open, you had no counter space to prep food. You also could not access the drinking water faucet easily with the cooktop lid open due to the faucet being in the counter behind the lid.
Coming from our truck camper, we actually had more 'in kitchen' food prep surface area because the truck camper had a separated sink and burner. Both the sink and burners had covers to allow for prep space of some kind. Plus the depth of the counter made a huge difference as well.
So last year we started researching our options, but due to some countertop install scheduling conflicts it was put on hold until this trip back to Florida for the holidays.
Believe it or not, it was relatively simple. We really did not want to completely demo the kitchen so we tried not to reinvent the wheel per se. We kept the cabinet and just replaced the top. Our current countertop was laminate. It's pretty standard in the RV world due to its durability vs. affordability. While it is cheaper, it isn't stain, scratch, or scuff proof. In just two years our tops were showing a lot of wear. It seemed like we were wiping off the laminate or it was delaminating. So we chose to try a Solid Surface top which like the name implies is homogeneous (a surface that is the same from top to bottom). So unlike laminate that is on top of fiberboard, solid surface tops are nearly nonporous and continuous throughout. This makes it more ideal than actual stone due to bacteria, but also, it can withstand higher abuse than laminate. Though it isn't as durable as stone you can lightly sand out any scratches if need be along with utilizing pot holders to avoid heat deformation. A HUGE selling point was that Home Depot includes in the price of the countertop cuts, delivery, and install. We opted for the inset sink cut out as well which was a nice option.
As I mentioned before, we really didn't want to tear out our entire kitchen just to make the appliances more functional. So the only modifications to the cabinet were: one shelf that we had to cut to accommodate plumbing and one drawer that was shorten. All in all it still functions as it did before. We bought a new elbow to accommodate the new drain pathway as well.
Since we wanted all the countertops to match, we also replaced our bedside tables and dinette table top. Which prompted us to upgrade our dinette table legs to *Norsap 2065(I know in the video I said something different) from Freedom Van Go. As for the bedside counters all we had to do was raise the closet doors a hair to account for the thicker tops.
Overall we are very pleased with how easy the process was from the Home Depot install to the amazon researched products. Now we have a more functional kitchen with a way deeper sink, multifunctional faucet, accessible drinking faucet, and counter space for food prep. Our only concerns, which will quickly be tested once we hit the road again, are how close the back burner is to the window ledge and the amount of water used due to the faucet being more powerful while boon docking. I have included our YouTube video down below as well for more of the 'how to' stuff. We will update the post once it's all been truly put through the test this coming year. All products have been listed below and are affiliate links.
Sink - https://amzn.to/3j7ZdQe
Faucet - https://amzn.to/3R9emNV
Drinking Faucet - https://amzn.to/3HxEcYI
Inset Soap Dispenser - https://amzn.to/3j4gQjQ
Two Burner Cooktop - https://amzn.to/3DhwS0N
40mm PVC Elbow - https://amzn.to/3Jkqtpg
Adjustable Dinette Legs - https://amzn.to/3DgETTL
Ryobi Heat Gun - https://amzn.to/3H3lNRY
Ryobi Circular Saw - https://amzn.to/407BPTt
Construction Adhesive - https://amzn.to/402M2Rf
Magnetic Spice Jars - https://amzn.to/3wwgxRT
Washable Rug - https://amzn.to/3Jk3DhA
Knives - https://amzn.to/407tbED
Magnetic Knife Holder - https://amzn.to/3kNxgxw