It'll be interesting to see your "final cut" given the options and how we all want the same end result.
FWIW, we think that if you eventually fit an Alucab roof, the furniture and fittings you install now won't be high enough, assuming you want to stand up while cooking etc. Since doing those chores sitting down is eventually very uncomfortable especially if you can't do any of them outside due to wind and weather, that was finally the reason why we've gone the pop-top route. I guess you could design a modular system that could be raised to a suitable height as you need it, but the amount of ply etc you need to do this probably isn't worth the brain cells - just start again when the roof is changed. You'll probably have changed your mind on what works for you anyway by then. We did. 3 times
.
Would agree about the sink -a washing up bowl is far more flexible in its use. Likewise the water tank, although some folk feel they could be a breeding ground for bugs. We haven't had a problem but we make sure it has a good soak in Milton's Fluid before every big trip and is drained in the winter.
My wife is a superb chef and can conjure up a feast from a potential famine, so you'd think she'd want a full double-burner with grill set-up. Not so. We have a double burner gas stove and she only ever uses one of the rings...
We do, though, have an Engel fridge with the extended 2-zone compartment; this is well worth the money and is more important, we believe, to make space for that instead of, say, a Porta-Potti. We do lots of wild camping and offroad driving (Alps, Pyrennees, Western Sahara, Atlas, Scotland
) and the thought of all that blue sludge slopping around and potentially spilling isn't attractive!
We've made external storage using plastic boat lockers. Not as robust as the expensive metal ones but have not let us down. There's also plenty of places around the chassis rails that will take boxes- we use old electric drill cases from Black & Decker -which take all the oils, grease, fluids etc that you don't want inside.
Hope the knee sorts itself soon! Good luck. If it's any encouragement, I managed to build a flat-pack kitchen while hobbling around with a plastered leg and a crutch...just accept it'll take twice as long and you might need to be a bit creative with the logistics. I found the biggest problem was that if I made myself a cup of tea or anything, I couldn't carry it anywhere. Had to have all my meals and drinks standing up.
.