Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Two quick questions.

1. I plan on having the cooler slide in and out. It will slide lengthwise which is 25.6". I need to order slides but should I go with 26" or 28"??

2. I need to do some thinking on galley hinge placement. Is there any great benefit to placing it either against the back wall or at the front of the upper cabinets?

re: hinge placement; I have a couple of thoughts on this. First, if the roof extends past the bulkhead some I would think that any leaks or trouble would be easier to spot, otherwise moisture could sneak down the panel unnoticed. Second, on the other hand, placing the hinge at or very near the bulkhead would help make the hinge line more rigid structurally. Lastly, I would pay particular attention to the final height and attitude of the raised hatch.

On TPCE I do not recall the exact dimensions off the top of my head, but the hinge is aft of the bulkhead by several inches (perhaps 6?) and the bottom/back surface of the hatch will be well above head height and relatively level when in the raised position...at least that is the plan. TPCE will have a fairly high ride height so achieving both (on "paper"...er...in the 3D model) was not much of a problem.

No bumping into the edge of the hatch, should be able to stand underneath and stay dry in light rain (provided there is little wind), and any rain landing on the open hatch should run back toward the hinge, rather than run and drip off the rear edge on to me.

$.02 for what it is worth.

I'd go a few inches over the length of your cooler. I'd also go extra heavy duty. I purchased a set of these:

http://www.drawerslides.com/p/ac7950-c32

Very heavy duty and will last forever. Maybe a bit pricey but a lot easier to overkill in the first place than to have to go back and beef things up.

Cheers,

Gus

Regarding the placement of the galley hinge, I have mine close to but not on the bulkhead. There were two reasons for this. First, I used a hurricane hinge. With a curved hatch, the bulkhead was perpindicular but I needed to cant the angle of the header for the hinge so I spaced it out from the bulkhead. Second, my upper galley cabinets stop about six inches short of the sidewall. I left room there to place speakers for my radio.

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My slide out cook center is about the size and weight of a cooler when loaded. I ordered a 110# drawer slide from the same retailer referenced above and it works very good.

When I've done sliders on a cooler (5 so far), I always let them rest on something solid rather than just on the screws like a small piece of wood between the slider outer body and the floor. While they are made to handle a static load, any road bumps and jars really put the stress on the screws. This way, all the screws have to do is hold it to the wall or structure, not support all the weight. They can shear easily, and a cooler loaded with ice and drinks will easily go 80# at least mine does and I've weighed it. The slider can handle it, but a large dip in the road and 60 mph will add to the load.

I typically make a lightweight 1/4" plywood tray with thicker edges for the cooler to rest in. I epoxy coat out the interior in case the drain leaks so that it will catch the water. For installing the tray to the slider, I use a small screw with a nut on it. Regular wood screws in the smaller diameters will want to tear out more easily. Just my experience with them, others opinions will vary. Doug

Per Doug's album from awhile back.


Bruce

Hi Steve
I too hope to get a little more done today.
Need to go to the junk yard and find a 4 speed fan motor and switch to replace the one I installed (single speed) that I tried to control with a reostat.
This just did not work. Thinking Cavalier??
Still warm enough for junk yarding, but winter is just around the corner.
Good Roads
Brian

Just finished putting a cooler slide in a Scotty. Like Doug, I put a piece between the outer slide frame and the floor to handle the weight. Looking at the short screws for mounting the slide board or tray, I decided to use a 3/4" board and reinforce the mounting points with a 3/4" x 1/2" angle (90 degrees) in each case. I used the longer screws from the angle package for the side mounting point and the shorter screws from the slide package for the bottom mounting point. The thought was that the angle would reinforce the side mount and offer additional load support under the board. It seems to work pretty good, but might be stronger on a thicker board (more wood above the side mounting screw). Offered as just an idea - time will tell.

Jim B / Utah

Just wanted to thank everyone on the input.

Take it easy and happy holidays.

Doug

Lgboro wrote:[img][/img]

I like this idea. I'm thinking of doing the same type of thing with my cooler (have it slide out the side for access without opening the galley).

biziedizie wrote:I'm looking for a slide that pulls out and tilts, is there such a thing?

Wouldn't be surprised. There are some very cool special application products for the custom kitchen cabinet industry – under-cabinet appliance and TV lifts, etc. Coupla links here:
http://www.hafele.com/us/products/Lift-systems-for-wall-cabinets.asp
http://www.ebbradley.com/
http://www.cabinethardware.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=lift
http://www.louisandcompany.com/storefront/drawer-slides/cLAC06000000,p1.html

I just found these HD aluminum slides a few days ago: http://www.jonathanengr.com/commercial-aerospace-c-1012.html Nice and light. Not sure I want to know what they cost, though...

biziedizie wrote:The plane site wants me to create an account to get a price......must be expensive!

They're manufacturers for aircraft & coach-builders used to selling to volume accts. Probably need to find a supplier/distributor that'll sell to little guys like us.

Thawley wrote:I just found these HD aluminum slides a few days ago: http://www.jonathanengr.com/commercial-aerospace-c-1012.html Nice and light. Not sure I want to know what they cost, though...

If the description included "marine" or "aviation" the price goes up by a factor of a "bazillion".

The weight you save won't be worth it IMHO.

Cheers,

Gus