7x16 Conversion from Georgia

[chiefairwrench]

Awesome cant wait to see your progress

[m.colley]

I promised a few pictures of my progress this weekend so here they are.
The face frames are made from inexpensive white wood boards ripped down to 2" wide. I built them similar to standard home cabinets except I used the paneling in the V-nose for the sides and there is NO toe kick at the bottom since my battery(ies) and fresh water tank sit directly on the floor,

I ran out of materials while building my cabinet doors so I had to stop working until I make another trip to the BBS. The cabinet doors rails and stiles are made from the same 2" wide white wood. I routed a simple design in the inside edge using a 1/4 round-over bit. The backing panel is made from some left over 5mm luan underlayment that I used as ceiling panels. Its glued and stapled on the back side. All of the cabinets doors, face frames and dividers are put together using pocket holes and glue.

The upper right door is/will be a false panel made to look the rest of the doors. I plan to mount my PD4045 in this panel along with several toggle/rocker switches and my AM/FM/CD radio and a few 12V charging plugs. The cardboard cutout template I made for my PD4045 is leaned against the fresh water tank. The space below it will house my battery(ies). I've built a shelf/divider between the two spaces so that I can seal the battery compartment and vent it. The cabinet door for it is a up swing door and I mounted it temporarily to makes sure everything fit.

The fresh water tank and 12V pump will be hidden behind double doors and I may add a small shelf separating the underside of the sink from the tank, giving us a little more storage space. Since our water usage will be minimal I plan to use a portable tank under the CTC for grey water when needed.


I made a heavy cardboard template for cutting out my counter top and as you can see the small bar/wet sink we plan to use is resting on top of it in a approximate location. To the left of the sink/freshwater cabinet we'll have a little bit of storage in the upper space behind double doors. I included a shelf here to separate the upper and lower space.The bottom space will have a door that matches the battery cabinet door. Behind it is the city/gravity water inlet and the shore power inlet.

I hope to finish the lower cabinets in the next couple of days.Once I get the lowers done I'll probably go ahead and finish my wiring on PD 4045, install the 12V water pump and plumbing lines and then work on the counter top. The wife wants me to do a broken ceramic tile type counter top but I'm hesitant. Plain old Formica may just win out instead .

Then I'll be onto doing the upper cabinets and finishing out the trim work I've been putting off, waiting to get the cabinets in.


Martin

[steve cowan]

Nice job you're doing on the conversion.What type of air conditioner will you install?

[m.colley]

Nice job you're doing on the conversion.What type of air conditioner will you install?

I'm still debating that one Steve as I've got several options. I bought the trailer wired and framed for a roof top AC so that's one option, option two is a window AC which is much cheaper but a little more difficult to install where I want to put it but not impossible and option three is a mini split. Option one and option three would actually cost me about the same amount of money to purchase since I sell heating & air conditioning for a living and installed it before going into the sales field.

Once I get the cabinets finished (atleast the lowers) I'll have a better idea of which way I plan to go.

Martin

[flboy]

Hi Martin, I was just checking out your cabinets. Looking Good! I'd have a hard time doing that.

Since my fine woodworking skills are lacking, I was thinking of making my cabinets so that just the doors make up the face... kinda of like kitchen cabinets. I found few places on line where you can order any size door you want and it appears they are cut and "machined" out of a solid piece of MDF board for a very nice contour. Since I am painting mine white (or gray... not decided yet) I was thinking that may be a good option. They are relatively inexpensive and I could build all the remaining (frame with Luan plywood and shelving) I'd probably spend more on wood, tooling, and etc. trying to do that myself.

Any thoughts on that? The link below is just one example of places that do that. These would be ~$10.80 a sq. ft. I am concerned on the MDF swelling.. but if I seal it wel land paint it, I'd think the humidity would not affect it?

http://www.cabinetnow.com/rtf/opr1/opr1 ... oCjvPw_wcB

[m.colley]

Hi Martin, I was just checking out your cabinets. Looking Good! I'd have a hard time doing that.

Since my fine woodworking skills are lacking, I was thinking of making my cabinets so that just the doors make up the face... kinda of like kitchen cabinets. I found few places on line where you can order any size door you want and it appears they are cut and "machined" out of a solid piece of MDF board for a very nice contour. Since I am painting mine white (or gray... not decided yet) I was thinking that may be a good option. They are relatively inexpensive and I could build all the remaining (frame with Luan plywood and shelving) I'd probably spend more on wood, tooling, and etc. trying to do that myself.

Any thoughts on that? The link below is just one example of places that do that. These would be ~$10.80 a sq. ft. I am concerned on the MDF swelling.. but if I seal it wel land paint it, I'd think the humidity would not affect it?

http://www.cabinetnow.com/rtf/opr1/opr1 ... oCjvPw_wcB

Hey Don,
If you can build the face frames for the cabinets then you can build your own doors as well, its not that complicated. Mine were/are put together using a pocket hole jig like you bought. I'll take a couple of pictures to show you just how simple the construction is and post them in a few minutes. Trust me there really isn't anything to it and there is a lot of satisfaction in knowing I made them myself using some simple tools.
I managed to get the door frames finished tonight for the lower cabinets, now I just need to paint them and add the back panel and the lowers will be done.

Martin

[m.colley]

Hi Martin, I was just checking out your cabinets. Looking Good! I'd have a hard time doing that.

Since my fine woodworking skills are lacking, I was thinking of making my cabinets so that just the doors make up the face... kinda of like kitchen cabinets. I found few places on line where you can order any size door you want and it appears they are cut and "machined" out of a solid piece of MDF board for a very nice contour. Since I am painting mine white (or gray... not decided yet) I was thinking that may be a good option. They are relatively inexpensive and I could build all the remaining (frame with Luan plywood and shelving) I'd probably spend more on wood, tooling, and etc. trying to do that myself.

Any thoughts on that? The link below is just one example of places that do that. These would be ~$10.80 a sq. ft. I am concerned on the MDF swelling.. but if I seal it wel land paint it, I'd think the humidity would not affect it?

http://www.cabinetnow.com/rtf/opr1/opr1 ... oCjvPw_wcB

Ok Don, here's a few pictures of the door face frames I promised.
Here's a picture from the front, the inner panel hasn't been installed yet.

Here is a shot from the back.

As you can see its put together using pocket hole screws and glue
the picture below shows a little better detail of the beaded edge I put on the inside edge just to fancy them up a little. It was done with a router and 1/4 round over bit.
The inner panel will be installed after I paint the frames and panels. I learned after doing the first few doors its easier to paint the panels and frames and then put them together. The panels are glued and stapled in place to hold them while the glue dries. Staples aren't necessary if you just clamp them and let them dry.When their done they'll look something like this

IMAG0311-1.jpg (43.61 KiB) Viewed 6741 times

or like this.
The inner panel overlaps the inside opening by 1/2 to 3/4 of a inch. I built 4 cabinet door face frames in a little over two hours this evening, only quit because it got dark. Hopefully this will encourage you to try building your own.


Martin

[m.colley]

Over the weekend I managed to get alot of finish wiring done. I got the PD4045 installed and wired except for a few minor things that I'm still waiting on. I'm still waiting on the battery disconnect switch and a 12V accessory panel to get here, that will let me finish my 12V wiring except for the computer fans I plan to install to keep some air moving without running a generator or shore power. Tonight as you can see I got a few more cabinet doors built. As soon as their finished and hung I'll start on the uppers, hopefully before the weekend gets here.

Martin

[flboy]

Martin, thanks for the pictures and write up. Those doors look great. I may give it a shot. What's the worst that can happen? I can always replace them if I don't like the way the turn out. I am going to have to look into a router. I do not have one nor have used one. I'd definitely like to add some rounding to edges and etc.. can't wait to see yours all done. Nice job.

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[m.colley]

Martin, thanks for the pictures and write up. Those doors look great. I may give it a shot. What's the worst that can happen? I can always replace them if I don't like the way the turn out. I am going to have to look into a router. I do not have one nor have used one. I'd definitely like to add some rounding to edges and etc.. can't wait to see yours all done. Nice job.

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

Don,
Thanks for the kind words on the cabinet doors. I said pretty much the same thing, the worst that could happen is I have to remake them. I was more worried about the better half liking them than myself, and yes I made a couple of mistakes originally, forgetting to subtract the width of the rails from my "cut" dimensions so that I had the right size door. It was an easy fix, just a couple of extra cuts. If it'll help you decide whether or not to make your own I think I have around $5.00 a piece in each door not including door hinges or paint.
If you look at routers and want a reasonable priced one, look at a small trim style router, they'll do the job you want, are easier to handle and cost less too.


Martin

[flboy]

I have been wanting to use diamond plate metal for trim in the toy hauler but that would be too expensive. Maybe I make the frames out of wood and use the diamond plate for the panels? That might really look good. :-) I'd get that nice "garage" look that I want and just use the diamond plate on the cabinet doors.

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[m.colley]

I have been wanting to use diamond plate metal for trim in the toy hauler but that would be too expensive. Maybe I make the frames out of wood and use the diamond plate for the panels? That might really look good. :-) I'd get that nice "garage" look that I want and just use the diamond plate on the cabinet doors.

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That would look good, I almost did something similar by using some 3/8x3/8 hardware cloth/screen as the inserts instead of the panels, kind of like the old pie cabinets.

[chiefairwrench]

looking good I like your cabinets

[McDave]

Hey m.colley, and flboy,
There are all kinds of faux diamond plate out there. Plastic sheets, vinyl etc.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/201741296/ ... aQodgVcHmw

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Fa ... oduct.html

http://www.specialty-graphics.com/rtape ... aQodQXgJFw

McDave

PS. I have built doors by just cutting a piece of plywood (3/8?) to the final size needed, then just apply trim or moulding to outside face to look like rails and styles. I like to make my own trim from 1" x ? and running the 8' length thru the router table with an "Ogee edge bit". You can do 1 edge or both and obtain different styles just by changing the depth of the bit. You can mass produce it and stain or paint it in 8' lengths and then just cut and miter as required. Baseboards, chair rails, crown, door frame trim etc. You really don't need "clear" or "select" lumber but dried would be best so it doesn't warp or twist.

[m.colley]

Hey m.colley, and flboy,


PS. I have built doors by just cutting a piece of plywood (3/8?) to the final size needed, then just apply trim or moulding to outside face to look like rails and styles. I like to make my own trim from 1" x ? and running the 8' length thru the router table with an "Ogee edge bit". You can do 1 edge or both and obtain different styles just by changing the depth of the bit. You can mass produce it and stain or paint it in 8' lengths and then just cut and miter as required. Baseboards, chair rails, crown, door frame trim etc. You really don't need "clear" or "select" lumber but dried would be best so it doesn't warp or twist.

Thought about that as well but decided against it, even debated about building doors similar to the link Don posted using MDF since I have a router table but its hard to beat cheap #2 white wood lol. I did have to be selective in picking it out looking for the straightest boards I could find. If I had a jointer and thickness planer I could have done some really great doors with mortise and tenon joints just like you see on commercially bought cabinets. Overall I'm satisfied with the way they've come out so far specially with the small cost involved. I had all the tools except the pocket hole jig that I've used so far in building my cabinets so no big financial outlay has been involved. Building these takes me back to my days in the factory when I did this kind of thing every day.


Martin