Don & Christi's 6 x 10 Cargo Conversion

[GPW]

Being the Chef in the house & trailer , I think the toaster oven should be separate , because it needs More Cleaning than a microwave does ... food spills and spatters ... And if one part of a combo unit failed , replacement would be pricy !!! I use the cheapest TO I could find (about 20 bucks) , it works great for what it does , and if it breaks , I can easily replace it most anywhere... for another 20 bucks ... JMHO!

Ps. it’s been working/toasting for 4 years now ... so I think I got my 20s worth eh ?

[pete42]

I too have a toaster oven and a small microwave called a cube, both have been used in my travel trailers and pop-up when I had them.
they are sitting on the counter in my house now just waiting for a cargo trailer.

pete

[d30gaijin]

You can put convection microwave in search at Amazon. They are pricey.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=convection+microwave&x=0&y=0

This one has a 5 star rating:
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-NN-CD989S-Stainless-Convection-Technology/dp/B00412NL72/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316857374&sr=8-2

Wolfscout,

Whoa Dude! You weren't kidding when you said they are pricey.

For that price I'll go with my $100 micro and GPW's $20 toaster oven.

Got the galley cabinet doors done, finally. Will post pics Thursday or Friday once I have it all back together and suitable for framing.

Don

[GPW]

Just my 2 cents ... For our particular style of Camping (EVAC) , we’ve learned to keep it simple and easily replaceable ... For our trailer (s) I get the cheapest appliances at the biggest stores (Wal mart, etc. ), and due to their limited use , they last for years ... If they break , no big deal or expense ...



Don, can’t wait to see the pics !!!

[d30gaijin]

Just my 2 cents ... For our particular style of Camping (EVAC) , we’ve learned to keep it simple and easily replaceable ... For our trailer (s) I get the cheapest appliances at the biggest stores (Wal mart, etc. ), and due to their limited use , they last for years ... If they break , no big deal or expense ...



Don, can’t wait to see the pics !!!

GPW,

I am in total agreement with you re: cheap non-RV appliances.

I put the final finish varnish spray on the cabinet doors today (decided they could use one more sanding and spray finish coat). Tomorrow I will screw the doors and their hinges back onto the galley cabinet facing then add the secure closure hardware and door knobs and screw it all back into place to finish off the forward galley area. I'll still have a bit of work to do with regards to paneling and overhead storage but the galley cabinet was a biggie for me with consideration to my wood working skills, or lack there of.

Pics will follow, hopefully tomorrow, otherwise Friday.

Next step is the overhead galley storage then the CT paneling.

Don

[GPW]

Coming along ... COOL !!!

[d30gaijin]

The lower galley cabinets are finished.

It was more work than it looks like, mostly due to the time it takes to stain, wait 24 hours, apply varnish coat, wait overnight, sand, coat again, wait overnight, sand, coat again, wait overnight, sand, etc. But it was worth the time and I am pleased with what I made, again considering my lack of wood working experience.

Next I think I'll go ahead and tackle the upper galley area, maybe build some shelving/cabinets.

Don

[d30gaijin]

Along with the lower galley cabinet install I also got started on the galley overhead cabinet today. The upper galley cabinet bottom was cut and installed today. The center support beam shown in the photo was glued and screwed into place (glued at the top where it mates to the luan paneling and screwed to the bottom of the shelf). The reason for a center support beam is twofold; structural support of the cabinet center span and because I have two left over pieces of 3/4" thick oak plywood I used for the galley lower cabinets that measure 24"x48". I will use them to make the upper galley cabinet face. It would be nice to have a one piece cabinet face but that would take a near six foot piece to span the full width of the upper galley. I don't want to spend another $44 for a 4'x8' sheet of oak ply just to get a one piece upper galley cabinet front face so I will make the front in two pieces with a parting line in the middle of the upper cabinet. The center support brace is where the two pieces will meet and be screwed into same.

I'll need to make a cardboard template to match the CT inside roof contour then trace that to the oak ply and cut it to fit. Once I get the two upper galley front face pieces cut to fit (more jigsaw work that I am not looking forward to) I will then go in search of suitable small cabinet doors and, when found, will cut openings for them in the upper galley front face.

Any suggestions for an easy way to make a template that follows the CT inner roof contour would be greatly appreciated.

Don

[pete42]

You could make the cabinet face frame from separate pieces of wood
looks sort of like an 8 on it's side.

[denmohr]

Don, I see your dilemma, how to match the "curve".......but, are you going to finish off the area between the wall and ceiling?

If so, that should be done first. Install that 1/4 round "cornice", for lack of a better word, run it a couple inches into the "cabinet space", past where the face frame of the cabinet will reside.

Once that is installed, take a piece of cardboard and place behind that 1/4 circle and scribe the curve. Done. When you make that face frame, make it 1/8" oversize on both sides..........it will snap in there and you have a perfect fit. OH,, when installing the "cornice, don't attach it to the structure (at least 18" from the proposed face frame location)...till the face frame is in, just in case you need to shim it out to make a nice clean fit.
Den

[CarlLaFong]

To match the curve, get a piece of cardboard the width of the finished cabinet. You can tape several pieces together if necessary. If it's not stiff enough, staple or tape a piece of wood to the back. It doesn't have to be pretty. Hold the cardboard in place, as high as it will go. Take a compass (the kind you draw circles with) and set it to the width of the gap at the center of the ceiling. A bit more won't hurt. Holding the point against the ceiling and keeping the compass as vertical as possible, draw a line on the cardboard. If a regular compass isn't wide enough, make one from a couple of sticks, a nut and bolt and a pencil taped to one stick. Sharpen the other one. If you have a steady hand and, maybe, someone to hole the template for you, you should have scribed a line that matches the profile of the ceiling. Cut along the line and test fit. You can make final adjustments and if there are any gaps, tape additional pieces of cardboard to it to fill them in. It might be ugly as sin when you are done with all of the tape and patches, but it's OK. Once the fit is to your standards, transfer the profile to your wood that you will be using. Carefully cut it out and, VOILA, there ya' go.

[GPW]

Carl, that’s exactly the same method we used in the late 70’s for making templates for the paneling inside Kustom Vans.. Worked Super !!

[d30gaijin]

To match the curve, get a piece of cardboard the width of the finished cabinet. You can tape several pieces together if necessary. If it's not stiff enough, staple or tape a piece of wood to the back. It doesn't have to be pretty. Hold the cardboard in place, as high as it will go. Take a compass (the kind you draw circles with) and set it to the width of the gap at the center of the ceiling. A bit more won't hurt. Holding the point against the ceiling and keeping the compass as vertical as possible, draw a line on the cardboard. If a regular compass isn't wide enough, make one from a couple of sticks, a nut and bolt and a pencil taped to one stick. Sharpen the other one. If you have a steady hand and, maybe, someone to hole the template for you, you should have scribed a line that matches the profile of the ceiling. Cut along the line and test fit. You can make final adjustments and if there are any gaps, tape additional pieces of cardboard to it to fill them in. It might be ugly as sin when you are done with all of the tape and patches, but it's OK. Once the fit is to your standards, transfer the profile to your wood that you will be using. Carefully cut it out and, VOILA, there ya' go.

Carl LaFong... Capital L, small a. Capital F, small o, small n, small, g!

At first reading I was totally confused by your description but continued to think about it and it finally made sense. 20 years ago I would have got it right off the bat i.e., a parallel transfer to the cardboard, which goes to prove that getting old ain't for sissies. Thank you!

On another subject, is anybody going to pimp on me if the grain of the upper galley cabinet runs 180 degrees to the grain on the lower cabinets because it will if I use the remainder of the 4x8 sheet of 3/4" oak I have left. Hey, it's just a cargo trailer so who cares. I simply do not want to spend another $44 on another sheet of oak ply just to satisfy grain direction critics... they are forewarned.

Don

[d30gaijin]

Don, I see your dilemma, how to match the "curve".......but, are you going to finish off the area between the wall and ceiling?

If so, that should be done first. Install that 1/4 round "cornice", for lack of a better word, run it a couple inches into the "cabinet space", past where the face frame of the cabinet will reside.

Once that is installed, take a piece of cardboard and place behind that 1/4 circle and scribe the curve. Done. When you make that face frame, make it 1/8" oversize on both sides..........it will snap in there and you have a perfect fit. OH,, when installing the "cornice, don't attach it to the structure (at least 18" from the proposed face frame location)...till the face frame is in, just in case you need to shim it out to make a nice clean fit.
Den

Den,

Another great tip! Thank you for that!

Is the 1/4 round cornice (I know what you're referring to) that flexible? I've never worked with it before. I planned to use it or something plastic to finish the edge gaps of my woodwork/cabinets above and below. My only concern would be that for the overhead cabinet facia, where it meets the roof of the CT, is that I only have the 1/4" luan paneling to anchor it to i.e., is it flexible enough to stay in place with staples into the luan paneling?

Again, thanks for a great tip!

Don

[d30gaijin]

You could make the cabinet face frame from separate pieces of wood
looks sort of like an 8 on it's side.

Pete,

Not sure I am following you re: the cabinet face frame/figure 8 thing. Might you have any references or pics you can point me to?

Thanks,
Don