Body Mods - Still More Interior

Sliding Table

Space was tight around the front-dinette table, especially getting into the seat next to the fridge. Swiveling the table on the post helped, but sliding it out of the way was even better, and the seats could then function for more than dining.

To make our "sliding table", I used drawer slides intended for mounting under-cabinet drawers or shelves; instead of being mounted on the sides of a cabinet opening, these slides hang from brackets mounted on the underside of a surface. They are available in different sizes from most hardware stores. I purchased 16" under-cabinet slides from the cabinet-hardware section of Lowe's.

The first step was to remove the cone-shaped post bracket from the underside of the table. It was both screwed and glued to the table. I needed another piece of wood to reattach the mount. Since this piece would show when the table was slid back, I wanted a finished surface. We no longer used the matching wheel-well lids, so I cut one of them to the size I needed - 9" wide and 11" long. That gave the exposed piece the same formica top and told trim as the table itself.

I put the drawer slides along the sides of this smaller piece by screwing the tabs underneath it. The slides were even with the front edge, with the gold trim, and extended beyond the back edge. I reattached the post mount to the underside of this piece, about 1 1/2" from the front edge an centered between the rails. Finally, I fastened the 4 brackets to the slides. The height was adjustable, but I set the screws to make them as short as possible. The small sliding piece was now ready to attach to the table.


With the table upside down on a protected surface, I centered the sliding piece on the underside, but toward the rear so the slides extended to the rear edge of the table. Holding the unit in place, I slid the post mount forward until I could mark screw holes for the rear brackets. After drilling starter holes,, I marked holes for the front brackets. When all the screws were loosely mounted, I adjusted the brackets until the slides moved smoothly without binding, then tightened all the screws.


Finally, the table slid freely ... a little TOO freely! Help came in the form of a "Euro-hinge" from Lowe's. Screwed to the underside of the table, just in front of the edge of the sliding section, the hinge could be flipped down to stop the slide, or flipped up out of the way. Easy and effective!


The table post was never as secure as I would have liked, and thefloor mount was in the way. The problem was partly solved when I fastened 2" conduit hangers to the front bench, using wood reinforcement behind the thin plywood wall. I replaced the "clamping" carriage bolts and nuts with shorter bolts and wingnuts

The wingnuts were easy to tighten for a secure grip on the table post. The bottom of the post rested over a rubber stopper, with the floor underneath it protected by a thin plastic disc. While this was an improvement over the OEM structure, I remained uneasy about towing over bumpy roads with the table set up; we usually put the tabletop in "bed position" for traveling. With the post tightly fastened, lifting off the tabletop was easy. And it wasalso easy to loosen the wingnuts to remove the post for stowing.




Sliding Silverware Drawer

We'd always kept our camping silverware in a divided tray and thought it would be convenient if we could mount that tray underneath the table. Input from other Aliner owners led to this model of a sliding "drawer". It was lightweight, removable, and shallow so that it didn't interfere with knee-roo or under-table storage.

Supplies:
  • 8" x 12" white plastic silverware tray
  • 1 strip of white plastic L-shaped angle (from Lowe's suspended ceiling dept)
  • 1 strip of white plastic inside corner molding (used for trimming out paneling)
  • 1 magnetic cabinet latch
  • (1) 10-24 wood insert nut (brass threads that are inserted into wood)
  • (1) 10-24 x 1/2" thumb screw (to fit the insert nut)
  • (6) 6x32 1/2" machine screws (cut them to about 3/8" long)
  • (6) 6x32 acorn (cap) nuts
  • (12) 2 x 1/2" brass wood screws
Cut two 11" pieces of plastic angle. With small tin snips or utility shears, trim about 3/8"off one leg of each piece. Round the corners of those narrower legs and sand smooth. Use machine screws and acorn nuts to fasten the wide legs inside the tray's long sides. The narrower legs stick out over the top of the tray to form the flanges. Use more screws and acorn nuts to fasten the magnetized part of the cabinet latch centered inside the back of the tray; position it so that the magnet is just a bit higher than the tray edge.


Cut two 14" lengths of the paneling molding to serve as drawer rails. Use the small wood screws to fasten the rails to the underside of the table, right next to the pole bracket (so that the drawer clears the fridge cabinet) and starting at the table's front edge. (Use an extra screw at the front edge to reinforce the rail when the drawer is pulled out.) Attach a 2" piece of paneling molding, centered between the rails, about 13 1/2" from the front table edge, to serve as a rear drawer stop.

The metal plate for the magnetic catch is centered between the rails about 3/4" from the front edge. Keep the thumbscrew in the drawer and screw it into the insert nut for traveling.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our 2004 Aliner Classic

Image
The posts in this blog were moved from a much older site that I started in the mid-2000s. Some of the information is out of date, but there are also mods and information that may be adaptable to owners of newer camper models. You can find details about our other campers at: 2007 LXE Mods and 2009 Alite Mods .   Return to Lynn's Mods . Anticipating retirement and wanting to camp with grandchildren, we purchased our 2004  Aliner  from Oldtown Camper Sales (no longer in business) in Winston-Salem, NC.  We were lucky to find one on the lot with most of the features on our "wish list".  It was a DL model, now called the  "Classic" , with rear gaucho sofa (slide-out plywood) and front bed/dinette.  It came equipped with the galley package (including 3-way fridge/freezer and I/O stove), sink, gas furnace, AC, pull-out step, battery, large rear bubble window, two front bubble windows and two opening roof vents.  In November 2004, the dealer add...
Read more

Body Mods - Interior

Image
A/C Cabinet The cabinet to the left of the door, in front of the A/C, came equipped with a hinged door above 2 drawers. The cabinet door was almost unusable because it was hinged at the bottom and would bind against the drawer hardware when opened. I removed it and found a plastic 4-drawer cabinet that I screwed in place in the open space. That gave better ventilation for the A/C, and left a small space to the side that became our "library" for dictionary, field guides, and cookbook. For a finished look, I used a utility knife to cut fake oak trim (from Lowe's) to fit, nailed it in place, and filled the nail holes with colored putty. I added small screw eyes to the underside of the countertop where we hook bungees to hold the plastic drawers closed during travel.The drawers below the plastic unit had plastic drawer stops that kept them from opening all the way, making it difficult to use the whole drawer. I cut them off and fashioned new stops from small strips of a...
Read more

Body Mods - Exterior

Image
Plug-Guard I mounted a Plug-Guard on the tongue to protect the trailer end of the hitch wiring harness when it was not connected to the tow vehicle. I minimized drilling through the tongue by using an existing hole for one of the bolts. Carpeted Step From a residential plastic doormat, I cut a piece to fit the step. I used stainless bolts, nuts and washers to fasten it to holes in the metal step. The rest of the mat stays on the ground. A thin fiber mat just fits inside the door so we can wipe our feet. Together, they did a good job of keeping dirt out of the camper. Doorstop-Flagpole Since the roof prevented the door from opening all the way, I needed a stop to prevent damage from a gust of wind. With wing nuts and washers, I fastened a u-bolt to the slot in the right side of the step, and slipped a broom handle through it. Now it serves double-duty as a door stop and flag pole. It's easy to roll up the flag and unscrew the u-bolt for travel.  ...
Read more