DIY Cabinets

I am looking into buying an older coach as a project. I'm a fairly (but not very) handy guy.  I think I can handle the mechanical aspects - I'm looking at pre-electronics engines - or at least know enough to know when to bring in the pros.  I'm a flooring contractor (for stationary buildings that is), so I've got that covered, and my wife is a decent seamstress and has recovered some furniture in our home, so I've got soft goods covered.  My question is, and I haven't seen much mention of it in the forum, is cabinetry.  I've completed a home kitchen renovation, but I would imagine that cabinets in a mobile home would have to be very secure, and are more involved than hanging cabinets in a house.

Can anyone point me to some DIY RV cabinet info, or is it even worth it?  Using my home kitchen remodel as a guide, I can see the cost of redoing the cabinets in an older coach quickly outstripping the cost of the coach itself, making a newer coach with a better condition interior more cost effective.  But the look of those 1970's coaches is just so cool, I'm having trouble talking myself into resisting them.

The cabinets in an RV are pretty much standard construction and hung in the usual way, though maybe with a few more screws than is common in fixed homes. Many RVs have pretty cheap cabinets too, just veneered MDF (particle board), but hardwoods are clearly better because the hinges don't pull out as easily.

I would consider re-veneeering the cabinets rather than replacing. I've done that in a fixed house and I'm sure your experience in flooring is adequate to do your own cabinets. The self-stick veneers come in either real wood or vinyl and the look is excellent.  You can order the materials at Lowes (they use a company called Quality Doors) or various sources online.

check with the local hardware stores that carry cabinets. one near me has a spring "yard sale" they clear out the floor samples etc. I got enough doors to do the 1974 Rockwood at 5 bucks a door some were too long and had to be cut and a couple I had to piece together. and I got a pantry that had retailed for 200 bucks for 10 dollars! it was damaged on the lower edges, but I had to cut a foot out of it to fit in the RV anyway.

as for the cabinets them selves the rockwood ones were just the face and a bottom and ends where needed. I built the face out of regular strapping and the bottoms and ends out of subfloor plywood. the look I was going for was "rustic" it kind of looks like an old cabin way back in the woods. and it suits me just fine.

have fun.

Once the walls are painted and the new flooring is in... I'm going to start building new cabinets for mine... I've saved the old cabinets to use as a guide.. pretty simple construction... Building the facing on them is my biggest concern.. I'm going to build a test cabinet facing out of scrap to practice my routing skills.. (more like, try to develop some routing skills! LOL).. We've decided to use Maple for the facing and stain it.. like the previous poster, I'm going to use some sub-flooring material for the bottom and sides.. We'll see how it goes.. if I can't get them to look like I want them to, I'll hire someone to build them for me..

Hello everyone, this is my first post since joining the forum. This string grabbed me.  On May 1, 2010 I began the complete demo and rebuild of my 1990 Winnebago Warrior. I have been taking tons of pictures and hope to be able to post a before and after montage. Until then let me comment on the cabinet issue.

As I yanked out the old cabinets I too was struck by just how very cheaply constructed they were. I can understand: weight is everything. And candidly they did pretty well for 20 years of wear. But a simple re-cover was not of interest. We wanted the coach interior completely gutted so that we could, in essence, remodel to our heart?s content. The cabinets would not have stood up to removal and then a re-install.

After considerable thought and research, I decided to build my own. I am fairly handy and while I?ve never built true, finish quality cabinets before, I figured that whatever the outcome this was (and is) after all just a camper. My grandfather had built his own truck camper in the 60s and growing up I was fascinated by his ingenuity. I penciled a floor plan, got the wife?s approval and commenced the demo.

I am using ? inch birch plywood for what I consider the ?weight bearing? cabinet walls. This wood is obtainable I imagine at just about any HomeDepot. Mine here in Reno had plenty. For the face I am using ? inch birch plywood. I am cutting to size, testing my cut, then staining and varnishing outside of the coach to avoiding dripping on the new carpet (which replaced the very old and very blue shag). I decided to screw everything together and to use glue only only on what I considered to be the key weight bearing joints. For example, the couch in the rear rests upon a cleat that in turn is bolted to the wardrobe wall. Thus, anything attaching to the wardrobe wall would be glued and screwed for added strength.

I bought a couple of books. One is about small trailers and teardrops. In it I could great ideas about home made, DIY cabinets that frankly looked great. I also bought a book about how to re-do the inside of a sailboat. Perfect ideas for fitting out the galley and other areas.

Yes, we demo?d the entire inside of the coach. Both chairs upfront were replaced with new Flexsteel captains chairs and the guy who would later do the re-upholstery work on the bed, couch, etc., put in a new carpet int he front cab area.

In the back, everything was yanked and I went through and sanded the original plywood flooring to a fare-thee-well. Still not satisfied with stains that would not go away, with the nail holes from where the tack strip used to be (for the old carpet), and so much more, I decided to lay some of that ? inch birch plywood as an ?underlayment? of sorts. Thus, whenever we open a cabinet door we won?t see the old flooring, but rather some nice clean wood. Yes, it raises everything by ? inch, but I compensated for that as I went along.

Next I bought some indoor outdoor carpet at HomeDepot that we thought looked smashing. A local carpet guy came and installed it, charing me only $200 to do the whole thing. It was easier to do when there aren?t cabinets in place to work around. Not counting those areas where the new birch was laid, the remainder of the coach now has new carpet. He also put in a threshold strip to demark the upfront cab from the rest of the coach and it turned out great.

So then I started in one cabinets. I had kept some (but not all) of the older cabinets as patterns. Thus, building the dinette seats for example went pretty smoothly. But for the rest of the coach I was on my own.

Oh, I forgot to mention that in between all of this we painted the whole inside of the coach. One color for the walls, another slightly lighter for the ceilings. We went over the wallpaper (or whatever you call it) by first cleaning with TSP, then sanding lightly, then laying down an oil-based primer, and then the paint. Turned out great.

I kept notes, and took pictures, on where wires came and went and then tied them up and out of the way.

By the way, there are 1 million two hundred and twelve thousand screws in a Winnebago Warrior. I know. I counted them as I demo?d the existing cabinets, bath room, fixtures, etc.

I will probably replace them with only about 25,000. We?ll see.

So, as soon as I can I will post pictures. I am about 60% complete, with a July 9th deadline looming. Wish me luck.

Joe in Reno.

Thanks for the report, Joe. Sounds like a fun project. Feel free to post pictures as you go along, too.

Cabinetry is one of the major differences between entry-level RVs and their higher priced cousins.

Well, July 9th came and went, and the remodel is still underway. I am still taking picture and do hope to post a montage soon. The cabinets were far easier than first thought ... Highly recommend doing them yourself. It is not that hard.

The ?punch list? is 50 items long, so I still have a ways to go.

Pictures soon ... I promise.

Joe

Subscribing for pictures...  I'm next for my toyhauler overhaul.  8)

jrusso2010 said:

The ?punch list? is 50 items long, so I still have a ways to go.

Click to expand...

Three times now I've said I won't start something else until I finish what I've already started...
the best laid plans of mice and men 

What I've done is reoriented my outlook to reconcile reality with the nature of my "rolling restoration"

I'm anxiously awaiting the pics of your cabinets Joe..

npawlowic said:

Can anyone point me to some DIY RV cabinet info, or is it even worth it?  Using my home kitchen remodel as a guide, I can see the cost of redoing the cabinets in an older coach quickly outstripping the cost of the coach itself, making a newer coach with a better condition interior more cost effective.  But the look of those 1970's coaches is just so cool, I'm having trouble talking myself into resisting them.

Click to expand...

I've stripped to bare frame, an 18', 1972 Roadliner TT, stretched the frame, added an axle to make a 22.5' tandem, then rebuilt it complete to my own design. I also remodeled a 1976 Dodge class "C" MH and am now in the process of remodeling our 1985 Itasca. All were built the same way (interior  cabinetry). 1x2 framework with 1/8" plywood or 1/8" panels covering. Photo's of the Itasca project can be seen here http://www.metalsmithpro.com/Itasca%20remodel.htm and in this thread http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?topic=37040.0. I'm beginning phase II of this project that will involve more cabinetry and many more pictures showing the construction techniques that the Itasca has. I suspect most older coaches (cabinetry) are constructed in a similar fashion, although I'm only familiar with those that I've worked on.
It is simple construction and hardly any glue is used, so they come apart quite easily. Modifying and reconstruction is also very easy, especially if you are handy with common tools.

I am building a cabinet and I have found it difficult to locate matching wood grain and color. I decided to go to a.box store and match to laminate flooring. It's almost perfect. Made a frame of 3/4 stock and covering it with the flooring. Works great.