Doin' the buildout

[cygvan]

yeah.<br><br>i had this whole elaborate contraption drawn up in sketchup.<br><br>this looks just dandy. thanks again for the pic.

 

[MrNoodly]

Now I just need to get up the nerve to cut the roof.<br><br>

 

[MrNoodly]

I wanted storage above the bed for small, relatively light things. I didn't want to make cabinets or shelves. I had an idea. Mailboxes.<br><br> <br><br>I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in the stores, so I ordered them online. I had to get them from two different sources. The first two mailboxes arrived today. Three more are coming.<br><br>Also, since the tail lights and high mounted third brake light on Chevy/GMC vans are up out of most car drivers' line of sight, I decided to add a low light and wired it to the brakes.<br><br>

 

[cygvan]

mailboxes!!!!!<br><br>lol what a great idea...

 

[Van-Tramp]

Brilliant idea. I will be shopping for mailboxes now. I wonder if there will be a mailbox shortage soon <img rel="lightbox" src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="bbc_img">

 

[daminc]

Mail boxes.... who would have thought something so simple could be so handy<br><br>

 

[daminc]

oh, and just cut the roof and don't look back.... <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br><br>

 

[MrNoodly]

I've insulated the cabinet nook that holds the fridge and installed a fan to suck out some of the heat from the compressor. (The cord is the fridge power cord.)<br><br> <br><br>Here's the fridge in place. I'm going to cut a piece of foam for the lid, too. And the cabinet door will be insulated. I think I'll put a mirror in the back so I can see the fridge controls without pulling it out.<br><br> <br><br>Funny, I got this fridge on Bob's recommendation. Now he posted on his blog that he has something better. C'est la vie.

 

[MrNoodly]

Installed a fire extinguisher to go along with the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. May I never need any of them.<br><br> <br><br>Also, I added a door to the cabinet I built.<br><br>

 

[zemio]

You're rolling right along! It's probably a bit after the fact, but I have drilled a <img src="/images/boards/smilies/eek.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img">load of holes in acrylic panels, the best way (at least in my opinion) is a nice blunt drill bit running backwards if you drill will do this. If not, I had fair success using a tungsten tipped masonary drill running forwards. Let it spin a bit and build up heat. I had the fire extinguisher in my camper bolted to the side of the stove mount, but as a fireman mate of mine said, if you get a rock n rolling fire on/in your stove, you are probably not going to want to get too close. Fair point, I thought. Now it's beside the door.

 

[MrNoodly]

Drilling holes in acrylic is one thing, but post-installation stress at the holes is another.

 

[cygvan]

lookin good...i keep forgetting about a fire extinguisher....have to take care of that toot sweet

 

[daminc]

did you cut the hole for the vent yet?

 

[MrNoodly]

No. I'm waiting for the self-leveling caulk to arrive. It has been raining heavily nearly every night (like right now), so I need to make sure everything is water tight.

 

[Simran]

Doing a bang up job here.<br><br>Gus

 

[Curtis]

Wow something so simple as mailboxes for storage.<br><br>Great tip.<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[MrNoodly]

The afore mentioned alarms. I'm glad they make compact smoke detectors now besides the big 6" models.<br><br> <br><br>And speaking of mail boxes, here they all are installed.<br><br> <br><br>Since the lids rattled a little, I got some narrow foam weather stripping to cushion the lids. It worked so well I did the same on the large steel cabinet.<br><br>

 

[cygvan]

i have that same CO detector. no smoke detector or fire ext yet.<br><br>good idea on cushioning the mailbox lids. that noise would have made me go bezerk.

 

[MrNoodly]

For those who don't have a smoke or CO detector, you can get a two pack at Walmart.<br><br>

 

[MrNoodly]

I did some measuring and looking around and found the perfect containers to fit in my Adrian cabinet. Just the right depth, a length that fits nicely three across, and a height that allows them to be stacked two high.<br><br> <br><br>Also, the two-high height just slips under my bed, if the need arises.<br><br> <br><br>I also found magnet-mount, battery-powered LED tap lights with a choice of them staying on until you turn them off or a couple of timed off settings. I can stick them anywhere metal, like inside the cabinet.<br><br> <br><br>And there's a battery-powered fluorescent light that can be mounted with screws or Velcro. I haven't decided yet where to put it.<br><br> <br><br>So know I have the choice of lights wired into the house battery or lights running on their own batteries.<br><br>