Uwe, I've actually held those little suckers in my hands and thought about it, but never got around to running the test. I think I'll tackle it when I get home. Thanks very much for the reminder.
What diameter do you recommend? Do you recall how many in a pack--the web page is missing this info. Did you use the magnet and washer, or two magnets face-to-face? Is it possible to orient them so you can do a face-to-face?
I've used the push-to-latch, push-to-unlatch type catches and also friction bullets. The former puts the beak on you when you forget you have to push the drawer first, the latter seem to slowly wiggle their way loose--at least that's what happened before I got my axle fixed.
I'm confident the magnets will work for even large vertical bumps, but when you hit a speed bump a little sideways and the trailer rocks side-to-side, I'm thinking a heavy drawer will exert a fair amount of force in the opening direction during half of the cycle. How heavy are your drawers? I've got one that is full of canned food.
Zep
My drawers are small, and not very heavy. I need to still install the magnets on most of them. Carlos pioneered the idea, actually. I need to revisit his thread to refresh my memory.
Here is more information, with pull strength indications: http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...363,42348&ap=1
Carlos's thread: http://www.airforums.com/forum...light=ferguson
The magnets come one to a pack at Lee Valley. But I might go over to Rockler and pick them up, since their store is near area 63, and Lee Valley is a mail order for me.
Perhaps the heavy drawer would need 2 magnets, or stronger ones. Key is to prevent stuff from shifting, so that the accelerated items won't try and yank the drawers or doors open. I've done real well with my magnet catches for the cabinet doors, not a single on has ever opened.
I appreciate all the nice detail about cabinet construction. You guys are a bit ahead of where I am now. I am still installing the insulation in the walls so I can re-install the inner skins. Eventually I will be building a completely custom interior.
I have debated whether or not to use tambour doors on anything and still have not made up my mind. In the process of thinking about it I did track down some websites that might be of interest to anyone also thinking about tambour doors. Check out the following:
I have debated whether or not to use tambour doors on anything and still have not made up my mind.
Malcolm
I replaced some tambour inside my 71 TradeWind. I did not use it in my Overlander, because I wanted a more vintage look and feel.
The tambour doors are ideal for a small space, mobile environment, in my opinion. They take very little space once rolled up, and do not protrude in the living space. A quality tambour installation woul dbe a thing of beauty, especially since nowadays there are so many styles and options. Making custom tambour tracks might be a challenge, but some hard wood and a router should suffice. I am considering tambour doors for the space underneath my bed, a space that does not have cabinet doors yet. I am hesitant, as I don't really want to mix different door styles in such a small space.
I'm against tambours (I know this is a hijack--sorry). For the under bed storage, the rolled-up tambours block 3-4 inches of the available cubby height, which is significant. Hinged doors do poorly, since when they're open they have to block the walkway or, if swinging up, block your reach or view. I guess they could swing down, so you could pull the box out across the door.
I'd go with drawers, but they limit the size of items that can be stored. I prefer panels that cover the cubby opening, but are retained by velcro so they come off completely (and easily).
zep, to continue your hijack of ron's thread, you mentioned "velcro" and a lightbulb went over my head, albeit a dim one: might it work to glue or otherwise attach 1 or 2 buttons of velcro to the inside of the drawer front, and to the face frame- and to use the drawer when parked you could attach other loose 'buttons" over the existing ones to prevent them from sticking at all- I guess you could do this with magnets too, put something over them when parked so the drawers open more easily. Am at this stage also and just thinking out loud... Also, while we're hijacked- zep, have you ever thought about making an AS calendar? Your photos are exquisite- have seen them here and there. OK- Ron (finally)- just posted a pic of what I did with my former tambour openings under the front gaucho, made small doors hinged on the bottom. In my upper cabs, I made sliders out of formica. We will NOT be storing loose cans up there! hasta luego, tim
... might it work to glue or otherwise attach 1 or 2 buttons of velcro to the inside of the drawer front, and to the face frame- and to use the drawer when parked you could attach other loose 'buttons" over the existing ones to prevent them from sticking at all- I guess you could do this with magnets too, put something over them when parked so the drawers open more easily.
...
Also, while we're hijacked- zep, have you ever thought about making an AS calendar? ... tim
The two drawers under the bench seat are secured by velcro at their back end, but it was a pain to get the spacing right. I didn't want velcro around the contact area between the drawer front (not existing yet for those two drawers) and the face frame because I wanted a flush fit. In retrospect, that was waaaaayyyy too anal, and I'm not one of those, except maybe when it comes to cabinetmaking... Anyway, the velcro works fine and with a few miles of travel vibrations it really gets tightly bound.
I like your idea of a "clutch" for when you're stopped--hard to implement with the magnets, however.
CALENDAR--yes, I mentioned it in another thread as a subordinate posting. Maybe I'll start a thread in a few weeks (traveling now) and examine this topic. Many others have wonderful photos (Uwe actually got me crazy with one of his sunsets and I've been copying him since--I think it was Uwe or maybe 2Air), so getting licenses or waivers should be straightforward. I was thinking of something that was downloadable as wallpaper for members of the forums.
I guess you could do this with magnets too, put something over them when parked so the drawers open more easily. Am at this stage also and just thinking out loud...
Continuing the hijack... why not 12volt electro-magnets that can be switched on and off; keep the turned on while driving, and turn them off when you're parked for drawer-opening-easiness.
Continuing the hijack... why not 12volt electro-magnets that can be switched on and off; keep the turned on while driving, and turn them off when you're parked for drawer-opening-easiness.
is your uncle named Rube Goldberg? Geez, I'd leave the damn things turned on when parked and the battery'd be dead as a doornail.
is your uncle named Rube Goldberg? Geez, I'd leave the damn things turned on when parked and the battery'd be dead as a doornail.
LOL... well, it would easy to set it up to automatically turn off when you disconnected the pigtail from the tow vehicle. Damn, now this has got me thinking.
I am considering tambour doors for the space underneath my bed, a space that does not have cabinet doors yet. I am hesitant, as I don't really want to mix different door styles in such a small space.
Uwe, if anyone can make the match, you can do it.
Seeing such cabinetry/craftsmanship in these interiors is a delight.
I will use tambors for weight and function. Although I wonder how much some of these gorgeous trailers weigh, I do not ask.
The weight is an issue that has been in the back of mind the whole time that I have been working on this trailer. So far, things are just a bit heavier than they were originally. For the all the plywood wall panels that divide the rooms, and the cabinet sides, I used 1/2" material. That would pretty much double the weight of the original walnut laminate panels. However, that's not a lot of material, and has only added probably 200lbs including the maple face frames. If I were to make all of the drawers with baltic plywood, and all of the drawers and doors from solid ply materials, it would add a lot of weight I'm sure.
Since weight is a concern, I am considering wire baskets on tracks for several of the drawers with the exception of the drawers under the sink. Wire baskets from HD have smooth tracks they ride on, and are very light. I've been looking at them, and making measurements to include them where possible.
Just estimating, I would guess that after I build the dinette and table, I will be only about 500lbs over the previous weight of the trailer. This weight will work out fine as far as pulling the trailer.
Thanks,
Ron
I would like to weigh in on the topic of securing cabinet doors or drawers for on the road. Somewhere I have seen positive latching cabinet knobs for RV and marine use. I have not yet been able to locate what I remember seeing but here is one RV supply site that has a positive latching knob assembly.
Unfortunately the photo does not give much detail. I have contacted these folks in the past though and had them furnish more detail about products.
What I remember seeing was a simple cabinet latch that has a push button in the middle of it. Has anyone else seen anything like this?
Also if someone wants to go really fancy I discovered that Rockler now sells an electric lock set that can lock up to 6 places from a central key. The system runs on 12volts too. Check it out:
Well, we finished the counter tops over the weekend, and installed them with a new sink, faucet and the old stove. We wanted to keep something of the old, so the stove may be it. It just needs a severe polishing. We found a nice laminate that we like, and used contact cement to apply it to "light weight" melamine. Also, we found some realy nice aluminum trim for the edges. The sink, faucets and traps were from Ikea. We're also going to use something as a backsplash, but haven't yet decided upon what to use. Oh, we also added a new stereo and subwoofer. Bump, bump, bump.....
* Please note. If anyone is interested in the aluminum trim we used, we bought too much! We ordered a 12' strip of it, and the gal messed up and charged us, and sent us 12 of the 12' strips. Shipping was too much to send it back. So if anyone is interested, I'll be happy to send you a strip of the stuff. Say $2 per strip of 12' trim, plus the shipping.
It was in 12' lengths and they cut it to 8' & 4' lengths to ship. It's 13/16" thick, so 3/4 mel plus laminate is great with a little extra reveal of the trim. It does have a slot edge on the back, which they suggest a 3/32" slot bit. That's what I used, but I think a 1/16" may have had a tighter fit.
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velcro?
, you mentioned "velcro" and a lightbulb went over my head, albeit a dim one: might it work to glue or otherwise attach 1 or 2 buttons of velcro to the inside of the drawer front, and to the face frame- and to use the drawer when parked you could attach other loose 'buttons" over the existing ones to prevent them from sticking at all- I guess you could do this with magnets too, put something over them when parked so the drawers open more easily. Am at this stage also and just thinking out loud... Also, while we're hijacked- zep, have you ever thought about making an AS calendar? Your photos are exquisite- have seen them here and there. OK- Ron (finally)- just posted a pic of what I did with my former tambour openings under the front gaucho, made small doors hinged on the bottom. In my upper cabs, I made sliders out of formica. We will NOT be storing loose cans up there! hasta luego, tim
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