Cabinets

[Krista]

Hello!

We are in the process of gutting our 1977 Argosy Minuet (careful to keep all of the items we are removing at this point in the case we might want to use them in the future.) That said, we are hoping to pretty much do a full remodel of everything but the bathroom.

I am looking for information on lightweight cabinetry materials for the kitchen cabinets, dinette, gaucho and possibly upper storage area. We are VERY new to this and I am at a total loss as to where or what I should be looking for. I am not sure if others have built, purchased standard or custom work or what would be best.

Any and all help and/or advise is greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

[aquinob]

I've seen where folks have installed standard cabinetry, stuff that would typically go in a house and for the most part it doesn't work well. Airstreams arent all that spacious inside, so for starters you may want to scale back the size of the cabinets so they don't overwhelm the space. They also arent very square inside and any cabinetry you have has to conform to the contours of the walls and ceilings.

The cabinetry I have built uses mostly 1/2" plywood for the sides and partitions and a standard face frame using 3/4" lumber with pocket screws. Doors can be standard rail and stile or you can use plywood if you do something nice with the edges (my opinion).

If you check my blog, you will see some examples of what I have built. I am by no means an expert in cabinet making, but what I do build looks well enough and I'm happy with it. You do want to build stuff that is sturdy but keep the weight down to a minimum.

[Krista]

I will certainly check out your blog, thanks for the tips!

[Minno]

Another thing to consider is weight. Basswood is a very light softwood. Red Alder is a fairly light hardwood. We used a combination of basswood, 1/2" plywood where a heavier structure was needed, 1/4" red alder plywood, and red alder boards. Check out our thread for more ideas. Also, check out the many full monte threads for lots of ideas.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f185...urb-50967.html

Chris

[cabinetmaker]

Hi Krista, I might can give you some help as I am a retired cabinetmaker. I owned my own business for over 35 years building custom cabinetry for homes and business. I learned early on that light weight soft woods do not make good cabinets. To be light weight the wood is soft and easily broken or scratched. Does not hold up well. Going down the road your trailer will destroy lightweight cabinets. Skimp on the other stuff to save weight but not on the cabinets. And please don't use particle board for shelving materials. Use a good quality plywood. That will save weight and if you ever have a leak the particle board is done where the plywood will hold up much better. Screw your face frames together with a pocket drill. You can order your doors from cabinet door companies. Just give them the opening size and they will make them fit. Flat panel insert doors are lighter weight than raised panel inset doors. Order your drawer fronts from them too so they match. Use Blum soft close concealed hardware. Build your drawers boxes with 1/2" 9 ply plywood and use KV full extension soft close full extension drawer guides. Keep us posted on the progress and good luck!

[Belegedhel]

Its hard to find cabinetry that is more lightweight than the stuff you are removing from the trailer. You might consider seriously rebuilding your cabinetry as much as you can, rather than throwing them out and building something custom. Most of the original cabinetry consists of an extruded aluminum frame with panels made of thin plywood/plast/aluminum. It isn't very difficult to replace these panels with new hardwood veneered plywood, and have something that looks entirely brand new.

good luck!

[drboyd]

Just subscribing to this thread. Nothing to see here - move along folks!

[Belegedhel]

Sorry to disappoint--but you got what you paid for! 😁

[nrgtrakr]

A Google image search will net lots of photos with a few different approaches use - AS rebuild, restore, renovate, make over ... etc.

Couldn't find a photo again, but one of my favorites was what looked like 1x3s on edge (or larger) used to make frames like a vertical dividing wall coming from outer skin to center, tied together horizontally with more 1xSomething, with the appropriate doors, drawers, cabinet shelves, fridge, oven, etc. inserted. The void between 1xSomethings was filled with 1/4" plywood.

I could do that. Use birch 1x2s with birch 1/4" ply; with joints and glue then screw it all together.

A bath remodel included a custom shower stall and basin. Have to check available options for a water tight skin.

A goucho replacement on this forum made a U shaped bench with telescoping table top which converted into a double (or queen?) bed.

Lots of possibilities ...

[drboyd]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

Sorry to disappoint--but you got what you paid for! 😁

Who you talkin' to?

[Olivia_Berg]

How exciting! We had to re build cabinets in bathroom and kitchen as well...used builder grade poplar and a kreg-jig. I painted the kitchen ones with a grey chalk paint and then wax to seal...bathroom ones still not painted but I attached photos of both so you could see:



as for securing the cabinets during travel...vintage trailer supply and most online RV parts stores will have latches etc. that you can install

[Olivia_Berg]

Also, we bagged the gaucho. After we tore it out, we framed in the water tank, and put cabinet doors on the top so you can access the tank area. At the time, we bought a cheap futon from Ikea that fit the 81" max width for our Overlander. We've since "upgraded" to a sofa bed from Cost Plus World Market, but both worked just fine for us