Locking Down the Microwave

[Road Geezer]

At the risk of offering a solution for a problem no one else has , I present the following ...

Our new 27' FC is equipped with a nice microwave. The only problem has been that whenever we towed our AS on bumpy roads the microwave would bounce out of the dimples in the drawer is was mounted on. Sometimes we found it almost completely slid off its tray and resting in the back of the compartment. Not good!

I tried 3M double backed foam tape, but it wasn't strong enough to hold the microwave in place. I hit on this simple solution that seems to have worked.

Along the front edge of the microwave bottom there are two 5/16" holes in the "feet" that are supposed to sit in the drilled out depressions in the drawer. There are no such holes in the two rear "feet."

1. I carefully drilled--a brad point drill is best--a 5/16 hole in the center of the two depressions that align with the feet with holes described above. If you try this, it's really important that you center the drilled holes carefully.
2. I then cut two pieces of 5/16 round wood dowel; I actually used pre-made fluted pegs available at ACE Hardware. Cut to length, they are long enough to extend through the thickness of the drawer and up into the feet holes about 1/4 to 3/8 inch. I then slopped a lot of good wood glue--my hobby is making furniture--and glued the dowels into place.
3. After a couple hours, or over night if you wish, use sand paper to round the top and put a slight taper on the dowels. Try lowering the microwave onto the dowel pins. It may take a few iterations of sanding to achieve alignment and get a reasonably snug fit. Not too snug; you may want to remove the microwave sometime for cleaning or repair.
4. I then lined the bottom of the microwave with six or eight small sticky-backed felt pads to minimize rattling.

So far, it's working and I now have one less irritant to ruin my quality time with our Airstream... Hope this helps some of you out there.

Paul

[Gringo]

Thanks for the tip. We've got a 2011 27FB, with the micronuke in the drawer, too. I was wondering how well that was secured.

Have you had any issues with the first drawer on the left when you come in the door? It's the one under the dinette seat closest to the door. We've only done a couple days in the trailer so far, but every time I stopped somewhere that drawer had slid open. I've got a few pounds of tools in it, but not that many.

[xrvr]

A bungee will hold the door shut. Had the same problem. I removed the drawer and seat and table and put in a small recliner and a smaller table. jim

[Road Geezer]

Our drawer is loaded with misc stuff, not heavy tools. I noticed a couple times that it had slid out, but I haven't addressed the "problem" yet. Bungee looks like a good solution. The drawer in our rig seems to shut tightly, so there may be an adjustment you can make to keep it better in place.

[steverino]

I had the same exact problem with my microwave; my solution is not as elegant as yours, but once I did it, solved the problem. I got some "mending plates" from the hardware store; these are small metal plates used to connect 2x4s together. I attached these to the bottom of the microwave with the screws that hold the cover on, and then secured the plates to the drawer.

[KerriO]

The drawer in my 2008 27FB (that we bought used) has four pre-drilled holes in it that correspond with four large screw holes (maybe bolt holes?) in the bottom of the microwave. However, it doesn't appear that it was ever screwed down. I have no idea what size screws it would take, but it does look like it was built to be able to be bolted down. It's a moot point for me at the moment anyway, because after the last trip of it bumping around, the "Start" button stopped working!