More Garage Cabinets - Dutchmen Owners
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Dutchmen Owners > Dutchmen Technical | Towing, Maintenance and Repairs > Modifications and Upgrades
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 04-10-2016, 03:12 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Canon City
Posts: 860
Colorado
More Garage Cabinets

Well, we've found there just aren't enough storage cabinets in the garage of our 2014 Voltage Epic 3800. So what to do?

Measurements said we could add a 36" wide by 24" tall cabinet next to the existing cabinet. Here's pics of both sides:


So I went to my local Ace Hdwe and ordered a couple of cabinets close in color and design. It just doesn't matter to us whether they are a perfect match...it is the garage ya know!!

The new cabinets will be her this coming week. So time to do some planning for the installation. So I took my good stud finder and went to work...nothing...so I switched it to "Deep Scan" got some indications, but nothing repeatable.

Well...it will be behind the new cabinets, so what. So I put a strip of 2" wide blue tape the 36" width of the cabinets and started drilling 1/8" holes every 3/4 inch.

Guess what, I didn't drill through anything but the garage wall paneling...nothing else. So no framing lumber in either wall? how can that be?

Anyone got any experience here?

I'll post more when I hang the cabinets. Guess I'll use three rows of 1/4x20 anchors.

Thoughts?

Pirate
__________________

Pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2016, 04:21 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
hddecker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: kamloops
Posts: 2,152
British Columbia
Isn't your frame aluminum? If so, maybe your stud finder can't see them.

The 1/4X20 is more than enough. I would use toggle bolts, they would add a little back support on the paneling. I would also tie the new cabinets in to the existing cabinet.
__________________

__________________
Jim

When I was a kid I was going nowhere fast, now I'm an old man I'm going everywhere slow.
hddecker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2016, 06:08 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Canon City
Posts: 860
Colorado
Well, all the framing behind the fireplace and behind the basement is all 2x2 wood.

If it is aluminum in the garage...you would have thought I would have felt it as I drilled the holes across the mounting area....

Hmmmm.....

Pirate
Pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2016, 09:13 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
donzinger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Memphis
Posts: 1,616
Michigan
Too bad it is warming up - on mine when it is cold at night, I can go out in the morning and "see" the "studs" down the walls of the exterior of the camper due to the condensation on the outside...
__________________
2019 Ram 3500 Limited w/ Max Tow pkg
2005 Cardinal 33LX
2014-3950, Full Paint, 17.5" tires, 370W solar, 3100W Magnum inverter w/ AGS, 7500w diesel generator, Micro-Air Easy Start 364 (x3) SOLD!
donzinger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2016, 01:47 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
sundancer 87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Tahlequah
Posts: 3,079
Oklahoma
I was able to find solid material directly next to the cabinet proper. Nothing else for the next 42 inches so it was the heavy duty wall anchors on the end of the shelf. I did screw the shelf to the stud and the cabinet and then one two more angle brackets on top of the shelf.


It's solid enough to hold two pair motorcycle boots, three jackets with armor, wad of gloves, chaps and a travel bag full of cold weather gear and some heated stuff. The heavy jackets live on the cabinet mounted end of the shelf.
Two years and it's still up there.
__________________
2013 Voltage 3800, 2012 Chevy 3500 HD
2010 Yamaha V Star 950
2009 Yamaha Raider
Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Caravanners
sundancer 87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2016, 03:30 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Canon City
Posts: 860
Colorado
Don, that's a function of where you live. Here in Southern Colorado I have to scrape the windshield a couple of times a Winter...and my truck sits outside!

Sundancer, that's my plan, attach it to the end of the existing cabinet and then perhaps three rows of for wall anchors.
But, sigh, those new cabinets were where I was going to store my gold bullion...sigh...LOL!!

Pirate

I will post how I do hang the cabinets!
Pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2016, 05:21 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
sundancer 87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Tahlequah
Posts: 3,079
Oklahoma
Quote:
Originally Posted by sundancer 87 View Post
I was able to find solid material directly next to the cabinet proper. Nothing else for the next 42 inches so it was the heavy duty wall anchors on the end of the shelf. I did screw the shelf to the stud and the cabinet and then one two more angle brackets on top of the shelf.


It's solid enough to hold two pair motorcycle boots, three jackets with armor, wad of gloves, chaps and a travel bag full of cold weather gear and some heated stuff. The heavy jackets live on the cabinet mounted end of the shelf.
Two years and it's still up there.
Had to wait until the phone charged so I could take the pic.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	20160410_121103 (2).jpg
Views:	339
Size:	56.4 KB
ID:	3120  
__________________
2013 Voltage 3800, 2012 Chevy 3500 HD
2010 Yamaha V Star 950
2009 Yamaha Raider
Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Caravanners
sundancer 87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2016, 07:45 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Canon City
Posts: 860
Colorado
The shelf looks nice! But we got stuff to store, so cabinets with doors and one moveable shelf!

Have a couple of "ratchet tubes" that I used to use to keep stuff in place in the bed of my truck. Thinking they will extend long enough to allow me to set the cabinet on them while attaching it to the wall...with Wife's help steadying things....

Pirate
Pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2016, 07:58 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
sundancer 87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Tahlequah
Posts: 3,079
Oklahoma
Stuff, always more stuff to find a place to store.
Two more hands are always helpful when setting wall cabinets. I used the base cabinets and then built a box to sit on the base to hold the wall cabinets in place so I could set them, didn't have an extra pair of hands. FWIW, take the doors off, makes the cabinets lighter and you don't have to deal with them being in your way.
__________________
2013 Voltage 3800, 2012 Chevy 3500 HD
2010 Yamaha V Star 950
2009 Yamaha Raider
Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Caravanners
sundancer 87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2016, 02:05 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Canon City
Posts: 860
Colorado
Very good reminder...take the doors off!!

Thanks for the reminder!!

Pirate
Pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2016, 02:34 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
07dmax360's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Seba beach
Posts: 105
Alberta
I have a loft in my 3605, I heard that there was a company in phoenix that does Rv reno's, I would like to meet with them and get there opinion about closing off the loft, and converting it to cupboards that open in the garage. That would make huge storage opportunities for me.
__________________
2007 GMC Sierra 2500HD 6.6L Duramax CC/SB
2015 Chevy Silverado 3500HD 6.6L Duramax CC/LB DRW
2014 Voltage V-3605 with trail-air pinbox
2012 Can-Am Commander XT 1000, 1998 golwing GL1500
07dmax360 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2016, 02:57 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Canon City
Posts: 860
Colorado
That's not a bad idea!!! At least you have better access from the garage. But would have to insulate the wall that gets installed to close off the access from the living space...otherwise there goes all the heat or air conditioning...

We currently use the loft for nothing but storage.

Going to have to look into that!!

Thanks for the suggestion!

Pirate
Pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2016, 01:04 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Canon City
Posts: 860
Colorado
Well, here we go. The new cabinets have "mounting rails" across the top and across the bottom and one rectangle in the center. Plan was to use butterfly anchors to hold the cabinet to the wall.

After a frustrating few hours of trying to get the butterfly clips into the wall, I gave up.

Got out the 4" grinder with a 5" cut off wheel and cut the interior paneling off the wall section that will be behind the cabinet. And voila, there is structural material behind where the cabinet will mount. Here' a pic of what I found:



Yup, those are pieces of 1.5" x 3" aluminum structural tubing running horizontally. They are 16" apart, vertically. And yes in the poked out foam they are just out of range of where the mounting plates on the back of the cabinets are located.

Shown is the wall above the garage walk thru door.

Stay tuned!

Pirate
Pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2016, 03:46 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
hddecker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: kamloops
Posts: 2,152
British Columbia
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pirate View Post
Well, here we go. The new cabinets have "mounting rails" across the top and across the bottom and one rectangle in the center. Plan was to use butterfly anchors to hold the cabinet to the wall.

After a frustrating few hours of trying to get the butterfly clips into the wall, I gave up.

Got out the 4" grinder with a 5" cut off wheel and cut the interior paneling off the wall section that will be behind the cabinet. And voila, there is structural material behind where the cabinet will mount. Here' a pic of what I found:



Yup, those are pieces of 1.5" x 3" aluminum structural tubing running horizontally. They are 16" apart, vertically. And yes in the poked out foam they are just out of range of where the mounting plates on the back of the cabinets are located.

Shown is the wall above the garage walk thru door.

Stay tuned!

Pirate
Pirate,

Doesn't that just frost ya, looks like your test holes were just a bit too low. Is that vertical wood? If it is, it's odd that your stud finder didn't see it. Time to break out a tube of PL300 to glue the paneling back and hang them suckers.

Everyone owes Pirate a cold one, he did all the hard work for you.
__________________
Jim

When I was a kid I was going nowhere fast, now I'm an old man I'm going everywhere slow.
hddecker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-16-2016, 09:38 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Canon City
Posts: 860
Colorado
OK, here we go...final effort and success!!

Got the cabinet over the Garage walk through door mounted by using screws through the "mounting bar" on the back of the cabinet, to the wood framing I've installed. Got the cabinet up...and "oh crap", open the right door and it hits the light fixture.

So take a measurement and the cabinet needs to come down 1 5/8" to clear the light fixture and provide extra clearance for the left door to clear the speaker grille.

Determine that if I lower the cabinet that much, I can simply use sheet metal screws and attach the cabinet to the aluminum structural tubes. Well cool! They won't come off the wall then!!!

So I put the cabinet back up on the wall, using two supports from underneath and Irwin clamps to hold it to the existing cabinet. determine that lowering the cabinet just a bit more I can put the bottom of the new cabinet even with the bottom of the end panel of the existing cabinet. The end panel extends below the bottom of the existing cabinet. Not sure why, but perhaps just for looks. The end panel has a black plastic trim on the edge all the way from the ceiling down the front and along the bottom to the Garage wall. So I put the bottom edge of the new cabinet just above the black plastic trim.

Voila, three screws across the top mounting bar, three across the bottom mounting bar, and six from the inside of the existing cabinet into the side of the new cabinet. That'll hold it in place! Oh, and I did cut a piece of 1/4" plywood to fit between the two cabinets so the screws would put tight. The face of the new cabinet extends 1/4" on each side. So the plywood fills the gap. Painted the bottom of the plywood with black satin spray paint so it can't be seen.
Here's the first cabinet in place:


Looks very nice, clears the speaker grille and light fixture. And realize the framing of the new cabinet extends 3/4" above the top cabinet panel, and being 1 5/8" down from the ceiling...a neat little stash place.

Here's a pic, looking up, of the speaker grille and light fixture that are potential interferences.


For those of you that have Voltage trailers and are considering the project, here's two drawings I made of the garage structure:



And yeah, took me three days to get the first cabinet installed, what with all the rework. And yeah, it took me 30 minutes to have the second cabinet attached to the wall.

Got any questions...ask away!!

Pirate
Pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-16-2016, 11:01 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
sundancer 87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Tahlequah
Posts: 3,079
Oklahoma
Looks very nice Pirate, maybe Tom will lend you his little boy for a job well done.
But, I don't want to be a Richard here, would it have been possible to change the light fixture to save all the readjustment of the cabinet?
__________________
2013 Voltage 3800, 2012 Chevy 3500 HD
2010 Yamaha V Star 950
2009 Yamaha Raider
Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Caravanners
sundancer 87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-16-2016, 11:36 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Canon City
Posts: 860
Colorado
Those are the Garage overhead lights...trying to change them would mean trying to find the wires above the ceiling, different holes in the ceiling...and I would have to order them.

Just moving the cabinets was something I could get done now.

I've got orders from my wife, er BOSS, to get out of the Voltage so she can clean up and begin packing for our trip to Moab on May 7th. So why start something new trying to mess with the lights?

Besides, I just ordered an electric valve for the rear grey water tank...so I have something to do when the snow melts next week.

Pirate
Pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-17-2016, 05:24 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
hddecker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: kamloops
Posts: 2,152
British Columbia
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pirate View Post
Those are the Garage overhead lights...trying to change them would mean trying to find the wires above the ceiling, different holes in the ceiling...and I would have to order them.

Just moving the cabinets was something I could get done now.

I've got orders from my wife, er BOSS, to get out of the Voltage so she can clean up and begin packing for our trip to Moab on May 7th. So why start something new trying to mess with the lights?

Besides, I just ordered an electric valve for the rear grey water tank...so I have something to do when the snow melts next week.

Pirate
Wise man, listening to "she who must be obeyed."

Good job, Pirate.

__________________
Jim

When I was a kid I was going nowhere fast, now I'm an old man I'm going everywhere slow.
hddecker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2016, 12:14 AM   #19
Site Team
 
wahoonc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Sprung Leak
Posts: 3,157
North Carolina
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pirate View Post
Those are the Garage overhead lights...trying to change them would mean trying to find the wires above the ceiling, different holes in the ceiling...and I would have to order them.

Just moving the cabinets was something I could get done now.

I've got orders from my wife, er BOSS, to get out of the Voltage so she can clean up and begin packing for our trip to Moab on May 7th. So why start something new trying to mess with the lights?

Besides, I just ordered an electric valve for the rear grey water tank...so I have something to do when the snow melts next week.

Pirate
Dang! you got one of them too?

Aaron
__________________
There is madness to my methods
2015 Coleman CM16FBS(traded) 2016 Concord 300DS
2015 Ford Fusion Hybrid following along
wahoonc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2016, 01:56 AM   #20
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Canon City
Posts: 860
Colorado
Yup, and I read to her Jim's line "she who must be obeyed" and she promptly responded "and don't you forget it!!"

Whew, good thing I was down getting all the project debris cleaned up, the garage vacuumed, and new cabinets measured for what can be stored.

I got a couple of points by suggesting that we could use the coat hooks that got taken off the end of the existing cabinet and use them as the door pulls for the new cabinets. And could add a couple more under the stereo shelf as there is "wood" there.

Pirate
__________________

Pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Dutchmen RV or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT. The time now is 06:48 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2020 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
×