Closet Mod for the Tab 400

CampsiteGal

When I discovered the Tab 400 had almost 18"W x 7"D x 31"H of space behind the back wall of the closet, I was determined to utilize that unused space.  I saw the post here about the mod with square bins and netting and the YouTube video using the oval openings and got inspired. I took off the back wall and purchased some speaker wire and plastic joiners at O'Reillys, cut the wires and spliced in a longer speaker wire. I left the 12v wire as they were.

I took measurements and created a template so I could see if I liked the spacing for the openings. I decided to make the bins as deep as I could so each space goes down to 1/2" above the opening below.  I centered the bins left to right because I thought it was more aesthetically pleasing and tried to mimick the bins in the bathroom. I used birch plywood from HD and followed the measurements of my template.  I used painters tape to prevent splitting when I used my saber saw to cut out the holes. The edges were a bit uneven so I sanded them and smoothed them out. Then I built the shelving unit from the plywood and used brad nails and glue to join the pieces together. I notched out a space at the lower bottom the vertical sides so the wires could pass easily under the first shelf which was about an inch above the floor of the closet. This way the wires are enclosed at the bottoms and not bothered by items in the lowest bin.

To finish the shelving unit, I hand sanded the surfaces, cleaned sawdust off with a tack cloth and sprayed with a glossy clear finish. I screwed in the shelving unit at the top and bottom with an added spacer at the bottom that allowed the wiring to pass behind it (this is how I maintained the channel for the wires); and screwed in the back of the closet with the new bin cutouts.

Not perfect...but perfectly functional for togs and toys! This mod has freed up the drawer under the closet to be a pantry instead of a clothing drawer.

Next thing I'm thinking -- sewing a laundry hamper to hang on the right side of the closet.

vhollow

That is a beautiful upgrade! Thank you for posting it.

gande

Excellent work @CampsiteGal!  Especially on the cutouts. Your shelves look OEM!  The factory should copy. 

I installed these along the back wall of the closet in our 2018 400 to match the existing factory shelves on the left wall. I’ve since added the mesh retainers like the original shelves have to keep things in place while on the road. 

Horigan

@gande
That looks really good!  I've been meaning to do this on our 2019 400 and I think I'll steal your design.

gande

@Horigan… thanks!  You’ve probably seen in the picture that you need to build it in two pieces to get it into the closet. 

Horigan

Yep! Noted that.