New Front Storage Shelf

ScottG

Okay, I doubt this will be a popular mod, but I'm so tickled with it I'll toss it out anyway!

Last year I replaced my air conditioner (used never) with a much-needed cabinet. This year I decided the TV (used once) was next on the block. Now I'm not one of those counter-cultural Kill-Your-Television types, but this is just not a device we associate with camping. And in the tiny T@B, things that take up space for no reason gotta' go!

Since I tend to to keep my clothes and other personal items piled on the corner of the bed, what I really wanted was an easily accessible small shelf to hold my shower kit, keys, water bottle, and the like. So...

The TV and its associated hardware were removed, and the cables in the wall were coiled out of the way:

A one-piece shelf was custom built to fit in the small alcove vacated by the television mount:

Four pocket screws secure the entire unit to the same blocking that held the TV mount. Like my air conditioner cabinet (just above) the shelf can be quickly removed and the original appliance easily restored if desired.

I'm thinking the radio (used daily--but only as a clock) is goin' next!

Verna

Great looking woodworking, ScottG!  And useful, especially for your needs. 

Those Arizona winter nights get awfully long, so I won’t be copying your mod any time soon

Sharon_is_SAM

Good use of space!

jkjenn

Good for you. No doubt it will come in handy!

ericnliz

Nice job. Looks like it was meant to be!

ColoradoJon

@ScottG - my trailer just happens to be home and I have at least a week before I go out camping again, so you should be able to swing by and install one of these for me while I'm at work?  I'll leave a couple of beers under the trailer in the shade for you, so they don't get too warm.  Thanks!

This mod is awesome.  I'm going to have to investigate this further!

ScottG

Thanks, all. Rest assured if I was traveling solo and actually living in my T@B like some of you die-hards, I'd not only keep the TV but--ala DaleHelman and BrianZ--would be fashioning an antenna mount as well!

My experience is more in framing and other rough carpentry, and I'm kind of a hack in the wood shop, but as pushing up walls gets less appealing I've taken a liking to these smaller projects.  :-)

@ColoradoJon, it was really a pretty easy project built from scraps and designed on the fly. (And yes, more than one piece had to be "cut twice"--ha ha.) A router and a pocket jig can make it look pretty, but are not strictly necessary. Let me know if you want more info.   

TerryV6

Nice work, good use of limited space.  I'm not ready yet to take out the TV yet.. 

ColoradoJon

I ordered mine without the AC or TV, but I did get the Jensen.  The side shelf with cargo netting goes the full length as there is no cabinet for the AC.  It would be really nice to have a shelf like @ScottG made on that bathroom wall.

Only question I have is - how did you attach it to the wall?  Did you just screw it to the two upright studs in the wall?  I would have to cut out an opening, being careful not to cut any wires that might be lurking behind it.

maddmike

Very nice! I use my AC but my trailer was ordered without the TV and audio. I have no use for TV while camping either. I have plenty of space on that wall and I may have to do this.

ScottG

ColoradoJon said:

I ordered mine without the AC or TV, but I did get the Jensen.  The side shelf with cargo netting goes the full length as there is no cabinet for the AC.  It would be really nice to have a shelf like @ScottG made on that bathroom wall.

Only question I have is - how did you attach it to the wall?  Did you just screw it to the two upright studs in the wall?  I would have to cut out an opening, being careful not to cut any wires that might be lurking behind it.

maddmike said:

Very nice! I use my AC but my trailer was ordered without the TV and audio. I have no use for TV while camping either. I have plenty of space on that wall and I may have to do this.

The entire unit is screwed only to the 1x4 pine blocking that was already in the wall to support the TV mount. If you look carefully at the third picture, you can see the two pocket screw holes on the left side. The blocking (with a few coats of polyurethane) now forms the back wall of the alcove. The extension sticking off to the left is just cantilevered from the alcove and is not attached in any other way.

If I didn't already have the gaping hole from the TV mount, I would probably just put a simple shelf (or two) on the face of the existing wall. There is a bit of framing in there, though you don't really need it as most of the wall itself is sturdy 5/8" plywood.

If you did opt to cut a hole in order to maximize space, you could probably make it quite a bit larger. I did things the way I did so the TV could be easily reinstalled if desired.

There are additional wires back there from the Alde control panel and the vent fan for the A/C. You will need to be careful cutting or screwing--if you look closely at my first photo you can see where the original installers drove a screw right into to the negative leg of the TV power supply (the red and black wires)...

BrianZ

Very nice job, @ScottG!  I share your appreciation for a nice looking wood grain finish.  You made good use of the pocket hole screws - I only discovered those a few years ago when I helped our son build a coffee table, and then some shelving units and then a cabinet.  It's great to have that pocket hole drill jig when you need it.
The recess in the wall reminds me of what a medicine cabinet fits into.  Very unique, and clever use of space!

ColoradoJon

I wasn't sure if the four pocket screws you mentioned were the only fasteners.  I suppose you don't really need that many, especially with the alcove design.  My wife is giving me screwy looks, she's not too excited about it and thinks it will be in the way.  I'll have to whip up a mock shelf to hold up and show her just how wrong she is!

ScottG

Yep, it's pretty solid with those four screws. I can't speak for it being in the way, as I've yet to actually field test it. However, it doesn't protrude much more than the TV did, and there's still plenty of room to sit on the bench on the very rare occasions when we unmake the bed.