Removed Air Conditioner; Created Shelf Box

AldebaranJill

I hadn’t used my air conditioner in the five years I owned my T@B - and wanted to reduce weight and create more usable space. I did not want a door, just an open shelf/box that matched the wood of the other cabinets. Cost $7. Is easily removeable if I want to put the AC back in for a particular trip.

After:




Before: 

ScottG

Ahhh, good! I'm not the only one who considers that thing a useless waste of precious space!  :-)

Did you have to remove the little fan inside the cabinet? IIRC, when I did something similar the fan was in the way of the new box.

(I also see you removed--or never had--the television, and replaced it with a handy shelf. More nods of approval--ha ha.)

AldebaranJill

@ScottG No, you're not the only one. Year after year I looked up at it, the ignored appliance. I live in Seattle so even my own house doesn't have air conditioning. When I wanted to reduce weight, it was the second target. The spare tire was first.

No, after much deliberation about what to do with the fan, I decided to leave it where it was for now. The wood I used was super thin, and so it fit underneath the fan with clearance. Perhaps my fan is less tall than your fan was?

I never had the television - that decision was made up front when I bought the trailer. Thank you for the nods of approval.

ScottG

Could be. I used 3/4" plywood and it was tight with the exisiting opening and just hit the bottom of the fan.

It was a small added chore having to remove it, but I ended up re-purposing it as a little adjustable fan mounted to the valance (also similar to your set-up). It's a little loud but it makes a surprisingly good breeze!

AldebaranJill

Ah, the wood thickness definitely is the difference - mine was super thin (either 1/4 or 1/8). Yes, indeed it was some work. I wanted each piece of wood to be able to come out independently and easily, so the whole thing is a puzzle and held in by two screws. 

I saw your modification with the repurposed fan, it was very clever. I contemplated it, but already have two USB powered fans with clamps that I use. What I really contemplated was rigging some sort of bathroom exhaust and using the vent, the fan, and cutting a hole in the bathroom wall and adding a duct. That’s still being pondered :-)

Tabaz

I decided to make a temporary storage space where the A/C unit resides.  All panels are held in with Velcro and can be removed in seconds.  The top panel is actually brown construction paper because it was easy to bend to fit in the opening.  The door was purchased from NuCamp.

db_cooper

Next mod!  😎

Will probably not put a door, and just use the space while camped.

ScottG

A very clever way to maximize use of the available space in the A/C cabinet. Nice job!

db_cooper

Not one to dilly dally, just did this mod for the total cost of zero.  Leftover white vinyl, and leftover bungee and eyelets from a kayak build. Went with the bungee to keep the outback theme going, and see how we use it. Might put a door on later. 

HowieJr

Just curious, did you seal off the a/c vent in anyway, and if so how?  Just pulled our a/c and am preparing to convert space to storage.

Tabaz

I removed the computer fan from the ceiling, then put some foam rubber into the round opening to keep bugs out.  Also put some foam in the drain tube.  I taped a thin piece of medium-weight plastic over the grill opening from the inside to keep out drafts.