Slide out drawers under dinette seats

[ThePressureIsOn]

Okay, it's time to do something about storage under the dinette seats. It's such a PITB, to access. The end of the dinette seat is 24"W X 16"H. I plan on cutting an opening 18"W X 12"H. That would leave me about 3" on each side and 2" on the top and bottom. The seat is framed with 3/4" X 1 1/2" of what looks like oak. The end panel is probably made of osb or particle board. Would cutting that large of an opening into the end panel compromise the structural integrity of the dinette seat? I plan on framing the cut panel with trim, add a handle pull to match the cupboards, and stain the trim to match. I will probably make the drawers out of 1 X 10 Aspen for the sides and a 5 ply, 3/8" piece of plywood for the bottom.

Slides for a drawer that long are expensive. I found a pair of 32" 100 lb full extension for about $50 including shipping. That would get me about 6" of being fully open. Anything larger is over $100 per pair. When the slide is in the clearance between the dinette seat and couch is 19", so it will open over half way, and when the slide is out the clearance is 39".

Am I missing anything? If I do this right the DW will love me, but if I screw it up she ain't going to be happy, of course neither will I. I am pretty handy, but let it be known, I am not a cabinet maker.

If anyone has any ideas please let me have them. I won't begin the mod until I'm confident that the dinette seats won't collapse. If this works out, I'm going to be a hero, if it doesn't, you won't be hearing from me until I recover.:o

[SlowPoke]

I'm watching your thread closely, as I want to do the exact same thing, or at least figure a way to put doors on the sides ...yes those cushions and pullup panel are a pain.

If I run across anything, I'll pass it along.

[GaryWT]

I will suggest you take a look at a premier bullet or other trailer that comes with the drawers. We have them and they were a huge selling point. The draw covers about 2/3 of the possible area.

[MISailor]

If you can hold on a couple of weeks I'll post pictures of how I did exactly what you are thinking of doing. I'm in the middle of a project to add maximum sized drawers under our dinette.

So far I've completed the following:
1. Removed (carefully) the face of each seat, cut them out and screwed them back on. The pieces are particle board as you suspected. My holes are big (no comments please;)...I left no more than about a 1/4" margin from the inside frame, so the sides of the panels are now no more that 2" wide but they seem stable after being screwed back in place.

2. I ordered drawer boxes from drawerdepot.com (affordable). The rear drawer is 42D x 19-7/8W x 10-1/2H. The front drawer needed to be a bit shorter due to interference with the kitchen peninsula so it is only 38" deep.

3. I made drawer guides out of wood because I too found "real" ones way too expensive for the size I wanted in order to be able to use the entire space.

4. I ordered 2 extra cabinet doors and hardware matching the cabinet over the TV in our 19FBPR. The are the perfect size to function as drawer fronts since they cover the face of the dinette benched perfectly.

All I need to do when I get the TT out of storage is slide the drawers in and mount the drawer face to the drawer box. I'm eager to get this done but the weather is not cooperating. We had more snow today :(

[ThePressureIsOn]

MISailor, are you done yet, are you done yet? Your mod seems really promising. I thought about ordering two extra cabinet doors but the small ones are too small, 12" X 14", and the others are too large. I will check out drawerdepot.com. Thanks.....I will try to be patient.

I hear you about the weather, we are neighbors!:)

GaryWT, I've seen the pictures of the new slide out drawers. I'm so jealous. I would love to check them out except the nearest dealer is one hour away. I just might take a day trip....and soon! Thanks

[MISailor]

Wow! We really are neighbors. You're welcome to come over and have a look-see for yourself when I'm done. I promise I'll try to get 'em done ASAP and I'll keep you posted.

[planesnut]

You two are going to have a lot of fun helping each other with your drawer mod! Please don't forget about the rest of us that want to see pictures, and thanks in advance.

[ThePressureIsOn]

Thanks MISailor, I would love to come and check out your mod. I'll send you a PM.

Planesnut, We wouldn't think of keeping anyone in the dark! This is going to be a great mod.....at least I hope it will.

[CincyGus]

Interested to see how this turns out for you. I'm thinking of doing something similar but cheaper by working around the expensive slides by using caster wheels on the end of the drawer closest to the wall and guide rollers on the end of the bench frame closest to the living space.

[f6bits]

MISailor, what were the specs you ordered for your drawers? I looked at the drawer depot site's custom drawer section and they had tons of options.

I'd also sure like to see what you came up with for the drawer glides. With such a long drawer, fancy glides don't seem like the best option.

[MISailor]

MISailor, what were the specs you ordered for your drawers? I looked at the drawer depot site's custom drawer section and they had tons of options.

With such a long drawer, fancy glides don't seem like the best option.

f6bits, On drawerdepot.com go to "Preselected Combos". I ordered from "Combo 3" but made a few upgrades including thicker bottoms (3/8" instead of the 1/4" standard bottom) and a removable divider to allow each drawer to be divided into 2 compartments.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one drawer was 42 x 19-7/8 x 10-1/2 and the other was the same except only 38" deep (due to interference with the kitchen peninsula). Each cost about $44 which I thought was reasonable, but it cost almost $90 to ship them from CA to MI :eek: .

I will post pictures of the drawer guides I made once I get back into the TT, but basically what I did was glue and screw a 3/4 x 1/2 strip along the side of each drawer near the bottom edge and 2 similar strips on the sides of the dinette frame above and below the level of the strip on the drawer to form a channel for the strip on the drawer. I added a self-adhesive Teflon tape to the top of the bottom strips on the dinette frame to help the drawers run easier.

It'll all make sense when I post the pictures. I promise!

[audio1der]

Looking forward to this.
After I mount some gas shocks the plywood under the master bad for easier storage access, this mod is next.
I'd likely just fab up some drawers and use drawer glides as shipping anything up to Canada is prohibitively expensive :banghead:

Great thread; thank you!

[E597283]

Great mod..all I was thinking of doing was cutting proper size hole and ordering doors and hardware that match the kitchen. I was just looking for easy access.

[B&T]

Great mod..all I was thinking of doing was cutting proper size hole and ordering doors and hardware that match the kitchen. I was just looking for easy access.

I agree -- Great Mod!

I was was also planning on cutting holes in the end panels but instead of ordering doors and hardware was thinking of making my own doors and just covering them with the matching cloth (that i removed from under the couch) with added padding. Still pondering . . . :)

[MISailor]

The weather finally broke in Michigan so I was able to get the TT home today to finish the dinette drawer mod "bouncey:. Some pics of the finished job are provided here. I'll follow up with another post to show some of the details of how I made the full-length drawer guides, etc.

[MISailor]

Here are pictures of the home-made drawer guides and a view of the full-size rear drawer with the seat cushion removed:

[SlowPoke]

Wow MISailor, professional looking work.... really looks "Factory" actually!


Makes me really want to do mine now...gotta save me some $$ first though!

[ThePressureIsOn]

Thanks for letting me see you mod up close MISailor!(tx) You are a true gentleman. Folks, Bill's mod looks even better in person. If my slide out drawer mod looks half this good I will be a happy camper. Truly professional work.

[MISailor]

Thanks for letting me see you mod up close MISailor.....Truly professional work.

Bob, Thanks for the kind words. It was a pleasure meeting you yesterday and I enjoyed your visit. Meeting people face-to-face after becoming acquainted online can be risky with some online forums but not so with this one. There are some very gracious and helpful people here and I count you among them.

As I mentioned when you were here, much (and by "much" I mean all) of my ability to do projects like this comes from my late father who was a master at stuff like this. I think of him often and miss him greatly when I work on these types of projects and always wonder how he would have dealt with the inevitable "surprises" that pop up in mid-project. How I wish I could show him how much I learned when "assisting" him in his amazing work.

[Greysquirrel]

Thanks Bill for the link, the mistake I made was searching for threads that you started.
The $44 for the doors is an OK price but is the $90 shipping for four doors, two for the dinette and two for the bed? I live in NC and I had to think about the shipping to me I may be better off taking off the cabinet door and seeing how much a local cabinet maker would charge me. Then again maybe Keystone would be the better deal.

[JRTJH]

Talk to your local dealer about having the doors shipped to them. Keystone routinely puts supplies ordered by the dealerships in the next RV being transported to the dealer. That way, there is no charge for shipping. Many dealers will pass that savings on to the customer, others are more greedy and still charge shipping even though there's no charge in transporting the doors that way.

The only "drawback" is that you have to wait until the next RV is delivered. This time of year, that shouldn't be much of a wait for any dealership except for the very small ones.

[diugo]

Talk to your local dealer about having the doors shipped to them. Keystone routinely puts supplies ordered by the dealerships in the next RV being transported to the dealer. That way, there is no charge for shipping.

Wow! I came to compliment the OP on a great mod idea. My Cougar already came with doors to access the space under the dinette seats, but turning them into drawers is SO much better. I keep my laptop printer under one of the seats, and it's a pain to drag it out to use it. A drawer will be much easier.

And what a great shipping tip! My dealer charged me over $60 shipping for a light (but bulky) plastic exterior trim piece---which took plenty of time to arrive---and I would have balked at paying it had I known it was actually shipped to them for free.

[JRTJH]

Wow! I came to compliment the OP on a great mod idea. My Cougar already came with doors to access the space under the dinette seats, but turning them into drawers is SO much better.

And what a great shipping tip! My dealer charged me over $60 shipping for a light (but bulky) plastic exterior trim piece---which took plenty of time to arrive---and I would have balked at paying it had I known it was actually shipped to them for free.


It may not have been shipped to them for free. If your dealer didn't have any trailers being delivered to him at that time, he may have had to order it from Keystone and they in turn ordered from a supplier with a drop shipment to your dealer, then there would have been delivery charges, but if the part was in stock at Keystone and your dealer had a trailer leaving the factory in a week or so (longer if you're willing to wait), and the factory just puts the part in the trailer, then there would be no added delivery cost. Whether the dealer "fesses up" or chooses to charge you for delivery is up to his sense of "honesty" and/or "customer service" I would always ask if they can have it delivered with the next RV. If your dealer says that doesn't happen or Keystone won't do that, then you'll definitely have your answer about that dealer's perspective of you.

[diugo]

It may not have been shipped to them for free.

Yes, that's not clear. But when I ordered the part, I wasn't given the option of "pay $60 shipping for a $40 part" or "wait a few weeks and get free shipping".

Now that we know the option exists (thanks to you!), we can at least negotiate.

[MISailor]

I apologize if I did not make the cost of parts versus shipping clear earlier. The cost of the drawers from drawerdepot.com was about $44 each with about $90 to ship them both from CA to MI. The cost of the 4 doors and hardware ordered from Keystone through my dealer for the two projects was about $180 (if I recall correctly) including shipping from Keystone to my home. I don't recall a breakdown of parts vs. shipping for the doors.

[ThePressureIsOn]

Okay, I'm finished with the dinette seat slide out drawer mod. Let me say it again, I'm not a cabinet maker. MISailor, thanks for letting me see your mod. You can't look at the pictures of the drawers that I made...I've seen yours and these don't compare:). Overall, I am very happy with this mod and most important, the DW is extremely happy. No more pulling off the cushions and removing the plywood panel to access what's underneath the dinette seats.

My fear of making a large opening on the end of the dinette seat and compromising the strength of the back of the seat was valid. The whole seat was weakened. I had to reinforce it with a cross brace. The brace works well and the seat is as strong as before. If I need to, I can screw the plywood seat panel to the braces to make it stronger yet.

I cut the opening as large as possible, 21 1/4" wide X 12" tall. The drawer size is 20 1/4" wide X 10 1/2" tall X 40" long. I made the sides and bottom from 7 ply plywood, finished both sides and the ends from 3/4 Aspen. I purchased Blum 430 32", full extension drawer slides, load rated 100lbs. Any size larger, that I could find, cost twice as much. The maximum slide that would fit our TT is 36". As installed the drawers open 33", with 7" still under the dinette seat, but very accessible.

[Kristi]

Looks great Bob! I'm sure Sarah really likes it :)

[MISailor]

.......Let me say it again, I'm not a cabinet maker. MISailor, thanks for letting me see your mod. You can't look at the pictures of the drawers that I made...I've seen yours and these don't compare:).......

Bob, I'm glad I could help. BTW, don't be so hard on yourself. They look great! Well done, sir.

[eds451]

I added sliding trays under my dinette benches. They work OK, but I like what you guys did and will be looking to "upgrade" my mod when it cools down here in California. Again kudos.

[koko]

MISailor and ThePressureIsOn, Bringing this subject back, because we have ordered a combination of both of your ideas (metal slides, drawers from drawerdepot.com, doors the size of the upper-cabinet door in television cabinet from Keystone. We're just waiting for all of the materials to get here, then we'll begin "the great project". One question MISailor - have you found, as TPIO found, that reinforcement is needed on the booth seats or are yours still feeling sturdy? Also, to both of you, did you edge-trim the cutout you made in the particle board panel on the side or did you leave it raw? If you did put on trim, what did you use? Wish us luck. We're really excited. We've added a lot of extra storage in some cavities that were wasted space, but we feel that this mod is a must! Thank you for all of your great ideas.

[Hoojs12840]

Me like. What did you use to hold the drawers in while pulling the rv?

[MISailor]

One question MISailor - have you found, as TPIO found, that reinforcement is needed on the booth seats or are yours still feeling sturdy? Also, to both of you, did you edge-trim the cutout you made in the particle board panel on the side or did you leave it raw? .

I did not detect any loss of stability of the seats and did not add reinforcement. The reason may be because my dinette is the U - shaped variety whereas TPIO has a booth style dinette. I left the cut edge of the hole in the particle board raw.

Good luck with the project. I'm confident that you'll be very happy with the result.

[MISailor]

Me like. What did you use to hold the drawers in while pulling the rv?

I used the same type of drawer catch that is used on the other drawers in the trailer. I have found that the rear drawer sometimes opens during travel so I will be adding a second catch to that drawer this spring.

[koko]

Thanks MISailor for that quick response. Didn't even notice that the other trailer wasn't a Premier19. Man, were those metal slides expensive!! Surely know why you made your own.

[Sivymp1]

I want to do this by my wife says no way! And I am sure I will screw it up.:rolleyes:

[ThePressureIsOn]

Like MISalior, I left my cut outs raw, the drawer front covers any bad cuts. Our drawers also opened during travel and I added two of the same latches used for the cupboard doors. MISalior did great with his slides. If I remember correctly, he lined his slides with silicone plastic and they slide easily. I did not have the confidence to make mine that way, so bought the Blum glides. You won't be disappointed with the convenience of pull out drawers under the dinette benches. Show us your progress and good luck!

[mamawildbear]

I know I'm reviving a thread that's several years old but this mod is certainly still relevant. MISailor, I love the idea of saving money by not buying "real" drawer glides but how do yours perform? Do the drawers slide in and out easy enough or do they stick? Also, for everyone whose done this using home made glides or the purchased kind, do you need some sort of locking mechanism to stop them from opening during travel?

[koko]

We've had our drawers now for a year and a half. We went with the metal slides; and they're very smooth, although they're much heavier than the wood would be. We put on the same latches we have on the other drawers and cabinets but we did have to put on a second latch because, as MiSailor said, the back drawer would come open sometimes on bumpy roads. We also use the fattest swimming noodle to wedge between the drawer and below-the-stove wall when in transit. It's worked like a dream to make sure the drawer stays put. This has been the best mod we've ever made on this camper. We're on a two-month road trip, and these drawers added a tremendous amount of room to our trailer - all the extra storage we'll ever need. These two drawers cost us $600 total, including all shipping. By the way, notice the table pedestal we installed - another great change. It gives us twice the leg room; and it lets the table revolve, so we turn the table sideways when it's just the two of us for even more space. People complain about their booth seats being crowded, but not so with this pedestal. It also easily makes into a bed. It's called the Springfield Table Pedestal. If you have the two metal bars holding up your table, you'd no longer have to find a place to put them when it's made into a bed.

[Andymon]

Fortunately, our Springdale came with doors on the dinette. We found some plastic storage bins that were almost the same size as the space. they have wheels on them and when set on the lids, they do not roll around. Easy to pull them in and out.

[robo]

Hmm a winter project i see young padawon

[koda13]

Andymon,

Can you post some pictures of these bins and how they work in your unit. Our unit also came with doors. I'd like to add the drawer slides, but your idea sounds easier and serves the same purpose. But I'd like to see some pics so I completely understand your setup.

Thanks!

[Andymon]

Andymon,

Can you post some pictures of these bins and how they work in your unit. Our unit also came with doors. I'd like to add the drawer slides, but your idea sounds easier and serves the same purpose. But I'd like to see some pics so I completely understand your setup.

Thanks!

I'll take some pics next time we're out at the TT. It's in storage.