DIY RV Storage Drawer

hey guys if you have an RV travel trailer or a fifth wheel with storage compartments that are packed full of junk and you can't even access what's in the middle you might be getting aggravated just like I did after quite some time struggling with it taking five things out to access the sixth and then having to put it all back and then just to pull it all out again I got pretty aggravated and I said I needed a drawer of some sort I looked online and they do make them they're pretty expensive and I decided there's got to be a way to make my own I come up with this I bought some plywood had some scrap pieces as well I made this drawer for just under fifty dollars that's including the mounting hardware and everything so I made a DIY video on it I put it all together and hopefully it'll help some of you out there that want to draw like this check it out okay I started by measuring for the base of the drawer I wanted the drawer to be 23 inches wide that includes the sides after subtracting the 5/8 inch plywood from each side that left a width of the base to be 21 and 3/4 inches so then I measure and Mark the 21 and 3/4 wide and 38 inches long I then use a straightedge to mark the board and then I use my pocket knife to scribe the mark scribing the mark simply keeps the board from splintering up so much when you use a circular saw to cut it so next I break out my dad's old circular saw it's really heavy it's older than I am but it's still my go-to circular saw anytime I'm cutting or ripping plywood outside of my shop once the drawer base is cut I go back with my orbital sander and sand the front and back of the plywood as well as all the edges I used 180 grit to sand it I eventually go back and sand all pieces of this project with 180 grit before I clear cut it I decided to use my table saw to rip the pieces that I'm going to use for the sides of the drawer I rip these pieces to 3 inches wide and then just in time the water board shows up after a quick water break it's time for me to rip the sides of the frame I rip these pieces to 7 inches wide here I'm just sending all the pieces with 180 grit before I cut them for length sending everything now is much easier than trying to send it after you put it all together before I cut the 3-inch strips with my miter saw I measure one more time to make sure I'm correct at 21 and 3/4 inches for the front and back of the drawer to attach the sides to the drawer I'm going to pre-drill and use Phillips head 1 and 5/8 inch wood screws I'm also going to use tight bond ultimate wood glue as you can see the two end pieces are the same width as the base 21 and 3/4 inches wide now I need to measure the full length so that the two side pieces are flush on the outside of these front and back the measurement for this side is 39 and 1/4 inches long that will cover the 38 inch base and each of the 5/8 inch pieces of plywood that I've already attached after a quick test fit I've applied the glue and now it's time to attach the side with the screws now that I've attached all four sides I want to add some dividers the dividers will not only keep things secure but they'll also help support the base in order to determine the size of each section I will place the grill and the toolbox for some measurements if you're following my video for guidance just keep in mind you'll need to determine the size of your drawer based on your rig also you'll need to determine the location of your dividers based on what you are going to store in your drawer I then marked the location for the divider added wood glue and attached it with wood screws it really increases the strength of the drawer by attaching the divider to the bottom of the drawer with wood screws and glue now that the drawer is complete it's time to work on the frame I'm making the frame out of 5/8 plywood it's the same plywood that I used for the drawer I'm also using a 3/4 board as the drawer runner or what the drawer was slide on here the 3/4 board is three and a quarter inches wide that will allow the drawer to set up three and a quarter inches off the floor and it can clear the door as it slides out to attach the 3/4 board to the plywood I'm using one and a quarter inch staples and lots of wood glue I'll make it two of these for the sides with both sides complete it's time to test fit the drawer at this time I'll get a measurement for the back of the frame while measuring for the back of the frame I'll add 3/16 of an inch which should allow plenty of room for the drawer to slide in and out I made the back of the frame out of the 5/8 inch plywood I cut at 7 inches high to match the sides and I attached it with wood glue and wood screws now that I've added it back to the frame I need to add a front I'm going to use a piece of the three and a quarter inch 3/4 board to match the side runners again after test-fitting the drawer to get a measurement I added three sixteenths of an inch to the front piece which will open up the frame and allow the drawer to slide in and out freely I used wood glue and two inch wood screws to attach the front piece the sides of the frame will boat out slightly I corrected this by making a brace at a 3/4 board and attaching it there in the middle which brought both sides in to the correct position once the frame is completed it's time to place it inside the compartment as you can see the frame will not fit in this door fortunately the door on the opposite side of the camper is much larger and the frame will fit on that side once the frame is inside the compartment I can drag it to this side and test fit the drawer so the drawer fits perfectly inside the frame and it does not hit the bottom lip of the door as I slide it out the only thing left to add to the frame is a piece of plywood above the drawer which will prevent it from falling out when it's extended here I'm attaching a piece of 5/8 by 5/8 plywood to the side of the frame this was that just above the drawer and will prevent the drawer from falling out when it's extended I'm using wood glue and staples to attach it to the side a big concern to a lot of people with RVs is trying to keep down the weight this drawer and frame weighs in at thirty nine point four pounds once the glue dried on the piece above the drawer I tested it one more time inside the compartment to make sure everything was just right before I clear coated it after the final test inside the compartment I clear coated the frame and the drawer with helmsmen spar urethane once that dried I was ready to add the mounting brackets as you can see here the hardware that I used to mount the frame is three inch L brackets attaching the L brackets to the frame prior to installing it inside the compartment is much easier and faster and I just can't help it I've got to test it one more time before I attach it to the floor inside the compartment in order to attach the back part of the frame to the floor inside the compartment I'm gonna have to fit inside that whole part of the way to prevent accidentally moving the frame around I'm going to go ahead and attach what's closest to me just inside the door and again if you mount the hardware to the frame before installing it it will be much easier and faster especially when in a tight situation like this so as you can see this is a tight fit a couple more pounds and I've had to get my 20 year old son to do this part and finally after spraying a little bit of oil on the frame I'm ready to install the drawer permanently of course I don't have a weight reading on this drawer but after a couple tests I know that it will hold everything that I need to put on it here's a couple of things that I have stored on my drawer there's a couple things behind it and in front of it and it's easily accessible I'm really looking forward to using this and it's not a mess like it is on the other side alright guys that's it just a couple of suggestions if you're going to make one of these things measure measure measure build it to your specifications don't use the specifications that I had the measurements that I had will work perfect if you have a camper just exactly like this if you don't you need to come up with your own specs your own measurements don't forget to try it try it several times when I went to install it in this this door here it was too big to go in I made it look good on the video but that was a mistake had it not been for the larger door on the other side I would have been tearing it apart and doing something different so measure it several times check everything and when I build the one on the other side I'm gonna have to put it together inside the hole there alright guys that's it I hope this helps give me a thumbs up if you liked the video subscribe if you have it already and as always have a great day

Channel: The Furrminator

Views: 220,644

Keywords: DIY, Travel Trailer, RV, Fifth Wheel, Recreation Vehicle, Camper, Modifications, Travel Trailer Mods, Fifth Wheel Mods, RV Mods, RV projects, Travel Trailer Projects, Fifth Wheel Projects, the furrminator, The Furrminator, the furminator, The Furminator, the firminator, The Firminator, jeff furr, Jeff Furr

Id: mz5s0z4FnK8

Length: 9min 53sec (593 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 06 2018