Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
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Fridge Cabinet - Post #3
I was able to get the fridge to fit without the wall panel in the way. Put the panel back into place.
Figure out how much of the panel must be removed and mark it with tape.
Cut it out with the jigsaw.
Here's a side view of the piece just cut from the wall panel. I used contact cement as a adhesive for the three layers when building it. You can see that it's held together rather well.
I then put the panel back and checked the fit with the fridge.
Ended up cutting on it two more times until I got the fit just right with the cooling unit on the back of the fridge.
The cutting left a large gap in the insulating properties of the wall panel so I used some Reflectix to help seal it up.
The fridge arrived with the door mounted to open from the left side. I need it to open from the right. To do that remove the door.
Swap the hinges and hardware.
Here's the sliders for the three drawers.
Will add flat steel bars to the metal framework that the sliders will be bolted to.
Weld those into place.
Next I'll need to add support for the TV mount. This is the piece that's screwed to the TV
Next to it is the piece that will be bolted to the cabinet frame. The design of this mount allows the TV to be lifted off the cabinet and stowed away when not in use.
Figure out where I want the TV to go. Moved it around till it looked right.
Mark that location on the framework.
Weld the supports in place.
Add the final detail to the framework. I want some tie-down points for things carried in the back of the van. I'll be using 1 inch wide straps. Use some wire to create a mock-up.
Transpose the mock-up to 1/4" steel rod. Straightening out the wire gives me the length to cut the steel rod.
Use a vise and hand tools to bend the 1/4" rod into the shape I want.
I'll be the first to admit that these are not all identical but close enough for what I need.
Weld them into place.
Do some clean up work on my welds.
OK. I'm officially finished welding on the fridge cabinet's metal framework.
Framework weight is now 25 lbs.
continued -
I was able to get the fridge to fit without the wall panel in the way. Put the panel back into place.
Figure out how much of the panel must be removed and mark it with tape.
Cut it out with the jigsaw.
Here's a side view of the piece just cut from the wall panel. I used contact cement as a adhesive for the three layers when building it. You can see that it's held together rather well.
I then put the panel back and checked the fit with the fridge.
Ended up cutting on it two more times until I got the fit just right with the cooling unit on the back of the fridge.
The cutting left a large gap in the insulating properties of the wall panel so I used some Reflectix to help seal it up.
The fridge arrived with the door mounted to open from the left side. I need it to open from the right. To do that remove the door.
Swap the hinges and hardware.
Here's the sliders for the three drawers.
Will add flat steel bars to the metal framework that the sliders will be bolted to.
Weld those into place.
Next I'll need to add support for the TV mount. This is the piece that's screwed to the TV
Next to it is the piece that will be bolted to the cabinet frame. The design of this mount allows the TV to be lifted off the cabinet and stowed away when not in use.
Figure out where I want the TV to go. Moved it around till it looked right.
Mark that location on the framework.
Weld the supports in place.
Add the final detail to the framework. I want some tie-down points for things carried in the back of the van. I'll be using 1 inch wide straps. Use some wire to create a mock-up.
Transpose the mock-up to 1/4" steel rod. Straightening out the wire gives me the length to cut the steel rod.
Use a vise and hand tools to bend the 1/4" rod into the shape I want.
I'll be the first to admit that these are not all identical but close enough for what I need.
Weld them into place.
Do some clean up work on my welds.
OK. I'm officially finished welding on the fridge cabinet's metal framework.
Framework weight is now 25 lbs.
continued -
