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.
Drove it home today.
1999 Ford E-250, 6 cylinder, 125K miles.
Was a home builders work van. Some slight surface rust.
Cargo doors a bit dinged up.
I'm planning on doing a full conversion. Most of the work I'll do myself but some will be beyond my abilities. I'm giving myself a deadline of no later than spring. Van won't fit into my small garage so that will affect how/when I can work on it.
I've been reading this and other conversion forums for a few weeks. It's been a huge help so far. Learned quite a lot already but there's still a lot I don't know. Counting on the pros who frequent this forum for some advice.
Advice like: The previous owner drilled some 3/4 inch holes in the floor for bolted down shelving. Whats the best way to cover these holes from underneath? Should I treat the metal edges of the holes before I start?
Thanks for your time, now and in the future.
WVvan
P.S. I'm thinking of call it "HAL the Van".
Why HAL? Well since my name is Dave....
Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
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.
Drove it home today.
1999 Ford E-250, 6 cylinder, 125K miles.
Was a home builders work van. Some slight surface rust.
Cargo doors a bit dinged up.
I'm planning on doing a full conversion. Most of the work I'll do myself but some will be beyond my abilities. I'm giving myself a deadline of no later than spring. Van won't fit into my small garage so that will affect how/when I can work on it.
I've been reading this and other conversion forums for a few weeks. It's been a huge help so far. Learned quite a lot already but there's still a lot I don't know. Counting on the pros who frequent this forum for some advice.
Advice like: The previous owner drilled some 3/4 inch holes in the floor for bolted down shelving. Whats the best way to cover these holes from underneath? Should I treat the metal edges of the holes before I start?
Thanks for your time, now and in the future.
WVvan
P.S. I'm thinking of call it "HAL the Van".
Why HAL? Well since my name is Dave....
Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
This past Saturday and Sunday the power was out in my section of town for around 19 hours due to a snapped pole.
This picture is from Sunday morning. The orange wire is the extension cord that runs from the van's inverter then upstairs to my home's refrigerator. Just got done mowing the lawn and cooling off by parking myself in front of the Endless Breeze fan in the van. The solar panels were still making more power than I'm using.
Have I ever mentioned the fact that Hal The Van RULES!
This picture is from Sunday morning. The orange wire is the extension cord that runs from the van's inverter then upstairs to my home's refrigerator. Just got done mowing the lawn and cooling off by parking myself in front of the Endless Breeze fan in the van. The solar panels were still making more power than I'm using.
Have I ever mentioned the fact that Hal The Van RULES!
Thanks Duramax.
I've a small project for the fridge. When I first installed the fridge I added a small electronic thermometer purchased on ebay. They are dirt cheap but with two main disadvantages. The readings are in Celsius and not Fahrenheit and they are battery operated. The Celsius readings are easy to get used to especially since this is for a fridge and the Celsius freezing point is zero. The batteries are a concern because they don't last long enough.
I'll start with the initial installation.
The temperature probe is on the end of a wire. I ran the wire through the grill then EVER SO CAREFULLY used a screwdriver to create a gap through the foam insulation along side the fridge cooling lines where they enter the body of the fridge. Then carefully side the temperature probe through this gap. The foam closed up and sealed the gap after the screwdriver was removed.
Used foil tape to cover the probe wire inside fridge. I made a slight adjustment after this picture. I moved the probe farther from the side so wall it would hopefully have a more accurate reading.
Reinstall the grill then cover the back of the thermometer with double sided tape and stuck it on the front grill.
How it looked when done.
That was 2 years ago. First problem was the tape didn't hold so I ended using a zip tie to hold it place. Second problem was battery Life. It was too short. Time for an upgrade.
Unmount the fridge from the van and haul into the shop. Remove the thermometer body from the grill. I don't want to mess with removing the probe from inside the fridge so I just cut the wire. Use a diamond coated file to carefully cut through the plastic grill.
Not done yet. I had to cut one more louver after this picture and even up the cuts on the right side.
Mount the thermometer in the grill. Looks good.
Now how to power it without batteries. First off check how much power it needs. I thought the the two batteries in the back of the unit were most probably in series. This takes LR44 batteries so that would give it 3 volts. Checked my assumption with a voltmeter. I was wrong. The batteries are in parallel. The unit uses 1.5 volts.
So I need to convert 12 volts to 1.5 volts. This is a LM317 Voltage Regulator. It has a range of 1.25 V โ 37 V. It's voltage output is determined by the ratio of the two resistors in the picture.
When hooked up on breadboard it outputs 1.57 volts. Close enough.
Solder wires in place of the batteries.
Build the circuit and test it out with the thermometer. It's reading "Lo" since the probe is hasn't been reconnected.
Install back on the fridge. Here's Fox handing me the lead from the temperature probe so I can join the wires back together. I soldered them to get the least resistance in the splice.
The circuit board has to be insulated from the surrounding surfaces so I'll build it a small box. Keep my left over acrylic pieces for times like this.
Secure the circuit box in place with foil tape. When the LM317 is in operation it will convert the excess voltage to heat which must be vented. Since the thermometer draws just a little current there shouldn't be that much heat in this application but I've still left a couple of vent gaps in the top of the box.
Use taps to get power for the circuit board from the fridge plug.
Mount the fridge back in the van.
Let it run for a couple hours.
Success.
I've a small project for the fridge. When I first installed the fridge I added a small electronic thermometer purchased on ebay. They are dirt cheap but with two main disadvantages. The readings are in Celsius and not Fahrenheit and they are battery operated. The Celsius readings are easy to get used to especially since this is for a fridge and the Celsius freezing point is zero. The batteries are a concern because they don't last long enough.
I'll start with the initial installation.
The temperature probe is on the end of a wire. I ran the wire through the grill then EVER SO CAREFULLY used a screwdriver to create a gap through the foam insulation along side the fridge cooling lines where they enter the body of the fridge. Then carefully side the temperature probe through this gap. The foam closed up and sealed the gap after the screwdriver was removed.
Used foil tape to cover the probe wire inside fridge. I made a slight adjustment after this picture. I moved the probe farther from the side so wall it would hopefully have a more accurate reading.
Reinstall the grill then cover the back of the thermometer with double sided tape and stuck it on the front grill.
How it looked when done.
That was 2 years ago. First problem was the tape didn't hold so I ended using a zip tie to hold it place. Second problem was battery Life. It was too short. Time for an upgrade.
Unmount the fridge from the van and haul into the shop. Remove the thermometer body from the grill. I don't want to mess with removing the probe from inside the fridge so I just cut the wire. Use a diamond coated file to carefully cut through the plastic grill.
Not done yet. I had to cut one more louver after this picture and even up the cuts on the right side.
Mount the thermometer in the grill. Looks good.
Now how to power it without batteries. First off check how much power it needs. I thought the the two batteries in the back of the unit were most probably in series. This takes LR44 batteries so that would give it 3 volts. Checked my assumption with a voltmeter. I was wrong. The batteries are in parallel. The unit uses 1.5 volts.
So I need to convert 12 volts to 1.5 volts. This is a LM317 Voltage Regulator. It has a range of 1.25 V โ 37 V. It's voltage output is determined by the ratio of the two resistors in the picture.
When hooked up on breadboard it outputs 1.57 volts. Close enough.
Solder wires in place of the batteries.
Build the circuit and test it out with the thermometer. It's reading "Lo" since the probe is hasn't been reconnected.
Install back on the fridge. Here's Fox handing me the lead from the temperature probe so I can join the wires back together. I soldered them to get the least resistance in the splice.
The circuit board has to be insulated from the surrounding surfaces so I'll build it a small box. Keep my left over acrylic pieces for times like this.
Secure the circuit box in place with foil tape. When the LM317 is in operation it will convert the excess voltage to heat which must be vented. Since the thermometer draws just a little current there shouldn't be that much heat in this application but I've still left a couple of vent gaps in the top of the box.
Use taps to get power for the circuit board from the fridge plug.
Mount the fridge back in the van.
Let it run for a couple hours.
Success.
Thanks
Building the third drawer for the fridge cabinet.
Now that I have a drawer locking mechanism designed and tested I can finish off this cabinet. Start by getting the dimensions from the bottom space of the cabinet. Drawer sliders had already been installed in the cabinet. Cut the wood for the drawer.
I used 1/2" thick plywood. Here are the pieces just standing in position.
This is a biscuit cutter. It's how I assemble the drawer pieces.
It cuts out half-moon slots which you insert wood biscuits into.
Brush on glue to the biscuits and along the mating edges then clamp firmly.
Once everything has had plenty of time to set up, do a test fit in the van.
Perfect fit. Such a tight fit the drawer sliders on the sides are gripping without screws.
Prime and paint the drawer. I'm not painting the front since it will get covered with Formica. Used interior trim paint. I like the look of the paint but it has one problem in that anything left laying on it will tend to stick over time. On walls this isn't a problem but quite noticeable when used for shelving and drawers.
To get around that problem I give it a coat of clear polyurethane after it dries. This prevents the sticking.
Find the centerline for the front of the drawer and use that to determine the handle placement.
Drill and mill the slots for the handle then get to work on the latching mechanism. This is the third one of these I've made so continue to refine the design. Cut a section off of the metal slide.
Make the spring adjuster out of the cut off metal piece. Drill the hole for the 3/16" rod.
Add holes for the wood screws then trim the metal piece. It's easier to drill holes while the piece is larger since there is more to grip.
Make a compression spring. Got this one right on the first try.
Add Formica to the front of the drawer and then trim it. You can see Fox in the lower right corner of the photo keeping an eye on things.
Mill out the Formica slots. Used the aluminium U channel as a guide.
Add the handle then the latching mechanism and adjust spring compression.
Screw the part of the drawer slider that detaches to the side of the drawer then install in the van.
Fits and moves nice. Latch works like a champ.
Fridge cabinet is finally finished. And it only took me two years.
Think I'll mess with the fridge next.
Building the third drawer for the fridge cabinet.
Now that I have a drawer locking mechanism designed and tested I can finish off this cabinet. Start by getting the dimensions from the bottom space of the cabinet. Drawer sliders had already been installed in the cabinet. Cut the wood for the drawer.
I used 1/2" thick plywood. Here are the pieces just standing in position.
This is a biscuit cutter. It's how I assemble the drawer pieces.
It cuts out half-moon slots which you insert wood biscuits into.
Brush on glue to the biscuits and along the mating edges then clamp firmly.
Once everything has had plenty of time to set up, do a test fit in the van.
Perfect fit. Such a tight fit the drawer sliders on the sides are gripping without screws.
Prime and paint the drawer. I'm not painting the front since it will get covered with Formica. Used interior trim paint. I like the look of the paint but it has one problem in that anything left laying on it will tend to stick over time. On walls this isn't a problem but quite noticeable when used for shelving and drawers.
To get around that problem I give it a coat of clear polyurethane after it dries. This prevents the sticking.
Find the centerline for the front of the drawer and use that to determine the handle placement.
Drill and mill the slots for the handle then get to work on the latching mechanism. This is the third one of these I've made so continue to refine the design. Cut a section off of the metal slide.
Make the spring adjuster out of the cut off metal piece. Drill the hole for the 3/16" rod.
Add holes for the wood screws then trim the metal piece. It's easier to drill holes while the piece is larger since there is more to grip.
Make a compression spring. Got this one right on the first try.
Add Formica to the front of the drawer and then trim it. You can see Fox in the lower right corner of the photo keeping an eye on things.
Mill out the Formica slots. Used the aluminium U channel as a guide.
Add the handle then the latching mechanism and adjust spring compression.
Screw the part of the drawer slider that detaches to the side of the drawer then install in the van.
Fits and moves nice. Latch works like a champ.
Fridge cabinet is finally finished. And it only took me two years.
Think I'll mess with the fridge next.
WVvan wrote:
I do have one employment announcement. This is my new trainee.
Her name is Fox. Displays extraordinary energy levels along with innate curiosity but has problems with remaining focused. She's got some big paws to fill.
What a doll! Looks like a worthy successor to Tiger.
continued
Next is the big drawer I use to hold the porta-potti.
With the water reservoir full this drawer will have some momentum to it so I'm using a 1/4" latching rod this time.
Going to make what I'm thinking is an improvement on the design. Instead of a extension spring I'll use a compression spring. Get to make one of those for the first time.
On the metal slide make a cut out. Will end up enlarging this slightly before final assembly
Spot weld like before but notice that now the rod is on the inside of the metal slide. I'm flipping the slide to better fit the handle placement.
Make another bracket for spring adjustment.
Now to make the compression spring. Like before I'm winging the design. I set the lathe to 6 threads per inch for the compression part of the spring. It took me three tries before I was happy. One end has had the wire trimmed before I took the photo.
To get the tight wind at each end of the spring I disengaged the drive mechanism (the half-nut). With the half-nut engaged the middle part of the spring is created. The spring is being wound on a 1/4" rod but it expands when finished.
Here's how the spring fits on the metal slide. I'll explain the LED light shortly.
With the spring on the rod, install the adjustment bracket then move it back and forth on the rod until I get what feels like the correct snap back force. Then screw the bracket in place.
Here's the handle slide all the way to the left, as seen from the front.
Since the hole through the side of the drawer has tighter clearance than the first one I've waxed that end of the rod.
As to the LED light. I was finishing this up yesterday and the power went out in the whole neighborhood. Well guess who happens to have a mobile power supply? Me that's who. I completed work on this using the van batteries.
Milled out the slots in the Formica.
Handle attached.
Drawer installed back in the van
How the fridge cabinet looks now.
Now I can build the bottom drawer.
View of the neighborhood after sunset. Wouldn't know it but there's a street light on the pole directly behind the van.
One other point about the advantage of this latching design. If the van is stationary for a while and there's no worry about the latching the drawers then just shut them with the rod extended. The drawer sticks out less than an inch if not latched. Not enough to be in the way but enough to tell you what needs latched before you get ready to roll.
I do have one employment announcement. This is my new trainee.
Her name is Fox. Displays extraordinary energy levels along with innate curiosity but has problems with remaining focused. She's got some big paws to fill.
Next is the big drawer I use to hold the porta-potti.
With the water reservoir full this drawer will have some momentum to it so I'm using a 1/4" latching rod this time.
Going to make what I'm thinking is an improvement on the design. Instead of a extension spring I'll use a compression spring. Get to make one of those for the first time.
On the metal slide make a cut out. Will end up enlarging this slightly before final assembly
Spot weld like before but notice that now the rod is on the inside of the metal slide. I'm flipping the slide to better fit the handle placement.
Make another bracket for spring adjustment.
Now to make the compression spring. Like before I'm winging the design. I set the lathe to 6 threads per inch for the compression part of the spring. It took me three tries before I was happy. One end has had the wire trimmed before I took the photo.
To get the tight wind at each end of the spring I disengaged the drive mechanism (the half-nut). With the half-nut engaged the middle part of the spring is created. The spring is being wound on a 1/4" rod but it expands when finished.
Here's how the spring fits on the metal slide. I'll explain the LED light shortly.
With the spring on the rod, install the adjustment bracket then move it back and forth on the rod until I get what feels like the correct snap back force. Then screw the bracket in place.
Here's the handle slide all the way to the left, as seen from the front.
Since the hole through the side of the drawer has tighter clearance than the first one I've waxed that end of the rod.
As to the LED light. I was finishing this up yesterday and the power went out in the whole neighborhood. Well guess who happens to have a mobile power supply? Me that's who. I completed work on this using the van batteries.
Milled out the slots in the Formica.
Handle attached.
Drawer installed back in the van
How the fridge cabinet looks now.
Now I can build the bottom drawer.
View of the neighborhood after sunset. Wouldn't know it but there's a street light on the pole directly behind the van.
One other point about the advantage of this latching design. If the van is stationary for a while and there's no worry about the latching the drawers then just shut them with the rod extended. The drawer sticks out less than an inch if not latched. Not enough to be in the way but enough to tell you what needs latched before you get ready to roll.
I do have one employment announcement. This is my new trainee.
Her name is Fox. Displays extraordinary energy levels along with innate curiosity but has problems with remaining focused. She's got some big paws to fill.
continued
Now that the slider works it needs a spring to keep it pulled to the right so the drawer will stayed closed. Instead of buying a spring I'm going to make my own. I've no experience with this but there are plenty of videos on youtube showing how it's done.
WARNING - From what I've read you can really hurt yourself including losing an eye if you aren't careful when attempting to wind your own springs.
The wire I'm using is marked as music wire which is the same as spring wire. The wire comes in a coil. NEVER cut the ties on the coil.
Just uncoil as much wire as you need then cut it free from the coil. Don't try to wind a spring with the wire coil still attached.
There are a whole set of formula that can be used to calculate the size of wire and spring geometry needed for any particular application. I'm just going to wing it. Using wire diameter of .041".
This is going to be an extension spring so I want the spring coils as close together as possible. The lathe has a setting for threads per inch which in this case will be the same as wire coils per inch. So the tightest coil would be 1 inch / .041" = 24.39 coils. Round that down to 24.
Cut off a length of music wire. Put a 90 degree bend in the end.
Clamp a metal rod in chuck jaws of the lathe. The wire will be wound around this. Use the jaws to also hold the bent end of the wire.
To feed the wire I'm using this groove that is in the bottom of the tool holder.
Clamp a cutting tool on top just to hold the wire in the groove. The wire can still slide freely.
Set the lathe on it's slowest speed and making sure of eye protection and keeping hands far away from the winding bits, let it go. So here it is. My first ever spring. Far from perfect but let's see if works.
Trim it and bend it.
Attach one end of the spring to the metal slide and the other end to a wood screw.
Works like a champ. Snaps right back into position when let go.
Now that I have a latching design that works it's OK to finally Formica the front of the drawer.
When doing final assembly the original screws weren't long enough so used longer machine screws. Torqued them into the handle as tight as I dare then cut off the heads.
Use two nuts against each for locking since the slide must be loose enough to move freely. Then trim off excess thread.
OK that's first drawer done.
continued
Now that the slider works it needs a spring to keep it pulled to the right so the drawer will stayed closed. Instead of buying a spring I'm going to make my own. I've no experience with this but there are plenty of videos on youtube showing how it's done.
WARNING - From what I've read you can really hurt yourself including losing an eye if you aren't careful when attempting to wind your own springs.
The wire I'm using is marked as music wire which is the same as spring wire. The wire comes in a coil. NEVER cut the ties on the coil.
Just uncoil as much wire as you need then cut it free from the coil. Don't try to wind a spring with the wire coil still attached.
There are a whole set of formula that can be used to calculate the size of wire and spring geometry needed for any particular application. I'm just going to wing it. Using wire diameter of .041".
This is going to be an extension spring so I want the spring coils as close together as possible. The lathe has a setting for threads per inch which in this case will be the same as wire coils per inch. So the tightest coil would be 1 inch / .041" = 24.39 coils. Round that down to 24.
Cut off a length of music wire. Put a 90 degree bend in the end.
Clamp a metal rod in chuck jaws of the lathe. The wire will be wound around this. Use the jaws to also hold the bent end of the wire.
To feed the wire I'm using this groove that is in the bottom of the tool holder.
Clamp a cutting tool on top just to hold the wire in the groove. The wire can still slide freely.
Set the lathe on it's slowest speed and making sure of eye protection and keeping hands far away from the winding bits, let it go. So here it is. My first ever spring. Far from perfect but let's see if works.
Trim it and bend it.
Attach one end of the spring to the metal slide and the other end to a wood screw.
Works like a champ. Snaps right back into position when let go.
Now that I have a latching design that works it's OK to finally Formica the front of the drawer.
When doing final assembly the original screws weren't long enough so used longer machine screws. Torqued them into the handle as tight as I dare then cut off the heads.
Use two nuts against each for locking since the slide must be loose enough to move freely. Then trim off excess thread.
OK that's first drawer done.
continued
When we last left my work on the fridge cabinet I had a problem.
The drawer sliders I bought were supposed to keep the drawers shut but that feature might have worked in a stationary setting but not in an RV. The drawers would open and close with the corresponding turns as I drove. Used bungee cords as a temporary measure but needed a more permanent solution. You can buy marine style latches that do the job but besides being pricey they would require me to modify the cabinet frame. That would mean removing the frame from the van and doing some welding on it. I wanted to come up with a different solution. Dreamt up several ideas for tackling the problem, some much better than others, and finally narrowed it down to the one I'll show you here.
This is a close-up view of where the drawer slider attaches to the frame. The frame is made of angle iron so to the right of the slider is an edge. Looking at the piece of angle iron that runs along the top right gives you and idea of the depth of the edge or lip.
This is the the side of the the drawer. I've drilled a hole near the front edge of the drawer.
Through the hole in the side of the drawer will extend this 3/16" rod. It will slide behind the lip of the angle iron and hold the drawer closed. Now how to slide it back and forth?
I've got the drawer standing on end and here's the view looking down at it. The front of the drawer is unfinished because I'm going to cover it with Formica and wasn't going to do that until I got the drawer latching problem fixed. The handle is new from Lowes. I picked this particular style since it's wide enough to get a good grasp of.
You can see the two holes from the handle that was on there temporarily since I've been using the van in the interim. Mark the screw holes for the new handle.
Drill out the two holes for the handle screws. Then mill out slots that extend from each of these two holes 3/4" to the left. This is how the 3/16" rod will be slide back and forth to unlatch the drawer. By grasping the handle and sliding it to the left before pulling the drawer open.
So how to attach the handle to the 3/16" rod? Here is a section of metal I surplused a while back from some machine at work we were getting rid of. The metal is around 18 gauge with a 90 degree bend along one side.
Cut off an appropriately sized piece.
I'm using a pair of vice grips to hold the rod and metal piece together. The handle on the front of the drawer will be bolted to the metal and the metal will be attached to the rod.
Move the handle which moves the metal which moves the rod and unlatches the drawer.
So to attach the metal to the rod, say "Hello" to my new friend. Bought his for another project. Surprisingly affordable.
Line up the metal slide with the slots on the front of the drawer. Clamp it in place then drill two holes in the slide for the handle screws.
Attach the handle and give it a test slide.
Here's the inside the drawer view.
Mount the drawer inside the van and test it out. With the handle all the way to the right the drawer is latched.
Slide it to the left and the drawer can be pulled open. Here's the rod and the edge of the drawer with the drawer barely open. The rod just clears the drawer hardware since I wanted to keep it as close to the vertical center of the drawer as it could.
continued
The drawer sliders I bought were supposed to keep the drawers shut but that feature might have worked in a stationary setting but not in an RV. The drawers would open and close with the corresponding turns as I drove. Used bungee cords as a temporary measure but needed a more permanent solution. You can buy marine style latches that do the job but besides being pricey they would require me to modify the cabinet frame. That would mean removing the frame from the van and doing some welding on it. I wanted to come up with a different solution. Dreamt up several ideas for tackling the problem, some much better than others, and finally narrowed it down to the one I'll show you here.
This is a close-up view of where the drawer slider attaches to the frame. The frame is made of angle iron so to the right of the slider is an edge. Looking at the piece of angle iron that runs along the top right gives you and idea of the depth of the edge or lip.
This is the the side of the the drawer. I've drilled a hole near the front edge of the drawer.
Through the hole in the side of the drawer will extend this 3/16" rod. It will slide behind the lip of the angle iron and hold the drawer closed. Now how to slide it back and forth?
I've got the drawer standing on end and here's the view looking down at it. The front of the drawer is unfinished because I'm going to cover it with Formica and wasn't going to do that until I got the drawer latching problem fixed. The handle is new from Lowes. I picked this particular style since it's wide enough to get a good grasp of.
You can see the two holes from the handle that was on there temporarily since I've been using the van in the interim. Mark the screw holes for the new handle.
Drill out the two holes for the handle screws. Then mill out slots that extend from each of these two holes 3/4" to the left. This is how the 3/16" rod will be slide back and forth to unlatch the drawer. By grasping the handle and sliding it to the left before pulling the drawer open.
So how to attach the handle to the 3/16" rod? Here is a section of metal I surplused a while back from some machine at work we were getting rid of. The metal is around 18 gauge with a 90 degree bend along one side.
Cut off an appropriately sized piece.
I'm using a pair of vice grips to hold the rod and metal piece together. The handle on the front of the drawer will be bolted to the metal and the metal will be attached to the rod.
Move the handle which moves the metal which moves the rod and unlatches the drawer.
So to attach the metal to the rod, say "Hello" to my new friend. Bought his for another project. Surprisingly affordable.
Line up the metal slide with the slots on the front of the drawer. Clamp it in place then drill two holes in the slide for the handle screws.
Attach the handle and give it a test slide.
Here's the inside the drawer view.
Mount the drawer inside the van and test it out. With the handle all the way to the right the drawer is latched.
Slide it to the left and the drawer can be pulled open. Here's the rod and the edge of the drawer with the drawer barely open. The rod just clears the drawer hardware since I wanted to keep it as close to the vertical center of the drawer as it could.
continued
Thanks everyone for your kind words. I really appreciate that.
He had four of his friends show up today for the burial. I'd previously seen Tiger and them hanging out in the backyard. Always wondered if he thought they were just really big squirrels.
(Click photo to enlarge)
He had four of his friends show up today for the burial. I'd previously seen Tiger and them hanging out in the backyard. Always wondered if he thought they were just really big squirrels.
(Click photo to enlarge)
