New Cover, New Cabinetry

That's a J.R.R. Tolkien quote. Overused, but still, quite fitting.

    I tried valiantly to patch the original cover with a huge roll of Flexi-Seal tape, but it was a losing battle. Plus, it attached to the camper with these snaps which had a habit of, well, snapping off. So I ordered a new one from a company that makes covers for outdoor patio furniture, and it was surprisingly affordable. So much so that I customized the Apache logo and had it printed on top. Now we could cruise down the road in style.

    But the sleeping layout inside was still far from ideal, and I knew more could be done to improve the storage situation as well. So I busted out the graph paper and came up with a few modifications that would better suit our needs. But first, out with the old.

That tall part with the double doors was about to get a crew cut.

Trimmed down and framed up.

New benchtop.

    In a previous life, there had been a sink and maybe even a small two-burner stove in that taller section with the double doors. By the time I got it, it was just a cabinet whose height messed with my plans of sleeping four people comfortably inside, with a series of shelves too small to be useful. So I trimmed it down, put in a new frame and made a smooth new top. Then I attached a hinged front which could swing up and be held in place by removable legs. This created the space I needed for a fourth sleeping area up off of the floor. 

Closed up.

The leg is a section of threaded pipe, sturdy and easy to unscrew and tuck away.

With the table in the lowered position, two kids can easily sleep there.

    I'm never sure how some of my ideas are going to work out, but I have to say this one worked out perfectly. I found three bins that fit like a glove in the cubbies, so all you have to do is flip the front up and slide them out. Then at bedtime, flip the front, screw on the legs, and lay out the sleeping pads.

This just might work.

4" memory foam on the ends for Mom and Dad 😊

They're asleep already.

    Happy campers? You know it.