In our hyper-mobile periods of travel, we’re generally changing up our location every few days and ‘on our way’ somewhere. We love those times. The constant discovery of new locations, new scenery, new climates, new friends and new hikes. We’re roaming, moving a couple hours between each stop at most, making miles and balancing life with the travel.
But we also crave a little stillness every now and again. Some place we can put out the patio furniture, fully setup and not be thinking about the next stop for a bit. We get to more fully immerse ourselves in a location and learn more about the area, the weather patterns and get in tune with the surroundings.
And we also get a shipping address and it always seems an entire Amazon warehouse ends up being delivered.
Full of projects and upgrades!
And what better place to do home repair projects than when you have access to hot pools for soaking??
Slide Out Pantry Repair & Upgrade
We earlier reported that going over the speed bumps of doom while entering Tuttle Creek Campground outside Lone Pine, CA caused some damage to our slide out pantry. So project number one was assessing the damage and seeing if it was something these non-carpenters could tackle ourselves.
As is typical of my partner in crime, Chris went into full research mode and learned more about cabinetry slide hardware then any human realistically needs to know.
Turns out, the slides in our pantry were a little under spec for the weight. The one-slide installed on the bottom of the pantry was not sized right for the weight- and it’s amazing that it’s lasted since 1989 when it was originally built by whoever did our bus conversion back then. Suffice it to say, it’s probably been on its last slide for a while – if it wasn’t this bump in the road, it could have been the next.
The single slide had gotten bent in the scuffle, and needed not only replacing.. but UPGRADE!
Chris researched out what would be ideal and we had shipped in a pair of new pantry slides
Sounds easy enough, right?
The tricky part was needing to install and precisely line up three slides and the lock-in latch — in a space only a tiny human could barely fit a single arm into at a time. To get the alignment precise – we actually assembled everything upside down outside the pantry chamber, and then disassembled and re-assembled inside.
Then… we had to get the pantry to drop into and lock into the slides. To do that, Chris had to work lying on the floor in the bathroom across the hall from the pantry, with one leg up the wall, the other sticking through the cat door into the bedroom. I so wish I could have gotten a camera into there as well to capture the moment.
Ahh… the joys of working in small spaces!
But.. victory.. the pantry is better than ever and slides super smooth and strong. Such a delight.
And of course, no project can JUST be a repair. One of the little annoying things about our hallway was the lack of lighting – especially into the pantry.
We had some spare LED Ribbon tape from when we installed under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen that fit PERFECTLY along the edge of the pantry opening. Chris wired the strip into the 12v system, and was even able to utilize an existing switch in the kitchen.
Now the contents of the pantry are perfectly lit up, and as a super bonus, the light also illuminates the cupboards across the hallway.
Cabinetry Slides
Chris, now armed with more knowledge of cabinetry – also ordered in some sample slides for drawers in our kitchen. We have one or two that always slide open as soon as we turn the first corner. No matter how much we adjust the clasps, there was just no stopping it.
Sure, we could have just replaced the clasps, but the slide on one particular drawer was in pretty bad shape anyway.
We ordered in two different new slide mechanisms (one a Stay Close Slide Set
and the other a Self-Close Slide Set
Interior Modifications
Back after we first got our bus, we found a carpenter working in an RV Park we stayed at. We hired him to design and build our awesome dual desk setup. We’ve been extremely happy with that component, for sure.
At the same time, we also had an idea for a fold out table that could be used as a desk extension, dining table or game table with friends.
In all honesty, the reality of that idea really didn’t work out as well as it did in our heads. First, the measurements were off by a couple inches, meaning when fully folded out the table didn’t quite reach the sofa couch as we intended. Making it awkward to use for anything.
Add to that how difficult it was to deploy the rather heavy table, we rarely used it. Of course, Kiki adding her desk in front of it meant she had complete control over when we could use the table anyway (which means.. never.)
So, we took the opportunity while we had tools out to remove the table and regain back that couple extra inches of space and shed a few pounds. Perhaps in the future we’ll have a custom bookshelf made to fit the space to hold the few books and Bluray discs we have around.
For now, we’ll keep one half of the table around to set on top of Kiki’s desk to become a tabletop if needed. Ya know, if she ever allow such a thing.
Cat Desk Improvements
And of course, the most important home improvement was recovering Kiki’s desk with new sisal for better scratching.
There are actually a lot more projects underway that we’re wrapping up, such as some 12v optimizations we’re making in the wake of our energy audit. We’ll update on those in a bit.
Meanwhile, it’s time for these nomads to head off for another soak in the hot pools at Sam’s Family Spa.
Our most important task here is of course… to soak it all in!
I have always wondered how you guys do this full time RVing and work at the same time. Please help me understand how. My wife and I are in our 60’s want still have fire in the chimney and want to keep working but do it like you guys do it.
I’m retired doing on three time, from the military and gov civ service. Wife is soon to be retired social service supervisor. Now whats out there we can get paid to do and still RV at the same time. We do have a 29′ Jajco travel trailer which I think isn’t the right thing to have going full time but that’s what it is now.
So talk to me on this FULL TIME RV STUFF.
Hey guys.. you can find all our full timing RVing articles at: https://www.technomadia.com/rving and our income on the road article is at: https://www.technomadia.com/income
Hey guys my wife and I are looking to buy our first bus. Mainly it was to get us to Grad. school after I finish my BFA but the more I read the more I am digging nomadic life. Your articles on your battery banks and solar are great. I do not need to worry about the mechanical issues in bus spent 20 yrs as a heavy equipment mechanic now i am in my 40’s the wife wants to open her own bistro and i want to do work as a mobile artist in resident. you guys have been a breath of fresh air and keep up the work
Sounds like you’re well setup to take on the challenges of a bus.. and a nomadic lifestyle! Enjoy and cheers to the adventures ahead
My husband and I have just started checking out your website and find it very interesting. We are retired, want to move, undecided as to the location. This might just be the ticket since we love to travel.
Since this is all new to us, HOW DO WE BEGIN? Our house will be sold in April so we will be mobile, looking for a place to call home.
Hi Trish.. and welcome. There’s so many ways to begin, I suppose. Really depends on your situation and level of experience with RVs so far. Read RVing blogs is a great start too to get some varying perspectives.
Here’s a post we recently made linking to a lot of our helpful content that might help answer some of your questions: https://www.technomadia.com/2014/11/rving-resources-from-technomadia/
Enjoy!
Great meeting you today, hope to run into you again sometime. Thanks for providing all the great media info
Merry Christmas!
When we saw your rig pull away with the tag ZEFYR.. we knew there was something even more awesome about you. Our Zephyrs MUST cross paths again!
You guys are so super handy and it must be the season as I’m working in my ‘yet to be used’ new trailer while the weather allows. Always fun to see the tweeks and recommendations you all have and best of all, you guys took care of my brother’s Christmas present (Internet Handbook it is!). Enjoy your down time and the soaks!
I love the upgrades and the cats are jealous Kiki gets her own desk.
A “Rotel Problem”??? Shugah… Anything fewer than a dozen cans in the pantry for me and I’m “out”!! That’s 4 each of Original, Hot and Mild. They go in practially anything and the green chilies just add an extra kick to food! Even scrambled eggs! Oh, next time you’re near Louisiana/the South, be sure and get some Crystal Hot Sauce.
20+ years of doing plumbing repair work w/my dad taught me the Art of Contortionism as well. I think it also contributed to today’s claustrophobia. Ah, well… Give ‘n’ take.
Great upgrades! I put in a pantry and had also good luck with the slides from Ikea. They held the weight really well. I can only imagine how difficult it is to work in such a small space inside that pantry! Nice cat desk too!
Kiki is looking forward to getting some serious work (ie. naps) done on her desk. 🙂
Nice job! The pantry is on our todo list also. We need to convert it to a pull out to reclaim that unusable space in the back of the shelves, and repurpose those worthless drawers under the pantry. Nice job on the lights too, bet those are life savers. Keep up the great job.
I never thought I could love something like I do our pull out pantry – definitely a recommended mod if you have the space for it. Great use of space. The lights will be great once I train myself to turn them on.. got a little used to hunting for what I needed in the dark.
It’s easy to have the lights turn on automatically when you pull the pantry drawer out – just pick up a little lever or magnetic switch and wire them in to your main power (or another switch that’ll be on). Stick it on or screw it in to the side of the drawer so the switch is off when the drawer is fully closed.
Here are 2 small ones that’ll work great: Roller switch – bit.ly/rollersw Magnetic Switch – bit.ly/magneticsw
Any photo you could have gotten of Chris in “install mode” could not be any better than the one in my head from your excellent description !! Good thing you have those hot springs to stay limber 🙂 I totally understand the Rotel…….. I wish we could afford a custom build only because we are already “remodeling in my head” the rig we haven’t even purchased yet – they all have something that just doesn’t work for us.
Yup.. especially for full timing, there will be tweaks. One reason we opted to go with something older, so we wouldn’t feel bad about ripping things out and doing it our way. Of course, that also means things fail and we have to ‘remodel’ on its schedule, not ours. 🙂
Good choice on the slides! I was in the hotel furniture industry for 30 years, and I’ve seen a lot of cruddy slides in my time. You picked well! On the soft close: they can be touchy, so be aware of that. We had a 90% success rate with them, and that was with the top of the line slides. Our biggest customer specified them (a major player in the hotel world), so I spent a lot of my time jetting around the country doing warranty work on them. Not exactly what I called ‘fun’, especially when I had a ticked off hotel owner hovering over me. I saw recently on a factory tour that one of the high end 5th wheel manufacturers uses a cheap import version of a soft close. Half of the drawers I tried didn’t work. My bet is that they won’t be offering that for long.
Happy trails!
Jim
Thank you for the kudos, Chris is quite the researcher and did well. We had no clue how specialized of an industry this is! Amazing.
Nice work!
Since you’re all about drawer slides now, could you fashion that tabletop you removed into a navigation desk for Cherie while you are driving? On top of the passenger side dash, cut and hinge the desktop to the depth of the dash, open and slide it into position for use. Just a thought, never like to discard anything. Repurpose!
Oh.. goodness – not very practical for us. The table material is terribly heavy and thick, and would pretty much block the entry way to the bus full time, even while folded up. And also we’d have to remove the all important handle to help get up and down the steps.
And I have no need for a table while we’re underway. Chris has all his navigation set with a built in iPad mount in the dash, and I just use an iPad Mini while underway as a secondary nav. With my feet propped up on the dash, and the cat in my lap – everything is all set 🙂
We are however keeping one half of the table top to put on top of the cat’s desk to use as a small table when needed.
I really enjoyed your notes on the upgrades. We have a class C wish we love but want to do something different with the U shaped dinette area. Yes we can drop table down to form bed, but we in visioned couch area with a hide a table that we could pull out. Do u guys happen to know of a company that makes the tables like that? In my minds eye I was thinking of something to pull out from under the sitting area instead of the classic table n booth set up? It’s a long shop but u both seem so well informed that I thought I’d start with you. Thanks Shari
Afraid we don’t know of anything off hand, but we’re certainly far from furniture experts.. but imagine some internet searching might answer your question.