ouR escaPOD mods

Very nice awning!  I may steal this

Here is one I just completed. I wondered why Forest River left so much room behind the drawers beneath the sink in our 179. It did not seem to make sense to have so much wasted space. I decided to do something about it.

I really could not do much with the top drawer as the sink drain would interfere with making the top drawer any larger. I modified the middle and bottom drawer, adding 3 inches in depth to both of them. I disassembled them and reused the front and back of the drawer pieces. I could not find 3/8" plywood, so I got 1/2" plywood and notched it so that the total width of the drawer would remain the same. My table saw came in handy for this project as well as a pneumatic nail gun. Since I could not reuse the drawer bottoms, I used 1/4" Lauan plywood. I used carpenter's glue in addition to the nails on the corners. Since I reused the front and back, I did not have to worry about placement of the screw holes for the faceplate.

For the slides, I realized that the original holes would place the mounting screws near the faceplate and in the middle of the drawer, leaving the back end unsupported. I drilled a hole in the slide parts that attach to the drawers near the back. I used some extra screws to place one in the middle where the original screws would have been. This should provide better support for the drawer and increased strength.

Here's a picture of the bottom drawer. The middle drawer is the same. Both are 3" longer than the original drawers.



The drawers were finished with 3 coats of Minwax semi-gloss clear polyurethane spray. They are getting their 24 hours of rest now before loading them up.

Bingo! It isn't because of leaks, but partly to keep leaves and debris off the top and partly to shade the top of the slide-out which should reduce the amount of heat gained. The same applies to the awning on the door side. It should shade the side of the R-Pod some, plus when it rains, we stay dry when we go out or come in. We've had a chance to test it as it has rained on our current trip. It works well. I did have to adjust the supports so the center is one notch above the two ends. That helps keep water from pooling on the awning.

Some people use washers instead of the shims I made. I just wanted something more solid.

I really don't have a problem hitting my head on the shelf. It sits high enough and back far enough so that it has not been a problem. The bigger problem is crawling over my wife if she gets into bed first or if I have to get up during the night.

I hope my ideas have been useful for you.

I'll suggest that to my wife. It might work better for us also.