Creating the rear door cabinets is the next step in my van conversion. They will add extra storage space, of which every little bit counts in a RV. It involves mostly simple woodworking, so I’ll be heading back to my workshop.
First the driver’s side rear door. The red line in the photo indicates the available space in the door frame, from which I take my measurements.
I start with an oversized Cherry plywood backpanel, followed by sawing, jointing and planing the required wood as I showed in “6 Steps of dimensioning lumber“.
The sides are sized, glued together and added to the backpanel.
I decided double slats, to give the cabinetry a lighter feel. Slots in the sides accommodate the slats.
I use 3/4″ trim with mitered corners that will help the cabinet to be fitted in the door panel.
Now that all the parts have been fitted, they are glued together and left to dry overnight.
A lot of the time, if not most goes into sanding and finishing the wood. Until now, none of the wood used for the bed and cabinetry has gotten a stain finish yet. That will have to wait until a later date, when I can do a whole batch at the same time.
The finished cabinet, waiting to be installed. Next a similar cabinet for the passenger side rear door; the size will be a lot smaller, because in addition to the door stop, there is a door handle, locks and lights to contend with.