Cabinet construction Aluminum vs Plywood/MDF

[Healeyjet]

My wife and I are designing a long term travel rig and have come up against the following issue. We cannot decide whether to make the cabinets out of aluminum painted or Plywood/MDF. Our builder makes beautiful cabinets out of aluminum and the cost is the same and as well made as the standard home grade cabinets that they install. We have gone around and around and have the following thoughts and are looking to see if anyone has any ideas we have not thought of.

1) Would aluminum cabinets be lighter? We are told they would be about the same as plywood but my thought is that aluminum cabinets may add some rigidity to the camper box.

2) Aluminum cabinets would be built by the same company building the camper so we only deal with one person (nothing subbed out)

3) Aluminum cabinets would be painted whatever colour we want and easily repaired if damaged. (Autobody paint)

4) Aluminum cabinets would not be subject to water damage (either by leak or a plumbing issue)(it would be nice to say these things never happen but we might as well plan for the worst).

5) Plywood cabinets would be warmer both in touch and in sight. We don't want to feel that we are living in a tin box (even though we are we don't want it to feel that way, LOL)

6) After 5 years of on highway and off-highway use (mostly on highway) which cabinet is going to be less rattle prone? (We will have a pass through and would rather not have a creaky camper behind us)

7) The same pulls/handles can be used for both aluminum and plywood cabinets so doors will be secured with both materials.


Any thoughts at all are appreciated.

Ward

 

[Joe917]

I would lean towards aluminum if price is the same. If you go plywood, Russian/Baltic Birch is the way to go, by far the best weight to strength in the wood world. Mdf is a non starter.
Do you have the skills to repair aluminum drawers? Wood?

 

[Healeyjet]

Joe, the drawers on the aluminum cabinets will be very well made as they use them in service bodies except ours will use 200 lb slides in place of the 500 lb slides they use in the service bodies. I cannot repair aluminum except to go back to the manufacturer (which is close by) but can repair wood drawers as I have made cabinets in the past.
Ward

 

[Joe917]

Sounds like Al is the way to go. You just need to convince yourself (and the boss) you are happy with the look.

 

[mhiscox]

That's a good analysis, Ward, and as you noted, they each have advantages. I believe either would be acceptable if done right, so a lot of it would be personal preference.

Two things from my experience:

Rather than using the cabinets to increase wall rigidity, you may want to consider the opposite . . . isolating the cabinets from the walls to the extent possible. A lot of the creaks and groans I've had in my cabins are from the interface between cabin and cabinets. Engineering this isolation may or may not be practical in your setup (and security is undoubtedly more important), but I do think that getting an extensive set of cabinets, no matter which material, to interact well with the walls will be a big challenge.

Also, it won't be worth putting a lot of effort into quiet cabinet structures if the contents will be bouncing around insider the drawers and cabinets. Some of my cabins have sounded like I was transporting bags of loose scrap metal. But I also decided that getting everything held down tight was impractical, so I wimped out and got earplugs so I didn't have to listen to it. Getting things like the toiletries and kitchen gear to stay quiet while you're bouncing the truck over ruts and washboard is a serious challenge, and I've envied the people with detached cabins that can make a lot of noise without bothering those in the cab.

 

[IdaSHO]

If built properly wood is superior in so many ways.
And integrating cabinets into the design will save you weight.

I went the route of a wood framed camper, and the cabinets were integrated into the design to dramatically increase the overall strength.

The cabinets were hand built using 3/4 x 3/4 maple and skinned with birch door skins. Every joint wet set and bonded 100% with PL Premium.

Doesnt sound like much, but way they are built and integrated into the camper adds a LOT of strength, and add very little weight.

 

[rayra]

The aluminum will have greater longevity, but they'll be a lot noisier off-road when the contents are shifting around. You'll want to line the aluminum with something, tool chest draw liner mats, bitumen rubber window flashing, something.

 

[westyss]

Maybe consider the overall feel, what I mean by that is aluminum can be cold as in to the touch and also to the ambiance of the inside of the camper. Wood provides a warm soothing look and feel to the inside and will feel less commercial or industrial. In some cases condensation will also develop on the aluminum first and pretty much not at all on the wood.

 

[Healeyjet]

Westyss, that is exactly the dilemma we are having. We want it to look modern, not like my parents RV, and were thinking the streamlined look of painted aluminum cabinets would be nice. As well they are a bit reflective of light possibly to help brighten up the interior. I wasn't aware of the condensation issue and will bring that up with the builder.


Example of aluminum cabinets they build



Example of Maple cabinets they have built by a cabinet shop




We are thinking that by having the aluminum cabinets painted a colour that is not white it will warm up the interior visually. We will also have blinds, flooring, counter tops, bedding, upholstery etc to warm things up visually.

Ward

 

[Arclight]

I like the idea of the Aluminum, painted up in a vibrant color scheme. Like an orange or red with contrasting upholstery. Go with a modern look to avoid the ambulance feel. You could use a thin laminate floor to get the warmth aspect.

Arclight

 

[ohpyramids]

You could upholster the aluminum with fabric or add wood faces to the drawers so it doesn't feel so cold. I'd imagine it feeling like a submarine inside with just the aluminum boxes. Excited to see the finished product either way.

 

[westyss]

Westyss, that is exactly the dilemma we are having. We want it to look modern, not like my parents RV, and were thinking the streamlined look of painted aluminum cabinets would be nice. As well they are a bit reflective of light possibly to help brighten up the interior. I wasn't aware of the condensation issue and will bring that up with the builder.


Example of aluminum cabinets they build



Example of Maple cabinets they have built by a cabinet shop




We are thinking that by having the aluminum cabinets painted a colour that is not white it will warm up the interior visually. We will also have blinds, flooring, counter tops, bedding, upholstery etc to warm things up visually.

Ward

It seems to me to come down to personal preference, in these two images I really like the maple, thats my preference, and I shy away from the industrial, commercial sterile ambulance look. My interior walls are all white so having the wood richens the interior and feels more comforting, but again thats my preference.

As for the condensation, that really is dependent on the environment at the time. Winter camping with two people in a small box with sporadic heating and I have noticed that the ally will collect condensation, in a dry enviroment not so much and with constant dry heat will not be a factor, just something that I have noticed.

 

[Healeyjet]

I would agree Westyss. I love the maple but we have done that in a kitchen already and are thinking the aluminum cabinets will be a more modern look. Below is a photo of our last kitchen all done in hard maple. We have gone through the Victorian phase and the Arts and Crafts Gamble House phase and are looking for a real current look. My fear is it feeling too cold as well but we are hoping the soft furnishings will soften it up "enough". I think in our minds we have decided on the aluminum cabinets someone to talk us out of it. LOL

 

[Kiomon]

we love our aluminum cabinets in our build. Impervious to water, light weight and strong. Our box is a basic rectangle so we didn't have many radiused corner and such to try and fit cabinets too. We don't have any problems with noise nor rattles, everything is just packed tightly. Our cabinets are anodized.and pretty tough. I like wood, but I always feel that it looks dated in a few years, maybe it comes down to the lines chosen.

 

[Jeep]

I'm doing another build, using aluminum for the cabinets, and possibly PVC for the doors, 1/2" thick, might add a little appearance quality and is light weight and quieter.