I did "adjust" my old box and it felt good for a while but then slowly degraded. This box says not to touch the set screw or it will void their warranty.
As for healing up, its been a long slow recovery.
Continued camperizing….
My chateau van (like most) came with the second row removable captains chairs. I have thought since buying the van that it would be cool to make a removable/swapable cabinet based off of another seat base. For a couple years now I have kept my eyes peeled for that extra seat base I can hack up to no avail. The reality is it would have likely been more difficult with a seat base anyways.
Instead I just replicated the seat base attachment points out of some angle and steel rods.
With the pins interfacing the mount the cabinet is very solid. Under the lowest drawer there is a toggle clamp with a hook that replicates the OEM style connection. A step further, I installed leveling feet so some tension can be put against the floor.
This cabinets initial goal was to be a place to put our porta potty for an (at the time) upcoming bi-annual trip to southern Utah. In the past when taking the porta potty it pretty much just slid around under the bed, or was wedged behind the back seat. It was an accident waiting to happen.
I also decided that since we mostly cook outside I didn't really need this cabinet to be near the door. Putting the box on the driver side allowed it to be bigger than on the passenger side and still access the side door. Additionally I found we like the seat by the door.
For the moab trip the box looked like this.
There was one large cubby and 3 small ones, the top was removable (and ended up on the bed a few times when playing cards), and enough room in the box for the potty but not enough to get anything else in or out of the box if it was in there, you know like the toilet paper, the box required some modifications to the top for a bigger opening.
In short, we learned a few things by trying the box out in this rough draft form. The larger cubby was used for drinks that were cycled into the fridge, with coats stuffed above. The smaller cubbies were nice for our toiletries bags. I guess this is more like a bathroom cabinet/pantry/nightstand at this point.
After the test run I sourced some hardware, like the nice southco push to turn latches
https://amzn.to/2xPKLE4, soft close drawer slides
https://amzn.to/2xN2Hz0, a stainless sink off ebay, and a a stainless hinge continuous hinge, these 3' ones
https://amzn.to/2JvttRg tend to be the same price as a 16"-24" and they can be cut easily, this was enough for the drop shelf and the box lid.
At first I chose this quick release H/C faucet
https://amzn.to/2JdvEte and spigot
https://amzn.to/2JtSVXp but felt that its black plastic look didn't really fit well so I bought the black bar sink faucet
https://amzn.to/2xO0p2H I'm sure the quick release spigot will get used on a later project, Seems like it could simplify the need for two faucet locations when you can change it from faucet to hose sprayer,
https://amzn.to/2kQovR1
I really wanted an undermount sink with a black corian countertop but scraps were difficult to find, and sourcing a piece was proving to be costly. My alternative was butcher block, I looked around a bit for something even craigslist for used stuff. I finally decided, with as customized as I wanted it, making one made the most sense. I took a look at my hardwood stock and found enough maple and walnut to do what I wanted, always nice having the materials I need.
I cut some 1 1/4" strips and laminated them together. As you can imagine, there is a ton of time in something like this but the results are great.
I made a drop down leaf over the bench seat side so that my camp stove can be set up there if I need to cook inside. I used one of these stainless steel rotating lid supports from a two pack,
https://amzn.to/2Jgc4N9
I'm finding that if I expect a cold morning I set up the stove on the counter the night before for hot drinks without getting out of the van the next morning. The countertop has a backsplash on two sides, and an undermount sink and a drop-in cutting board panel. The jury is still out on the cutting board. It doesn't make any noise (yet), I put cabinet bumpers on the bottom edges. Its functionality in this scenario is questionable. I like the look of it in place, but taking it out for a quick hand washing is silly and where do you put it if something is on the counter? Its heavy and clunky and might get left behind.
For grey water holding I used a 2.5 gallon gas can, its connected to the sink with one of these sink drains,
https://amzn.to/2HpWKYr and a sink strainer
https://amzn.to/2Ltxlzl which were all found to be compatible. I really only see us using this sink/faucet for teeth brushing or a quick hand wash before bed. We do most of our dish washing in dish pans with the sprayer faucet out the back. Besides the places we go this grey water could always be used to drown out a campfire. I really think the portable, accessible, cleanable, replacable grey/fresh tanks are the way to go at the expense of space inside and a perceived lower capacity.
As you can see I turned the larger cubby into a cabinet, and the smaller cubbies into 3 drawers.
The faucet is tapped into the existing hot and cold lines, right behind the left side panel, so there is hot water for a while after driving (exchanger is in the coolant loop), or if you hit the Espar button on the panel to the left and wait a few minutes. I really think I need to "3 way" my pump switch (which is at the back) with another one right here on the panel.
I bought some 3" high density foam and covered the lid with black vinyl. I unfortunately don't have any more of the diamond quilted vinyl left. I think this looks good here. I even used a router to relieve the back of the panel so the seams and ends were inset. I'm considering something for the groove to hide the fabric ends and staples.
I also had the upol tintable raptor liner color matched to my tan interior plastics. My local Sherwin William auto paint store did the color matching and did a fantastic job. I'm pretty happy with the raptor although I will say that it doesn't seem as durable as Monstraliner, the finish is also "grittier" in texture, at the same time Monstraliner is a bit more expensive and non tintable. I used a 4 liter kit
https://amzn.to/2xKeBtD which is more than I expected but as much as I was prepared for. I also did the bottom, insides, and the drawers inside and out which is a lot of surface area. Just an FYI the coating and tint alone was $130 but the wood is cheap and easy to work with/ very customizable, and easy to fix screw ups.
Pretty happy with the results, its a pretty functional piece of camper furniture.
