Vehicle Cabinetry Construction Materials

[Badmiker]

Hey friendly people,

I have been starting out the CAD and layout phase of our build which is still a few years out. We have roughed out our layout and are now starting the design phase.

After living in many humid places, both warm and cold, we are very conscious of mold and mildew. We are also looking for durability, dimensional stability, low weight and the ability to machine the material to be used in the cabinets.

Our build is most likely going to be in a composite panel construction box and will be set up for full time living for 2 people for a good number of years.

The counter-tops will probably be a bamboo material for both the warmth of color and the general durability of the material.

I am looking at materials like HDPE and composite foam for the framework and facing but would love to hear what others have used. The good and the bad parts of any material selection.

If you have built, modified, or replaced your cabinets, what did you use and why?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[J!m]

I was given some sign making material when preparing for Africa.

It was 1/4” overall thickness white coated aluminum sheet facings with a correlated plastic core. Lighter than similar thickness aluminum and nearly as strong. No idea what the trade name is.

Using small (3/4x3/4) aluminum angle on corners, bonded with West System and pop rivets would be quite strong and not affected by water at all.

 

[Hamstorm]

I was given some sign making material when preparing for Africa.

It was 1/4” overall thickness white coated aluminum sheet facings with a correlated plastic core. Lighter than similar thickness aluminum and nearly as strong. No idea what the trade name is.

Using small (3/4x3/4) aluminum angle on corners, bonded with West System and pop rivets would be quite strong and not affected by water at all.

Dibond?
https://graphicdisplayusa.com/products/dibond/

 

[tanuki.himself]

I'm planning sliding doors rather than hinged where feasible, running in aluminium channels. I might make them out of fibreglass covered foam core material, or I might go the easy way and just use a couple of layers of 4mm coroplast stuck together. If I black anodise the frames and buy primary colours i could even go with a Mondrian colour scheme....

 

[TernOverland]

There two products that might be helpful. Both are commonly used in the sign industry. One is Dibond, and it's many variants. Dibond is solid plastic core with aluminum on both sides. It is very easy to cut, and has the advantage that the edges can be smoothed. It can also be formed. The other product is Alumalite or Econolite. These are very rigid and light, and have a corrugated core. Alumalite has two painted sides, and Econolite is bare aluminum on one side. Otherwise they are the same. This material is also easy to cut, and plastic edging is available. The downside is that the cut edge is sharp and needs some sort of finish. I have extensive experience with both materials, and they are great. I have found the painted surfaces to be extremely durable in exterior applications. These can easily be assembled into cabinets using thin aluminum angle and VHB tape

 

[NatersXJ6]

The “sliding doors in tracks” work out nicely for a lot of things, including not taking up space for the swing of the door, but any time I’ve had a door (or window) sliding in a track, the lower track has ended filling up with crap over time. I don’t know if a simpler, better solution, but you might want to ensure that the doors can be moved to one position that allows lifting out so that they can be completely cleaned.

 

[The Artisan]

With the diebond you can actually make alum channel 1/2" to frame it and use abs sheet strips on the back side to fill the gaps. Or if you can find thin enough T alum you can place between the 2 sheets of alum to frame it
Kevin

 

[luthj]

Marine grade plywood with high ply counts is basically waterproof and rotproof inside a vehicle. It is also much stronger for the weight/thickness than the crap plywood sold at big box stores. Using aluminum angle/extrusion judiciously to provide strength where needed. The other composite materials have better weight to stiffness ratios. However, you need to consider the difficulty and extra man hours involved with working them. The advantage of a high grade plywood is that it works and shapes easily, and will take and hold screws very well. it also accepts a variety of inexpensive adhesives. Finishing with a marine urethane "top side" paint can provide a smooth waterproof finish that is easily touched up. Alternatives include a bonded laminate face for higher durability.

Another option, Similar to how yachts are sometimes built, a pressure treated timber (or aluminum) frame is built. This carries most of the weight load. Then a skin of plywood or thin composite material (or even aluminum sheet) is bonded over the frame.

For wet areas (shower, entry, etc). Covering the wood with a fiberglass reinforced plastic sheet, and sealing the seams provides an extra layer of protection, and makes cleaning very simple.

Another option is something like 8020 aluminum framing (or facsimile). Lightweight plastic panels can be inserted into the frames, and it machines well. It needs to be very well planned/designed, as it as not as flexible regarding changes as other materials (once assembled/cut).

 

[tanuki.himself]

The “sliding doors in tracks” work out nicely for a lot of things, including not taking up space for the swing of the door, but any time I’ve had a door (or window) sliding in a track, the lower track has ended filling up with crap over time. I don’t know if a simpler, better solution, but you might want to ensure that the doors can be moved to one position that allows lifting out so that they can be completely cleaned.

Clearance for opening doors is one key consideration, the other is that i've had hinged doors pop their latches and drop items out before now on rough roads, so you end up having to double secure them and its more of a pain to live with. Coroplast is pretty resilient to bumps from things falling against it, and cheap and easy to replace if it does get scuffed up and damaged. I made a whole load of divided lift out boxes/trays for cups and glasses and other such in our previous motorhome that worked well.

I think normally you use a deeper channel at the top which allows the slider to be lifted up and clear the bottom track for removal. Coroplast would normally be flexible enough to bend to pop out as well. And just keep the track clean with a cotton bud.

 

[tanuki.himself]

Counter top i'll probably go with the thinnest Corian or equivalent domestic kitchen counter I can get. Lots of finishes, easy to work with so you can make matched covers for sink, cooker etc, completely water and mould resistant. not sure what the density is but I know it can be thin so lightweight

 

[The Artisan]

It is expensive but my counters are 1/2 phenolic. High temp and durable. Only drawback is weight. but will trade that as it can withstand 350deg of heat. Phenolic is what chemistry lab tables are made of.
Kevin

 

[Badmiker]

I have used Diebond in the past for parts for my motorcycles and other electronics projects. Would the aluminium skin lead to more condensation in a XV?
I have since found the Alumalite and other similar materials, edging is a challenge and may be expensive but it would be very durable and light....
I have also found a 3M reinforced foam product that is strong enough but would need additional finishing as the grey foam surface is.... ugly?

 

[The Artisan]

Fwiw, you can get phenolic coated birch plywood. Its like regular plywood except its final layer is phenolic impregnate.
I just rebuilt my little camper table, used the other common phenolic sheet known as Formica..

Sadly I never realised how valuable Micarta is back when I passed up hundreds of sq.ft what was destined to be scrapped...

4x4 sheets are 800 to 1.4k ea. I bought 33 5x10 1/4 to 3/4 from a scrap yard for tables and such for $32 each ?
Kevin

 

[TernOverland]

I have used Diebond in the past for parts for my motorcycles and other electronics projects. Would the aluminium skin lead to more condensation in a XV?
I have since found the Alumalite and other similar materials, edging is a challenge and may be expensive but it would be very durable and light....
I have also found a 3M reinforced foam product that is strong enough but would need additional finishing as the grey foam surface is.... ugly?

Aluminum is not a condensation concern unless one side is exterior. With any of these plastic cored options, the plastic does serve as some break to the cold bridge. For interior cabinets, no it would not be a problem at all. One other advantage to this material is that it is thin and consumes very little space. You will have more available space inside the cabinet. It can be drilled, riveted, routed, glued, screwed, and even nailed. It's hard to find a fault with it. It wipes clean, does not absorb odors, never rots, and looks modern.

 

[Alloy]

PVC Foamboard is an option. It can be glued screwed nailed.