Cabin Cabinet Doors

[TomS]

Hi Folks,

I'm about to start building my rear cabin cabinet faceframe assembly. I'm having a real tough time deciding how I want to hinge the cabinet doors. I've been agonizing over this for weeks. The problem is I've never camped in a tear drop. In fact, the only teardrops I've ever seen are on the 'Net. I've never seen one live, let alone climbed inside one. So, I'm hoping some of you folks with real-world tear drop camping experinece can guide me.

Here's a rough sketch of my rear cabin face frame.



I plan to hinge the top door from the bottom. I can't decide how to hinge the three bottom doors. I keep going back and forth betwen placing the hinges on the bottom or on the sides. Which way would be easier to live with in the confined space of the teardrop cabin?

[Larwyn]

Tom,

I am in much the same boat, never camped in a teardrop etc. At this point my thoughts are that swinging a door in any direction takes additional room, I'm thinking sliders. If I do use hinges I'm thinking of top hinges, at lest that way you are not fighting gravity to keep the door closed.You still have acceleration/deceleration forces to contend with when towing but with bottom hinges I can picture a catch turning loose while my head is in the path of the falling door....

But who am I to say, we both need to hear from those with experience.

[TomS]

I am in much the same boat, never camped in a teardrop etc. At this point my thoughts are that swinging a door in any direction takes additional room, I'm thinking sliders. If I do use hinges I'm thinking of top hinges, at lest that way you are not fighting gravity to keep the door closed.You still have acceleration/deceleration forces to contend with when towing but with bottom hinges I can picture a catch turning loose while my head is in the path of the falling door....

But who am I to say, we both need to hear from those with experience.

Problem with top hinges is that you'll need somekind of stay to hold your door open.

I plan to use sash locks to keep my door closed while on the road.

Part of my problem is I extended the width of my cubby to 5 feet. Becausof that my doors are wider than they they are tall. A 16" wide door swings in a much larger arc than a 12" wide door. Also, when hinged from the side, they block the entrance door to the trailer when open. Kind of a pain if you want to reach in and grab something out of the cabinet from outside the trailer.

Compounding the problem is that I don't have a garage. So, I'm building the varous assemblies in my basement while I wait for spring.

Now, if I hinge from them bottom, those doors will hang down almost to the top of the matress. That would be awkward if while sitting up in cabin.

I recently built sliders for my galley It took two attempts to get 'em working right. That's what I'm peering through in my Avatar. But, now that I learned the RIGHT way to do it. I suppose that might be an option.

Decisions, decisions, decisions ....

[TonyCooper]

I'm planning on building my cubby with the outer cabinets doors swinging out. center one going up. Top one going up as well.

Once you have the cabin enclosed you will get a better feel for what you prefer.

Re: your 5 ' wide cubby, You could always keep the same door dimensions the same as the original plans call for. Just because your cabinets are wider doesn't mean your doors have to be bigger.

Having said all this, I've never spent the night in one either.

[Larwyn]

Tom,

Increaseing the number of doors would decrease their width...

I will be to the point where I have to decide what to do about cabinet doors soon myself. Sliding doors are lightweight, require no hardware, and do not intrude into the limited space when in use. They seem very practical but when it comes time for me to decide I'm sure I will be sitting there stareing at that faceframe and that is when the final decision will be made. It is never too late to change it if it does not prove to work out in actual use....

I figure the only stay a top hinged door might need is my free hand or the top of my head, Who wants a cabinet door to stay open anyway? It's keeping them closed that is the problem....

You are doing a great job and I'm sure you will come up with what will work for you.

[dmb90260]

I am assuming you will be sleeping with your feet toward the galley. The cabinets should be far enough away not to be problem for your feet or head. If you have the middle door hinge at the bottom, with wire straps to stop it at "level" you will end up with a small handy table top when it is open. I used mine for more than a few night cap glasses until I added marine cup holders on each side of the cabin. I also obtained to marine brass folding hooks for the wall. They are out of the way when I am not using them but very handy for my jacket and flashlight on a string..

[Nick Taylor]

Here is mine where the center door goes up and the sides go out. Of course my cabinet is a lot smaller. I used a support that was intended for a toybox or chest lid. I replaced the tension screw with a small knob so that I can lock the door open. You could also use the same kind of support for a door that opened down.



Nick.

[BILLYL]

I am trying to keep the weight down to a min. So what I am planning is to use cargo type netting for the doors. Something that will keep things on the shelve. Frees me from making doors and adding hinges.

I also I thinking about using wire shelve for the front shelve. I saw that somewhere here and thought that was a good idea and should keep the weight down.

BILL

[TomS]

Thanks for all great advice. After reading all the replies and thinking on it for a while, I decided to go with sliding doors. Not only do sliders eliminate the door clearance problems, they save weight, something I hadn't considered. After, my experience with galley sliders, I now have confidence that I can make them work properly. Also, the sliders can be quickly removed should the need arise. Accordingly I just drew up a new sketch of my rear cabin cabinet face frame assembly.



Since we'll use this cabinet primarily to store clothes, it makes sense to divide the lower section into two parts (his and hers) instead of three. Also, this allows enough clearance to easily place a stack of folded clothes in the cabinets with one of the sliders open. I won't divide the upper shelf as that will be used for bankets, towels, etc. Two paris of sliding doors will service both the top and bottom shelves.

Now, all I've got to do is go downstairs and build it.

BILL writes

I also I thinking about using wire shelve for the front shelve. I saw that somewhere here and thought that was a good idea and should keep the weight down.

I saw that posting also. Your bringing it up again has got me thinking. I have a mesh net at the top of my tent that I use for my flashlight, wallet, car keys, etc. I haven't gotten around to my building front cabin face frame assembly yet. Maybe a transparent shelf in that location would make better use of that space. Instead of using a wire shelf, perhaps I could build a maple frame to hold a plexiglass shelf. I could trim the front of the shelf with a maple galley rail like this http://tinyurl.com/4cwyq

One more question for the group. What do you recommend to lube the wood slider tracks? Obvouslly, I don't want to use something will discolor the wood or cause it to swell.

Thanks again. You folks are the greatest

[BILLYL]

Tom-

Depending how thick the plexi is that can add weight pretty fast. Like you I have a mesh bag in my tent - the wire shelve offers some advantage in that there are (depending on the manufacture) several accessories one can add to the shelve - like wire baskets/drwers etc.

Good Luck

BILL

[BILLYL]

Tom-

Depending how thick the plexi is that can add weight pretty fast. Like you I have a mesh bag in my tent - the wire shelve offers some advantage in that there are (depending on the manufacture) several accessories one can add to the shelve - like wire baskets/drwers etc.

Good Luck

BILL

[Nick Taylor]

You can use wax to help the doors slide.

[TomS]

You can use wax to help the doors slide.

What would you recommend, a wax based furniture polish like Pledge? As long as it doesn't gunk up the tracks, I suppose it couldn't do any harm.

[Nitetimes]

I usually just use parafin wax, the canning stuff or candle wax (same stuff)whichever is handy and rub it on the edges before putting the doors in. You could also melt it on. It just fills up the rough edges and lets the door slide easier