We are forever searching for ways to improve the pantry situation in the van.  The overhead cabinets work just fine for Tony, but I have to reach up blindly and rummage in there.  Not ideal.

We considered utilizing part of the back cabinet, but it’s too far from the kitchen, plus it is technically in the bathroom.  Not ideal.

We added baskets and shelving and opened up an interior door to the cabinet opposite the kitchen.  It helps a lot especially for storage of extra drinking water, but still, not ideal.

We’ve been toying with the idea of using part of the under bench storage to create a pantry and finally got around to executing this idea.  Tony built a cabinet from leftover plywood that we had from another project, and I got creative with some duplicate maps that we had from a previous trip.

It works well for the Carado Banff, but those with other rigs may be inspired to re imagine another unwieldy space of their own.

Here are the highlights of the process.

We removed the front panel of the passenger side bed.

This is a good view of the space underneath.  It’s really big!

Measured and marked the opening for the cabinet door.  We made it a little smaller than the cabinet itself.

Drilled holes at the four corners of the proposed opening,

and finally, we cut the opening with a jigsaw.

The frame and future door can be carefully separated from each other for now.

We cut a 1/2″ U Channel to size and installed over the raw edges,

and squared the opening.

The door needed to be slightly cut down to fit in the opening since the aluminum channels add to the width.

U Channels added to the door as well and attached it back on the frame with a piano hinge.

The panel had a two sided foam tape attaching it to the bed frame to reduce rattling during travel and it’s important to replace it if you cannot salvage the original.  If you didn’t have one and your coach is noisy during travel, this may be the reason.

We screwed the panel back on the frame

and added 2 U Channels on the interior on each side of the cabinet to attach the cabinet to (the photo below was taken from the inside looking at the back of the door.  The vertical aluminum channel is to the left of the door and the cabinet will attach to)

In the meantime, the cabinet was assembled from plywood.  The notch at the top was created so that it will fit snugly under the frame of the bed,

We laminated the visible parts of the cabinet with Mod Podge and old maps.

This is how it fits inside the cavity.  It doesn’t really take much of the space.

We made a small shallow tray that is accessible from the top only.  Just because we could. No real reason.

Shhh, it’s a secret compartment!

All installed and secured in place.  We just love it!

A few days later, the door latches arrived and was installed

It’s kind of fun peeking inside and getting a glimpse of the maps.  Makes you want to just get behind the wheel and go.

The maps of Nova Scotia and the Rockies will soon be mostly hidden away by cans, pasta, and all kinds of other food items that we’ll pack up for our next trip.

Below is a mock display of some things we threw in.  Lots more space for more food! .

In the meantime, Emma is content with a supervisory roll that is more suitable for her current level of energy.  She is holding on like the super dog that she is.

We’ll try to enjoy the journey as long as we can.

BY THE NUMBERS:

• cost: about $30 for latch, 1/2″aluminum U-channel (outside dimension), and piano hinge.  If you need to buy plywood and 1X1″ channels add about $50. 
• time: about 5 hours 

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