# 210 Trs Mods- Sliding Door- Under Sofa Storage Plus Bedroom Lighting



## brkramer (Feb 7, 2016)

Had to spend some time under the sofa when I discovered I couldn't winterize the trailer during a cold shot because the winterization kit I paid to be installed was nothing but an on/off valve on the suction line. All it did was suck air from the tank. After making an emergency HD trip and adding a second valve to shut off the flow from the tank, I decided there was a huge amount of unused space and I wanted to make access easier to the water heater and pump area. My solution was to install sliding doors at the base of the sofa and to install a wall between the utility area and the future storage compartment. In the process I shored up a lot of the base that was there because the materials used by Keystone are frighteningly small and fragile. For instance the legs are 2x2s, but the 2x2s are not solid, but jointed. As much weight as I added, I probably subtracted by replacing the heavy composite front panel covered in foam and fabric with lightweight 1/4" plywood and aluminum trim to hide the tracks. I also expanded the left bottom kitchen cabinet by removing the blocking board they installed. I protected the gas line with a 2" PVC floor flange which I notched out to go around the pipe and I also put in a small section of 2 inch PVC around the exposed copper line. No picture right now of the expanded cabinet.




















Another mod I did was to barn door the light over the bed and to replace that fixture with a LED two switch fixture. Whoever positioned that light where it is, must have been a police detective in another life. It is really no fun reading with a light in your face. I used a 12 inch square Kydex sheet and formed it with my hands, a vice and a heat gun. The barn doors keep the light out of your face while still letting the light illuminate your reading material and the cabinets. The light is also blocked from lighting anything beyond the foot of the bed such as the TV screen.














PICs attached


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## Canadian_250TRS (Sep 22, 2015)

Good idea with the sliding door under the sofa.


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## Mike J (May 31, 2015)

I'd love to se more details on how you did your mod to the under couch storage. Parts list etc. Looks like a great idea.


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## brkramer (Feb 7, 2016)

Mike J said:


> I'd love to se more details on how you did your mod to the under couch storage. Parts list etc. Looks like a great idea.


It really wasn't complicated, but the door tracks and the attachment of those tracks is where I wasted the most time and would do it differently with different parts if I had to do it again. I ordered the tracks which were made out of plastic from woodworkerexpress.com. I paid about 12 bucks plus the same in shipping for upper and lower tracks. There is a difference between an upper and lower track for sliding doors of this type. The upper track has deeper grooves than the lower track. This enables you to lift the doors out, should you need to and you size the door properly. The aluminum is 1 1/2 inch L channel available at the big box stores. Lowe's sells 6 foot sections for about $12-15. The sofa box length is approximately 5 feet 6 inches, so 6 foot lengths of everything is nice. The oak faced plywood doors were cut from 2x4 foot panels sold at either Lowe's or HD. They were also about $12 each. Unfortunately the doors are about 14 inches tall so you need two of these panels. The 1- 1/2 aluminum is just barely wide enough to attach to the framing, so don't try to get away with 1" channel. The track completely fills a 1 inch L channel and you need some room for the screws and the overhang.

The big trick as I said earlier was attaching the tracks to the aluminum. At first I started with my favorite heavy duty two part epoxy called PC-7. PC-7, when it works is the strongest glue I have used. It is difficult to work with and mix. Worse yet, you have to wait 24 hours for it to set. In the end it only attached to the aluminum. It completely failed on the plastic tracks. I just wiped them clean and not one piece of glue stuck to them. I went at the aluminum with a chisel to get the PC7 off of that. I ended up with one track being held very poorly by PC-7 and the other one with Gorilla Glue(my all-time favorite fast setting glue but watch the expansion foam) , neither very well. One day those tracks are going to pop off and I am going to have to replace them. Some plastics are so chemically stable that few glues will attach to them. You have to experiment. I wasn't happy that Woordworkerexpress didn't mention in the instructions, which glues would work. My guess is something like super-glue would be better, but in the end, the best solution would be to use aluminum tracks and that is what I would buy. Woodworker express sells aluminum sliding door tracks and that is what I would recommend with a two part epoxy. Just lightly sand and wipe clean any surfaces you plan to glue. http://www.woodworkerexpress.com/Aluminum-Sliding-Door-Bottom-Track-for-1-4-Thick-Doors-Track-has-Fibre-Inserts-1-1-16-W-x-21-64-H-x-72-L-Anodized-Aluminum-Finish.htmlThe previous link is for a single guide. In aluminum I think they sell the upper and lower guides separately. Yes about 70 bucks for both guides. After what I went through with the plastic guides, I'd spend 70 bucks to get a glueable surface. Either that or rip the guides in a piece of wood on a table saw. The whole project hinges on the guides, so this is worth spending money on. Sorry, I have no experience with the aluminum guides, but if it were I, that is a good place to spend (risk) money.

To divide the water heater/pump area from the storage area, I screwed down to the floor a 2x2 I ripped from a 2x4 I had laying around. I also placed a 2x4 post almost dead center in the frame holding up the cheap 2x2 they ran across the front sofa frame. This doesn't support much weight (my opinion is it needs to be stronger than they built it) , but it gives you a front surface for the divider and adds an acceptable amount of support. That 2x4 gets in your way I found out later when you place the doors, so don't put it in until last. I had to take it out to get the doors in. You will have to take it out to remove the doors too. I wouldn't play with the tracks, once you get those in place.

So a rough parts list not including, glue, stain, Poly, and any items I forget to mention 

2- 6 foot 1 1/2" L channel aluminum bars approc $25
2- 6 foot 1/4 inch sliding door tracks from Woodworker Express approx $25
2- 2x4 foot 1/4 inch decent face plywood panels approx $25
1- piece of plywood approx 14 inches tall and 27 inches deep for the divider, I used 1/2 inch thick plywood I had laying around
Misc 2x4 and 2x2 posts to shore up the sofa frame about 14 inches long each maybe less

Probably spent a little over $100 on the project and should have spent $150. You could make your own tracks out of wood if you have a router or table saw. Just didn't seem worth risking the fingers on.

I don't like that end cap made of oak lattice. I really want to use the same 1 1/2 aluminum L-channel. I'll buy some at Lowes one day. I didn't have any spare long enough.

If you need pictures of any particular part, let me know and I will get it to you.


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## brkramer (Feb 7, 2016)

Mike J said:


> I'd love to se more details on how you did your mod to the under couch storage. Parts list etc. Looks like a great idea.


This photo may help you a little as it shows the guide inside of the aluminum channel. This is a piece I cut off of the 6 foot section.








Also: The price and link I mentioned for the aluminum guide was for the lower guide, which has a fiber insert for smooth sailing. The upper guide is only 18 bucks or so, so the two with shipping should be around 60 bucks. Still pricey, but not as bad as 75 bucks plus shipping. The aluminum guides have holes, but screwing down the top guide would require a thin strip of wood above it to keep the screw tips from protruding the aluminum and piercing the sofa cushions. I think I would still glue the upper guide down. Aluminum is very easy to glue.


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

I like your style! I put a drawer under the sofa using rollers and a guide track. I like your mod because it would seem to give more storage space. I may have to re-mod my sofa storage solution.

Link to my mod: http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=36250&hl=%2Bsofa+%2Bstorage#entry437409

Thanks for the input!

Leigh


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## brkramer (Feb 7, 2016)

Leedek said:


> I like your style! I put a drawer under the sofa using rollers and a guide track. I like your mod because it would seem to give more storage space. I may have to re-mod my sofa storage solution.
> 
> Link to my mod: http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=36250&hl=%2Bsofa+%2Bstorage#entry437409
> 
> ...


I don't know Leigh. I wish I had seen your thread. I don't know that I have that much extra space. That looks fantastic. I wanted a spot to store the OEM TV that came with the trailer. I might use it as a monitor or outdoor TV once in a blue moon. And was is taking up the most space under there? A plastic drawer  Board games is a great idea too.

Interesting that there was once an outside compartment there. That's a shame they did away with that. There really isn't a place to store drinking water hoses and right now we keep that in a plastic tub in the bathtub. That compartment well sealed from the inside, would be an ideal place for that.

I don't know Leigh. I wish I had seen your thread. I doubt I have that much extra space. I wanted the space to store among other things, the 24 inch TV that came with the trailer. I upgraded to a 32 and have no use for a 24 inch in my house, but coul


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

A little food for thought brkramer. :ibbanana:

http://www.jeff-z.com/rv/door/door.html

Hmmmm....!!

Doors are available many places online: Here http://www.rvpartsnation.com/rv-exterior/rv-baggage-doors/600-series-radius-corner-baggage-door/

or maybe here: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/rv-access-door

My bet is there will be a stud in the way somewhere if you put a door in. My fix would be to frame it in on the inside like a window or door in my house. A header could be fashioned from angle aluminum that's available from HD or Lowes. You would attach to the existing stud and frame it with cut-to-width studs to form the frame for the door. I'm really just free-thinking here so don't get crazy. I do believe it would work even if you encounter a stud to deal with. Now were having fun! :wiggle:


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

brkramer said:


> Leedek said:
> 
> 
> > I like your style! I put a drawer under the sofa using rollers and a guide track. I like your mod because it would seem to give more storage space. I may have to re-mod my sofa storage solution.
> ...


Here is a prior topic where someone added the outside storage door.

http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=31277


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## brkramer (Feb 7, 2016)

Leedek said:


> A little food for thought brkramer. :ibbanana:
> 
> http://www.jeff-z.com/rv/door/door.html
> 
> ...


You are braver than I am. I'm not cutting into the trailer. I'll solve the water hose storage another way. I already have a 5 inch fence post mounted under the bumper for sewer hose storage. I use the bumper to store a coiled hose for black tank washout. I bought some really huge L braces that will allow me to hang a fence post just forward of the existing one, but I have yet to find a coiled hose I like that has a inner-diameter larger than 3/8ths and a coil smaller than 5 inches. How do you store your water hoses? That's the biggest storage issue I have yet to solve. Been driving me nuts. Inside storage is bad idea IMHO over the long run. That's a lost of moisture and it will eventually create mold. The bottom of the trailer is a horror movie as it is. That full length insulating panel looks like it would be a nightmare to remove and I am not going to make that more difficult by hanging something underneath it. . I swear if I ever have to take that off, it isn't going to go back on.... at least in the same way. What if you have to change a gate valve or something? A job that takes normally 15 minutes could take hours if not days. Oh well, I digress. Just curious as to how others store their hoses.


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

I already have a 5 inch fence post mounted under the bumper for sewer hose storage.

You have me going there for a minute.  A 5 inch fence post must be a hollow PVC fence post where you store drain hoses.

The corrugated belly panel is a bear. Most everyone on here has had a fix or mod that requires removing some part of the panel to access tank sensors, valves, duct work, or some other thing. I admit to not having removed the belly panel. I do have new Horst Miracle Probes ( http://www.rvprobes.com/buyprobes.html ) to install in my tanks. They require me to access the tank area so my belly panel will be disturbed. I look at it like the farmer in the story below:

Andy was a good hard working farmer. He had 160 acres of good earth to cultivate and harvest crops. He plowed his field at the beginning of each planting season. He always detoured around the big rock out there at the north end. He plowed around it, fertilized around it, and harvested the crop around it. It was in the way but it was huge. He estimated the thing to be 10 by 12 feet and he had no equipment big enough to move it so it remained in the field for 12 years.

His 10 year old son, Doug, was the first to ask him; "Dad can we someday dig that rock out of the ground? We would have an easier time if that rock weren't always in the way."

Finally to please his son he decided to do whatever it took to get that boulder removed. He and the boy got up early. They were prepared for a full day's work getting the boulder uncovered. After using the pick for ten minutes the farmer started removing some of the dirt from around the rock. He was delighted to see a ledge on that side of the rock. He dug some more removing dirt as he went. He had uncovered one side of the rock and saw the ledge went the length of it. Having borrowed a jack hammer from neighbor Angus, he proceeded to try and penetrate the behemoth. He was prepared to give it his all and began jacking. The whole side of the rock split almost immediately. It seems the huge rock was actually a slab barely ten inches thick. It took he and Doug the rest of the morning to break up and load the slab on to the wagon. The farmer's wife was amazed to see Andy and Doug in the barnyard laughing while they washed up for an early supper.

So when you think the belly panel is a huge undertaking just remember to get prepared, be ready with the proper tools, and you might get lucky and have an early supper. :essen:

Hey...gotta have some fun!

Leigh


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