Adding 2nd door under bed in a 21'

[War Eagle]

The one build sheet regret we had after acquiring our 2017 21' was that we didn't add a second door to access the storage space under the bed from the side (near the bathroom door). So we finally ordered a second door from ETI ($65 CAD + shipping). For those who are curious, the photo below shows what we received. It includes: 1) the door with hinges already mounted (we asked them to do that), 2) a piece of framing that we have to mount (already cut to length, should be really easy) to finish framing the hole where the door will be (the other three sides are already framed), 3) a strip of molding to finish off the bottom of the opening (over-sized, will need to be cut to length once we cut the hole) and 4) three bags of hardware including: a) screws to mount the door, b) the door handle, and c) the latch). It came so that the door could be mounted to swing open in either direction. If I had thought to tell them which way we wanted the door to open, I believe they would have mounted the handle appropriately on the door, too. Not a big deal. Reace said an X-acto knife will cut the paneling, but I'll probably opt for a fine-toothed little craft saw I have and see how that goes. For those who are interested, I'll add more photos of installation details when done.

[titanizer]

Great idea War Eagle!!! That will make accessing the area so much easier. I'm missing out on a lot of extra storage area due to the inconvenience of accessing. Let us know how the installation goes. Thanks.

[rubicon327]

I hope that ETI makes this obvious to 21 owners when creating their build sheet. Seems rather necessary given how big the under bed area is. It is not shown as an option on their website.

[Oldtimer]

Yes they do or least for us they did when we were up there.

[tractors1]

Just info - if you add the side storage door under the 21 bed you can put a drawer as long as 14 inches there before it would start to interfere with any long drawer using the standard door at the foot of bed.

The PEX water lines routed into the bath sometimes interfere with the lower right corner of the new doorway, but mounting a drawer there on a double stack of 2x4s laid on their side will clear those rigid PEX lines.

A 10 inch high slideout drawer should work fine. Great spot for shoe storage.

[Dave&Kathie]

Charlie (tractors1) did a great job with his under bed storage. We also regretted not adding a second door (but we were only #8, not sure of options). We later added it ourselves, thanks to Donna D who brought it back from the Osyoos Rally for us. I think Dave used a jigsaw to cut the hole.
Kathie

[jennykatz]

We had ETI put in the extra door and it is a lot easier if fact we hardley ever move the bed top .What we did was the regular door we built a long shelf to slide out .So with the hatch on side plus the 2 doors we can access everything .

[rubicon327]

A good thread for those interested in doors and drawers under the 21 bed:

www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8/21-under-bed-drawer-specs-6973.html

[War Eagle]

I finally got around to adding the 2nd door under the bed of our 21'. The vertical piece held by T brackets was added to support the hinges (came from ETI). It was a little nerve-wracking cutting the hole (drilled holes in two opposite corners then a jig saw to cut). Still need to do a little sanding and finishing before I snap the trim on the bottom, but you get the general idea. If I had had all the tools gathered together before I started, the whole project would have taken less than an hour.

[rbryan4]

Looks good Dale. On another note, some day I'd like to see Escape build in a void or chase so the water lines don't have to run along the floor. They're easier to work on I suppose, but not as tidy.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

On another note, some day I'd like to see Escape build in a void or chase so the water lines don't have to run along the floor. They're easier to work on I suppose, but not as tidy.

How about just routing them the other way around under the bed along the perimeter?

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

How about just routing them the other way around under the bed along the perimeter?

Yeah, that's better too Dave. Keep them away from the storage opening.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

On another note, some day I'd like to see Escape build in a void or chase so the water lines don't have to run along the floor. They're easier to work on I suppose, but not as tidy.

They could be run down through the floor (inboard of the frame rail), forward under the floor, and back up beside the bathroom, then covered with foam... as long as that's forward enough to miss the grey waste tank (which is ahead of the axles) or squeezed in beside it. Any solution dropping below floor level between the frame rails needs to consider the tank position.

[fudge_brownie]

Nice door, what are your plans for it?

What are the dimensions of the door?

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by fudge_brownie

Nice door, what are your plans for it? What are the dimensions of the door?

The additional door is 14 3/4" wide by 14 1/4" high, which is the same as the standard door at the foot of the bed. Reace said to cut the hole 3/8" smaller than the door all the way around (14" wide x 13 3/4" high opening). As it turns out, the top and bottom of the opening are already perfectly framed by the existing bed frame. And if you use existing vertical bed framing for the left side (handle/latch side), you just need to add the right side (hinge side) frame piece at 14", and you're good to go. My wife wanted the extra door to organize/store her shoes under her side of the bed and be able to access them easily as she enters the camper (swap dirty outside boots for clean inside sneakers, etc.). We're considering one of Charlie Young's (RV Widget Works; tractors1) nice slide-out partitioned shoe boxes like he has made for others, but we want to try a few homemade options first.

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

We're considering one of Charlie Young's (RV Widgets; tractors1) nice slide-out partitioned shoe boxes like he has made for others, but we want to try a few homemade options first.

Actually the reason I came up with the plastic shoe box with removable dividers is so we could take the whole shebang outside and hose it out to clean it. We tend to hike muddy trails in the Pacific NorthWet.

[titanizer]

Nice work, Dale. Thanks for the specifics of the install! Looks like a very doable project in my future.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

The additional door is 14 3/4" wide by 14 1/4" high, which is the same as the standard door at the foot of the bed. Reace said to cut the hole 3/8" smaller than the door all the way around (14" wide x 13 3/4" high opening). ....

My bad! The vertical dimension of the opening is 13 1/2" (14 1/4" - 3/8" - 3/8" = 13 1/2"). My excuse is that my wife wasn't here to check my math! Regardless, you don't need to worry about it because the vertical dimension of the cut-out is already established by the framing for the bed.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

My bad! The vertical dimension of the opening is 13 1/2" (14 1/4" - 3/8" - 3/8" = 13 1/2"). My excuse is that my wife wasn't here to check my math! Regardless, you don't need to worry about it because the vertical dimension of the cut-out is already established by the framing for the bed.

Looks great. Nice to have this documented for 21 owners that might want to take it on.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

We're considering one of Charlie Young's (RV Widget Works; tractors1) nice slide-out partitioned shoe boxes like he has made for others, but we want to try a few homemade options first.

I don't regret getting the shoe box under there one single second. It's great to come in, sit on the bed, take my shoes off and swap them with my slippers that are in the drawer already. And reverse when leaving the trailer.