Mods I Haven't Seen Elsewhere

[sclifrickson]

As our little family of four prepares for a year-long North American walkabout I have spent the last few months trying to maximize the space available in our 17B, and have adopted a multitude of mods that I've read about here and elsewhere. I've also implemented a few things that I haven't seen elsewhere and thought I'd share some of these here for others to take if they're useful.

First, I replaced the light over our table with a double bulb model and then installed a red LED in one side, so now when we want a light in the middle of the night, but without the blinding wake-everyone-up shine of the regular LED, you just turn on the red one, which also preserves your night vision!

[sclifrickson]

And where do you put a big wall map of the US, perchance? Or of Canada! How about the ceiling?

[sclifrickson]

We are fastidious sunglass wearers, and everyone has at least two pairs. Where do you put these when storage space is at a premium?

I made a daisy chain with some 3mm cord looped around the bathroom door at the edge of the mirror. Each loop holds a pair of sunglasses, or anything else that you would want to hang in this way. Loops on inside of door for bathroom storage as well. It's one big loop tensioned with a truckers hitch.

[sclifrickson]

Need spices? Of course you do. To save cabinet space I installed this cool spice rack that I found on The Amazon. It folds up and locks against the bottom of the upper cabinets.

[sclifrickson]

I replaced the front "oak" panel of the fridge with a sheet of galvanized steel from The Home Depot, to which I had stuck a "Wall Pops" dry-erase wall sticker from The Amazon, resulting in a magnetic dry-erase fridge! I used leftover pieces of the wall-pops on other cabinet doors to create additional dry-erase boards out of otherwise unused space.

[Jim Bennett]

Some dandy ideas there.

[sclifrickson]

What about all those atlases or travel guides or just plain old-fashioned books that you have around? Wouldn't it be great to have a dedicated book shelf that didn't take a lot of space from something else but held the books securely so they don't fly all over when in transit? I searched for something like this and stole a couple of key ideas to make my own. I used 1x9 poplar for the base and end pieces, cut a channel for some aluminum c-channel that's sized for a 1/4" hex head bolt head to slide through but not turn, and VHB'd the whole thing to the wardrobe top. The knob at the top of the adjustable "book end" loosens to slide left or right, then locks down to hold books tight.

[sclifrickson]

This is fairly self-explanatory. Flashlight holder is a 3M Command broom holder. Bear repellent is riveted to the door.

[sclifrickson]

Our kids eat bananas like monkeys, so we needed a dedicated place for those and other fruits. A simple hook with basket works for both. Or for other miscellaneous knick knacks, as shown.

[gbaglo]

You HAVE been busy.

[Greg A]

Nice stuff. As a former 17b owner w/2 kids n homemade bunks, how have you fashioned what appears to be bunk beds for the lil banana eaters?

[sclifrickson]

Originally Posted by Greg A

Nice stuff. As a former 17b owner w/2 kids n homemade bunks, how have you fashioned what appears to be bunk beds for the lil banana eaters?

That is the factory bunk bed (gaucho) option. We found that sheets made for my wife's massage table fit the bunks great. We sandwich in a waterproof layer in the middle between sheet and cushions.

[Steven M]

Any chance you have the link for the spice rack. It would be perfect for the SO who loves to cook. Thanks

[gabeck]

Really like that spice rack .

[sclifrickson]

Originally Posted by Steven M

Any chance you have the link for the spice rack. It would be perfect for the SO who loves to cook. Thanks

Under Cabinet Mounted Mini Spice Rack (Colonial Maple) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QL2Y1YC..._3INmxbBXSC2JN

I stained the maple to approximate the oak cabinets.

[KarenH]

My favorite is the map on the ceiling...how clever!

[Thane]

Great ideas!

[freespirit]

you must have great eyes for those maps...nice to see the whole family getting into that camping trip.
wondering do you have a link to those coat hanger thingies to the right of your bathroom door? looks like there is two of them made in some kind of wood with foldup hooks. thanks

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by KarenH

My favorite is the map on the ceiling...how clever!

My neck starts to hurt just thinking about it.

Ron

[Steven M]

Originally Posted by sclifrickson

Under Cabinet Mounted Mini Spice Rack (Colonial Maple) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QL2Y1YC..._3INmxbBXSC2JN

I stained the maple to approximate the oak cabinets.

Thank you very much