21C Build Modifications

[M3Kend]

Hi All,

We took delivery of our 21C in early September. We had a couple of factory mods done that have worked out well for us, that I wanted to pass along for others considering this floor plan.

First, we ordered the tall cabinet, by the foot of the bed, but had it built without the drawers. This allowed us to install a 10-runner Elfa drawer stack in the cabinet. We love these drawers in our RVs, and the 10-runner stack has been our "gold standard" for clothing storage. Thanks to Escape for considering this new variant on the cabinet in the 21C.

For further storage flexibility, we did not order the microwave, opting instead for a pull out pantry. Additional Elfa drawers in the "coat closet" provided additional storage while still allowing room for a few hanging items. Overall, we are thrilled by the amount of easily accessible storage space we ended up with, in the main cabinet area.

We ordered the extra access door under the bed. This let us divide the under-bed storage area into three compartments - one accessible from the outside, one from near the bath, and one from the main door. The main compartment can then be used for a couple more Elfa drawers (perfect fit) to provide dirty cloths storage (a perennial problem for us in our RVs). We also store the filler board for the table (see below) in the compartment, below the drawers.

Finally, we ordered a shortened table for the dinette. We ordered a 12" filler board so that we could still make the dinette into a bed. The resultant table is 34.5" long, which is a great size for the two of us. The result is that there is about 14" clearance from the corner of the refrigerator cabinet to the corner of the table. This makes it very easy to get in and out of the dinette area. Escape still installed the slider on the table, but it really isn't needed now, because of the easy access. I ended up turning the slider around so that it slides for and aft now. I moved the "stop" screws when re-installing it, so that the table stops just shy of hitting the wall, when sliding it back. When sliding it forward, I put a stop so that it only comes to the mid-way point in the dinette. This is a great location when 4 people are eating, as it centers the table in the dinette, but still allows people to squeeze into the dinette. With this arrangement, the "locking knob" is not needed, so I removed it. I suspect that Escape could be talked into installing the slide in this orientation at the factory. The idea didn't occur to us until after we took delivery.

Anyway, these are a couple of "off the books" mods that I hadn't seen done before.

Cheers,
Ken

[Centex]

Thanks for sharing your customizations, Ken. Your dining table is particularly intriguing to me, especially given that (I believe) your 21C dining area is dimensionally identical to that in the 5.0 I've ordered.

A question about the operation with the slide re-oriented 'fore-and-aft' ....

Is it possible for you to pull the table away from the wall, then rotate it 90 degrees, then push it far away from the bench to one side or the other (yielding a somewhat roomier 'lounge-sans-table' on one side)? Perhaps the particular 'stops' you installed preclude that, but would that be possible with the Springfield pedestal and slider arrangement you now have?

Although a narrower table I really like yours without the 'clipped corners'

[M3Kend]

Yes, the table could be turned.

As originally delivered, I was able to slide it to one side and turn it so that the slide was oriented fore-and-aft. I have the Springfield pedestal, so I don't know if this would work with the standard pedestal.

I re-oriented it because it was too wide to drop down to make a bed, and I didn't want to have to spin it every time we wanted to drop it. You could order the table 34" square, and it would probably drop with either orientation.

Also, I really didn't like the side-to-side slide. It had a locking knob, but it didn't work very well. We were always bumping it sideways. By orienting it fore-and aft, this problem went away.

Cheers,
Ken

[h2owmn]

I put a similar elfa drawer rack in the wardrobe of my 17A. It's one of my favorite mods.

[terter]

Hi M3Kend, We are currently putting our build sheet together and I am shopping ELFA. We are building up the cabinet at the foot of the bed like you did and I was wondering if you know or remember the Elfa frame and drawer dimensions you ordered and if you would share them with me? I would appreciate it! Thanks! Terri

[M3Kend]

Hi Terri,

Sure thing. It is the Narrow size frame that fits (14" wide). I used the 10 runner frame.

For what it's worth, it was a tight fit in my cabinet. The upper-rear edge of the frame ran into the headliner in the top corner of the cabinet. I did three things during the install:

1) I manually stretched the headliner to make room for the frame. There is a lot of give to the headliner after it is installed.
2) I attached brackets to the cabinet frame to hold the frame back against the headliner.
3) In used large electrical staples as clamps, on the bottom rear rail, to hold everything stable. The clamps were drilled out and installed with screws.

I have attached pictures of these last two items.

Cheers,
Ken

[terter]

Thank you very much for your reply! It helps a lot! I am assuming you used the x-narrow 7 runner in the closet next to the fridge? Thanks. It's hard to plan without be the trailer, but I want to get in on the sale!

[MZL1312]

For further storage flexibility, we did not order the microwave, opting instead for a pull out pantry.

Is the pull-out pantry supplied and installed by ETI? Or did you install? If so, do you have the make/model? We are thinking about not going with the microwave too.

Also

The main compartment can then be used for a couple more Elfa drawers (perfect fit)

Are these under bed drawers sliding? Or do you lift the bed to access them (especially the one deep in the middle of the bed)?

[dfandrews]

We used the narrow 10 runner frame in our 17A closet, as well. But we have press-fit the assembly into the space.
At the bottom are (2) 2x3's that are cut to fit snugly front to back. On top of those are short 2x3's that raise the bottom Elfa basket so that it clears the bottom of the closet opening. These short 2x3's have a hole drilled that accepts the bottom of the Elfa frame legs.
At the top is a 5mm (¼"±) plywood shelf, with wood runners at each side, so the Elfa shelf assembly is wedged between them, and the shelf is a press-fit to the closet walls.
Additionally, instead of the Elfa pins, we use 8d nails with some short clear tubing under their heads, inserted into the retaining holes in the Elfa frame, so that the baskets don't try to escape the frame while we're rolling down the road.
Edit: Photo 2: ignore the 6-32 bolts in the wall. They hold an ancient tiny steel serving tray in the adjacent kitchen wall that provides a plate for magnetic spice rack containers to attach to.

[M3Kend]

Hi all,

Several answers:

Yes, the drawers we used in the pantry are the X-Narrow size. The installation was more complicated, since I wanted to keep the clothes rod for a few jackets. I bought the 10-runner frame and:
1) Removed the lower two runners.
2) Cut the rear legs down to "just fit" below the hanging rod, with the lower feet installed. You will notice, in the picture, that I goofed and cut the legs 1/4" too short, so I had to shim them back up. Oops.
3) Cut the front legs down to level the unit. This allowed the lower basket to just clear the cabinet cutout. I screwed a board on the back-side of the front cabinet wall to support the front feet.
4) Again, I secured the unit to the floor with re-purposed cable clamps.

Photos attached.

The pull-out pantry was an after-market unit. I believe we got it at Bed Bath & Beyond.

The under-bed drawers slide out, through the cabinet door. There are no rails - they just sit on the floor. I put down a 3/4" piece of MDF, to lift the floor level a bit, then we store our table extension on top of that. The drawers slide on top of that, and almost clear the cabinet lip. Since we just use them for dirty laundry, lifting them a bit to slide them out is easy.

Cheers,
Ken