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Old 05-28-2014, 12:40 PM   #1
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Accessible and Convenient Storage

Every owner that I've talked to of new Escapes is deep in the process of customizing their new trailers. It's so important that for some of us this process begins prior to actually attaining possession of our new trailers.

I've attended two gatherings so far this year and one of the main things done at these gatherings is to view what others have done, talk about their levels of success, their future plans, and of course, get ideas for our own future projects.

This forum, its level of openness and activity, was one of the reasons I felt so secure in purchasing an Escape. Of course meeting Tami and Reace and seeing an actual Escape was the clincher, but this forum kept me in the fiberglass trailer industry. I know it’s been done before, but there is a new 21, and soon to be a new 5.0, to customize, optimize, and make our own. We also have new Escape owners with their needs and their ideas. So I’d like to start this thread focused on new ideas.

One thing we're all doing is organizing the storage in these well built, but small trailers. Even in the new 21, there's room for improvement by making that storage more accessible and convenient to use.

In our case, we only needed 8”-10” of hanging space in our new trailer. We did however, need more storage that was convenient for use in the kitchen. So we divided the closet according to our needs and added slide out drawers for easy access.

We also wanted easy access to pots and pans without unloading everything under the sink to attain the one we want. So we added a slide out drawer under the sink.

We wanted better use of the under bed storage and easy access without lifting up the mattress. So we sectioned off that area into three compartments and added a drawer in one of them.

We wanted better security in the refrigerator during travel, so I added netting that would be easy to install and remove along with better security while not interfering with air flow. My wife hasn’t seen this one yet, so I don’t know if it’s going to fly.

We have others, but these are the major changes so far. Hope to see what others have done.
Thanks, Tom
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Old 05-28-2014, 12:47 PM   #2
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I am impressed, especially with the closet and under bed storage! I like splitting the closet between drawers and hanging storage. Also like the partitioning of the under bed storage and brace for holding the bed up. Did you do all this work, or did you have Escape do some of it during the construction process? If any of this was done during construction, I want to get it done on our 21. What kind of sliding drawer hardware did you use?

Thanks again for the ideas.
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Old 05-28-2014, 01:55 PM   #3
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I did it here at home. The white drawers come with the hardware, 4 screws into an existing shelf and you're done. They weigh 3.5 lbs, including the hardware, and are rated for 100 lbs. They have varying widths, but all the lengths are the same. The ones I picked were 11x3x21.5. They're from rolloutkitchendrawers.com
The drawer under the bed I had to build myself because of the size I wanted. The slides are from OVISonline.com , item # HR2054300001. They're heavy duty 30" Full Extension with 220 lb capacity.

When you get your 21, the fun will begin!
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Old 05-28-2014, 02:05 PM   #4
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Wow, Tom, great work! I think we are going to copy you when we get our 21, a mere 170 days from now. Thanks for the tips and the hardware info.
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Old 05-28-2014, 03:00 PM   #5
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Nicely done! I like it very much!
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Old 05-28-2014, 09:34 PM   #6
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Very nice!
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Old 05-28-2014, 10:18 PM   #7
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Tom- I don't see heater vents at bed leading edge as in ETI's stock photos. Is that a vent to the left of the door? The sliding drawer is like a pair we used in a KT pantry under the stairway. Big storage!

BTW, how is the Ridgeline performing for you?
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Old 05-28-2014, 10:58 PM   #8
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Tom, thanks much for the source info. I had decided on the same approach but you found much better hardware than I can pick up locally.
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Old 05-28-2014, 11:43 PM   #9
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Rossue, good eye. Yes that is a vent to the left of the under bed door. I also put one in each dinette bench. We open all cabinets, including the fridge and freezer, for winter storage but never thought of the benches until I read a thread in this forum.
So far the Ridgeline is doing well. We haven't been over any tall mountains yet though. Our trip this summer will tell all.
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Old 05-29-2014, 06:14 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tractors1 View Post
Tom, thanks much for the source info. I had decided on the same approach but you found much better hardware than I can pick up locally.
Charlie, have you been to Rockler in Beaverton?
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Old 05-29-2014, 07:26 AM   #11
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Donna - many, many, many times!
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Old 05-29-2014, 08:00 AM   #12
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I love Rockler. Not to change the subject, but if anyone is looking for drawer slides for the bottom of the drawer, instead of the sides. Rockler is the place to go! Bottom slides make putting drawers into cabinets with shelves, extremely easy.
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Old 05-29-2014, 08:05 AM   #13
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Great storage ideas. I may borrow a few for our 21
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Old 05-29-2014, 10:55 PM   #14
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At the Maryhill gathering I saw Tom's slide outs and was impressed and ended up getting two sliders for the Escape and four for the house. As Tom did I also installed one under the sink. The other slider went under the stove (Tom has an oven and thus could not put one there). The sliders are nice units. And they are made in Canada.
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Old 05-29-2014, 10:59 PM   #15
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Nice job Rick, I bet you'll get a lot of use out of these. I don't see any locks. What are you doing to lock them down for travel?
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Old 05-30-2014, 12:47 AM   #16
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Tom, I confess. I used your lock method for the under-the-sink slide out. Unfortunately there is no room for a lock in the stove slide out. I may either use a pin going the opposite direction, i.e., from the inside of the pan to the frame or maybe a vertical pin in front of the slide out into the cabinet frame. The space between the front of the slide out and the door is maybe 1/2" -- maybe the door would hold the slide out in place??

Thanks again Tom for sharing.
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Old 05-30-2014, 07:46 AM   #17
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I put a wire sliding basket under my sink right after I got my trailer 5 years ago. It keeps all our cooking gear nicely together, and not bouncing around.
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Old 05-30-2014, 08:02 AM   #18
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Jim, I saw the picture of your basket modification and was impressed. I looked for the same thing for a while, but couldn't find a basket in the size I wanted. My wife stumbled on the slide-outs that I ended up with. I think both mods improve on access, which is what we're after. Thanks
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Old 05-30-2014, 08:10 AM   #19
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Rick, I opened your under-sink mod in another tab so I could zoom in. Now I can see the lock. I don't know if the cabinet door will hold the drawer in place under the cook-top. I forgot to lock the three slide-outs in my closet and they did pushed the door open during travel. I was lucky because they didn't have much stuff in them. Locking the drawers is now on my drive away list.
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