Access to the Corner of Upper Cabinet

[BobG]

I gave up trying to feed cables into the corner of the upper cabinets and fish them out a hole into the cabinet. I pulled the piece of paneling between the cabinet and corner space. The piece of blocking securing the piece of paneling came with it. Now I can't replace that piece of blocking. It is just too difficult to reach in there and secure it to the bottom of the cabinet. If glue would work then that would be relatively easy to do but the glues I have tried (wood glue and contact cement) don't adhere to the vinyl type surfacing of the bottom of the cabinet.

If I had a pin or staple gun then that might work but a hand held screw driver just hasn't worked for me. Has anyone found a way to replace the piece of paneling that separates the end of the upper cabinet and the corner dead space?

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by BobG

I gave up trying to feed cables into the corner of the upper cabinets and fish them out a hole into the cabinet. I pulled the piece of paneling between the cabinet and corner space. The piece of blocking securing the piece of paneling came with it. Now I can't replace that piece of blocking. It is just too difficult to reach in there and secure it to the bottom of the cabinet. If glue would work then that would be relatively easy to do but the glues I have tried (wood glue and contact cement) don't adhere to the vinyl type surfacing of the bottom of the cabinet.

If I had a pin or staple gun then that might work but a hand held screw driver just hasn't worked for me. Has anyone found a way to replace the piece of paneling that separates the end of the upper cabinet and the corner dead space?

How about a hot glue gun? Put some on the part and quickly stuff into place before it hardens?

[BobG]

I will do a test of hot glue. Hadn't thought of that. I tried VHB tape in addition to contact cement and wood glue and it didn't work. I cleaned the area with alcohol. Now I will scuff the surface with sandpaper and try a hot glue test.

[Ron in BC]

Love my hot melt glue gun. I use it a lot making up mock ups etc. and for many misc. uses.

Having said that I'd say be careful about trying it for that use. The one thing that I've found is that speed in getting the part in position is important. I've been caught short many times by trying to get a part into a somewhat awkward position before the glue has started to set.

I'd use a caulking or construction adhesive. Holds well and let's you position the part at your own speed.

Ron

[Doug & Betty]

I'm very surprised that the VHB tape didn't work. I've used it where you had problems and it worked fine. Don't know what to say to this. Ron has much experience with things like this so I wouldf do as he says...

I put a 3" hole in the panel(s) you're talking about to allow me to reach in and do wiring without having to remove the panel. One panel per corner is all that is needed as some corners have two panels. The holes are not seen and maintain the effective function of the panel. I have wondered if a larger hole would make things easier but I have been able to work with a 3" hole.

Good luck with your mods.

Doug

[BobG]

I am just setting up to remove the vinyl with a multi tool and sanding attachment. Thinking of using epoxy glue. I have some but don't have any construction adhesive. My hot glue gun is kinda anemic.

[BobG]

Originally Posted by Doug & Betty

I put a 3" hole in the panel(s) you're talking about to allow me to reach in and do wiring without having to remove the panel. Doug

I wish I had done that. I don't have a hole saw anymore. My neighbor has it and would have loaned it to me. Actually, that was the first thought but for some reason I quit thinking about it and just pulled the piece out of there. Next time I will do as you did.

I don't know why the VHB tape didn't work either. I am pretty sure I used alcohol to clean the test piece. I know I used it to clean the cabinet area.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by BobG

I gave up trying to feed cables into the corner of the upper cabinets and fish them out a hole into the cabinet. I pulled the piece of paneling between the cabinet and corner space. The piece of blocking securing the piece of paneling came with it. Now I can't replace that piece of blocking. It is just too difficult to reach in there and secure it to the bottom of the cabinet. If glue would work then that would be relatively easy to do but the glues I have tried (wood glue and contact cement) don't adhere to the vinyl type surfacing of the bottom of the cabinet.

If I had a pin or staple gun then that might work but a hand held screw driver just hasn't worked for me. Has anyone found a way to replace the piece of paneling that separates the end of the upper cabinet and the corner dead space?

This comes in handy for tight spots.
There are other brands even smaller, but with less power. They would work on most jobs Escape related.

[BobG]

Originally Posted by Ooshkaboo

This comes in handy for tight spots.
There are other brands even smaller, but with less power. They would work on most jobs Escape related.

I was thinking about something like that but didn't have one to try. I could barely get one hand in that far and could not put my eyes and hand on the spot at the same time. I do have a right angle screw driver that I tried but I could not get on the screw heads without being able to see.

I was able to remove the vinyl surface with a sander and glue the piece of blocking in place.

Thanks everyone for the help and ideas.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by BobG

I was thinking about something like that but didn't have one to try. I could barely get one hand in that far and could not put my eyes and hand on the spot at the same time. I do have a right angle screw driver that I tried but I could not get on the screw heads without being able to see.

I was able to remove the vinyl surface with a sander and glue the piece of blocking in place.

Thanks everyone for the help and ideas.

I use a mirror when back there, the Dewalts direction is activated by the movement of your hand.
I think the other ones direction is switch activated.

[BobG]

Originally Posted by Ooshkaboo

I use a mirror when back there, the Dewalts direction is activated by the movement of your hand.
I think the other ones direction is switch activated.

Thanks for the info on the screw driver. Activating the direction by hand movement would sure help. I am using a mirror but the problem I ran into was my arm was entirely inside the cabinet and my head outside so I couldn't see the mirror and reach the screws at the same time. I definitely should have given more thought to what I was doing before I did it. The problem happened because the blocking came out with the piece of paneling. If it had stayed stuck to the cabinet I wouldn't have had a problem.

[Galen]

Every time I remove an interior panel it’s for a reason. So I figure I might need access again. So I always replace the panel with Velcro. I glue the velcro to the panel and glue or staple the mating panel to the cabinet frame. Usually a 1 inch long piece in each corner. On larger panels I add another piece in the middle.

If practical I also use screws to make the panels easily removable.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Galen

Every time I remove an interior panel it’s for a reason. So I figure I might need access again.

If practical I also use screws to make the panels easily removable.

I agree, there's no way that I'm ever going to glue a panel back in that I've removed. You never know what access you'll require in the future.

Don't know if you've discovered this panel or removed it. On the 21C it provides access to wiring running from the drawer stack to under the bed. I removed it when I was wiring in an interior switch for the hot water tank.

With care it removes as an assembly. A real bonus because it also snaps back in place without anything having to be added to hold it in place.

It's a little larger space than the photos might indicate and could be used to store valuables. It's a pretty unlikely spot for a thief to look.

And, no, don't anyone say that they now know where I keep my valuables. I have another place that you wouldn't find even if I turned you loose in my trailer.

Ron

[comsult]

After the 1st year of owning my trailer, I found some humidity ie. wet outer shell in the 2 rear corners of my trailer. There were already access holes in the rear corners. I drilled a 4.5" hole in the 2 front corner accesses and Escape generously gave me 2 pieces of paneling to match my finish. I now remove all 4 corner accesses every fall and replace them in the spring. I also found it useful when I decided to mount reading lamps under the corners in the front. The thin panel wood eventually just wore out from putting the screws in and out, so a got some 1" square pine blocks and glued them to the rear of the screw holes. Works great..... However, I like the idea of Velcro (Thanks Galen) on the cover panels, will have to change up this coming spring & Summer. Would make it much easier every fall and spring.
Greg

[jjdeluca]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Love my hot melt glue gun. I use it a lot making up mock ups etc. and for many misc. uses.

Having said that I'd say be careful about trying it for that use. The one thing that I've found is that speed in getting the part in position is important. I've been caught short many times by trying to get a part into a somewhat awkward position before the glue has started to set.

I'd use a caulking or construction adhesive. Holds well and let's you position the part at your own speed.

Ron

Yes, I'd suggest a polyurethane-based construction adhesive.

[BobG]

Originally Posted by jjdeluca

Yes, I'd suggest a polyurethane-based construction adhesive.

Does polyurethane adhesive bond to the vinyl(?) covered paneling?


I used a lot of 3M 5200 (polyurethane) in my sailing days. Also I have used some on my Escape for bonding to fiberglass and the gelcoat.

[jjdeluca]

Yes, I've used polyurethane adhesive to secure melamine panels & it works great.