Modifications of new-to-us 17B

[pllaz]

We brought a new-to-us 17B a month ago. I have been working on some modification to make it our tiny home on wheels. Here are modifications we did so far before our first trip:

1. Beddings: mattress cover, fitted sheets, cushion covers etc.
2. Back splash/knife wall
3. Microwave cabinet door
4. Elfa shelfs in the closet

 

[pllaz]

1. Beddings

The original owners used sleeping bags, but I want to have fitted beddings.For the single bed, I made a sack for storing a twin size down comforter and using as a cushion during daytime. The sack fabric is super stretchy velvet that was previously sofa cushion covers brought from Amazon. Unfortunately my cat loves the fabric so much, tried to nurse on these covers and chewed holes on them. So I recycle the fabric for the sack.

Under the sack is the fitted sheet I made from regular-size cotton sheets. The backside of the sheet has velcro strips sewed on the edges. It attaches to the mattress cover, which also have velcro strips sewed on. This way I can change sheet without fighting with cushions.

The single bed will be a permanent bed, so I did a mattress cover with velcro bed sheet. For the dinette/bed, I made individual cushion covers, a larger zipper sack for a full-size down comforter and velcro-ed sheets. Cushion covers have the stretchy velvet on one side for sitting and quilted backside for sleeping (first time quilting. horribly twisted lines but no one is going to see them). The backside has velcro strips for attaching the sheet. Covers are closed on the narrow end with velcro.

 

[pllaz]

2. Back splash/knife wall

The backsplash is a single piece of magnet board. I glued it onto the vinyl wall with silicon sealant around the edges. The board touches the counter so that it can handle heavy load. I then attached long thin pieces of magnets to the board hold knifes. Added few magnetic hooks to hang small utensils. To the left of the backsplash/knife wall, I added a utensil holder. It has mounting holes in the back. I put small command wire hooks to secure the holder. The holder mostly sits on the counter. The hooks are there to hold it during trips.

The magnet board came in two-per-pack. I glued the second piece above the closet and make it a place to hang small items.

 

[pllaz]

3. Microwave cabinet door
The 17B we brought does not have a built in microwave. The microwave cabinet has a mirrored door. We tried two compact microwaves. All of them fit in the cabinet opening but have handles, knots or safety lock protruding out. Our solution is to remove the mirror on the door. The door latch was replaced with a magnetic latch on the top of door, so that the microwave door opens more freely.

 

[pllaz]

4. Elfa shelfs in the closet

I followed the same design as other 17B owners used. When put into the closet, I made sure the 2-by-4 base pieces are tightly pushed against the bottom frame of the closet so that the drawer unit sits very tight in the closet and does not need additional screw anchors. I used a bungee cable to secure drawers. Seems working very well.

 

[pllaz]

5. Overhead cabinet dividers
These are made of small bookends and PVC foam boards, holding together with double sided tape.

PVC foam boards are rigid, light and easy to cut with a utility knife. I make a template of the cabinet cross section with cardboard, cut PVC board to the shape and attached the board to the bookend. On the base of the bookend, I used a small piece of silicon double-sided tape to secure it in the cabinet. Silicon double sided tape is easy to remove to reposition. These dividers can be rearranged quite easily.

 

[penwia]

2. Back splash/knife wall

The backsplash is a single piece of magnet board. I glued it onto the vinyl wall with silicon sealant around the edges. The board touches the counter so that it can handle heavy load. I then attached long thin pieces of magnets to the board hold knifes. Added few magnetic hooks to hang small utensils. To the left of the backsplash/knife wall, I added a utensil holder. It has mounting holes in the back. I put small command wire hooks to secure the holder. The holder mostly sits on the counter. The hooks are there to hold it during trips.

View attachment 190732
The magnet board came in two-per-pack. I glued the second piece above the closet and make it a place to hang small items.
View attachment 190733

Did you attach there Paper towel holder with screws right into the wood?

 

[pllaz]

Did you attach there Paper towel holder with screws right into the wood?

No. I used two command strips. The holder came with double sided mounting tape but it did not hold after a hot day. The command strips are holding up so far.

After our first highway test, I found the paper towel roll slipped off the holder so I added a bungee cable on the end of the holder. The other end of the bungee cable is secured to the magnet board under the holder. If I didn’t happen to put a magnet board under, I probably need to find a different paper towel holder.

 

[Mike G]

There are some paper towel holders on amazon that have a friction mechanism to help keep the roll from unrolling during travel. They hold the roll securely, too... it can't slip off.

 

[MMI]

3. Microwave cabinet door
The 17B we brought does not have a built in microwave. The microwave cabinet has a mirrored door. We tried two compact microwaves. All of them fit in the cabinet opening but have handles, knots or safety lock protruding out. Our solution is to remove the mirror on the door. The door latch was replaced with a magnetic latch on the top of door, so that the microwave door opens more freely.

View attachment 190734

Could you let me know what the name and model of the Microwave is? Thanks I am looking to install a microwave as well in my 17B

 

[pllaz]

Could you let me know what the name and model of the Microwave is? Thanks I am looking to install a microwave as well in my 17B

The microwave was brought by the previous owner and came with our 17b. It is an old model magic chef retro 0.7 cft. Most 0.6-0.7 cft microwave will fit in the cabinet but the depth of cabinet is barely enough. We first brought a short power extension with flat plug to plug in the microwave so that we could push the microwave all the way in, but still couldn’t close the door because the handle was protruding. Removing the mirror worked.