RE: Extra outside shelf for pop-up

[Ab Diver]

 
Was thinking about some of the things I want to do to the pop-up this year, and one of them is " adding a shelf"  to the side of the pop-up next to the outdoor stove. Our  98 Bayside is the same floorplan as a newer Utah, with a long uninterrupted outside wall in front of the door. Plenty of room to add a shelf for holding paper plates, spices, cooking utensils (or my beer) while I m using the stove.
 
 Question is, how best to support it? I m thinking a couple feet of the molded aluminum " bar"  the stove hangs from should do the trick. That will hold the shelf to the camper, but it will need some extra support. So, either adding that flip-down bracket that supports the stove (Coleman part number?) or using an adjustable-length pole to brace the shelf... something like a " twist-lock"  adjustable mop handle, or the " pin-lock"  adjustable support poles the awning uses.
 
 Any thoughts on how to avoid drilling into something vital inside the pop-up wall? Are there schematics available showing the location of wires, bracing, or anything you *don t* want to drill into when mounting the support bar? Anybody already done something like this? I think it would be a fairly useful mod, and no doubt a lot less " wobbly"  than the El Cheapo tv-dinner tray we have been using for this job (a beer is a terrible thing to spill [] ).

[Gamecock Camper]

 Ab Diver
Dave, I d contact Coleman or your dealer for a schematic.  I know that Jayco has been very considerate in providing schematics for others doing mods to their campers.  I would not be afraid of doing anything like you are thinking of, but I would make sure that if you have a warranty that the work you do will not void the warranty.  I think alot of careful measuring and common sense will probably get you where you want to be.  
 
 You might also want to check out the marine stores.  There are several marine tables, stoves and shelves that have mounts that you might be interested in.   I know you will see expensive items, but all well made.  It might even give you a few ideas on how to make a home-made clamp or rail or something....
 
 The rail that is used to hold the outside stove would be good.  I m sure you can buy one from a dealer or from an RV junkyard somewhere.   Let us know how you do this as I am considering a small table addition to my Rockwood.

[Tim5055]

 Ab Diver
Dave, you and I are thinking alike.  I have alread purchased the rails used to hold the stock stove from my dealer.  I think one of them was $6 and one was $7.
 
 LIke you I am uncomfortable just screwing into the side.  One of the mechanics at my dealer said it is not hard to drill out the rivets that hold the side panel on the bottom and pull it away enough to get a look and/or slide a small peice of wood up to where you need suppport.
 
 Maybe when the snow goes away I ll tackle this project.

[Papaso]

 Ab Diver
Dave, I too wish to do this project maybe it would be something to manufacture and sell it  as a kit. Who knows ?
 
 Happy camping

[mike4947]

 Ab Diver
IMHO Tim hit the nail on the head. No matter what you ll need to either find the 2 x2 s that make up the wall studs or else frame something up inside the wall. So popping the bottom edge rivets (they replace easily) is the way to go. You can actually pull the aluminum skin quite far away from it original position and gain a lot of access to the innards of the wall.
 Most of my projects that involved the walls involved large areas (like access doors) so I went for the strip the inner wall, but that usually involves removing seats or cabinets before you even get to the wall.
 As for the brackets places like http://www.giantrecreationworld.com/ have it for about $3-$4 for each half. You do have one of their catalogs don t you? It s one of the must haves for modifiers.

[Gamecock Camper]

 Ab Diver
Thanks mike4947.  I ordered the catalog.

[Ab Diver]

 Ab Diver
Ok, if this idea is shared with the likes of you guys, I KNOW it can t be bad.[]
 
 Thanks for the Giant Rec. link, Mike. Looks like the table brackets come in a set of two (both sides), are 30"  long, and cost a whopping $3.99
 
 http://www.rvlifestyles.net/Catalog/itempage.asp?id=311572&subcatid=9540000015021&groupid=5740000022112&magic=CFBVX0411120412280
 
 And an adjustable table leg (24"  -29" ) only costs $14.99
 
 http://www.rvlifestyles.net/Catalog/itempage.asp?id=318173&subcatid=9540000015021&groupid=0840000022186&magic=CFBVX0411120412280
 
 Hmmmm... pop some rivets, add some wood backing,  make a table from scrap plywood and Formica laminate (solid oak trim, of course [] ), and the rest of the parts come to less than 20 bucks. Not a bad deschizification. Only wish I had enough free time to get it done before the Olema Rally in two weeks. That s OK, it s just the beginning of camping season, plenty of opportunities to use it in the coming months!

[bearbait]

 Ab Diver
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[chip]

 Ab Diver
If you have any back issues of PopUp Times, check out the " Late Summer 2001"  issue  (Volume 4, No. 4) page 15.  
 
 Looks like plenty of room for the brewski, among many less important items.
 
 Hope that helps.
 
 

[Papaso]

 mike4947

 

ORIGINAL:  mike4947
 
 As for the brackets places like http://www.giantrecreationworld.com/ have it for about $3-$4 for each half. You do have one of their catalogs don t you? It s one of the must haves for modifiers.
 

 Just got my catalog, quick delivery! Looks good! Thanks
 
 Happy Camping!

[CAPEd CODger]

 Ab Diver
Hey, Tim
 I thought if you did the work in the worst possible weather, it gave you bonus camping points or something like that.
 Ham radio guys get signal gain for working on their antennas in bad weather.
 Kinda like frequent flyer miles???