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Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 11:40 pm
by Millennial Falcon
I'm going to be using the space under the couch for my battery bank and solar charge converter, as well as all the wiring for my power bank.

I saw someone mention on these forums how they had easily converted their drawer into a cabinet, so I did the same and am posting the details here in case anyone wishes to follow along. It was a 30 minute project from start to finish, and gives me an IMMENSE amount of storage under the couch.

Here's a GIF of what it looks like now:
Image

And here's the parts list:
Face Mount Burnished Brass Hinges - $2.32 a pair, and match the factory hinges VERY well.
Latch Grabber - $4 (I had a spare from my bulk purchase to replace a few others around the camper)
https://www.amazon.com/eBoot-Self-Adhes ... er Bumpers - $0.25

Here's how the install went:
  • Removed the drawer.
  • Unscrewed the screws holding the drawer to the faceboard.
  • Gently pried the faceboard off the drawer, since it was still held on with brads.
  • Removed the brads from the face-board.
  • Attached hinges 1.25" from each end of the faceboard, attached Latch Grabber in middle of top section, attached two bumpers to upper corners.
And it was that easy. Just make sure to drill pilot holes, and measure twice. Took less than 30 minutes start to finish. I'll remove the drawer rails next, but wanted to post how easy this was! I'd have never of thought of it without seeing someone else on here mention they had done it!

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:28 am
by 190-b-651
The older models had the door. Im not shure when airstream started putting a drawer in but it would cut down on useable storage space. Looks good.

Sent from my SM-J727T1 using Tapatalk


Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:25 pm
by weekender
I believe I am the original post -- one of my first modifications, have never regretted it! My only change from the original, was that I ended up converting to 2 catches-- the catch was not quite strong enough to prevent the occasional shift of stuff in the cabinet (mostly folding chairs for outside the van) would happen on a bump in the road, and pop open. I have save the original drawer and rails should I ever want to convert back.

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 6:29 pm
by Millennial Falcon
weekender wrote:
Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:25 pm
I believe I am the original post -- one of my first modifications, have never regretted it! My only change from the original, was that I ended up converting to 2 catches-- the catch was not quite strong enough to prevent the occasional shift of stuff in the cabinet (mostly folding chairs for outside the van) would happen on a bump in the road, and pop open. I have save the original drawer and rails should I ever want to convert back.
Thanks weekender, I decided to wait a bit to see how a single catch operated and report back.

Well, it's been a solid 18 months now... and my single catch still locks it tight and has never once rattled itself open. So others can feel free to "double catch" it if they wish, but I recommend you just put one on and see how it works out for you. :-)

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 12:39 pm
by silvertrooper
We've got the materials to do this now, and as I was looking at the space available I was wondering about the vulnerability of the converter and electrical wiring under the couch just behind the driver's seat. Have any of you blocked this off? I note that my folding table and chairs and such get crammed in and bump nicely into that stuff if I'm not careful loading. Thinking about a little wood blocking to protect it. Thoughts?

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 12:59 pm
by Millennial Falcon
I didn't put any blocking in... but I lined my two standard sized batteries in the space between the generator space and the front face of the couch. That effectively blocked off the circuit breaker panel from getting knocked by stuff.

I do keep some light-weight "odds & ends" ontop of my chargin equipment in there and it hasn't caused an issue. I would be careful with anything metal/conductive if you had the electrical equipment under there like I do. But if you're only worried about the back of the factory circuit-breaker panel... it's rather robust and also pretty well blocked off by the generator compartment. Also, it has a metal shroud. You're probably fine.

However, if it is easy and you have the wood laying around... adding some protective blocking couldn't hurt!

Here's a view of how my under-couch is right now (it probably explains it better than words could), notice the few backpacks and pool noodle floating around in there just fine... apologies for it not being neat and tidy either...
Image

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2021 4:57 pm
by silvertrooper
Coming back to the board for some ideas, just saw your video, Falcon. Thanks, and very cool. I've been thinking about electrical system upgrades, but am trying to keep it simple. I wish they had put the house battery near the converter. I have a Renogy solar suitcase for ease of use, and it's been great (https://www.renogy.com/100-watt-12-volt ... h-voyager/). If we're boondocking for more than a couple days, I'll put it out and keep the house battery charged. But batteries under the couch like you have there seems like a good idea for a secondary solar system (that is, I might keep the original electrical system and use installed panels to power regular 110 through batteries and an inverter). But then where do I keep my table and chairs? :D :D

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 9:19 am
by skater
silvertrooper wrote:Coming back to the board for some ideas, just saw your video, Falcon. Thanks, and very cool. I've been thinking about electrical system upgrades, but am trying to keep it simple. I wish they had put the house battery near the converter. I have a Renogy solar suitcase for ease of use, and it's been great (https://www.renogy.com/100-watt-12-volt ... h-voyager/). If we're boondocking for more than a couple days, I'll put it out and keep the house battery charged. But batteries under the couch like you have there seems like a good idea for a secondary solar system (that is, I might keep the original electrical system and use installed panels to power regular 110 through batteries and an inverter). But then where do I keep my table and chairs? :D :D
You can put a sealed battery in a box inside the cabin (AGM, for example), but not a wet battery, as they are more likely to offgas, which isn’t good to breathe and can be explosive. Airstream was putting wet cell batteries in these when they were built, which is why they’re “outside” somewhere.

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2021 11:12 pm
by silvertrooper
That makes sense! What doesn't is how long the run is from the battery (especially when it's on the passenger side) and the converter. I imagine that's a significant voltage drop--I have a friend who is a marine electrician (also a Marine electrician, formerly) who hates to make long cable runs to a battery.

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 5:47 pm
by skater
silvertrooper wrote:
Wed Jan 27, 2021 11:12 pm
That makes sense! What doesn't is how long the run is from the battery (especially when it's on the passenger side) and the converter. I imagine that's a significant voltage drop--I have a friend who is a marine electrician (also a Marine electrician, formerly) who hates to make long cable runs to a battery.
The drop can be mitigated with a large enough wire. Mine has an 8 gauge wire, I think, which should be sufficient given the length of the run and the amount of current being drawn. It's only really a problem if you're drawing a lot of power, which is hard to do in such a small motorhome.

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:32 am
by Nautilus
[/quote]

The drop can be mitigated with a large enough wire. Mine has an 8 gauge wire, I think, which should be sufficient given the length of the run and the amount of current being drawn. It's only really a problem if you're drawing a lot of power, which is hard to do in such a small motorhome.
[/quote]

Interesting, the power wires coming off of my house battery that run under the van and pop up by the converter and inside the generator box are both 4awg. Both run in an insulation sleeve. I also don't have solar prewiring, and my fridge never ran 12v. Funny how these things are different sometimes. I'm putting all my solar stuff under the couch, haven't decided exactly how I'm going to organize it all though. I might actually shorten the depth of the generator box. I still want to use it for outside storage (leveling blocks, shore power cable since I'm switching to a plug and extension cord, air hoses for the compressor I'm eventually going to install, and misc other things) but it takes up so much room under the couch.

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:54 am
by skater
Nautilus wrote:
Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:32 am
Interesting, the power wires coming off of my house battery that run under the van and pop up by the converter and inside the generator box are both 4awg. Both run in an insulation sleeve. I also don't have solar prewiring, and my fridge never ran 12v. Funny how these things are different sometimes. I'm putting all my solar stuff under the couch, haven't decided exactly how I'm going to organize it all though. I might actually shorten the depth of the generator box. I still want to use it for outside storage (leveling blocks, shore power cable since I'm switching to a plug and extension cord, air hoses for the compressor I'm eventually going to install, and misc other things) but it takes up so much room under the couch.
I'll take a look at mine when I can - they might be larger than the 8 awg, and I'm just going off memory.

I always wanted to mount an air compressor somewhere, never got around to it though.

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2023 11:06 am
by Millennial Falcon
weekender wrote:
Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:25 pm
I believe I am the original post -- one of my first modifications, have never regretted it! My only change from the original, was that I ended up converting to 2 catches-- the catch was not quite strong enough to prevent the occasional shift of stuff in the cabinet (mostly folding chairs for outside the van) would happen on a bump in the road, and pop open. I have save the original drawer and rails should I ever want to convert back.
For anyone finding this post and thinking of doing this simple conversion, DO IT. It's been 5 years and made the space so much more usable.

As for Weekender's statement about two latches, you can if you need to. But it's been 5 years on bumpy roads, and I've never had my single latch pop open!

Re: Under Couch Drawer Conversion

Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2023 8:07 pm
by skater
Millennial Falcon wrote:
Mon Mar 27, 2023 11:06 am
weekender wrote:
Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:25 pm
I believe I am the original post -- one of my first modifications, have never regretted it! My only change from the original, was that I ended up converting to 2 catches-- the catch was not quite strong enough to prevent the occasional shift of stuff in the cabinet (mostly folding chairs for outside the van) would happen on a bump in the road, and pop open. I have save the original drawer and rails should I ever want to convert back.
For anyone finding this post and thinking of doing this simple conversion, DO IT. It's been 5 years and made the space so much more usable.

As for Weekender's statement about two latches, you can if you need to. But it's been 5 years on bumpy roads, and I've never had my single latch pop open!
There are different "strength" of catches, if you're using the standard black ones that Airstream likes. I didn't learn this until more recently. Maybe he had one of the lighter ones.