HOW TO BUILD OVERHEAD CABINETS FOR A DIY CAMPER VAN : A quick, easy and lightweight storage solution
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- Опубликовано: 4 мар 2020
- These cabinet frames attach to the walls using rivet nuts and are super easy to build. You can also put doors or cargo nets on the front.
Our video showing the Rivet Nuts installation: • CAMPER VAN FURRING STR...
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We used these lightweight fabric bins for ours and they work great: amzn.to/3755jXa
Pocket Hole Jig - this makes a great fastening solution on end grain: amzn.to/3DV0qRw
Rivet Nut Kit with installer amzn.to/3IXw9VQ
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This is great, I have been sitting here pondering how to do the upper cabinets and I was able to know this out pretty quick. Also, I'll be putting fronts on them that open up
Cool - glad you liked this!
Love the design. I would invert the wall brackets so they are hidden except for the bottom.
Thanks John! Yes you could do it that way - just make sure to adjust some cut dimensions. Thanks for the comment!
Very useful. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful, thanks for the feedback!
Genius way to measure. I have been stuck at this part for months. Thanks
You’re welcome! Glad it was helpful and thanks for the comment!
Love the string idea to measure the 90 degree front/bottom edges and the scribing using foam board! Very clever!
Thanks so much!
Just make sure the van is standing level on the ground 😄
Thank you
You're welcome!
Lot's of helpful ideas. So much easier than what I was imagining. Cheers buddy.
Cool - glad it helped!
Cheers mate. Think i need to open my old earing hole. Just love that bit of anti establishment thinking
LOL - Me too!
THIS!!! THIS!!! THIS is SO HELPFUL!!! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the comment.
Wow, thank you for sharing. This is exactly what I was looking for. I had an idea similar to this, but you ironed out the kinks. Ty so much
Awesome - so glad to hear that and happy you liked this. Thanks for the comment!
That is exactly what I will be building instead of cabinets.
Thank you so much for showing all the details to help others like myself!!
Now I know exactly how to building this.
You're welcome and we're glad it was helpful!
@@TimAndShannonLTD great job....incredible teacher you are...thanks!
Thank you.I am saving this video for my built in 20 months.
Cool, good to hear it. Best of luck on your build!
The rope for the measuring, light weight materials very smart.
Thanks!
A suggestion is to put the bracket inside instead of outside, where everyone can see them.
Good suggestion but keep in mind that will affect the size of the frame if your rivet nut locations are already determined. We actually like having them in view and accessible.
I like that idea. I’m remodeling my vintage camper now and I may have to borrow this idea. I want to keep an open front concept. Don’t really want doors and such. I’m a decent carpenter but not great. lol.
Sounds great! I'm not sure I would even call myself a decent carpenter, but these were super easy to build. Good luck and have fun with your remodel!
@@TimAndShannonLTD thank you. This has been a long road for sure. Once I got the corners all fixed on the outside. It took 1 1/2 days to demo the inside to nothing but floors and walls. Now comes the hard part of designing a way to make the most out of the small amount of room.
Yep. For us that was about 75% research and 25% action, but what a fun process and so nice to have a blank slate to start with.
@@TimAndShannonLTD that’s exactly how I thought. Not only will I get the satisfaction of knowing I built everything that’s in there. But the simple fact it will be set up exactly how I want it to be. To fit my camping needs and wants.
And that's the beauty of doing it yourself. Enjoy the process!
Brilliant. Thank you
You're very welcome and we're so glad you liked it. Thank YOU for the comment!
Fantastic video, well thought out and put together. I learned a lot - didn’t know a pocket hole jig even existed! Thank you!
Hi Tom, we are so glad you found it useful and learned something new. Thank you for your comment!
Genius and simple, loved the idea of the rivet nuts. This shelf system provides excellent venttilation at an economical cost !!
Glad it was helpful and thanks for the comment!
Thank you this was invaluable. I love having everything out and visible
Glad it was helpful!
Super helpful! Nice job!
Glad you liked it - thanks for the comment!😀
Dang this is some next level creative and technical thinking!
Thanks Andries!
Brilliant idea about the string to measure.
Thanks! Yeah, pretty hard to measure out from walls that aren't square or plumb!
the corners of your windows look amazing!
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing! Seems easy enough. Using brackets and string make it alot easier.
Yeah that was the only way we could figure out to measure accurately. Thanks for the comment!
Super helpful!!! Great ideas!!! Thank you for recording/editing/sharing!!! Safe travels!
You are so welcome - Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for the simplicity
Absolutely. Thanks for the comment!
It's cheaper, if you need that amount, to buy the 4x8 sheet, and have HD cut them to your longest length you'll need for transporting. They don't bat an eye at a couple cuts with their track saw. If you draw out your build in rough and plan for all the thicknesses and dimensions of wood you'll use, you can likely often buy the full sheets and save money letting HD do some of the cuts.
Good on you for using Rivnuts and angle brackets with through bolting. Most DIYers have no clue about the tremendous forces their build will face in even a low speed collision. I would have gone with stronger framing, but if it's stays as just clothes it should be fine.
Wow I didn't realize HD would do cuts like that. Good to know! And yeah - I'm already hoping we did enough super secure anchoring of things. The thought of crashing is scary. (maybe that makes us drive extra cautiously now...?)
@@TimAndShannonLTD Safe driving for sure, however, remember, it's not always on you when there's an accident. No one can rule out what someone else does. So build extra strong since your lives literally depends upon that quality.
Good luck and safe travels!
Good information thanks for sharing
Happy to help out - thanks for the comment! 🙂
I'd like the bracket to be hidden inside. Maybe not as strong but more eye pleasing.
You could very well do it that way. The cabinets would end up about 2” larger in width and height based on using the same hole locations for the rivet nuts. Just keep that in mind.
Brilliant ideas!
Glad you like them, thanks!
The simple solution I have been searching for! Thank you for sharing.
You’re very welcome - thanks for the comment!
Thank you fot this amazing tip to make overhead cabinets, this is really helpful for my project
You're very welcome - Glad it was helpful! Thanks for your comment!
Great idea. I think I'll do that in my van.
Cool! It’s been about a year and a half for us now and they’re still working out great for us.
Nice work brotha
Thanks!
@@TimAndShannonLTD , your welcome, Tim and or Shannon. See you out on the road
Thank you sir, I was following the same process and Im super happy from the results, solid and practical. Thanks
Great to hear and glad this helped. Thanks for the comment!
good job. thank you
Our pleasure!
Sweet and simple perfect for a beginner builder like me
Glad you like it - Have fun with your build!
An absolutely! brilliant! solution...
Why thank you Joe. So good to hear positive feedback like this! We're coming up on six months using these and they're working out great so far. Thanks for commenting!
Tim & Shannon I’ve been tossing a few ideas around for cabinets for my Promaster and this looks like the best way to go. We don’t need doors or the extra weight for an adventure
weekender van.
so many great ideas here!!! thx!!! you can get those foam boards at the dollar store!
Wow didn’t realize that - good to know. Glad you enjoyed this and thanks for the comment!
Great video... I'm here in 2022 and this was so helpful. Thanks 😊
Awesome! So glad you liked it - Thanks for the comment!!
i really like the natural wood color. My wife wanted me to use 4 way stretch carpet as she thinks this looks like a sauna. Well Northern girl
Yeah not everyone likes the natural wood finish. (It does kinda look like a sauna, and when we're in the Florida Keys it even feels like one almost)
@@TimAndShannonLTD lollll :)
Hi Tim. one way to know where to put your drill holes for rivet nuts is to put a button head machine screw with a square screwdriver (Robertson) bit head into the rivnut. Leave about 1/4" of it extending out past the level of the cladding. Put a little dab of point on each of the screw heads. Then hold the board you want to put the holes into in position against the screw heads. Whack the board with a hammer over each screw head. When you pull it away, there will be a dab of paint and a nice little divet mark from each screw head. Now you know exactly where to drill your holes.
Thank you Cam - good trick. We did something similar on our plywood sub-floor.
These look like great overhead storage. How is the weight capacity? I expect you will keep lighter items like clothes up there. These are something I will probably try making. A lot less expensive than 8020, looks great and light weight. Thanks for such a great video. Your explanations are so clear.
You're welcome, and yes - lightweight stuff only (mostly because of the light wood framework). If 80/20 was bolted to the rivnuts, they could probably hold substantially more weight. Glad you liked it and thanks for the comment!
Nice design! Just found your channel. I am in the middle of my van build. Really like the open shelf look. How are they holding up for you?
So far they are working out great. We love the open design too and the soft boxes are easy to access. We're super happy with this design. Thanks for your comment!
Thank you! I have no knowledge of carpentry so I really appreciated your clear explanations! I will definitely apply some of the brilliant ideas to my own van build. Is it okay to keep the wood unpainted or unprimed in the van?
Hi Shiyu! We have not painted or primed any of the wood in our van and it's holding up just fine. If we would have had more time between building and moving in, we would have finished the wood with something because it is hard to clean but it's really not a big problem. Good luck with your build and glad we could help! (EDIT - Actually I guess it would depend on what climate you will be in. If it is very humid, I'm guessing you probably want to finish it to keep moisture out we've been in mostly dry climates so far).
Nice Vid, thanks ! On the Alu Angle (brackets), did you ‘open’ them to compensate for walls:fame not being 90° ? Seems as if you kept them at 90° you would be loading undue stress at point of contact ? I LIKE the idea, just want to anticipate my ‘workaround’. Plan on 100s of Rivnuts, as well.
Hello 240Z - Good eye - Yes you're right, and it looks like I forgot to add one clip I shot for this video, the one showing me bending those angle brackets - Whoops! I bolted them tightly to the walls and the ceiling, and then with a large pair of channel locks, I bent them a little bit to match the angle of the frame. The ones on the top were bent to a little less than 90 degrees, and the ones on the wall bent to a little more than 90 degrees. I just eyeballed it and they ended up working out just fine. At that thickness, the aluminum is pretty flexible. Thanks for the comment!
I like your string idea....and using brackets. One way to find the rivnuts is to get a bolt that fits, (like 1/4-20 thread by 1-1/2( and grind down the bolt to a point after removing the head and then screw them in the rivnut. Now you have what looks like the pointy end of a sharp nail pointing out from the wall and all you have to do is hold the shelve up against the wall and tap it with a mallet and the temporary rivnut nail point will mark where to drill your hole to hand the shelve. cheers
Yeah! That's what we did with our plywood sub-floor! (and here I thought it was my idea... LOL) Thanks for another great comment!
@@TimAndShannonLTD Yea, after I saw your subfloor video, I spoke too soon....keep up the great work
I did that by using a blu-tack the sticky material you use for posters, placed it where the rivet nut is and pushed the timber against it. When removing the timber the blu-tack should stay on the timber and will have the shape of the rivet nut hole. Mark the centre of it with a sharp pointy tool.
Did you do a video of the installation of the rivnuts and where you decided to put them?
Hi djpWilson - Yes we did (sort of), This video ruclips.net/video/vMYFVTvg5mY/видео.html shows how they were installed, but it doesn't show every location. We just went with a lot of the existing holes in the van (had to ream them out a little larger with a drill) and then popped the rivet nuts in. Let us know if you have questions. Thanks for the comment!
They look great, but is it possible for the brackets to be inside the cupboard rather than underneath?
Sure you could do it that way too.
@@TimAndShannonLTD great. Thanks for getting back to me 😊
Wow.... simple, easy(at least you make it seem so), cheap, and pretty!!!
Thank you! Cheers!
Great video!! I like your string idea. Did you have to adjust the vertical line angle so that it is perpendicular to the horizontal line ? Do you think the front lower horizontal beam may bow down due to the storage weight ? May want to add a vertical 1x2” at the cent in the front to provide some additional support, just a thought
Hi S G - I'm not sure what you mean. The van was parked on a level surface. The horizontal string was attached at the same height at each end. So the vertical string was naturally perpendicular. However, I did have to adjust the right-angle aluminum brackets (and forgot to put that clip in the video unfortunately). I bolted the clips tightly in place and then using pliers, I bent the ones on the wall open a bit, and bent the ones on the ceiling closed a bit. And that made those verticals and horizontals perpendicular. (hope that makes sense) Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for your reply. You answered the question, the van is parked on a level surface so the horizontal string is leveled. If the van itself is not leveled, the vertical string need to be adjusted to be perpendicular to the horizontal line before the measurement is made. Anyway, I really like you videos. They make me feel I can do it😊. Thank you !
Good video. It seems to me, with the rivet nuts in the right location, you could have used heavy duty 12" black shelf brackets, put a 1"x12"x 10' piece of select pine on top of the shelf brackets, then used trim moldings to form a 2.5" high lip around the perimeter. And that would have been a lot less work. Am I missing some reason such a shelf like that would not work?
That would probably work. Of course you would be looking at shelf brackets unless you hid them somehow but yeah I see no reason why it wouldn’t work.
Hi there, I really like this design, as I also found it difficult to see how to get the rivet nuts aligned and eveything in advance. What is your experience since you installed the cabinets? Has is held up properly? I guess the rigidity of the brackets play an important role here.
They have held up really well. 2 years+ on the road and the only required maintenance is an occasional tightening of the bolts anchoring them to the van. Maybe some Loctite would alleviate the need for that. I think the fact that the frames are somewhat flexible has really helped. We’re very happy with this arrangement and have no regrets - I don’t think we would do it any differently on a new build. Thanks for the comment!
What size rivet nut tool did you use?
We used 1/4x20 rivets so it was that size tip in the tool.
Great Work.. Question for you, on the cabinet side mounting to the brackets ,do you use screws to hold the cabinet to the bracket or what was used?
Also the little black screws that hold on the cedar, what type of screw is that and size ?
Thanks,
you should ALWAYS use bolts all the way through your plywood. If you'll hold more than clothes, the framing needs to be quite a bit stronger than he built here. Most DIYers have no clue of the forces that will be involved in even a low speed collision. That's why RV and trade van outfitters ALWAYS use Rivnuts. And through bolting of plywood with angle brackets is way stronger than screws and glue. Build as if your life depends on it, as it may very well. ALL structural items should be attached to the van with Rivnuts.
Hi Allen - here are the little black screws for the cedar paneling (and note that this is an affiliate link and we may earn a small commission off this link at no extra expense to you): amzn.to/3r6ehfU
And the frames are held to the brackets with 1-1/2" long 1/4x20 bolts with nuts and washers on the end.
And I totally agree with the other comment here by B Miller - make sure all this stuff is SECURE. Be thinking about the forces involved in an accident. You don't want your living room hitting you in the back of the head!
how deep is the bottom of cabinet? front to back. And how high in the front?
Hi Kayla, it’s 14” front to back on the bottom and 12-3/4” top to bottom at the front. With a 10-3/4” “window” on the front to fit the bins through.
@@TimAndShannonLTD thank you 😊
@@Kayte... you’re welcome! Enjoy your build! 😀
$8.34 for that plywood sheet, in the UK, that sheet would cost you £19 = $26
Wow
Lost me at quality wood from Lowers and Home Despot
Agree that it's true you need to pick through their stock, but we just wanted to list something easy for people to find nationwide. And the pieces we got were fine and still going strong 3 years later with no problems.