The "Door"K

Recently, the weather has been so nice that I have focused on building rather than blogging.  So I thought I’d pause to make an update on my progress with the jPod.

First, I removed my cabinet on the inside & started over.  I decided to make my electrical access box larger (possibly to accommodate a power inverter someday – if needed).  Since I was doing that and the fact that I found some nice plywood in the garage, I decided to tear everything out and simply start over.  The design is the same but the materials are not. (see Body: Internal for pictures).

Cliff's Door Drawing
Cliff’s Door Drawing

The major progress is on the doors.  I have been working out some design ideas for them.  As I stated in a previous post, the doors warped this past fall when we moved.  The whole project came to a standstill because of the move and once I found the doors, they needed disassembling & repair.  The good news is that I have them working well now (see Body: External).  A fellow teardrop builder, Cliff, drew up a design that he used on his trailer for the door latches.

I think I’ll use a close version of his design for the jPod doors too.  I shot a few pictures with the doors sitting in place (not installed).  I like the finished look of the windows.  The only picture that turned out badly was the one of me.  I look like I’m sneaking into a bank or something.  I look like a real “door”K (when the doors are done, then I’ll slam the door on the door puns).

In the midst of all of this cabinet reconfiguration, an idea was emailed to me by a friend who is also building a teardrop (see Mel’s Build here).  This idea has caused Senior Management & I to re-think the galley.  Take a look at this photo from the Northwest Overland Society (of which Mel & I are members) and then I’ll describe how I plan to adapt it to the jPod.

A Great Use of Space
A Great Use of Space

Now this is simply a great use of space.  My plan -and I believe it is Mel’s as well- is to make a stainless steel counter that will fit directly over the camp chef outdoor camp oven.  Then the counter will roll out & the oven will roll out of that.

Galley Configuration 2.0
Galley Configuration 2.0

The trade-off?  I will loose 1  1/8″ of storage width because I’ll need the extra room for another set of roller bearing slides & some stainless steel.  In my opinion, all of that extra counter space is well worth the width issue.

This little idea has caused me to rethink my galley some & rework some design elements as well. In related exciting news, I received most of my drawer slides from Bold Hardware.

Business Card from Bold Hardware
Business Card from Bold Hardware

They are nice quality & affordable.  They will also take care of the Camp Chef Oven Slide-out.  I have updated my “material Suppliers” to include Bold Hardware and my experience with them.  I have also posted a copy of their business card (which has a unique catch phrase on it).

Schedule for further building?  Finish these cabinets & doors, then install the galley counter top & under counter storage.

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