Our Aliner Restoration: Drawer Stop

Monday, June 20, 2011

Drawer Stop

This mod was done a couple months ago and I kept forgetting to post an update and I'm not sure why because this is a pretty valuable one, especially for those who don't like picking up the contents of a spilled drawer or having damaged stuff from a flying drawer. Before this mod we would try to remember to take the drawer out and put it on the floor before traveling, we have forgotten more than once. We'd also try to pack up around it so it didn't have the opportunity to fall out, that didn't always work well

either. So after replacing the locks on the access panels (lost keys) we looked to see if there were similar "locks" but as a thumb turn rather than a key lock. A key lock would've done the trick too, but I didn't want to have to worry about losing the key to something else again. We found such a thing at Lowes.

Mike notched out enough room for the stop to turn and hit the back of the cabinet. It's perfect. I know that most do not have household oak cabinets in their campers so if you're doing this to your camper you either may not have to notch out anything or you may have to add some thickness or something for it to catch on and where it catches may need to be reinforced on a thinner camper cabinet. This, along with the bed lift is on my list of favorite add ons.

Looking Top Down

From Inside, notched out. Catches on the cabinet facing.

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Future Plans

(Written shortly after bringing home the Aliner in June of 2009) I'm hoping at the end of the day to put together these blog entries and photos and publish some comprehensive notes and instructions that will help the next poor bastard out. There is a ton of knowledge out there, it's just really hard to find it in one place. We will most likely publish in google docs and link pdf or doc files here.

Our primary goal at this point is the floor. In our imaginations we can see the potential for this little unit and there is a lot of inspiration on the web. It's really hard (for me, I think Mike has his head on a bit tighter) to not want to look into the cool mods and daydream about crazy efficient cabinets and gadgets.

(May of 2011)

As of today we are working on getting into our second season of camping in the Aliner. Last year we only brought it local to Otter River State Forest in Templeton with plates off of our utility trailer and the old tires. This season after new tires we brought her to Myrtle Beach in April and have since removed the old decals and applied new ones. We love this camper, so don't ask to buy it unless you're looking to forkover 6-7k. It's pretty much a new camper now, even better it's made well....no stapled together cabinets or chintzy counter tops. It may not be the biggest thing but it is just right for the two of us!

Aliner Parts and Pieces

Aliner Owners Club on Floor Replacement

Here you can find the AOC write up on floor replacement with some helpful links, such as to the wood petrifier if you just need to fix a soft spot and links to pictures that show a floor replacement done by lifting the body of the camper and using the old floor as a template. We chose not to lift the camper and to replace piece by piece for a few reasons. The first was because the floor was so far gone it was pretty much dirt. There was no using the old floor as a template and no need to try to get it out in one piece. Second, we did not have the garage or other space to work on the camper and did all our work in our then gravel driveway. And lastly time, we didn't want to leave the camper up and apart for the length of time we thought this would all take. The main reason though was because our floor was so far gone. I think either method is fine but do realize when doing it a piece at a time you need to place the new floor in as you go or you will lose structural support. The walls are wrapped around the edges of the floor and stapled all the way around. When you remove the old flooring it will fall if you take it all off. Also doing it a piece at a time you will need to do the parameter first then the center of the floor rather than what would probably be three full sheets. We half lapped, used liquid nails and recessed bolts. We also did spray a rubberized undercoat and we added reinforcement to the rear of the frame.