Cabinet Mods

When I had my Westy Weekender, I loved the full width rear seat.  You could prop a pillow up and sit sideways at the table... It was cozy and comfy.  Now, I love my full camper, but the extra cabinets do hinder the comfort factor slightly, unless you're willing to operate a saw and get all mad scientist on it the way I did.

I had seen a few vans where they chopped the cabinet down (the one aft of the cooking cabinet and next to the seat) in order to add more chillaxin lounge space, and I liked it. So, I pulled that cabinet out, took some measurements and went to town.

I had planned on decreasing the water tank size anyhow, so removing it wasn't a problem for me.  I'll be adding a 4-5 gallon fresh water tank under the sink pretty soon.

Originally I was going to just chop it down and re-use the top, but the way it's made, doesn't allow for east deconstruction and re-contruction, so I just picked up some 3/8" Birch and made a whole new top, keeping just one access port/cubby on the backside.  The lower access on the front side, is plenty for what I need to store.

In the back cubby, I cut out some birch and lined the inside nicely.  I may end up raising the floor in that cubby and creating a hidden compartment for valuables at some point.

When re-upholster the seats/cushions, I'm going to have a small pad made for new bench area that matches and then keep a few pillows in there that will double as our sleeping pillows.

I also made sure to buy enough birch to lay down a new floor and did that at the same time.

Future cabinet plans include converting the rear cabinet to be about 4-5" thinner in an attempt to have more shoulder room.  I'll be staining and sealing the wood (floor too) as well to protect from spills/stains.