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Old 02-19-2019, 06:54 PM   #1
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Need RV Drawer Bottom Mod?

My 2 big storage drawers have a weak bottoms on them, put any pots or pans in there and the bottom falls out. Already fixed once at the dealer under warranty, the factory used staples to secure it and so did the dealer. Anyone added something to make them stronger? Not sure if wood slats mounted underneath would work. Any ideas are most welcomed....thanks Mark

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Old 02-19-2019, 07:24 PM   #2
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Just off the top of my head. I'd add a new bottom on top of the old bottom. Maybe a 3/16 inch piece of plywood. You could screw it in through the sides of the drawer with a few small flat head screws. It would never come out again.
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Old 02-19-2019, 07:30 PM   #3
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Sounds like a plan

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Originally Posted by csseeker View Post
Just off the top of my head. I'd add a new bottom on top of the old bottom. Maybe a 3/16 inch piece of plywood. You could screw it in through the sides of the drawer with a few small flat head screws. It would never come out again.
I will give that a shot, just need to make sure the screws are small enough to not interfere with the sliding in and out operation...thanks
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Old 02-19-2019, 09:01 PM   #4
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Have you pulled the drawers out? Pull to the extreme, locate the black plastic lever inside the slide on the drawer. The slides are identical and so the lever pushes up or down depending on which side and continue to pull the drawer out.

Turn it upside down on a table and see that the bottom is cut shy of the dado grooves, there's not much to do about that. I injected some caulking into the groove along the sides and put 3-4 #6x 1/2" pan head* screws thru the bottom into the side. Pilot hole to prevent shredding. This will give some additional support. It's quick and dirty but works. Otherwise, recut a bottom to fit, take the drawer apart and reassemble with glue and clamps. The staples aren't bad but without glue they won't stay together.

* I use the broad head sharp tip lath screws from the Depot or Lowes and always carry a pill jar filled. Don't carry in your pants pocket tho.
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Old 02-19-2019, 10:00 PM   #5
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I'll vote for Post #2 Option. I also cut 3/16 plywood just short of the dimensions of the bottoms of my plastic basement storage bins. The extra support keeps the "Belly of the Bins" (Sounds like a good name for a movie) from sagging down in the middle.
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Old 02-19-2019, 10:45 PM   #6
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Im going to try post#2, the factory material is like cardboard....I think the piece of plywood with screws should hold. I have 10 piece set of Magna RV induction cookware which is really heavy(great cookware by the way). Thanks to everyone for the help...now I have a snowday project for tomorrow.
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Old 02-20-2019, 01:20 AM   #7
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HAH! Now you mention the full set of Magma! Rebuild the drawer, 1/4" melamine on mdf works great. <wink!>
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Bilsteins and Sumos front and rear...HUGE! FatMat and Hoodliner...HUGE!
Hellwig sway bars F&R, 235/85 Hankook ATM, alignment...HUGE!!!
Battery watering, 260watts Solar and BigFeets to make life easier.
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Old 02-20-2019, 01:30 AM   #8
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Take 7 pieces out and leave them home.
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Old 02-20-2019, 01:51 AM   #9
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I will give that a shot, just need to make sure the screws are small enough to not interfere with the sliding in and out operation...thanks
You could also use a few larger head brads instead of screws. That way you won't need to counter sink the heads and they won't interfere with the slides.
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Old 02-20-2019, 12:26 PM   #10
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HAH! Now you mention the full set of Magma! Rebuild the drawer, 1/4" melamine on mdf works great. <wink!>
I would hate to think what would happen if we decided to start using some cast iron cookware. It does and doesn't surprise Thor used such a flimsy material on the drawer bottoms...it only had 4 staples in both the under dinette bench drawer and the under stove drawer.
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Old 02-20-2019, 03:22 PM   #11
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Indiana is a Right-to-work state. The assemblers get paid piece work and the manager has a stop watch. The only incentive is cost and speed. It's the G.E. philosophy...Good Enough. Hell, it only has to last a year!
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Bilsteins and Sumos front and rear...HUGE! FatMat and Hoodliner...HUGE!
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Old 02-20-2019, 03:43 PM   #12
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Indiana is a Right-to-work state. The assemblers get paid piece work and the manager has a stop watch. The only incentive is cost and speed. It's the G.E. philosophy...Good Enough. Hell, it only has to last a year!
I thought maybe management were keeping tabs on the monthly quota on staples....or Indiana is short on staples!!!
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Old 02-20-2019, 03:54 PM   #13
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These are campers...not homes. I don't think the design plan was to handle that much weight in just one drawer. If the entire coach was built to handle that much weight per square foot bouncing up and down as you traverse America...it would end up on a Class 8 truck chassis...25 feet long.
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Old 02-20-2019, 05:34 PM   #14
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Gritz is right, we have to think minimalist. What do you really need? One pot, a saucepan, and a small and large skillet?

Back to the drawer, the issue is the drawer slides. They are a suspension type, they hold the sides, but it's the bottom of the drawer that the issue. Crappy execution of an okay design. The too thin bottom panel is cut undersize for the "slap it together " assembly. Try to support the bottom.
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I'm wearing trifocals now but my hindsight is 20/20.
*************
Bilsteins and Sumos front and rear...HUGE! FatMat and Hoodliner...HUGE!
Hellwig sway bars F&R, 235/85 Hankook ATM, alignment...HUGE!!!
Battery watering, 260watts Solar and BigFeets to make life easier.
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Old 02-20-2019, 09:29 PM   #15
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I've upgraded cheap residential furniture in the past, that had basically cardboard for the drawer bottoms. The cardboard was inserted into dado cuts (slots) cut into the sides, front, and back

So I disassembled the drawer. Just take off one of the 4 sides...probably the back would be the most forgiving. Slide the cardboard out and insert some thin plywood. I happened to have some stuff maybe 1/18 inch thick that worked in my case. Be sure to leave room so the new board slides in with wiggle room for future expansion and contraction....
then just glue/pin nail the drawer box back together.
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Old 02-21-2019, 03:40 AM   #16
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I like #2 idea also.
Except not the screws, or nails, and use a veneer piece and not plywood, maybe even a thin piece of wood paneling.
I would try to match the veneer in size to fit as exactly as possible, think perfectionist.
Then with some wood glue, or Elmer's, just glue it down placing it into the drawer from the top side.
If you cut it good enough to fit snugly, I think that would do it.
Clean the excess oozed out glue with a wetted paper towel!
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Old 02-22-2019, 01:56 PM   #17
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When the bottoms fell out of a couple of the drawers, I reinstalled them using Titebond glue and lots of staples, and they have been holding up fine, even loaded with heavy pots and pans.
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Old 03-02-2019, 11:04 PM   #18
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I added the 3/16 plywood glued and screwed underneath the bottoms. I angled the trim screws through the bottom to the drawer sides.
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Old 03-04-2019, 04:41 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cyberdude View Post
My 2 big storage drawers have a weak bottoms on them, put any pots or pans in there and the bottom falls out. Already fixed once at the dealer under warranty, the factory used staples to secure it and so did the dealer. Anyone added something to make them stronger? Not sure if wood slats mounted underneath would work. Any ideas are most welcomed....thanks Mark
First thing I did on our Four Winds 31W was remove ALL of the bottom drawers, reinforce the mounts that the drawer slides attach to and replace all the brads with small screws. We carry heavy pans including cast iron with no problems. Easier to attack head on than wait until it fails on the road.
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Old 03-05-2019, 12:34 AM   #20
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First thing I did on our Four Winds 31W was remove ALL of the bottom drawers, reinforce the mounts that the drawer slides attach to and replace all the brads with small screws. We carry heavy pans including cast iron with no problems. Easier to attack head on than wait until it fails on the road.
Sounds as if experience had a play in that one.
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