DIY Locking Fridge Slides in an OurKaravan Cabinet Kit

[@prhfuturetech3399]

By far one of the best informational videos out of many. Thank you for such detailed yet easy to understand video. I'm building mine a little differently but those scary drawer slides aint so scary anymore.

[@ourkaravan]

Awesome, thank you!

[@tinajones4644]

Did you remember to earth the 80/20 to the van a lot of people can forget. To earth it Good job on van

[@scottward1002]

6:30 7 ply wood!! Works great… Lasting quality!!! So much more fun to work with 😃😃😃😃😃

[@jonkirkwood469]

Wonderful video. A luthier gave me a wood finishing tip I have found useful: use high gloss polyurethane for the first coats, and finish with the desired gloss (semi-, flat). It makes for a harder finish.

[@ourkaravan]

Interesting, thanks for sharing!

[@Lesliefuger]

I hug you virtually for your step-by-step help! Your water system layout helped me figure out how to use them in the same way you did but with a water foot pump! Thank you for your well thought out help!

[@ourkaravan]

Thank you for the kind words, much appreciated!

[@jiajunfan1995]

It would be perfect if the structure of the drawer board could be changed.

[@ourkaravan]

In what way? It can be moved up or down to any position.

[@vincentlehmann646]

Excellent as usual ! Bravo !

[@Lsarsozo]

Thanks for the Dremel solution - I was getting stuck (no pun intended) at this point. 😏

[@ourkaravan]

It’s not an eloquent solution but it’s a quick and easy one.

[@BKTX]

Great job, Ken!

[@ourkaravan]

Thanks Bob!!

[@Mmello709]

His voice remember the "duck song' hey can I have some grapes 😂 papa pa

[@jessys9868]

Great video, enjoyed

[@lsx434]

thanks👍

[@ourkaravan]

You are welcome!

[@transitvandiego]

Dope!

[@dmwi1549]

Nice!

[@hanskohl3136]

Awesome love it 🥰

[@bikesbeersbeats]

What are the internal drawer dimension? I want to use my arb zero 73 with your setup, the dimensions are 29.7in (w) x 18.5in (d) x 22.2in (h). Thanks!

[@ourkaravan]

The aluminum frame I sell has a 31.5" opening. Once you've accounted for the thickness of the drawer slides and the 1/2" sides of the wooden drawer box, there is about 29" inside the drawer. We can widen the kit if you like. Please reach out to us using the contact form at ourkaravan.com and we can accommodate.

[@moneypitvan6378]

I like the one-handed/one-foot unlock idea, seems convenient. Any disadvantages or advantages to the one-locking/one-nonlocking setup? Any decrease in stability when it's locked or extra rattle noise?

[@ourkaravan]

The slides are rated for 250 lbs so a loaded fridge and drawer should be well within the capabilities of one lock. That said, two locks would make it even more robust. I suspect if loaded to 250 lbs that one drawer lock could present an opportunity for the non locked side to wiggle just slightly, but I doubt it. I figured two locks would be more inconvenient to open and close but no other downsides I can think of.

[@livingworkingoutsidebox]

These look solid. How would you compare the durability and weight of aluminum frame, against wood framing. We are building an overlander box van conversion camper see our rough shorts for a look at the concept.

[@ourkaravan]

It all depends on construction style but I would say 99% of DIY’ers will end up with a stronger and lighter end product using the aluminum. That said someone who is well crafted at woodworking and has a bunch of nice tools for joinery can achieve a reasonably strong and lightweight structure as well. The aluminum has the added flexibility of being able to add or modify it down the road.

[@livingworkingoutsidebox]

@@ourkaravan thanks. Our box builder will be making the frame out of Steel and fiberglass over plywood. So since it's on a E450 box van chassis I was thinking of going with aluminum cabinet frames to save weight and keep it durable as long as the screws don't rattle loose

[@questioner1596]

@@livingworkingoutsidebox, you can use a thread locking glue like Loctite or Permatex Threadlocker to keep your screws from loosening. That's what auto makers use when assembling a car engine.

[@livingworkingoutsidebox]

@@questioner1596 thanks

[@callumcolquhoun5935]

Really good video, quick question, how do you ensure the power cable doesn’t ‘catch’ when sliding the fridge in and out?

[@ourkaravan]

One way is to use a loose cable tie or similar to keep the cable higher than the fridge so it doesn't catch.

[@mcqsviews75]

thanks for these videos Ken, very inspiring... did you have to buy 2 sets of locking slides? and now you have 2 right side locking slides that you aren't using?

[@ourkaravan]

I bought one set of locking and one set of non locking. I used one of the locking for the lower drawer and one for the upper, and used the non locking on the other side. So no leftover parts

[@user-cr6ki4qs4y]

Hi and thanks for helping us all out. What is the large thumbtack looking thing that joins the 80/20 at 2:16? Also are you available to hire for custom work or designs not available on your website?

[@ourkaravan]

That is an anchor fastener from 80/20. We use these in our pre cut cabinet kits to make assembly strong and easy to make. I would love to eventually do consultations or partial builds, but at this point in my life I am short on free time. I appreciate the inquiry though!

[@sherilucas6025]

Great video!! How do you attach a door front on your fridge cabinet with the blue locking pin which extends beyond the cabinet?

[@ourkaravan]

The door will require a notch for access to the locking lever. If you Google locking fridge slide cabinet you should find some inspiration. Good luck!

[@sherilucas6025]

@@ourkaravan Thank you!

[@jim6335]

Great video Ken. What type of saw blade do you use to prevent blow out of the plywood?

[@ourkaravan]

You won’t be impressed with my woodworking gear. I literally used a $89 skilsaw with a 4 year old blade. Anything would be better than what I have, haha

[@MsRotorwings]

Silly question, but how do you conceal and access the fridge drawer locking mechanism with a drawer face in place?

[@ourkaravan]

Not silly at all. The lever needs to be accessible, so you need a cutout for it to operate. You can see a lot of examples on Sync Van’s website, where they use a similar design. Alternatively you could use a marine slam latch if you prefer to not use the locking drawer slide.

[@davidterrie7661]

Just made my drawers. My hardwood store made all my cuts in the Baltic birch for $1ea. Easy after this. How have you organized the drawer? It can hold a ton of stuff.

[@ourkaravan]

Thank you for reporting back! IKEA makes a range of adjustable drawer dividers that are helpful. I have a bamboo organizer for holding silverware and cooking utensils, then some various bins from IKEA and Target for subdividing-out the space.

[@davidterrie7661]

@@ourkaravan Pretty frustrated right now. I can't get either drawer to slide more than halfway in. I checked my drawer width and both are exactly 30". Not sure what's wrong.

[@ourkaravan]

@@davidterrie7661 My guess is you have a bolt protruding that is preventing the drawer slide from getting past. You can try lower profile bolts or depending on what you're working with you could partially counter-sink the bolt. That said, this normally is not required.

[@davidterrie7661]

@@ourkaravan The drawer slides go in when not on the drawers, and I used the kit volt, so I don't think it's a bolt. I had to return the slides because the ball bearings were poor anyway. Trying a different brand when they arrive today. Fingers crossed.

[@ourkaravan]

@davidterrie7661 You may have received a defective pair of slides as I and many others have had great service from these. These particular slides were recommended to me by another van builder, so they are literally in hundreds of vans out there. Let me know how it all comes together.

[@steveocheltree3575]

How did you keep the refrigerator from moving around? That's a lot of weight should you have to stop suddenly.

[@ourkaravan]

The fridge is bolted to the structure using angle brackets on the inside.

[@ralpho4942]

Don't dometic fridges have 8mm threads on the bottom? You could bolt it there as well I think.

[@clementstevens]

Just curious, if you have these cut out for short bed trucks. I’m trying to put a slide in the back of a Jeep gladiator, and would love to have a pre-cut system.

[@ourkaravan]

These kits are designed for vans but literally anything is possible with this slotted aluminum.

[@clementstevens]

@@ourkaravan so do you make one that slides out the back of a truck

[@ourkaravan]

At this time I do not.

[@aaronsiegmund8019]

How do you put a drawer face on a 3 sided drawer box?

[@ourkaravan]

Glue and screw the drawer face to the 'front' of the two sides. Pocket holes are a good way to do this.

[@mrchrisknight315]

Do you make custom kits? I like this idea but I have the cfx3 95dz fridge.

[@ourkaravan]

Hi Chris, reach out to me via the contact form on ourkaravan.com and we can discuss. Extending the aluminum profiles to accommodate the larger fridge is no problem at all.

[@mrchrisknight315]

@@ourkaravan thanks

[@eddiepisack]

Does anyone have photos of this cabinet with plywood shell covering it?

[@ourkaravan]

I’m excited to see people share their designs as well. There’s a contact form at ourkaravan.com for anyone that wants to contact me to share their build out.

[@lehula]

What series of aluminum did you use?

[@ourkaravan]

This is all 15 series aluminum

[@MarioLJoyner]

Did you have to modify the hole in the slides. I have a 20 inch slide and the holes on the slides will not accept the the bolt that will fit into the tNut. Also the 1/4 bolt doesn’t thread into at nut that I have been using. Wondering if the holes in the 22inch slides are larger that the 20 inch drawer slides Seems unlikely but I don’t have a 22inch slide to confirm whether or not that is the case

[@ourkaravan]

I didn’t have any issues at all with the 1/4-20 bolt passing through the holes on the 22” slide. Did you buy the exact same slide? You’re right, it seems strange they would use different hole sizes

[@melindacastillo3774]

@@ourkaravanKen, I have 22" slides VA2053 and the 1/4-20 won't fit in the hole. I have to drill a little bit bigger.

[@ourkaravan]

Did you fully extend the drawer slides before installing the bolts and are you sure you bought the same ones I linked? This is curious as the holes in mine easily accommodate the bolts…were the bolts close to fitting and thus maybe it’s a quality control issue on the slides?

[@melindacastillo3774]

@@ourkaravan Yes I did fully extend it. I don't think it's quality control because I bought three of them and they all the same. Also the 1/4-20 bolts may be too long. It was still loose after tightening the screw. Perhaps the material vadania used thinner?.

[@ourkaravan]

I'm really stumped on this one. The original commentor indicated he had this experience on his 20" slides, while I used the 22s. But now you're using the 22" with a similar issue. I haven't had anyone else point it out and neither my locking nor non-locking set had this issue. I'll be keeping an eye out for this but I'm just as curious. Did you drill them out a little?

[@juliekendall6409]

What is the website we can order the kits from?

[@ourkaravan]

Hi, the kit itself can be purchased here: store.heitek.com/products/HTA-OKV-062521-100-00 And here is my informational page: ourkaravan.com/cabinet-kits/ I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

[@garycarlson8721]

I would like to build this but have the unit in the door area so that when outside I can slide the domestic frig out and when inside slide it in. I assume this would work with two way drawer slides but don't know the nuances of this. Any thoughts? Any slider recommendation? Thanks, you have convinced me to use 80/20. Gary

[@ourkaravan]

Hi Gary, you would want to check and see if the fridge you want to use will fit between the framing in that direction. Keep in mind to account for the 3/4” thickness of each drawer slide (if you use the ones I linked) plus the thickness of the 1/2” plywood box on either side. If you are willing to have a deeper galley you can follow the instruction near the bottom of the product page and it will tell you how to order the cabinet will custom dimensions.

[@SuckItYouTube19]

I would suggest NOT building the box in that was. You are putting stress on the vertical plane(walls). Attaching the walls to the base from the side would have been the smarter move. You are less likely to "blow out" the bottom board this way. My internet 2 cents.