Building Overhead Sliding Drawers! Maximizing the Passthrough Storage!

Increasing storage is one of the biggest struggles as an RV'er. And for us in a couples camper - that outside storage is at a premium. In this video we take advantage of the vertical space by building sliding storage for small plastic bins that we keep loose items and our water hoses in.
This mod took about an hour to build and approx $20 in wood / fasteners as we already had the plastic containers. Best thing is it can quickly be dropped down and put back up if we needed to access the panels inside the storage compartment in the future. And it is easily customizable to whatever size plastic container you have.
Materials used for each side were:
1/2"x2"x3' boards from Lowes
2"x2"x8' boards
4' of a 2x4
L brackets (we used 1 1/2")
(4) 2.5" screws
Handful of drywall screws (1 1/4")
4 bolts (we used 8-32 3" size) with corresponding washers and nuts
Wood glue
This is a mod that can easily be customized to different size plastic containers (ours were from Ikea) and while we did use a chop saw to make the cuts, we also could have used a handsaw, circular saw or had the boards cut for us at a home improvement store.
As always thanks for watching and please let us know if you have any questions!
*This video is for entertainment purposes only as we are not RV experts. We are sharing our thoughts and ideas based on our experiences but we always recommend doing your own research and coming to your own conclusions on your camping and RV needs and modifications!

[@moonlightgardener6305]

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you 🙏🏻

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thanks for the watch! Glad you found it helpful! Happy Camping.

[@gogogo1687]

Very good idea! We don’t have a camper trailer yet but will do what you did once we get one. You guys have given us so many tips and tricks that we all can use. Thanks!

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thank you! We hope to put it to the test soon. Thanks for the kind comments - have a great week!

[@tammyc2136]

Awesome mod. Now I know what I’m doing for my husband for Father’s Day. The underbelly storage, no matter what we’ve tried and what containers we’ve used, has been such a thorn in his side mostly because he always has to pull everything out to get to what he needs. I believe he will appreciate this a lot. Thanks for sharing.

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thank you! Appreciate the feedback! So, we did do a mod update video a few months back and talked a little about this one. In case you missed it, we really love this mod. It held well on a 5,000 mile trip and really did help to keep us organized finally. One thing we are going to do differently - double nut the bolts that come down. One of them came loose on the trip - it didn't cause it to come down but we think putting a second nut on the bolt will solve that! Thanks for watching!

[@brians7419]

Nice work. Very impressed!

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed. Have a good weekend!

[@rodl12]

Great mod! I'll have to look at how I organize my basement and see if it will work for me. Thanks for the post!

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thanks! We are 3 years in to it and works great. Hope it works for you as well!

[@COOKINGBIRD]

This is so nice to watch..!! See you again..

[@ilovetotri23]

Awesome demo!

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thank you! Appreciate the watch!

[@johnmaida160]

Love it! Why didn't I think of this? You know what my next project is! Cheers!

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thank you! This is one of our favorite mods as it really solved the problem of the wet hoses and utilized all the space. We did end up putting double nuts on because one nut came loose on a longer trip (might look at loctite as well) Haven’t had any issues other than that! Let us know how it works for you!

[@RVAmerica]

Great job! If we had that kind of storage underneath our motorhome we would totally do that. Looks like it will really help to keep things organized! Lynn and Danny

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thank you! We are excited to get on the road and see if we can stay organized haha! Thanks for watching!

[@leonfisher]

Another great episode of, "This Old Camper."

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Hahahaha! That may make it into a future video as sometimes that’s what it feels like! Thanks!!

[@ilovetotri23]

Ingenious!

[@chrishorton6605]

Great idea! And a very nice job on the video. I'm definitely going to do this mod on my camper.

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thank you. Much appreciated. This one has been with us now for about 5000 miles of travel and has held up great. The only thing I modified after was to double nut the connections. One worked its way loose on a trip nut the other three held it up. Also - we try each year to do a mod update with any changes to the prior years mods. We have one planned again this spring. Thanks for watching!

[@dugman1550]

Good Job. Great Idea.

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thanks! They have worked out great. Have about 5000 miles on them and other than deciding to double nut them, have had no issues!

[@dontwantnospam]

great idea for accessing additional storage space. One suggestion I have is some method to hook the bins so you don't have to crawl in to pull out the furthest one. For me, I would have to unload enough of the lower materials to be able to access the furthest bin. Maybe a paracord leash that would pull it out. Clip to command strip hook to keep the end in reach.

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Good tip! Our smaller one to the back are items we rarely need but like to bring - just in case lol. But having a cord to pull it out is a great idea. Thanks!

[@trakes2470]

great idea!

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thank you! And thanks for watching!

[@HaruTanuOfficial]

Amazing!!! Loved it!!! ❤️❤️❤️ Stay Blessed & Connected!!! 😍😍😍😍

[@tim_gifford]

Great idea! I have a similar size trailer with similar issues with my plastic storage bins. Just as you do, I keep clean hoses separate from waste hoses as well as electric shore cable with surge protector.

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Hi! Thanks for watching! Yes - important to keep those hoses separate and its going to be nice to have some of the small items out of the way. Nice thing about this is we can customize it to any size bin we have in the future by just moving a few screws. Happy camping and safe travels!

[@cab1881]

Great. Thought about slide on floor. But overhead. I like it

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thank you! It has worked out great. Only change is we added a second nut. One nut worked loose on a long trip. Two seems to have fixed that though. Thanks for watching!

[@Turtle3863]

Nice mod, I do not have the same size pass through on my FD but I may have to see if I can do something similar under the sofa pass through of the FD.

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thanks! What we like about it is it’s easy to change to any measurement you need. We may switch up to a different container on the other side that is not as deep for all those little items! Thanks for watching!

[@rocky19fd26]

Great mod! Thanks! Turtle3863 I’ll be looking forward to watching your video 😉

[@jerrywiese9722]

Nice project and I like how you did it. Would there have been room to turn the boxes sideways? You might have been able to have 3 on each side.

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Good point! I think with the right size container that would definitely work. We do have taller items on the side (we tuck in the electrical cord...) so take advantage of the space but that would be a great option as well! Thanks for the watch!

[@jeffreygunn3530]

Interesting idea. I've thought about doing something similar with mine. I'm working on installing a set of the JT Strongarm stabilizer braces on mine at the moment. If I'd known how much work it was going to be, I might have waited. You have to drill a dozen holes through the frame rails to attach the mounting hardware. I don't know what the frame is made out of, but I'm running out of drill bits :)

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

We are excited to get the other side in (an hour in a 100 degree sun and we decided the other side is a fall project lol) and see how they work out on a trip. We have looked at those stabilizers- thanks for the heads up on the bits lol! Will be interested to know how they work out. Were you able to get the axle fixed earlier or are you doing some mods while you wait?

[@jeffreygunn3530]

@@WinesPinesandCanines The latter. Still waiting on the axle. The directions that come with the JT Strongarms are horrible (fairly typical for Lippert products, though). Etrailer did a good video that shows how to install them on a travel trailer, though. Just understand that it's nowhere near as quick and easy as they make it look. I've been working on mine for about 4 hours, and I have one of the six arms installed so far. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5acinl3g894arc

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

That is good information to know - apparently not a fun project but good to know going in! Definitely a full weekend project. Hoping the rest goes quicker for you!

[@jeffreygunn3530]

@@WinesPinesandCanines On the plus side, everyone who's managed to get them installed seems to like them. Since I spend most of my time in the southwest, I have to deal with a lot of wind, and it's really noticeable with a lightweight unit like the GeoPro. I'm looking forward to the final results.

[@LivingtheSilverLife]

Now, that is a really good idea. This will work well and not overly expensive. The tricky part was getting into the crawl space. 😂😂😂. Desi, did you supervise this endeavor?

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

The tricky part was definitely getting into the crawl space haha. And Desi declined to accompany us when he saw the thermometer hovering around 100 degrees lol.

[@LivingtheSilverLife]

I would have e to agree with Desi.

[@pcdavies2678]

did you keep the your outdoor carpet hanging on the other side? if so how did you hang it and what did you use to hang?

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

We do hang it. We used 4” galvanized plumbing strap. We used screws to hang to the aluminum rails and it has held up but we think we may drop back and add some 2x4 blocking like we did in this video, and then screw them into that. Thanks for watching!

[@emmanuelunitedchurchottawa4152]

Not sure why you didn't attach the contraption to the aluminum tubes?

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Hi! So the aluminum framing is hollow and fairly thin so we didn't feel it would hold up to the weight of the wood and the containers over the long term - especially with the vibration of road travel. The bolts through to above have held up really well though so we are happy with the little extra work! Thanks for watching!

[@RPastuch]

@@WinesPinesandCanines Kind of thought that. I have a whole three weeks to get it done.

[@ben12079]

Why didn’t you attach directly to the aluminum studs with sheet metal screws?

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

So the aluminum frame is very thin. With the weight of the wood rails and the items inside them, we didn’t have a lot of confidence in them staying up long term if we screwed into the frame. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!

[@ben12079]

@@WinesPinesandCanines Thanks for the reply. I’m thinking about doing something very similar and was wondering. I enjoy your channel. Keep it up!

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

Thank you!!

[@stevecurtis9811]

Could you not just attach the slides to the frame with L brackets??

[@WinesPinesandCanines]

I think you and I talked through Facebook on this but in case anyone looks at the comment I will answer here as well :) The aluminum frame is thin so we did not feel that it would support the weight of the sliders and containers with just screws into the aluminum. Thank you for the question!