Boler shelves installed

[jlbails]

It took the better part of the day, but the shelves are installed!

I used metal brackets from Home Depot, the shallow type, 1/2 inch long and 1/8 diameter rivets. The metal brackets hole was just under 1/8, I enlarged it with the drill to make the rivet fit. Getting the 4 metal brackets square was no easy task (I had to enlist the help of a friend Scamp owner), but we got it hung. Then on to measuring the shelves.

I had some leftover 3/4 plywood, so I cut that into 4 pieces, 15 x 19. We'll, it didn't take long to discover that the closet tapers to the top so each board is slighly smaller as you go up. Fun. I rounded the corners to wedge the shelves in on the supports. Angled corners do not work well here. There was a lot of sanding and recutting and re-measuring to get everything to fit without moving around. I wanted the shelves to be tight and not move forward or back in transit.

To further secure the shelves, I cut little pieces of double-sided tape and adhered to some of the shelf supports (helped level them too) to keep the shelf in place. Lastly, I re-purposed cushy shelf liner, cut to size, and placed that on each shelf. Interestingly, the shelf liner will make a fine template for future shelves. Wish I would have thought of that first!

Already, one of the rivets holding the metal bracket broke.I think the washer was too thick. So we'll re-do that one, and see if the others break. In the meantime, I am happy to have an organized and useful closet!

I've pasted a couple pictures in case anyone is interested in my "technique." Enjoy!

[hajnfur]

Nice job! I like how the shelves can be adjusted.

[nlife]

Nice job! That's on the list of mods I'd like to do. I like the adjustable shelf height idea. How do you think it'll hold up as you bump down the road? Any concern about them falling off?

[Carol H]

Nice Job! Look forward to seeing it in real life :-)

Neil: I also put in adjustable shelves - glad I did as after I first installed them I moved them a number of times on a few trips, until I got them all sitting at a height that worked the best for my stuff. I used wire shelves though and used plastic tie wraps to hold them onto the clips they sit on as I do travel a fair bit of bumpy roads - so far (2 years) the shelves have survived a number of rough road trips.

[nlife]

Do you have a picture Carol? I like the idea of being able to move the shelves when needed. Just don't want to get to my campsite with everything piled up on itself :-\

[Carol H]

Neil there are some under my trailer register.

[Donna D.]

Good job Jamie! Looks like a good an effective install. I'm sure it's going to really help keep things organized and when camping in a small trailer, that can be paramont!

[jlbails]

Originally Posted by nlife

Nice job! That's on the list of mods I'd like to do. I like the adjustable shelf height idea. How do you think it'll hold up as you bump down the road? Any concern about them falling off?

Yes, because the clips are short, I hope everything doesn't end up on the bottom. I do have sticky tape between the board and the clip. The boards are also tightly wedged in. I've got a trial run this weekend, so I will likely take the stuff off the shelf, and travel with just the boards to see what holds up. Modifications may be in store, and I'll be looking to Carol (and others) for help!

[Lori Geis]

Maybe you could try putting more of those shelf clips on the top of the shelf so the shelf can't pop up??? If you can't do it with a clip maybe you can wedge something else in there! Then the only way the shelf could come out would be to break the clip OR slide out forwards. Just a thought...

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by jlbails

I've got a trial run this weekend, so I will likely take the stuff off the shelf, and travel with just the boards to see what holds up. Modifications may be in store, and I'll be looking to Carol (and others) for help!

Jamie me thinks you would be better off to leave your stuff on them as the extra weight on them will make them less likely to move. Besides you will be on a fairly smooth road.... most of the trip ;-)

[jlbails]

Carol, that' a good idea. The shelves seem pretty solid. I'm looking forward to seeing your shelving again!

Lori, Another good idea. I do have extra clips, would only have to turn them upside down.

[Ryan P R]

If they are tight width wise- thy shouldn't fall off. Those clips seem to stay in really well. Sometimes the clips are hard to take off or install.

[Bonnie n Claude]

Nice job. Wish I'd have thought of this before. Ours are permanent and my husband added extra support by hot-gluing 1x1" uprights between the shelves in the four corners. We are having the front end renovated--gaucho-sofa removed & 2-seat dinette built with porta-potty in bench nearest door. In moving stuff out and looking for a new home for the small Danby microwave (it sat on a made-to-measure shelving unit near the stove), we discovered it fits in the Boler closet! Will make shelf above the microwave a bit narrower to allow air to circulate and are having an electrical outlet installed to accommodate it. Just a thought for folks out there like me who develop an aversion to cooking in their later years.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Lori Geis

Maybe you could try putting more of those shelf clips on the top of the shelf so the shelf can't pop up???

Where is the like button!

[Kenny Strong]

Jamie we have the same thing in our BigFoot. when we open the door,( after just traveling down the highway a few miles), things fall on the floor. Before, we kept the door from opening while traveling, we would find things on the floor and the door standing open, even with a good door catch, ( very hard to open normally ) We have the door held shut with a vinyl strap 1 inch wide by 1/8 in thick with a snap on the end.( bought at the RV store). It hooks onto the top face of the door and over to the molding around the entrance door. We are going to buy the retainer bars that go across the front of the shelves, to keep things in place, seen them at the RV center, just need to measure the opening and buying the right size. They come in many widths.

Later Kenny

[sanderssc]

I had shelves like this in the Boler when I bought it. They didn't fit very tightly the clips / shelves would be stacked up in there when we took it on the road. After tightening them up a bit they worked great though!

One thing I found that works great with these shelves.

Ikea shoe storage boxes. They are clear on the front and have Velcro to hold them closed. It's great because you can see everything, but the boxes keep items from traveling...

[Bonnie n Claude]

Shawn (sanderscss) really like the shoebox idea. Am going to price the boxes today. Thanks!