Covering or replacing twisted iron bars?

[dylanear]

Those wrought iron bars with the twist on them? Between the cabinet above the kitchen and the main kitchen piece?

I think that may be the ugliest thing on my Scamp and I want it gone or covered. It seems at least semi structural, I don't want to just remove it, I assume they started putting those on there for a reason (other than to assure that even 30 years later it still looks like a trailer from the early 80's).

So I was thinking of finding some anodized/brushed metal tubes that might be slipped over the bars and fit in such a way as to look nice. Or have something else fabricated from scratch, welded and powder coated?

Anyone else not love the look of that part and done anything about it?

[Carol Ann in TO]

Many people hate them and many have done something about it. Yes, you are right, they have structural value.One of the nicest mods for this was done by peterh:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...top-37122.html He used tiki torches.
Make sure you go through the entire thread 'til you get to the picture with the tea lights inside. Very elegant.

[dylanear]

Originally Posted by Carol Ann in TO

Many people hate them and many have done something about it. Yes, you are right, they have structural value.One of the nicest mods for this was done by peterh:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...top-37122.html He used tiki torches.
Make sure you go through the entire thread 'til you get to the picture with the tea lights inside. Very elegant.

That is fantastic! I love it!

But it's not a great match for the simple minimalist look I'm going for. I'd prefer simple tubes or bars. White or brushed metal.

Perhaps time to introduce myself to the welder in my new work area.

[Nancy]

If mine were black I would have to paint them white. I use them. clothes pins are clipped on and the hand towel uses the space. Glad I can tolerate them since I make use of them.

Nancy

[David B.]

For some reason, ours did not have anything to support the wooden cabinets, and as a result, we did have sagging in the roof, and separation between the cabinets. I jacked the cabinets up and place wooden dowels covered by chrome hand towel bars to support everything. We then went to Office Max and acquired a 3 drawer wire organizer, which I attached between the bars. Looks great and is functional. We are on a 2 month vacation now, so no pictures available....besides I don't know how to post pictures.
Happy Trails
Dave & Paula

[Sandra Lair]

I don't care for the way the supports look either. Ours don't even have the same number of twists! I painted ours glossy white & they look much better. Someone else replaced theirs with narrow wood table legs, like the ones you can buy at Lowe's.

Sandra

[dylanear]

Thanks for the suggestions. Some simple tube like solution can surely be procured!

[flatlander]

When I put the cupboards back in the trailer things went a little sideways. In order to compensate for the built in cooler under the stove I raised the height of the bottom cupboards. So when I went to put the wrought iron support back in I found out it now did not fit because of the changed distance between the upper cupboards and the raised counter .

I wanted to have a new support made out of iron but it was not in the budget at the moment. Knowing the support was needed for a short term fix I cut down an old wooden curtain rod down to fit and spray painted it silver.

I am not sure I like it but it will do the trick until I have the money and time to have a new one made the design I would like.

h

[john warren]

yes structural, and not real pretty,,,specialy in black. the new ones are glossy white and blend in much better. though personaly i think a fibeglass leg,(think leg lamp) would look pretty cool , so don't judge by my tastes

[cpaharley2008]

I recall a thread on the Scamp forum where pre made wooden barristers were split and covered the wrought iron ones.

[Mike Magee]

I don't blame you; there's something really twisted about those iron bars...

[shelley w]

My cupboard (in a '73 Boler) doesn't have any supports, but it does have a shiny tube located in the centre of the counter that the wires go through into the upper cupboard. It appears to have dipped the counter down slightly in that location. Do others have this and if so, how did you get rid of it? Did you put supports on the side even though it may not have originally come with any? Sorry, not trying to hijack the post, just curious.

[dylanear]

Originally Posted by john warren

yes structural, and not real pretty,,,specialy in black. the new ones are glossy white and blend in much better. though personaly i think a fibeglass leg,(think leg lamp) would look pretty cool , so don't judge by my tastes

Like this?

[John_M]

Originally Posted by dylanear

Like this?

Best. Movie. Ever.

[Jeff Richardson]

Since I'm going to make an actual plastic laminate (Formica) covered countertop for my kitchen cabinet I will have to make a new upper cabinet support, which I believe is the purpose of the twisted iron bars.

I will probably use two 1-inch square steel tubes or maybe splurge and use stainless steel which I can polish or brush. (Oooh, I like that idea!)

The hollow tubes will allow me to run wires through them up into the upper cabinet for computer sound system speakers that I will mount on both ends of the upper cabinet. The sub-woofer/amp unit is in the cabinet under the sink. I will also run 12 volt or 120 volt wiring through one of the tubes if necessary.

I will weld cross bars between the vertical tubes for a TV swing arm mount. This is my favorite place to mount a TV. No holes are drilled into any cabinets. I can watch TV in bed or swing the TV towards the kitchen or front couch.

The 22-inch TV I use on the road is the one I use in my bedroom at home. I just put it in the original box when travelling and mount it on the swing arm when stopped. I haven't had time to figure out a way to keep it from swinging when travelling. I have the same swing arm on the wall at home.

I might even bolt another swing arm on the backside of the first one and mount a 19-inch computer monitor over the sink for TV watching and computer work at the same time. The laptop will be in the closet and only a wireless keyboard and mouse will be seen.

In the slightly out-of-focus picture below you can see how I made a quick bracket to mount the Sanus Systems MF215-B1 wall mount on the existing twisted bars support. I made it out of 1/8-inch thick steel bar stock. I was enjoying my first bowl of cereal with ice cold milk from my newly installed Dometic 2193 refrigerator last year.

I plan on working on the kitchen area of my Scamp in a few weeks after I get back home from the Oregon Gathering.

Jeff

[Carol H]

This is the reason why supports are a good thing - this one was missing them and didnt make it through a snow fall......

[john warren]

Originally Posted by John_M

Best. Movie. Ever.

hmmmmnow that i think about it,,,my dad lost a leg at normandy,,,,wonder what ever happened to his wooden leg?

[john warren]

Originally Posted by Carol H

This is the reason why supports are a good thing - this one was missing them and didnt make it through a snow fall......

oh now wouldn't that just put a twist in your pretzel.

[dylanear]

Originally Posted by Jeff Richardson

Since I'm going to make an actual plastic laminate (Formica) covered countertop for my kitchen cabinet I will have to make a new upper cabinet support, which I believe is the purpose of the twisted iron bars.

I will probably use two 1-inch square steel tubes or maybe splurge and use stainless steel which I can polish or brush. (Oooh, I like that idea!)

The hollow tubes will allow me to run wires through them up into the upper cabinet for computer sound system speakers that I will mount on both ends of the upper cabinet. The sub-woofer/amp unit is in the cabinet under the sink. I will also run 12 volt or 120 volt wiring through one of the tubes if necessary.

I will weld cross bars between the vertical tubes for a TV swing arm mount. This is my favorite place to mount a TV. No holes are drilled into any cabinets. I can watch TV in bed or swing the TV towards the kitchen or front couch.

The 22-inch TV I use on the road is the one I use in my bedroom at home. I just put it in the original box when travelling and mount it on the swing arm when stopped. I haven't had time to figure out a way to keep it from swinging when travelling. I have the same swing arm on the wall at home.

I might even bolt another swing arm on the backside of the first one and mount a 19-inch computer monitor over the sink for TV watching and computer work at the same time. The laptop will be in the closet and only a wireless keyboard and mouse will be seen.

In the slightly out-of-focus picture below you can see how I made a quick bracket to mount the Sanus Systems MF215-B1 wall mount on the existing twisted bars support. I made it out of 1/8-inch thick steel bar stock. I was enjoying my first bowl of cereal with ice cold milk from my newly installed Dometic 2193 refrigerator last year.

I plan on working on the kitchen area of my Scamp in a few weeks after I get back home from the Oregon Gathering.

Jeff

That sounds awesome! Please report on your progress and results!

Now I'm thinking more and more about calling welders tomorrow.

[dylanear]

Originally Posted by Carol H

This is the reason why supports are a good thing - this one was missing them and didnt make it through a snow fall......

Good thing my distaste for the looks of my support didn't overcome my concern about it's structural attributes!