Mystery space below closet in Trillium 4500

[Gerhardt]

Hi All,
So my wife and I joined the club and got a nice 1981 Trillium 4500 on Saturday after looking for about 1/2 a year.

I noticed that the furnace is under the bench of the dinette. Which made me wonder what is in the space below the coat closet. At first, I thought it was just the wheel well, but my friend has the same type of Trillium and his furnace is in that place. Ours just has fiberglass with a small capped hole.

Any ideas?? Could we open this up and create more storage?

Thanks!

[David Tilston]

Your Trillium 4500 is one of the few with a forced air furnace. The space that would normally be occupied by the gravity furnace is a bit of an odd shape. Most of it is the wheel well, but the top ~12" is above the wheel well. You could make a large door, with a shallow shelf where the wheel well is, and a much deeper shelf above. I would recommend that you copy the cutout of the gravity furnace. That way it would be easyer, if you, want to change to the gravity furnace later. To get some idea of what you will see inside, the large cupboard door below the sink has the other wheel well inside. Do you have the little map door on the bottom of the closet just inside the door? If you lift that up you can pull out the bottom, and the whole thing comes out. This will allow you to see inside that space.

Where in Alberta are you? If you are in Calgary, you could come take a look at mine.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by Gerhardt

Any ideas?? Could we open this up and create more storage?

You can also look at some pictures of the various 4500 closets* in the forums. Some have a drop down door below the closet door, others have one on the side facing the door. The latter is where I am installing a marine holder for a fire extinguisher.

*Google search => site:fiberglassrv.com Trillium closet
then select images and wade your way through

[Darwin Maring]

Normally the manufactures take advantage of all spaces by adding a door either inside or outside the camper. Really do a close inspection B 4 you start cutting into it. Can you open the small caped hole? Could there B a water tank or venting or something else?

[Gerhardt]

Hi David and Roy,
Thanks for your clarifications and ideas. There is a small hole with a cap which I will inspect with a flashlight. Adding an additional storage will be a "later" project as I have more pressing items right now so we can go camping in a week!

Thanks for solving the mystery!

G

[Gerhardt]

Where in Alberta are you? If you are in Calgary, you could come take a look at mine.[/QUOTE]

Hi David, I'm in Edmonton. Thanks for the offer!

[Capn.Curt.Wiebe]

Gerhardt:

I'm in Edmonton, and have removed the old heater from under the closet.

Feel free to give me a reply and we can arrange for you to take a look-see.

[Gerhardt]

Hi Curt,
I think the mystery is solved. I was re-doing the flooring and was able to see the space with a flashlight from above my furnace. There is actually just hollow space. Thanks to all of you for you input. Now that the mystery is solved, I will spend some time thinking about if we will open it up to make more storage. For now, I'm going to leave it. Next weekend will be our maiden voyage and I've got lots of other items to get to first!

[Joe Loiacono]

I have the same model as you with the forced air furnace under the seat so I cut out the fibreglass panel below the closet and attached a door. There is plenty of storage space in this wheel well area. I also added an electical receptical to the outside and this space allowed me complete access for wiring.

It is an easy project and all you really need is a good jig saw to cut inside the existing wooden frame.

[Gerhardt]

Originally Posted by Joe Loiacono

I have the same model as you with the forced air furnace under the seat so I cut out the fibreglass panel below the closet and attached a door. There is plenty of storage space in this wheel well area. I also added an electical receptical to the outside and this space allowed me complete access for wiring.

It is an easy project and all you really need is a good jig saw to cut inside the existing wooden frame.

Hi Joe,
Thanks for your posting. How did you affix the door? Did you use rivets to attach the hinges, etc.? Can you please send me a picture of what you've done as that would really be helpful. Thank a lot!

[Joe Loiacono]

I just picked up a couple of cupboard hinges from Home Depot and used the screws supplied. I used an extra Trillium door latch I had to keep it looking kind of original. By the way, I should mention that I have changed all my cupboard doors with an Oak veneered plywood. I had them stained and clear coated, even did the fridge panel.

Actually I did a lot of modifications this year. New converter, LED tail and marker lights, Maxi Fan, outside electical outlet, TV bracket, new inlet and tap for city water hookup, sealed electical outlet with detachable cord and a new chrome decal for the door logo.

[Gerhardt]

Hi Joe,
That looks awesome! Nice job. Thanks for sharing the photos. That makes it a lot easier to picture what we can do with ours.

Thanks again!

G