advice for installing a shelf

[Candi Woods]

Although I find that I'm pretty handy with a drill and hammer, I'm reluctant to the possible damage I might do to my new scamp 13 by putting in open shelves above the dinette area.
We will be going for a week long trip to colorado this summer and I really need some extra storage, though. I have found some helpful pictures on various threads but what I'm looking for is specific advice on how to attach the shelves to the wall. What kinds of screws or should I use rivets, etc.? I've even thought of some kind of industrial velcro (don't laugh, it's been done) This is my first time adding anything to the scamp and I don't want to make a mistake.

Anybody have any ideas and pictures to go with it?

Candi

[Christi V.]

this isnt a very close up pic.. but when I got my 16ft Scamp the person had put in a back shelf.. by attaching 2 L brackets to the cabinates that was already in the back... i think it was a 1x6 board which he had 'put a nice finish on.. You could also put a 'captains rail on it to keep things from falling off on both sides. depending on what you are going to use the shelves for??? I used mine for my clock, paperback books and small items..

[Candi Woods]

That's a great idea, but I don't have any shelves up at all so I need to go all the way through the wall to support the shelf. Unless anyone has an idea what I should do otherwise. Nice pics, it seems like there's still plenty of headroom, also.

Candi

[Donna D.]

You're in the same boat I'm in Candi. My Scamp doesn't have any upper cabinets, so there's nothing to attach to, except the walls or roof. I've actually thought instead of drilling holes through the fiberglass (and create possible leak sources), I might try to figure out something using the window frames Maybe corner shelves from side windows to the back window. Haven't thought it through and it may turn out to be shelves that need to be taken down for travel, but could be used when camped.

[Ed Harris]

Here is what I did,I hope these pics can give the idea.
The Trill's have wooden window frames which make it very simple to attach and build sturdy shelves without drilling thru the walls but the same effect can be achieved with a minimum of drilling with the technique I used.

I just built 1x2 clear pine frames and screwed them together tightly. They are attached to the existing upper cabinets, wherever they are and then to just a few points around the outside perimeter.
On a Scamp I would probably have to drill through the wall and bolt through the shelf frame and then seal and cap the bolt heads.

Once fastened I covered the top and bottem with 1/4 " baltic birch plywood which is very strong yet lightweight.

I als ran power wiring thru the inner framework for new lights under the shelves.

With only very few connections to the trailer if these are built carefully they are very strong.

I have more pictures if you want to see them.

[Ed Harris]

This gives an idea, I wrapped them around both ends of the trailer and built a door frame for the screen door and attached the shelf there as there was no other upper support at that point.

[Loren G. Hedahl]

Our Scamp had no cabinets to attach to, so here's what I did:

I marked on the ensolite where the shelves/cabinets would go, and cut a strip out along each mark about 1/2 inch wide, cleaning to bare fiberglass.

I bought a 100 ft coil of black rubber 3/8 inch air compressor hose and cut to length for gluing to the bare fiberglass.

I roughed up the surface of the hose well on the gluing surface with a bench grinder.

I used polyurethane glue and held everything in place with duct tape until the glue dried.

This provided a support system for the shelves to hang on. Shelves were made of thin ply and screwed into the rubber hose. Hose is on the inside of cabinets and top side of shelves, so isn't visible.

Problems I had:

1. Duct tape doesn't stick well in cold-rainy weather to the plastic covered ensolite insulation.

2. Polyurethane glue foams up to fill in space, which is good, but the excess needs to be cleaned up before it gets too hard.

3. It took a lot of time.

What I would do if I had to do it again:

About a month after I was into this project, some smart fellow, at least smarter than me, posted a large shelf setup using those wire shelf setups you can get at Home Depot. It went clear across and I recall it attached to the tops of the window frames. For a place to stow sleeping bags and pillows, it looked like a real winner.

Good luck.

Loren

[Candi Woods]

Thanks for all of the good replies. I was out looking today and thought perhaps I could unscrew the trim around the windows and tie in the shelf supports in the existing screw holes at the top and then reassembling the trim with longer screws to compensate for the added material. Of course, the trim can't come out too far or there might be problems with a good seal, and would also not be very esthetically pleasing. It is an idea, though. Has anyone ever tried this approach before? I'm still brainstorming so any ideas are welcome. When I come up with something I'll be sure and post the pictures.

Candi

[Gary Carvajal]

Candi,
What I did was use a few of the existing holes from the old fiberglass overhead cabinet and attached a wood shelf and valance for the area over the rear window. I will post a photo. The light wiring I ran under the carpet I glued on to the whole interior.

The wood shelf was attached with stainless 2 1/2 inch #8 screws with new Scamp cups and covers. It is solid.


Good luck,
Gary