Alpha wolf 26dbh mods

[EZEKIEL2517]

Been kinda bored with the virus shutdown so been working on some mods. Not sure how many pics I can post on one thread but I'll try to update.

1. Opened up floor space under bottom bunk to allow for dog crate to fit. This required building some new "walls" to separate the area from the rear cargo hold and the hot water heater/utility connections. The wires all run through this area but there was enough slack to relocate them and tuck them up in the bunk rafters.

2. Replaced crappy (and blown tweeter) 5.25 exterior speakers with some 6.5s and an amp. Used rockville marine 6.5a and a Clarion marine amp. Had the amp laying around. I think it's like a 65w x2 amp. The Rockvilles were some cheap (but not too cheap) marine 6.5s that actually had black grills to match. The speakers were on the wall that was external to my pantry. In the pantry I put a small box behind them to seal their airspace and minimize intra camper music when playing at night and kids are sleeping. Overall pretty happy with the sound. It's great for no sub, but it makes me itch for a sub so that might be next.

3. Built a drawer and shelves for wife's wardrobe area. Used a 24" cheap roller and some luan .25 underlayment plywood to keep weight down.

[EZEKIEL2517]

Under bunk mod.

Btw, rustoleum brand stain or versthane "Briarsmoke" matches this dark wood interior near perfect

[EZEKIEL2517]

Speaker mod. Box is lined in and out with dynamat.

Finally using up all this leftover stuff from my car audio days.

Had to get a line level converter for amp because I lost the line level adapter socket for the amp.

Tied power into the fuse panel right next to the pantry. Super easy. Remote turn on us the led light power switch from old speakers.

Sounds great. I recommend these rockville speakers. For $50 they arent junk but dont break the bank either. They dont have full time LED light but flash with the beat of the music. Kinda cool

Once I put the cheesy cover panel back on you cant see any of the mods from in the pantry. And I gained a few inches of pantry space by moving it back further!

[EZEKIEL2517]

Drawer mods. Front panel of the drawer is the leftover wood from where I opened up under the bunks.

Bottom drawer is 28" deep, 11.5 wide and 9 high. Has the space of a medium duffel bag. Holds a lot of womens clothes. Wife is happy.

Drawer slides are actually under and inside drawer on the simple frame shown. Allowed me to go wider with the drawer than if mounted outside.

Now I need to do my side but I might just add shelves and leave drawer out so I can toss my duffel bag in there.

[Jay2504]

I really like what you have done. Especially the space for the dog cage and the drawer. Using the wood frame to get a bigger drawer by putting the slides on the bottom was a great idea. Please tell me what the sides and bottom of the drawer are made out of and how you put together the 4 sides of the drawer. I want to do this to my own closet. Thanks in advance. Jay.

[EZEKIEL2517]

I took some pics. Hopefully this helps.

The sides bottom, and back are all 1/4 luan underlayment plywood. The front of the drawer is 1/2 scrap plywood I had laying around. The rails are mounted underneath to 1" furring strips. They are super cheap. Honestly a reg 1x2 would be a cleaner install but you cant see it so I guess It doesnt matter.

The furring strips are stapled to the side panels and then the drawer bottom is nailed to the top of the furring strip. The back panel is supported similarly with some thin scrap parts I ripped on table saw. Since the front 1/2" panel is thick enough to hold a staples on edge, it is just sandwiched between the sides.

To beef up the thin top edges of the drawers I ripped some 1/2" x 1/4" strips and glued them to it. I made the mistake of stapling too. Then my staples were too long and I had to grind off the sharp edges. Oops.

I added some of the leftover camper paneling to the front to blend it in and a thin piece of veneer on the top edge to hide the ugly plywood edge. If u dont use crap plywood like I did then that isnt necessary. The camper paneling front trim piece extends down far enough to hide the drawer slides.

The frame is just 2x2 furring strips screwed together perpendicular to each other. The bottom strip 2as shimmed with another 1x to get enough height for the drawer bottom to clear. The whole frame was then squared up and nailed to a thin piece of leftover camper paneling. This allowed me to install the unit as a whole, keep it square while adjusting it, and to easily screw it down.

Regular 2x2s or even just some 2x4s on edge on a piece of paneling might work better. The furring strips are total junk and have a lot of twist and warp to them. I ended up using some of the 2x2s that served as the framing for the panel that was previously under the bottom bunk.

The drawer is 28 deep but the longest cheap rails I could find were 24". But it still extends plenty far for full access. I prefer these over the full extension rails in this case because it is really easy to remove the drawer to take inside to load it. It is very sturdy when on the rails.

It would be possible to mount the rails outside in a more conventional manner but I think you would end up losing more drawer width to accommodate them. I have less than 1/4" clearance on either side right now. With the thin panels all around it really maximizes the volume.

[Jay2504]

Thanks a lot for the extra details. Jay

[EZEKIEL2517]

A couple more pics of the cutout under the bunk. I had to tuck all the loose wires up and out of the way. To do that I had to cut the existing wall panelling, then I laid a new sheet of wood panel on top to hide the mess. The photo is upside down because this website does weird things.

I had to open it all up today. I added a 12v led lamp to the rear cargo hold. Tied in to the CO monitor wiring since it's a constant hot wire.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Very nice! You are definitely making good use of your time.

The dog may have a second opinion when he finds himself in a crate rather than sneaking up into the bunk in the middle of the night.

[EZEKIEL2517]

I noticed that there was a ton of space above the outdoor fridge that was going to waste. Made this storage cubby for tossing keys and flashlights and such. Had to remove the fridge to get it installed but that was no big deal.

Its 30" wide overall with a 20x4" opening. Has about a 3" lip. I think I made it about 6" deep.

Framed out the edge with some 1/2" edge molding to cover the lip of the box and the cut siding of the cabinet.

The 3rd picture is the inside the cabinet view.

[EZEKIEL2517]

Final mods. For now. Finally losing interest... took out the useless panel on cabinet that was above drawers and created a recessed nook to store frequently used items like sunscreen or bug spray.

Made the box with the existing panel and some other scrap I had laying around. Nailed, glued and screwed from inside. Reach was heck, so I had to employ several methods.

This nook was the reason I did not make the other cubby span the full length of the cabinet

[EZEKIEL2517]

Oh wait! I forgot to post my stairs mod! Added 1x3 poplar pieces to the tops of the steps so they dont suck so much to climb barefoot. Probably will top it with some grip tape when I get some. Glues and screws holding it together. The backside is ugly but u cant see it.

I need to clean it up a bit yet. That gorilla glue got a little out of control

[EZEKIEL2517]

With grip tape