Security!

Whoo hoo! Cabinets – with doors!

These days security concerns a lot of people, for a variety of reasons. Regrettably, it’s not something you can escape when you enter the RV world. Loss due to theft can be an issue, and most often occurs when people are traveling. Generators and other items are sometimes snatched from pickup beds at gas stations or shopping centers. But loss due to theft is not always the most common one to happen to RVers, when they’re on the road.

More often than not, the contents of your RV will need to be protected from you. We mentioned before that travel trailers do not float like clouds, unless you want to compare them to tornados or gale force storms. Don’t be fooled by sales people or vintage aficionados who claim certain RVs tow and ride like a dream. (No, we’re not referring to high-end Class A motorhomes. There are exceptions when you have really deep pockets.) Being proud Airstream owners, and now having some long-distance experience, we can say our curvy old girl isn’t so difficult to tow. But even with fancy new torsion axles and shocks, things still get bounced around. On our last two trips with an aluminum tent, everything traveled on the floor because we put it there. The new axles were being pitted against that crumbling infrastructure which occasionally makes the news. There are some locations where the road construction never seems to be completed. Or highways that appear never to have been repaired after the initial construction. For the most part, our strategy averted disaster. Except it was a pain in the butt to move things around every time we traveled to a different location. Then there was the bottle of salad dressing which managed to escape the refrigerator, the day before we got home from the last trip.

Oh, happy day! We now have cabinetry. The street side is almost completed. Can’t deny we’re looking forward to things being put away, and staying there, before we hit the road again. However, keeping everything where it belongs goes beyond putting things in a cabinet. Don’t believe us? Look up some videos from folks who have made the leap to full-time RV living, and discovered the contents of their trailers escaped while on the road.

Cabinet door lifts are nice to have, especially on doors which are over your head.

These lifts operate with tension instead of gas and are adjustable.

They’re just a bit tricky to install though, since there isn’t an obvious left or right.

Yes, RV manufacturers do put gas struts and other “security” devices on cabinet doors. But they’re not fool-proof from a lack of common sense. If doors are hit by an unsecured object with enough force, they will pop open. When it comes to packing your RV, don’t forget you can’t exceed the manufacturer’s weight recommendation. So, how many heavy things do you really need to bring? It’s OK if you need a few. Just keep those items on, or near, the floor. Kristal has a cast iron skillet and antique Dutch oven. She’s been considering the area under the stove, where the furnace used to be, as the storage area for all the cookware. Which not only puts it where it’s used the most, but will keep those heavy items from damaging cabinet doors and other stuff while doing a swan dive. It also goes without saying that glass and other breakables should be kept to a minimum and away from top shelves, too. If you insist on glamping with wine, you will definitely want to be smart about the location of your bottles and glasses. Not to mention some sort of cushioning between/around glasses and other breakables is a good idea. Treat that stuff like you would if you were moving the contents of your household from one traditional house to another. (Maybe kitchen and bath linens could do double duty? Don’t neglect the cushion power of a few paper towel rolls, either.)

Of course, there are other things which aren’t pleasant when they escape, such as bags of flour and eggs. After our salad dressing incident, we were pretty motivated to find that latch for the refrigerator. Many experienced RVers use air-tight storage containers and bins inside cabinets/refrigerator to organize contents and keep them from moving. Taking items out of original packaging, or placing it in a larger container can help minimize spills and breakage. Stores which specialize in RV accessories do sell organization products, not that it’s your only option. The dollar and discount retailers can be a good place to get storage products which could do the job as well. We’re not opposed to saving a few dollars on such stuff, but we do have to admit we’re rather fond of The Container Store.

Which brings us to the sliding Elfa wire mesh baskets in our pantry. There are 6 of them on three shelves. While pull out pantries can be nice, we wanted easy access to some pantry items without the complication of dealing with the necessary hardware. (Putting dividers and other carpentry into a space with curved exterior walls is tricky enough.) These baskets are designed for residential use and have at least 2 different configurations for your kitchen. We chose flat, matching tracks for each basket in the pantry. The tracks do have stops at the back. Of course, there is nothing to lock them in place at the front, since they are technically intended for typical household use. It’s been on our minds that we would need to find a solution for traveling, since we didn’t want them banging into the pantry doors. During one of our recent trips to the big box home improvement store, we found our solution in the same isle that has the decorative cabinet hardware. One section is dedicated to utility hinges, locks, etc. The following photos show our find and how it works.

Technically, this is the type of lock you use on the inside of doors or gates.

However, the swiveling latch actually gives you some flexibility in the way you install it.

One hardware piece was mounted horizontally on the shelf,

while the other is vertical on the basket.

You can remove the latch if it’s getting in the way during installation.

When determining placement, make sure you have enough room

to pull the latch from the top hardware piece.

The beauty of this gadget is the ability to lie flat on the shelf when unlocked.

It doesn’t get in the way of opening and closing the basket.

You shouldn’t be able to misplace it either.

Just don’t forget to lock the basket again before taking to the road.

There is nothing wrong with the included screws.

But they are a bit long for the inside of the basket and the pointed tips

can damage food packaging.

The screws were replaced with #6 x ½” bolts with nuts.

Two bolts in opposing corners are enough.

This sash lock secures the lower pantry doors.

We’ve mentioned there will be plenty of clean-up in your RV. Vintage or new, keeping your belongings secured is a matter which will require your attention. Hopefully, before you embark on your maiden voyage. It’s a joy killer when you’ve dreamed and planned travel to a special destination; only to finally reach it and find a big mess when you unlock your RV door.