Commode Closet Upgrade - Montana Owners Club

Sunshine · 05-16-2005, 05:10 AM

To all you experienced "improvers" this will be a falling off a log type project. Our older Monty didn't have any storage in the commode closet like the newer models do, so convinced hubby we should at least put a shelf above the commode for extra TP, etc. He got that done this weekend - looks good and will certainly be useful! And the best part - didn't cost anything but time - a family member gave us an extra shelf width piece of oak he couldn't use, and we had leftover oak trim from some cabinets we helped "uninstall". Reading about all the handiwork on this forum is an inspiration. Thanks!

stiles watson · 05-16-2005, 05:14 AM

Sunshine,

Show us a picture when and if you get the chance. It sounds like and interesting add-on.

vickster · 05-16-2005, 07:32 AM

Sunshine - Thanks for sharing idea. Just curious, if this is an open shelf, any problems in keeping items on shelf when traveling?

Sunshine · 05-16-2005, 01:13 PM

It's a simple open shelf and he added brass hooks also. vickster, haven't traveled with the shelf yet, so don't know how things will ride. Our initial tryout will be with TP rolls - don't plan to travel with anything heavy up there. I neglected to ask our friends who have this type of shelf in their newer model Montana if they leave the things on the shelf while traveling, or stow them.

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vickster · 05-16-2005, 02:01 PM

Nice job!

awaywego · 05-16-2005, 02:28 PM

Sunshine,
Great job on the shelf. Looks just like the one from the factory.
We had the shelf already in but things would bounce off traveling so I modified it a little with a galley rail.
If you find you needit they come already made at Lowes & etc.
Here is a photo www.picturetrail.com/awaywego

Bowie · 05-16-2005, 04:08 PM

Good looking job! To keep things from sliding off while in transit, cut a strip of the no slide material (sort of rubbery waffle looking stuff in a roll which you can get at Wal-Mart or any homegoods store) to fit the shelf. Anything in a single layer on top of the no slide should stay in place. No guarantees on the double stack stuff unless you put another piece of no slide under the second layer. This no slide is one of the camper's best friends--rates right up there with duct tape!

ragdoll · 05-16-2005, 06:27 PM

The shelf looks great and like the one we have in ours - I use a tension rod to keep the tp from ending up on the floor - it works great. I also use tension rods in the medicine cabinet to keep things from falling out after travel.

Lorraine

jrgwdenner · 05-17-2005, 01:10 AM

We should buy stock in the tension rod company. We have them in our dish cabinet, across the desk, on the bedroom door when we're traveling, in the washer/dryer closet, and now we plan to add them to the shelf featured in this discussion. We just discussed taking our paper products out of the hamper basket and removing the basket to make more room in the basement. We use a tub in the shower for our dirty clothes. Just toss an item over the shower door and it lands close to the tub.

sreigle · 05-17-2005, 04:24 AM

Nice job, Sunshine! Looks really good.

We also use tension rods in the kitchen cabinets (rear kitchen) between compartments. And in the refrigerator when on the road.

Sunshine · 05-17-2005, 05:05 AM

Thanks for all the nice compliments. Thanks for the suggestion about the galley rail, awaywego - will keep it in mind. Will start out by putting the no-slip on the shelf and see how it goes. Thanks also to those of you who suggested the tension rods. I've got one around here somewhere that I need to get out and try in the Montana -then will probably run out to buy more.

Countryfolks · 05-17-2005, 05:15 AM

We also had a 03 3280 with a open shelf in w/c. We used it for extra towels and soft stuff without falling down, didn't use no-skid, or anything to hold up. We kept tp under sink, until the roll got low, then set in extra in the corner. Hubby did a nice job.

I use narrow plastic baskets for small stuff in med.cabinet, and place in front and bigger items at the back, and 2 larger ones on the shelf.

Mary

sreigle · 05-17-2005, 02:55 PM

Sunshine, some Walmarts have tension rods in the RV section. Others don't. We got most from Camping World but some from Walmart. They also have what I think they call 'refrigerator bars', two tension rods hooked together. It's not difficult to separate them if the length is the right size for you.

jrgwdenner · 05-17-2005, 04:22 PM

We're cheap...we buy our rods in the curtain section. I think they're probably cheaper but haven't really compared prices. We use an equal number of the smallest rods and the ones that are a size larger.

sreigle · 05-18-2005, 06:28 AM

Judy, I tried that but couldn't find anything small enough to fit in the kitchen cabinets. I looked at several different stores and finally gave up. Maybe we looked in the wrong places. I think we paid something like six bucks for three rods, if I recall.

jrgwdenner · 05-18-2005, 06:55 AM

Steve, are kitchen cabinets are double door style so the longer rods fit very well. Maybe yours are single door cabinets, thus the difference.

Bowie · 05-18-2005, 09:51 AM

Pat was the tension rod queen when we had the Roadtrek. Now she is the no-slip queen with the Montana. We have no-slip in all the kitchen cupboards and in the overhead bins. Seriously--thus far, as long as an item is square on the no-slip there is no slip. We keep a condiment/napkin holder on the table 24/7 and thus far it has not moved an inch on a trip from upstate NY to the Columbia River and back again--7,000 miles. Ditto a metal bin of spices on the counter next to the stove. Also in the medicine cabinet to hold down little organizing bins that have all the junk in them. Haven't had anything fall out of any cabinets yet. Now if someone needs some tension rods...we have a few for cheap.

jrgwdenner · 05-18-2005, 10:32 AM

I'd just take you up on that offer if our paths were crossing, Bill. Your post does give me an idea. I put a lot of stuff in plastic bins and I'm sure rubber mats would keep them from slipping around on the shelves, too. I'll have to try it as I already have put it in several spots in the Monty. I will try it more on the counter, too.

sreigle · 05-18-2005, 11:22 AM

Judy, I should have said we went ahead and got the smaller rods from the Walmart RV section and from Camping World.

Our model has a peninsula kitchen with the peninsula starting at the back wall of the rig and going forward. We have cabinets over the peninsula, hanging from the ceiling. We use the rods crosswise in the cabinets to keep things from sliding forward from one compartment to the next. We don't use them across the doors area. We don't have much problem there, just things sliding forward, even with the non-skid in place. Being a rear kitchen things tend to slide a bit more than with a mid-kitchen. Our cabinets are heavily loaded so there's not a whole lot of room for them to move but this keeps drinking glasses in their compartment very nicely.

You can see in this floorplan what I'm talking about.

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