Hawk Shell Cabinet Mounting

[Justin]

Just received my new Hawk shell after a grueling 11 month wait. I am in the process of building out a storage cabinet on the stove side. I am looking for advice for how to mount/secure the cabinet to the shell. I seem to recall a post stating not to mount anything to the wall but to instead mount it to the plywood bottom. Is this correct or am I remembering incorrectly. How is everyone securing their custom cabinets inside their shell models or in their rebuilds? Any advice appreciated.

 

[Vic Harder]

One of the things to keep in mind is the built in "flex" these campers are designed for. So when attaching stuff, not to go overboard. I "stick" built my cabinets rather than build one and and then install it. That way everything can move.

In your case, there is no reason to avoid attaching to both plywood and wall. The wall is mostly air though! Look for staples/screws for clues as to where the aluminum framing is and screw into that.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Try using a carpenter's "stud" finder that might help.
Frank

 

[Sagebrusher]

I always tried to minimize penetrations of the wall and I had no luck finding frame members using two different kinds of stud finders. So I relied primarily on attachments to the floor and benches. When absolutely necessary, I looked at photos of the bare frame from FWC, "sounded" with a few knocks and estimated where the frame was. Then I drilled the tiniest hole possible to test for a frame. It is no doubt proprietary, but it is really too bad FWC can't provide a drawing, at least for the shell models.

 

[ski3pin]

The top edge of the wall paneling may be held on with screws. Some folks have removed all the screws and pulled the paneling back just enough to see the structure behind. Good luck.

 

[billharr]

The top edge of the wall paneling may be held on with screws. Some folks have removed all the screws and pulled the paneling back just enough to see the structure behind. Good luck.

This is what I did on my build. Marked the location and then mounted a 1x4s to do my mounting to. I did 18" full slides on my drawers and the slides were mounted to the 1x4s.

Edit forgot to say, look down with a flashlight and you can see if any wires were run through the 1" sq frame. Measure and don't put screws there.

 

[ski3pin]

This is what I did on my build. Marked the location and then mounted a 1x4s to do my mounting to. I did 18" full slides on my drawers and the slides were mounted to the 1x4s.

Edit forgot to say, look down with a flashlight and you can see if any wires were run through the 1" sq frame. Measure and don't put screws there.x

Yes, do not forget to look for wires and such.

 

[PaulT]

Search for "endoscope borescope". Harbor Freight, Lowes, Costco typically have them. You will be able to see behind the panelling by dropping the lens/light head through a small gap to inspect what delights may be hidden from view. It takes using one for a while to orient yourself as to what you are seeing.

Paul

 

[UmkaAndHawk]

I was nervous about finding wall-studs (a stud finder did not work for me with the alu frame) but managed to make what I believe to be a secure yet flexible setup with framing that connects to the furnace box, to the plywood of the bottom, and, in one place, to the cable run (ensuring to avoid drilling through the cables themselves).

I was hoping that any future buyer could rip out my counter without much fuss and return the camper to nearly new condition.

I could prepare a few pictures to illustrate, but the point is, while it's clearly possible to connect with the walls, its entirely possible to avoid it.