Beach mods Part 1: Kitchen Pod MKII (good old Ikea Alex)

[Max-Felix]

Some may remember the kitchen pod I made for for the Beach we bought for summer last year:

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/building-a-kitchen-pod-for-the-beach.14752/

Following on from that I thought I'd start a new topic to document MKII kitchen pod as the plan is to buy another Beach for this summer.

Also to follow in another topic (later) a refinement to the inflexible Multiflex board I knocked up, again last summer:

Changing the stupid multiflex board in my two-seater Beach. Help!

And lastly (hopefully) in a third topic a roof 'locker' for the Beach in Dibond or Vohringher lightweight ply.

But first the kitchen pod - I learnt a lot from making and using the pod last year. Mainly never again...too much time and money and space in the van sacrificed.

Although the pod worked great on our month (two adults, two kids) living in the Beach last summer on a Euro trip after the tap microswitch failed on day two we found we really had no need for a running water supply or indeed any large onboard water supply and it was so much simpler to just use a couple of 2 litre plastic supermarket water bottles instead.

Just refilled as needed from campsite supplies and replaced every few days. Simple, hygenic, space saving.

Other revelation was on returning and after removing the pod/re-installing the Beach storage box and seat and thinking - 'wow! that looks good!'

Immediately the space and extra seat was much more appealing as was the practicality of the VW storage box.

So, IMHO the optimum solution for a 2 seat Beach is keep the storage box but add a slim kitchen/storage/worktop unit - best of both worlds then.

So, this time I will be using the good old Ikea Alex with full credit to 'zeratul' for the idea. And to him and Sp0_0k for PM'd help.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/ikea-alex-kitchen-pod-diy.13922/

And I think Maxxcamp with their new Willy need to credit zeratul too!

https://www.maxxcamp.de/en/modules/fleximodule-willy/index.php

We'll end up with a much simpler setup, more 'lounging' room, feeling of space, flexibility and with the water containers and sink gone a net gain in carrying capacity and much better organised gear with the drawers.

This will be a simpler and cheaper build. However, I do want to improve the Alex a fair bit so it looks goods and lasts well so will be refining, strengthening and modifying it in certain ways. And with a Beach themed vinyl wrapping on the sides too...

 

[Max-Felix]

So, down to Ikea and very pleased that they were on a special 'Family' price - I got two. At that price it's a no-brainer to have a spare unit.

Also in the pic four ADILS legs but that is for another idea...

The one issue with these Ikea units is they stick out a bit so I will look at modifying the Multiflex (will be double folding as per link above with a shortened frame) and possibly the storage box to enable everything to shift back a short amount and to give more clearance for the passenger seat but I'll follow this up later.

So, seeing a display unit in Ikea after a probable few months of public abuse the drawers are a bit loose and sliders out of place but otherwise not too bad.

Main improvements then to reinforce the drawers and secure the runners better. Protect the edges/corners of the unit against knocks and fit a slightly larger and waterproof top (Vohringer ply) with rounded corners and rubber trim. Also glue all parts not just rely on knock down fittings.

I'll also add a side hinged extra table/worktop area.

Whether to ft a sink or not...? Final (for now) decision is not - IME these end up just a recipient for washing up (to be done on site) so why not just keep a larger (actually usable!) bowl in the Beach storage box?

And if you don't have or need 'running' water then you don't really need a sink.

But if I do decide later to fit one this will be easy enough - and I'll either block the waste and fit a bowl in the sink ('bucket and chuck it') or run a quick connect waste into a pipe exiting through the rubber floor gasket under the passenger seat to drain water into a bucket just like campers of old.

 

[hirsty]

Interested to see how this goes for our niche 2-Seat Beach Bench subgroup

I fully agree on the water front btw & our needs are met via 2L bottles of drinking water & a tap-filled jerrycan for everything else.

 

[Max-Felix]

Cheers Hirsty. Digressing a bit here and at the risk of a few 'disagrees' from the three seater owners - yes, the Beach two seater is rarer. Blame this on the dealers who have always pushed the 3 seater although VW themselves always saw this more as a 'day van/people carrier' whereas the two seater was the basic day van/camper van of the Cali range. To me it's simple - if you need to carry more than two in the back regularly or go away camping with three in the back then you need the three seater - for all other purposes the two seater with it's removable storage box/'L' shaped 'lounge' (!), flat bed, kitchen pod possibility and huge underseat drawer is generally much more practical for most couples or those with one of two kids. And for occasional transport of three if you really have to then get a third removable seat.

'James' used to post loads on this - really useful stuff, shame he's not on any more:

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/swapping-two-seater-bench-for-three-seater.1699/

To quote from some of his posts which sum up the old 'two vs three' argument:

"The two seater bench model is only ever designed to have one extra facing seat. The two seater bench is a flatter bigger seat. The storage drawer gets in the way of providing two extra seats.

If you want the two extra seats - you need the three seater bench - this also gives you the chance to create the 'long bed' by using the extra seats

The two bench seat Cali is a camping vehicle - it's not designed for MPV practicality - one extra seat goes in with limited leg room because the bench seat is bigger and the board does not fold.

If you are buying a two seater - you are buying something geared up for going away/camping...

The three seater Beach does have a board which folds and it has a rear seat akin to a Caravelle - it's not like a bed, unlike the two seater. The three seat bench Beach can utilise additional seats to make a long bed.

You can't really buy one and turn it into something else easily. They are vehicles with a different remit. Most people in the UK will be looking at something like a MPV. In this instance, you'd need to look at the three seater bench.

The three seater Beach has a board that folds in half, so you can drop half of it, push the rear seat back further and include two additional seats for leg room and if required create a larger bed.

The MPV style you want - would only truly come with a three seater version - that is why VW produce the three seater version.

You have got to think of the Beach two seater and three seater not so much as variations but vehicles with a different purpose and focus - one is geared towards being an MPV and one a Camper/Weekend Van.

Technically speaking the Beach is not based on the Caravelle. The two seater Beach was always designed to be a day van/camper. It's history stems from Multivans. It's a bit confusing in this country because the Beach is sold on its versatility but that only really applies if you opt for the three seater. It's probably why the majority of the dealer demos are three seaters because that for the uk market is easier to sell. Campers in mainland Europe are far more popular...

I guess VW eventually introduced the three seater Beach to give it some mpv versatility. You have to remember that aside from a pop to roof the caravelle can be specced as a camper. Parking heater, swivel seats and board etc. So the beach has always needed to be something different. "

 

[MattBW]

I have always felt the 2 seat would be more to our use of the vehicle as we camp quite a lot in our beach but I got what was available at the time.

I can never remember do the 2 and 3 seat beach have the same number of rails or is it different?

 

[Max-Felix]

It's the same for some time now but I think it may have been different briefly??

 

[Max-Felix]

Back to the Alex. Good view of assembly here:

I'll assemble dry first and then when all finally tested and fitted it will be reassembled with PU glued joints and some more reinforcement - essential to keep any Ikea furniture solid for years to come. Any exposed edges of board will be sealed.

Pretty amazing what you can fit into this thing - everything you see here and more will go in, including some 2 litre water bottles in the bottom, basically our entire kitchen/cooking/eating set up for four:

 

[Rich20]

Interesting concept. Good luck with the build.

 

[owen_h]

On the on board water supply/sink options I went for a halfway house solution. I didn't bother with a sink but do have a (fresh) water supply (plastic 25l jerry can) that has a submersible pump. This supplies a modified shower hose fitting that I can use to fill the kettle / bike bottles / glasses / bowl etc.

 

[owen_h]

It's the same for some time now but I think it may have been different briefly??

My 2012, 2 seater bench Beach has 4 rails. In the UK I think they have always had the same number of rails as the 3 seater versions. Probably because the Beach base vehicle was the multivan rather than Caravelle and there were no configuration options that took the gross vehicle weight above 3Tonnes (which a 4x4.180bhp Se with extra seats would be).

 

[Dave bee]

I think you'll find Vanessa had the basic idea first not zeratul. For me all the pods out there are too big for a beach. Maxxcamp compact being the closest to what is needed, that's why I hoped slidepod would have something really compact and thoughtfully designed out by now. Storage is the most important along with a compact stove with its own canisters not a gas bottle. As you say a sink is rarely used. I spoke to someone a couple of years ago with a full kitchen down the side of their van who used the sink to store food tins!!

 

[Max-Felix]

So to start. One rather big issue is I am 'Beachless' at present (but watch this space) so much of the final fitting will have to wait but plenty to get on with and as anyone who does these sort of things knows half the time is spent planning, researching, finding parts, testing etc anyway.

To reinforce the drawers they are glued all round and an additional layer of 3mm board fitted underneath and secured with PU adhesive/sealant.

 

[Max-Felix]

I think you'll find Vanessa had the basic idea first not zeratul. For me all the pods out there are too big for a beach. Maxxcamp compact being the closest to what is needed, that's why I hoped slidepod would have something really compact and thoughtfully designed out by now. Storage is the most important along with a compact stove with its own canisters not a gas bottle. As you say a sink is rarely used. I spoke to someone a couple of years ago with a full kitchen down the side of their van who used the sink to store food tins!!

Agreed. In last years 'normal' size kitchen pod having a sink and water on board meant losing the storage pod/seat and some flexibility. The Alex without these and with more depth allows everything below to fit into half the lengthways space and drawers are much more accessible. Downside is it projects into the van too much but I will work around this as much as possible and this is after all a quick budget build and the object is KISS! With four to feed and staying away from 'one pot' meals we need two cookers but in 4 weeks last summer not once did we cook inside (more in linky below).

Cooking assistance in Beach

 

[Romke]

Another way to get more storage in your 3-seat Beach:

This is the Samla box from Ikea. In our Beach they replace the three small under-bench trays. We've used them for years. They hold about 50% more and fit nicely in the space. At £1.50 a piece you can't go wrong! Lids costs just £0.50. Look for article no: 401.029.78

 

[MattBW]

Doh I was in ikea last night, I had no idea! Great tip!

 

[Dave bee]

Got some of these a couple of years ago, don't both buying the kids you don't need them.

 

[Dave bee]

I meant bother not both!!!

 

[2into1]

I meant bother not both!!!

I think you meant 'lids' too, not 'kids' Dave

 

[Bugsy]

I used a couple of Ikea Nordli drawers adapted to fit under our multiflex board, but we occasionally use them inside too or put them in a pop up tent.

 

[Max-Felix]

I'll go into a bit of detail just in case anyone else is thinking of using an Alex and toughening it up a bit.

I've added an extra fixing to the runners each side to secure the drawer in two places for each rail not one as per factory so this adds more stability and strength.

For protecting the edges of the unit I will just use alu angle. The top surface will have a larger Vohringher ply top with rounded corners and table type trim as per the pod last year pictured in the first post.
This will then protect the unit and be more practical, waterproof etc. None of this is fixed in place yet - will do that when I have the Beach and everything is trial fitted.

 

[Max-Felix]

Here is a little taster of the vinyl wrap for the sides - maybe not everyone's cup of tea but one of my favourite features of the (older) Beaches is the deckchair Takato trim and this fits in pretty well with that, how I wish they had kept this one 'jazzy' feature in the '50 shades of grey' current models. So, this will be on the sides and the top will be in a blue Vohringher shade similar again to the pod from last year in the OP.

Also a nod to one of the custom Maxxcamp colours.

 

[Days out]

Some may remember the kitchen pod I made for for the Beach we bought for summer last year:

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/building-a-kitchen-pod-for-the-beach.14752/

Following on from that I thought I'd start a new topic to document MKII kitchen pod as the plan is to buy another Beach for this summer.

Also to follow in another topic (later) a refinement to the inflexible Multiflex board I knocked up, again last summer:

Changing the stupid multiflex board in my two-seater Beach. Help!

And lastly (hopefully) in a third topic a roof 'locker' for the Beach in Dibond or Vohringher lightweight ply.

But first the kitchen pod - I learnt a lot from making and using the pod last year. Mainly never again...too much time and money and space in the van sacrificed.

Although the pod worked great on our month (two adults, two kids) living in the Beach last summer on a Euro trip after the tap microswitch failed on day two we found we really had no need for a running water supply or indeed any large onboard water supply and it was so much simpler to just use a couple of 2 litre plastic supermarket water bottles instead.

Just refilled as needed from campsite supplies and replaced every few days. Simple, hygenic, space saving.

Other revelation was on returning and after removing the pod/re-installing the Beach storage box and seat and thinking - 'wow! that looks good!'

Immediately the space and extra seat was much more appealing as was the practicality of the VW storage box.

So, IMHO the optimum solution for a 2 seat Beach is keep the storage box but add a slim kitchen/storage/worktop unit - best of both worlds then.

So, this time I will be using the good old Ikea Alex with full credit to 'zeratul' for the idea. And to him and Sp0_0k for PM'd help.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/ikea-alex-kitchen-pod-diy.13922/

And I think Maxxcamp with their new Willy need to credit zeratul too!

https://www.maxxcamp.de/en/modules/fleximodule-willy/index.php

We'll end up with a much simpler setup, more 'lounging' room, feeling of space, flexibility and with the water containers and sink gone a net gain in carrying capacity and much better organised gear with the drawers.

This will be a simpler and cheaper build. However, I do want to improve the Alex a fair bit so it looks goods and lasts well so will be refining, strengthening and modifying it in certain ways. And with a Beach themed vinyl wrapping on the sides too...

Hi Max-Felix.

Loving your work. Very inspiring.

I am currently modifying my Ocean cupboards as now after almost a year of camping I'm finding some things slightly annoying and can be fixed easily will a little thought and adjustment.

I've recently made cupboard dividers so I don't need to take everything out to get to one item. So far made from MDF as a trial. To be painted or coated later. Also I'm currently experimenting with modifications to my one drawer unit to get all my cutlery and utensils in.

My mock up is out of foam as it's easy to cut and change. See photo.

I now want to make something more permanent and was considering using "Dibond".



How easy is this to work with? How do you join it for a job like the one I'm doing? Is there a better material in your opinion?

Also I intend to make a lid to the drawer to rest things on top for extra work space. Again the use of Dibond was my plan.



Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Max-Felix]

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I love Dibond (or ACS), so light, rigid and strong. Posted more on this in the other pod build linked in first post. It's super easy to cut and shape too. Lots of finishes available but the brushed silver looks the most professional.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...brushed.TRS0&_nkw=dibond+3mm+brushed&_sacat=0

I have not tried forming it into curves but will have a play.

You could join it with alu angle or brackets or a thin bead of PU adhesive but a bit fiddly.

The normal stuff is 3mm but I got a sample in 6mm which I'm considering for a flap up table or a roof locker.

 

[Max-Felix]

If it's just for a drawer divider though the ubiquitous Ikea Smacker at 50p is hard to beat and fits perfectly!

See pic on post #7: Beach mods Part 1: Kitchen Pod MKII (good old Ikea Alex)

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/...elves/smäcker-cutlery-tray-grey-art-90241788/

 

[Brindisi]

I used a couple of Ikea Nordli drawers adapted to fit under our multiflex board, but we occasionally use them inside too or put them in a pop up tent.

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Brilliant!!