Beach Side Pod - 2 Seater Bench

Goldie · Feb 28, 2016

Finally got around to building my Pod. The basic requirement was to meet NZ self-containment rules which meant a sink plus fresh water and grey water storage to last three days, along with a Porta-Potti. That equalled 24 litre of fresh water and about 26 litres of waste water storage for two people. It also needed to be simple in that I could make it without any specialists skills or tools. There are two main parts, the Pod itself and a small shelf that fits between it and the multiflex board. There are 2 x 12v cigar sockets on the left of the unit for the fridge and charging things. I'll install the Waeco bracket for the CF-40 fridge next week to secure it properly. I didn't need the cooker but thought one burner would be nice for making cups of tea.

I can still use the bed and can lift out the fridge and put a cushion there to keep the full width of the bed for 2/3 of the length.

Thanks to Owen for the inspiration and advice. :thumb

Here's the result:

Hotel California · Feb 28, 2016

Looks nice , good job!
:thumb

Geezso · Feb 28, 2016

Nicely done

For worrying about specialist tools it looks very professional.

zeratul · Feb 28, 2016

Agree, really nice. What are the dimensions? Where did you buy the floor rail fixings?

owen_h · Feb 28, 2016

Great Job

. Looks very nicely made and fits in well. Looks like you went a bit taller than mine so have gained more depth for the top and fitted the sink / burner in without problems. Where will the gas bottle be located? Under the cool box possibly?
Did you use glued & biscuit joints in the end?
+ Zeratul - the floor rail fixings are OEM units from VW, same as used to fix the multiflex board or usual storage box down. Need to get 2 parts, the T bar/spring/nut assembly and also a plastic plate that fits underneath. I can look up the part numbers if you need them.

Goldie · Feb 28, 2016

Owen
I had to go a bit higher to accommodate the depth of the sink, it now sits at the same level as the bottom of the window. I nearly gave up and was going to go for a sink only, but as I had bought the single burner unit I persevered. I think the double burner unit may be shallower, and of course wider, but I don't want to cook in the van.

I used the small Hafele inset hinges to inset the doors within the frame. Laminate board, edging, spring-locks and other parts came from 'Clearcut Conversions' who you can find on eBay. Give Richard a call, he's quite helpful.

I used 8mm dowel in the end even though I have a biscuit jointer. There's a Wolfcraft kit (Amazon) that makes centring the dowels easy and stops you drilling too deep, I would recommend having extra dowel points 6-8 of them.

I will need to get the gas fittings including the bottle fixing certified, I know you can carry the sealed gas bottle but unsure about use, it may need to sit outside. Not a problem as I'll run it out through window or door - safer that way too.

Zeratul
It's about 750mm wide and the same depth as the seat locker as the bed needs to slide past it. The VW fixing parts numbers can be found on here under previous pod discussions, I've posted them a few times.

Andy

zeratul · Mar 1, 2016

Thank you. Can you still use/access the side wall pockets? That would be nice..

Sp0_0k · Mar 1, 2016

How do you secure the fridge?
I have a 50l version which is around 5cm higher. Would I be able to still open the fridge fitting on that storage box?

Goldie · Mar 2, 2016

zeratul said:
Thank you. Can you still use/access the side wall pockets? That would be nice..

Yes they are accessible behind the water containers. The one behind the fridge is obviously not accessible with the fridge in place, although things can be stored in there. I'll take a picture of the access and post it.

Goldie · Mar 2, 2016

Sp0_0k said:
How do you secure the fridge?
I have a 50l version which is around 5cm higher. Would I be able to still open the fridge fitting on that storage box?

Fixed with one of these http://www.jacksons-camping.co.uk/waeco/compressor-coolers.htm scroll down to the universal fixing bracket. You would still be able to open the fridge; the storage bracket is the same height as the existing storage box.

Goldie

zeratul · Mar 2, 2016

Goldie said:
Yes they are accessible behind the water containers. The one behind the fridge is obviously not accessible with the fridge in place, although things can be stored in there. I'll take a picture of the access and post it.

Yes it would be great to see a picture of that.

Goldie · Mar 2, 2016

zeratul said:
Yes it would be great to see a picture of that.

Here's a few pictures. As you can see there is no back to the unit so you can use all the storage space behind.

Goldie

Goldie · Mar 2, 2016

Goldie said:
Fixed with one of these http://www.jacksons-camping.co.uk/waeco/compressor-coolers.htm scroll down to the universal fixing bracket. You would still be able to open the fridge; the storage bracket is the same height as the existing storage box.

Goldie

Here's a few pictures of the mounting brackets. Looking at the instructions for the CF-50 the brackets centres are 50mm further apart, so I would recommend making the unit 50mm narrower, e.g. 700mm wide instead of 750mm. The sinktop area itself is 470mm x 820mm.

It's now dark, but I'll take a picture of the fridge in place with mounting brackets and strap around it when I get home tomorrow night.

Goldie

Goldie · Mar 2, 2016

owen_h said:
Great Job . Looks very nicely made and fits in well. Looks like you went a bit taller than mine so have gained more depth for the top and fitted the sink / burner in without problems. Where will the gas bottle be located? Under the cool box possibly?
Did you use glued & biscuit joints in the end?
+ Zeratul - the floor rail fixings are OEM units from VW, same as used to fix the multiflex board or usual storage box down. Need to get 2 parts, the T bar/spring/nut assembly and also a plastic plate that fits underneath. I can look up the part numbers if you need them.

Here's a pic through the window. I actually made it a bit taller, but realised that with the deeper top and routing out a bit of the back of the top support bar I could drop the top down onto the trim. Bit nerve racking cutting the sides once the unit was glued together, although I have a 18v Makita circular saw that cuts the ply really well.

I would advise anyone thinking of making a pod to make the first version using cardboard for the first templates, then MDF and finally out of ply. I couldn't afford to make a mistake as I shipped the board out from UK and can't get the same out here. If you search my posts on here you should be able to find my MDF mock-up minus doors.

Sp0_0k · Mar 2, 2016

Nicely done. I like how you have access to storage without the back wall.
Do you think 530mm high fridge will be ok sitting on a storage box?
It is even narrower than Waeco models, just worried I have a space to open the lid due to the van windows getting narrower going up.
http://www.indelb.com/products/automotive/travel_box/tb51a

Goldie · Mar 2, 2016

Sp0_0k said:
Nicely done. I like how you have access to storage without the back wall.
Do you think 530mm high fridge will be ok sitting on a storage box?
It is even narrower than Waeco models, just worried I have a space to open the lid due to the van windows getting narrower going up.
http://www.indelb.com/products/automotive/travel_box/tb51a

The shelf is the same height as the Beach storage box. Try the fridge on that first. Sorry my earlier post assumed you had the Waeco CF-50.

owen_h · Mar 2, 2016

Sp0_0k said:
Nicely done. I like how you have access to storage without the back wall.
Do you think 530mm high fridge will be ok sitting on a storage box?
It is even narrower than Waeco models, just worried I have a space to open the lid due to the van windows getting narrower going up.
http://www.indelb.com/products/automotive/travel_box/tb51a

With mine (a discontinued Waeco CDF 40 model I think) the fridge lid just hits the trim pillar when fully open. Will do some measuring this eve.

Goldie · Mar 2, 2016

M

owen_h said:
With mine (a discontinued Waeco CDF 40 model I think) the fridge lid just hits the trim pillar when fully open. Will do some measuring this eve.

Mine is the CF-40. The lid is fully removable once it is half open which makes rummaging inside much easier.

Goldie · Mar 3, 2016

Here's the pics with the strap fitted. I checked tonight and you can remove the lid completely once its lifted by 2" (50mm), so it doesn't matter about fouling the pillar.

Goldie