Hubbys Handmade side/snack drink bar for the beach

[Bramco]

I keep expecting someone to find some other 'thing' out there that could be used instead of the VW clips.

If there was an aluminium profile with the right shape, you could get a short strip and screw it onto one edge of whatever you want to use as the table top. Seems there are plenty of options for the leg. Even a piece of plastic piping cut to the right length with a spiggot would work fine.

Now off to start searching aluminium profiles....

 

[Iain Dendle]

A big thank you to those who contributed to this thread!

I built my table a few weeks back and can’t believe how useful it’s been. Cuppa/wine glass holder when downstairs is in lounge mode, keys/phone/wallet dumping spot when using the downstairs bed and the perfect laptop desk when doing a bit of work. It takes up hardly any space, allowing the rest of the family to move around the Cali, unlike when you have the regular Cali table up. Not sure how we managed without it!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Iain Dendle]

A big thank you to those who contributed to this thread!

I built my table a few weeks back and can’t believe how useful it’s been. Cuppa/wine glass holder when downstairs is in lounge mode, keys/phone/wallet dumping spot when using the downstairs bed and the perfect laptop desk when doing a bit of work. It takes up hardly any space, allowing the rest of the family to move around the Cali, unlike when you have the regular Cali table up. Not sure how we managed without it!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Melanie Day]

I think ours is same as the pics on this thread about width of the tape measure.

We held everything in position with tape first before committing to drilling just to check.

Thanks for that, most appreciated.

Do you know the measurement from the black clip on end of the bracket to the table edge?
i.e. how much does it stick out?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Bramco]

Now off to start searching aluminium profiles....

I wonder if a moulding like this one might not do the trick - obviously the other way up - we used this type to run across the van to support the edges of our solar panel.

At the back of my mind I have a thickness of 6mm being the right thickness for the slot though - was this mentioned in the other thread about a slot in mini table made from a sheet of aluminium?

https://www.clickmetal.co.uk/click-...-cope-mouldings/aluminium-cope-mouldings-no-4

 

[kp64zl]

How about something like this website to make the exact profile of what's needed?

https://www.spaaluminium.com/Bespoke-Profile-Design

 

[D heaps]

Hi,
My wife started this thread, for info I used a 6mm sheet of aluminium (might be 1/4 inch would need to measure it to be exact) , no clips just really good fit in the slot, I thought it might need clips etc but it's been fine, use it on every trip and store it under front floor mat between seats, works great and takes no storage space, I designed a small part that would "lean" from table onto side panel , like a cup holder does, but never needed it
Good to see it got some interest

 

[kp64zl]

Great thread and thanks for starting it.

Would be great if you could check the exact width

 

[D heaps]

Great thread and thanks for starting it.

Would be great if you could check the exact width

Thanks for the comments, will measure it tomorrow no problem

 

[D heaps]

Thanks for the comments, will measure it tomorrow no problem

Spot on 6mm

 

[kp64zl]

Thanks ever so much - that's really great.

What are the dimensions of the table pls?

Do you find it's the right size or would you make it bigger/smaller next time?

Did you machine the aluminium yourself ?

Also, did you try making the perspex version?

Thanks!

 

[D heaps]

Thanks ever so much - that's really great.

What are the dimensions of the table pls?

Do you find it's the right size or would you make it bigger/smaller next time?

Did you machine the aluminium yourself ?

Also, did you try making the perspex version?

Thanks!

Hi,
Sizes are 235mm x 500mm x 6mm, I cleaned up the edges, I recall cutting down the width to 235mm - but only polished the 6mm dimension with wire wool
I cut the holes in for cup holders - but seems we use it mostly for beer bottles and gin glasses
Size seems just right, I didn't do the perspex version as this worked just fine and fits under carpet matt between seats (invisible storage)

I think I got the aluminium from RS, might be worth lacquering the aluminium after polishing (but again I didn't bother)

Dave

 

[calikev]

Here is my attempt this afternoon

 

[DrJuanKerr]

Hi,
Sizes are 235mm x 500mm x 6mm, I cleaned up the edges, I recall cutting down the width to 235mm - but only polished the 6mm dimension with wire wool
I cut the holes in for cup holders - but seems we use it mostly for beer bottles and gin glasses
Size seems just right, I didn't do the perspex version as this worked just fine and fits under carpet matt between seats (invisible storage)
Dave

Hi Dave,
I'm considering similar for our Ocean but with slightly different dimensions.I'm looking at 400mm long x 300mm wide. As, like you, I don't want a leg [I want this to be in situ when the lower bed is made] do you think the extra 60mm width would prove problematic with respect to stability?

The only "issue" in the Ocean is that the units are slightly curved so the sheet would need to be contoured as such
Cheers

 

[D heaps]

Hi Dave,
I'm considering similar for our Ocean but with slightly different dimensions.I'm looking at 400mm long x 300mm wide. As, like you, I don't want a leg [I want this to be in situ when the lower bed is made] do you think the extra 60mm width would prove problematic with respect to stability?

The only "issue" in the Ocean is that the units are slightly curved so the sheet would need to be contoured as such
Cheers

Hi DrJuanKerr,
Its surprisingly stable, so i'm sure it would be no problem (we even put a coffee maker on ours), the main thing is to get the thickness just right, I did design a short leg that rested on the plastic panel, (like a cup holder), but never needed it, like you i didn't want a full leg on it, hope it works out OK

Dave

 

[Jonathan Duke]

Here is my attempt this afternoon

View attachment 39319

View attachment 39320

View attachment 39321

View attachment 39322

Very tidy looking, well done!

 

[Bramco]

I didn't do the perspex version as this worked just fine and fits under carpet matt between seats (invisible storage)

Hi,

Thought I'd try a perspex version so ordered a piece online - as I was ordering I realised that another option is so called multiwall acrylic - this is the stuff used for roofing. It's essentially the top and bottom flat surfaces joined to form effectively squares. So very light - and also ridiculously cheap - £1.50 for the size Dave used.

You do need to get the ribs running the right way, so outwards from the slot. Sideways wouldn't be as rigid.

With the solid perspex and the multiwall we found that the sizes weren't as accurate as maybe aluminium is. There were a bit thinner - a strip of helicopter tape brought them both up to the 6mm though. Foto below.

I also had some colour samples of dibond we'd ordered before ordering a sheet to make the shelf for over the cab area. So being 3mm if you had two pieces of this and bonded them with contact adhesive you'd also have a very rigid solution - lot more expensive but trying a couple of the samples together shows it would work. Last photo.

Multiwall acrylic - £1.50

 

[CALI FATE]

Great information - thanks - i would like to know if a 6mm thick piece of perspex slotted into the rail would be strong enough to hold a cassette stove with kettle / water ..... has anyone tried it - with or without a support strut / leg. Maxxcamp make something metal that does the same thing but fits their own profile which is different to the Beach rail. Thanks

 

[kp64zl]

Hi @CALI FATE
I have just ordered a 6mm piece of clear acrylic sheet 500mm x 235 mm with polished edges from this website.

https://www.sheetplastics.co.uk/

Speaking to them on the phone
1) Perspex is a brand name - but it's acrylic
2) the clear acrylic is made more accurately (+/- 5%) whereas coloured acrylic is more variable in width

Can you let me know the weight of your cooker and I'll test. I'm using a different cooker with a trangia kettle

should arrive at the weekend

 

[Bramco]

i would like to know if a 6mm thick piece of perspex slotted into the rail would be strong enough to hold a cassette stove with kettle / water ..... has anyone tried it - with or without a support strut / leg.

Just nipped outside with our kettle with just over 1 litre of water in it. Works fine with both solid perspex and the really cheap multiwall stuff. They are sloping downwards, as I haven't properly adjusted the fit yet. Both pieces are slightly under 6mm so a loose fit.

 

[kp64zl]

hi @Bramco -- how do you plan to adjust the fit please?

 

[Bramco]

how do you plan to adjust the fit please?

That's an interesting one!

I had adjusted the fit on the multiwall piece by putting some helicopter tape along one edge to make it a bit thicker. Interestingly today it wouldn't go into the slot - it was a bit tight when I first did it. I had to put the other side in which I hadn't yet sorted out fit wise to take the picture.

Today was about 2 or 3 Celcius where our van is parked, so I'm assuming the alloy of the slot in the Cali has shrunk a bit in the cold while the plastic of the table won't be affected in the same way, i.e. it doesn't expand and shrink as much as aluminium - so the multiwall on the side where I had adjusted it wouldn't fit as it hadn't shrunk as much. It was much warmer when I first tried it out a couple of weeks back.

Obviously an aluminium table would shrink, although the relative shrinkage between the slot and the table may not be the same.

So the conclusion to all that is that probably an aluminium table should be OK in various temperatures but perspex tables may need to have different adjustments to the fit to work from a few degrees up to really hot days in the summer.

One simple way of making it variable would be to have a few strips of say A4 paper or card in the van, then you could select the right number of strips to get the adjustment you need depending on the temperature. Or use helicopter tape on one side and something else on the other. So have a cold side and a hot side fit wise.

Endless possibilities to keep us off the streets...

And I'm sure someone will be along to explain the various coefficients of expansion and contraction for aluminium versus perspex. I'm just guessing that the reason my adjustment didn't work was down to the temperature as above.

 

[kp64zl]

very interesting.

Theoretically the cold will make the air in the multiwall piece contract a bit making it slightly thinner....

@Theaps @D heaps --- do you get this issue with your aluminium table? & is it reasonably flat or does it droop a bit? original photos look like it's quite flat....

 

[Bramco]

Theoretically the cold will make the air in the multiwall piece contract a bit making it slightly thinne

The multiwall isn't sealed, so it's not airtight. Any contraction would just be the perspex walls.

 

[CALI FATE]

Wow - thats such a simple easy solution - i like the coloured perspex option even though a bit more expensive. There is a plastics firm in Gloucester who can put a small lip on the edge to lock it in ? - The Campingaz cassette style stoves are cheap and lightweight - so might have cracked it