When we moved to our smaller home in April 2016, we owned an ultra-light 5th-wheel RV. Part of our downsizing plan was to travel more and take extended trips in the 5th wheel. After we took it out on a couple of longer trips, we realized that this RV was not the one we would be living part-time in.
Earlier this year, we traded in our ultra-light for a model that is better suited for our purposes, a Grand Design Solitude 379FLS. You have seen pictures of the outside in a few of our posts, most recently the Solar Eclipse 2017. We have made small changes inside to make it our own. This post will highlight the most recent changes we made.
We have always had a home office. One of the ‘spare’ bedrooms in our homes has held our desks, computers, printers, camera equipment, important papers, etc. Being out on the road for an extended amount of time, we both felt that a desk or workspace would be needed.
We follow the blog, Camper Chronicles and liked how they used their slide-out to build a desk. We used that as our model, with a few changes of our own. Thanks Lee and Tracy!
After deciding which slide out would hold the desk, Andy removed the eight screws and 2 90-degree brackets holding the sofa in place. It’s not overly heavy, but it would be awkward getting it through the camper door. Youngest son Brian came over to help.
Rather than using file cabinets or back legs for support, the desktop will rest on cleats that are attached to the walls with drywall screws. We will be adding a couple of legs to the front for additional support.
For the desktop, we purchased a door from Habitat for Humanity Restore. It was the right depth, 27 inches, and just needed to be trimmed down to 77 inches, the inside width of the slide.
We sanded off the varnish and prepped it for staining. You don’t see it from this side, but the door had a recessed pull handle. Andy removed it and drilled the hole all the way through the door.
We now had a hole for the electrical cords. We used a stain we already had, Minwax Provincial 211, and set it out to dry for several hours.
Several days later, after coats of polyurethane had been applied, the desktop was ready for installation. Unfortunately, the trim around the slide got in the way, and Andy had to notch it out. A little wood glue will put it back in place. A keyboard tray has been installed, and it is ready for our computers. We also added a rug to cover the cable on the slide and the exposed wires. We will post an update when the front legs are attached.
The sofa that was removed fit perfectly on the sun porch. Since it has no legs, Andy built a platform, similar to the slide, for it to rest on. Here it is, getting a final fitting.
We are excited to get our ‘mobile office’ set up. Next month, we will travel south for a while. But before we go, we are rushing to get other projects completed, both on the house and RV.
Peggy Staver, the author of this blog, is a freelance copywriter specializing in outdoor recreation and hospitality. You can contact her at PSCopywriting.com. The majority of photos are taken by Photography by Andreas. Visit his portfolio here.
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Tjank you for sharing