BigHorn 3400-RL - Under Bed Storage boxes

[SmokeyBare]

I finally got around to making a little more storage. We needed a good place to store extra sheets, blankets, beach towels, anything light weight.

I was able to build these using only a cordless drill, a borrowed circular saw and a couple hand tools.

Material bought: 3 - 1X3 boards 8' long
1 - sheet of 1/4 inch plywood.
12 - Simple angle plates
Dry wall & wood screws

Tricky part was to build it and still have the slide room move back and forth !! That required keeping a safe distance away from the steel Slide Room hardware bolted to the floor. This limited the width and depth of the boxes. All said and done... I have 2 Boxes... 36" long X 10" wide X 12" deep... that's close enough description anyway...

The top plywood panel that covered the slide hardware was sliced with a razor knife... The center section screwed down to prevent opening accidentally.

Here's a few photos...

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Nice job Marv! Now we'll have another link to send folks that are looking to increase the storage in that area.

 

[jbeletti]

Nice job Marv! I see you waited until Karen was out of the country to tear into the 'Horn.

Hopefully she will feel the storage relief when she sees the space you opened up elsewhere.

Thanks for sharing.

Jim

 

[mrcomer]

Very nice Marv. I may need to borrow that idea in the future. Thank for sharing.

Mark

 

[TRAVELER07]

Marv good idea I like the idea that adds storage and, makes useable storage space, from wasted space, good job and keep up the good work on the heartland tech team TRAVELER07[Rick]

 

[jnbhobe]

Nice work Marv! Now I will have to be a copycat. Thats just what we need something simple and effective. Good Job !! Hope to see you again soon.JON

 

[kakampers]

Great Job!! I thought I'd have a heart attack after getting our 3600RL and lifting up the bed to store things out of our old 5er...had to scramble real quick to figure out what to do with those items!! Now just have to talk DH into following your lead...LOL!

 

[katkens]

Marv....truly outstanding ,a job well done. Thanks for the pics , makes it all come together , in my feeble mind...... Kenny

 

[Chuck Richard]

Marv, great job, I wish I had seen this before last weekend. I had the 2X2 support at the head of the bed break and decided to upgrade to some smooth 3/4 inch plywood since I had to take the whole thing apart to fix the support anyway. The matress now moves easily and the thicker wood makes me more secure feeling. The 2X2 board had a knot right near the middle and of course it broke there. This would have been a fantastic addition while I was in there. Well a good winter project. Thanks for the pics and idea.

 

[SmokeyBare]

Thanks all for the Remarks. I'll not be showing any close up photos though... after looking at Travelers Mods... he did a fantastic job ! The fine cuts are not so easy to make...working off the tail gate of the truck using a circular saw. Well... that's My excuse and I'll stick too it !!

Chuck... Sorry I didn't get started earlier... Although... I Love Dry Wall Screws ! So easy to remove my mistakes and do it all over again...

Some of the Steel hardware for the slide was what I needed to work around as the whole wooden bed frame must move past it as it travels back and forth... Otherwise the boxes would have been a little wider. Still I got well over 5 cubic foot of additional storage.

Marv

 

[TRAVELER07]

Marv I had help from I friend of mine he has the right tools, and collects tools for every job.You did a great job and every one thinks so.You are still the on Heartland design tech.team ,you got your pay raise,check is in the mail ![just kidding about the raise right Jim] TRAVELER

 

[boatdoc]

After looking under our 3670BH bed one can only do the left side for storage as the steel supports are offset to the right. Instead of doing a wood box affair I think I'll try and find one long or two short plastic totes to suspend from the factory 2x2 supports on the sides. If the right size totes aren't available I guess I'll break out the old carpentry tools.

 

[SmokeyBare]

BoatDoc,

You may find some Wire baskets that would fit as well. They might be found at Lowe's or Home Depot. Down side would be small items could fall through the wire mesh.

Marv

 

[boatdoc]

Great idea Marv, The search is on!!!

 

[boatdoc]

Search is over!! The wife found the perfect wire baskets, THANKS Marv, at Home Depot. Closetmaid # 6210. They fit perfect with out any mods at all except to cut the cover paneling piece offat the right width. This is for the 3670 but I'm sure all the other models could go the same route if you don't want to mess with al the carpentry stuff. They are strong and lightweight, about $17.00 each. Even if one had to move the 2x2 support a little this is an easy way to gain some storage and lose some empty wasted space. These baskets are 11' deep, 17" wide and 21" long. They call them 11' High Drawer.

 

[jbeletti]

Great mod Gary - thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Nice work Gary & Diana. So simple yet so effective.

 

[SmokeyBare]

Gary !

You did good my friend !! What a perfect fit for the space !! Leave it to an Ol' Salt... to use every little bit of space available. The baskets are just what you needed.

Marv

 

[ziggy]

Gary,
Looks like you've posted Mark's next mod. for our 3670. Thanks for the part number. That will help a lot.

Kristy

 

[navyAZ1]

Well Marv, you've just caused me some work Miss Ann was looking over my shoulder while I was reading all these threads and now I have been tasked with this project. Now that we are fulltiming she needs more storage areas so come January I'll be working on this since our camp host duties for that month will be limited and I'll have more free time.