I added a shelf

[billandmissy]

So, we purchased a used 8.1 around Christmas and I made a few quick changes right away. I upgraded the mattress on the queen bed, removed the table and bench seats and replaced them with a folding card table and chairs, and bought all the kitchen stuff we'll ever need. 

We recently spent our first few nights in the camper over spring break and realized there is a lack of horizontal surfaces to set things.  So I bought a one by six pine shelf, a short length of 3/4" PVC pipe, and some tee nuts.  The basic idea is to attach short lengths of PVC pipe to the back of the shelf that will grab onto the biminis above the back window. The front of the shelf will be held up by a short lengths of cord tied to the biminis on the ceiling of the tent.



I cut the PVC pipe into two 6-inch lengths and then cut them along the length at 12 o'clock and 7 o'clock. If you remove less than that, it will be hard to attach the pipe to the Biminis.  If you remove more, they won't attach at all. 

I installed the tee nuts to the back of the shelf at the two points where the shelf meets the biminis just above the back window. I drilled a hole near the end of each of the PVC pieces for the screw that will hold the PVC to the shelf at the tee nuts. On the front side of the shelf, I sawed two corresponding slits for the cord that will hold the front up.  I cut two lengths of 3 mm cord and tied one end of each to the top part of the biminis and then tied a knot in each at the place that would hold the shelf level.

To hang the shelf, hold it in place and pull the two cords into the two slits on the front of the shelf. Then you simply snap the PVC into the bars at the back of the shelf.  I tested it with 40 pounds of weight, which is much more than I think I will ever put up there, and everything stayed in place.  Hopefully this will give us a little bit of convenient horizontal space without encroaching into our head room very much. 

Here are a few more pictures:



My only concern is how this set-up will behave if we are in strong wind that moves the tent and the biminis a little bit. 


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[Merlin]

Cool! I might try something like this in our screen house. I agree there is never enough horizontal surface! If the support rope slips on the pole during windy conditions, a zip tie securely tightened around the pole right next to the rope might keep slipping manageable?

[billandmissy]

That's a good idea.  After posting last night, I went out and moved and shook the bimini poles around a bit, probably worse than they'd be moved by wind, and nothing came loose.  The cord doesn't move along the poles very easily, so it seems like they'll stay in place.  If not, attaching a few zip ties is a great idea.  My goal was to make this shelf in such a way that it can be easily removed and anything that is left up (just the 2 cords) won't cause any harm when the tent is folded down for traveling or storage.

[riotanga]

Wow, what a great idea! I'm going to do this for my 8.1

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[khughes222]

I did something similar but a little more complex.

https://goo.gl/photos/tS45JXEpku3To4Y16

Mine is a net hammock made from 1/2" galvanized pipe with 4 pre-bent 90 degree corners from Home Depot and 2 Reese SUV cargo nets from Walmart. It is suspended from the bimini poles using rope chains that I made out of paracord, each with a carbiner for adjustability of height and angle depending on where you want to hang it (i.e. over the dinette or over the bed). Inside the left net is a large mortar mixing tub that creates structure in the net and is also used as our shower pan for showering (I have a diy shower curtain setup made from takedown pvc pipe. Another thread for another day).

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Reese-Carry-Power-Hammock-Cargo-Net/15125845

[wcart3r]

That's a nice idea. Simple yet very functional.