Today we are making the fridge cabinet, designed to fit our 5.8 cubic foot Nova Kool R5810 12V Fridge and featuring four large drawers to store kitchen stuff. This is a frameless construction made out of 12mm (1/2″) Baltic birch and 19mm (3/4″) bamboo ply for the countertop. We also added a temperature-controlled cooling fan to increase the fridge’s efficiency. Let’s dig in!
It’s still a work-in-progress, we will update as we progress!
Table Of Content
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For reference, this is how we built the fridge cabinet in FarOutVan 1. We used basic tools and materials, so it’s a bit more DIY-friendly 🙂
A few differences on the new build:
- Frameless construction (instead of using 2×3’s to build the frame);
- Bamboo countertop (instead of Ikea);
- FarOutVan 1’s fridge cabinet housed the electrical system (200Ah Lithium Battery Bank).
1. Fabrication
Time
TBD
Cost
TBD
Weight
TBD
Material
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION | QTY | BUY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Kool R5810 Fridge | 12V fridge with Danfoss compressor. Same as FarOutVan1, you can’t go wrong! | 1 | Campervan-HQ |
| 12mm (1/2″) Baltic Birch Plywood 4×8′ Sheets | For all parts except the countertop. | 3 | Locally |
| 19mm (3/4″) Bamboo Plywood | For the countertop. | 1 | Locally |
| Wood Glue | Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue. | 1 | Amazon |
| #4 x 1″ Wood Screws | To fasten the back drawer separators. | 12 | Amazon |
| Pull Latch, Round | Fits into a 51mm round cutout. | 4 | Amazon |
| 20″ Drawer Slides | Repon NJ35D65-20 Soft-Close 100LB. For drawer 1, 2, and 3. | 3 | Woodstocksupply |
| 16″ Drawer Slide | Knape and Vogt 8850FMB 16″ 200LB. For drawer 4. | 1 | WoodworkerExpress |
| Piano Hinge 1 ft | For bed step (installs in drawer 4). | 1 | McMaster-Carr |
| Noctua 92x14mm Fan | For exhaust (required) and intake (optional). | 2 | Amazon |
| Polyurethane Sealant | For the cabinet’s interior. | ||
| Primer and Paint | For the cabinet’s exterior. |
What’s up with the CNC?
We only used basic tools and materials for FarOutVan1, making it this van conversion very beginner-friendly.
FarOutVan2 is a new opportunity to stay up-to-date with van builds, and it’s also an opportunity to learn new skills and techniques. We certainly don’t expect anyone to have a CNC in their corner of their garage, so we won’t get into too many details about the CNC work. But you should know that there is most likely CNC Routing service near you, so you can duplicate our work with our CNC files. Just Google “CNC Service near me” or look for a maker space where you can learn how to operate a CNC yourself!
Creating content is very time-consuming, and in our case, it does not pay the bills. So we like to stay as concise as possible and focus on the technical aspects. As such, we won’t make a video for the fridge cabinet, but we did make a video for the Shower Cabinet. The process is very similar:
Here are all the parts of the fridge cabinet after they were cut on the CNC:
1.2. Box
For all joints, a good amount of glue is applied to the mating surfaces; just enough so there is some oozing, but ideally no dripping:
I first assemble the divider panel to the wall panel. There are three finger joints along the edge for strength and to align the parts perfectly:
The brad nails (gauge 18, 1-1/4″ length) don’t provide any structural strength; they’re used to align, hold the parts together, and keep some pressure while the glue dries (back of wall panel shown):
I then assemble the floor panel. A hammer or a wallet helps insert the finger joints into the cutout:
And add the FWD panel:
It’s dinner time! I’ll leave the glue to cure and continue tomorrow. Here is what we have so far:
The back drawer separators must be added now (they’re recessed into the panels, so they won’t fit after assembly):
I add them to the divider panel with glue and #4 x 1″ screws (holes were predrilled during CNC operations):
I can now add the RWD panel (with glue and brad nails, the usual) and screw the drawer separators:
Next, I add the front drawer separators (they slide in from the front) and clamp them. I also add the countertop support, and then leave the cabinet alone while the glue cures:
The cabinet box is almost completed!
1.3. Drawers
I got carried away and forgot to take photos during the assembly… no big deal, it’s very straightforward!
The three top drawers are made of 1/2″ plywood bottom, sides, front, and rear. Finger joints help with alignment and add strength to the assembly:
I used glue and brad nails for joining. I installed the sides first, then the rear and front. The face will be added later:
The bottom drawer’s funky shape is to avoid the wheel well:
The slides are screwed to the drawer. I’m using only two screws for now, because I’ll remove them for painting! All holes were piloted during CNC:
I am also screwing the slides to the cabinet box (holes piloted during CNC):
Ready for testing!
Perfect 🙂
I added the spacers for the fridge, at the front (I could have done this before the drawers, doesn’t matter!):
The faces are added after the cabinet is assembled (and the fridge installed) to ensure everything looks straight. I 3D printed 4mm shims for an even gap, some glue is added:
The faces are brad nailed from the back to lock them into place:
And then screwed from the back to clamp them:
Latches are added in the front:
A lock ring is fastened in the back:
1.4. Finish
Wait for it!
1.5. Countertop
The bamboo countertop is cut and then sanded with an orbital sander (220 grit sandpaper):
We chose Tung Oil to seal the bamboo. It is food safe, water-resistant, and non-yellowing. The countertop surface can be restored down the road by sanding and re-applying another coat:
The bamboo countertop is looking GOOD after the Tung Oil is applied (to all top/bottom surfaces, except the finger joints)!
Here I am adding a bunch of cornet brackets to secure the countertop to the cabinet (the brackets are about 1mm below the edge, to apply a downward pressure during the glue operation):
After doing a dry run to practice, I applied wood glue to all the mating surfaces (finger joints and edges) and then inserted the cabinet’s male finger joints into the countertop’s female finger joints:
I immediately screw all the brackets to the countertop, to “clamp” it to the cabinet and ensure the glue cures properly:
1.6. Cooling Fans
A refrigerator is a heat pump. It pumps heat from the fridge and expels it into the cabinet, via the coils located at the back of the fridge. Warmer ambient air around the coils means the fridge has to work harder, requiring more power. We decided that our fridge would perform better with active ventilation:
Warm air rises, so we installed an exhaust fan at the top of the fridge’s compartment:
We strategically located the intakes so that the air is sucked in line with the fridge compressor and coils (we blocked ALL other intakes with covers, to force the air through these places specifically):
photo showing the intakes looking forward:
There are vents along the coils (45-degree cutouts) and a fan that blows air directly onto the compressor (we’ll remove this fan if we find it unnecessary, but we planned for it just in case!):
The cooling fan(s) can be paralleled with the fridge’s fan (easier), but we decided to make a temperature-controlled fan thingy instead. More details here:
1.7. Access Cutout Covers
We added several access cutouts to the wall panel. This allows for routing electrical wires into the van walls after the cabinet is installed (you never know!). To prevent air exchange between the walls (hot!) and the cabinet, we 3D printed covers out of TPU (rubber).
The cutouts allow access to the wall cavities behind the cabinet (e.g. to route electrical wires):
The 3D printed covers are installed into the cutouts, and they can be removed and reinstalled as required (snap-fit):
There’s a recess at the front of the covers to be able to grab and remove them:
There’s a lip at the back (snap-fit):
2. Installation in Van
Material and Tools
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION | QTY | BUY |
|---|---|---|---|
| M6 Rivet Nuts | For a strong and reusable fastening point. | 8 | Amazon |
| M6 x 30mm Flange Button Head Screws (Stainless) | To fasten the upper cabinet into the rivet nuts. | 8 | Amazon |
| Minicel (1/8″ thick) | Thermal break between the upper cabinet and the van’s metal. (Low-E EZ Cool works too!) | ||
| Rivet Nut Setter Tool | Many types of tools are available, but this is the one we use personally. | 1 | Amazon |
Resources
2.1. Cabinet Installation
The fridge cabinet is secured with M6 Flanged Button Head Stainless Steel screws, into M6 rivet nuts:
M6 rivet nuts are added into the van’s existing holes:
The fridge cabinet is secured with M6x30mm Flanged Button Head Screws (stainless steel):
2.2. Fridge Installation
This is a work in progress… we will update this page as we progress!
On Second Thought…
Too soon!
Inspiration of the moment…
tbd.
