Water tank cabinet storage ideas

[vegpedlr]

I’ve long wondered about that difference in height between the Westy kitchen cabinet and the adjacent water tank cabinet. Seems like some wasted space, though complicated by the closet door. VC/RMW has a spiffy but expensive solution.

Has anyone come up with a better use of that space?
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1985 Tintop 4 sp GW 2.3 “Connie”
2006 Mk V GTI 2.0 FSI “Penelope”

[dobryan]

I elevate the rear table so that space can be used as more flat storage.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[danfromsyr]

I've seen a cargo net across the space and set a large duffle there..
under an elevated table.
put a side door/slider into the closet and then the door access isn't nearly as critical.
add a closet door spice rack upgrade et`voila
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[bobbyblack]

First, the table in the way of the closet door was one really stupid design flaw, corrected in or around '88, where the door clears the stowed table. My PO solved it with a saw, and it looks like hell. I agree with the side sliding door mod, good option if you use the closet for stuff you access often. I don't, that is mostly seasonal gear, like cold weather camping gear, and spare parts, and my tow bar.

Second, that entire side is not practical when I am on the road with my band. Here is a shot of how I load, and still have access to most of my stuff, like tools, fridge, etc, just not the closet, or under table storage. Next time I am leaving the table home. The tie downs are Footman Loops I got for my Westy luggage rack refresh.

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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[MarkWard]

We use the existing cabinets above the water tank for our canned goods and some dry goods. I mark on top of the cans what they are and the date. This way at a glance you know what you are grabbing. All meals are prepared in the van. So, its very convenient. We have two mesh hanging bags attached to the spice rack over the table where we store fresh fruit, produce, and bread. Rear closet is still accessible. I modified the rear table so that you can open the long cabinet with out moving the table out of the way.
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[pnwkayaker]

There're a couple of very simple mods that allow you to better use that area (especially if you have pre-1988 model like I do).

1 - do the mod that allows you to raise and lock the table (https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=318998&highlight=table). This allows you to raise the table and double the counter space if cooking inside. It also allows for better storage management since you now have 2 separate levels.

1(extra) - as the picture in the thread above shows, you can also open the cabinet doors and use the curtains to keep them open.

2 - I agree that having the closet door colliding with the table was a silly design idea (suprised it lasted so many years before it as fixed in th 1988 model). In my case, I never used the front table, so I just swapped the rear table with the front table and reinstalled it so that it sits closer to the kitchen. I end up with a smaller table (no big deal) but can open the cabinet with no problem. Cutting the cabinet door was never in my list of options.
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87 Syncro Westy EJ25 ("Tardis")

Seattle Meetup at Marymoor (link)
A collection of Simple Useful Mods (SUM) (link)

[vegpedlr]

So,e cool ideas. Now I’ll be a little more specific with what I’m thinking for my van. I use the lower cabinet in front of the rear bench for my Thetford. Removing the door and cutting some allows it to fit. I learned the hard way when the cabinets were out that measurements and figment from the back don’t apply to the doors in the front! I don’t think the rear table leg is functional this way. In my old van, I deleted the rear table, and just used the smaller front one in either location when I wanted to, which wasn’t all that often. I have a plastic storage bin that actually fits really well, doesn’t slide around much at all even when I forget to snug it up.

What I’m thinking of is some sort of shelf/drawer/cabinet tall enough to extend the kitchen top out and provide prep space. Some sort of flip top to allow access to the top part of the Thetford cabinet. Where the water tank was is where I keep spare parts, tools and camp stuff I don’t need very often.

In addition to the VC/RMW version, I saw a picture somewhere of a DIY one. I’ll go sit in my van later and contemplate.
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1985 Tintop 4 sp GW 2.3 “Connie”
2006 Mk V GTI 2.0 FSI “Penelope”