Cabinetry and Appliances
Cabinetry is one of the biggest parts of every van build. We’ve learned a lot over the years from materials to hardware to premade options that save can save you countless hours of work. Check out our go to cabinetry products on our Amazon Storefront and as always, reach out to info@coadventurevans if you need help with your van. For those looking to learn, feel free to dive deep with us below:
As a custom shop, we are open to exploring new material options, but most of our cabinetry is build with one of the following:
Laminated Light Plywood - we buy Luan light plywood from Austin Hardwoods (link) here in Denver. This material isn’t great for every use case, but when joined together in a cabinet frame, it is strong and incredibly light weight. (We think it looks good too!) Check out some examples below of projects that used this material.
Veneer Plywood - For those interested in a more natural look, veneer plywood with natural wood edge banding is a great option. We have done a few builds with Hickory Veneer plywood. Our first flagship build, Vanna White (link) used Walnut Veneer plywood. For those that want that real wood look and feel, veneer plywood looks clean and natural.
Baltic Birch Plywood - Baltic birch plywood is probably the most commonly used cabinetry material in the industry. It is sturdy, easy to work with, and paintable. While this isn’t our most common material choice, we have made some really cool stuff with Baltic Birch.
Bamboo Plywood - Bamboo is just a whole different animal. With just a little natural finish, bamboo plywood is a great looking option. We love the finish look of bamboo plywood (both our rental vans (link) are mainly bamboo) and even the plywood edges are pretty (check out this endgrain detail we made on a 144 Sprinter build)
Hardware is the unsung hero in van cabinetry. There are a ton of options out there, but here are a few products that have worked well for us:
Blum Hardware - Undermount drawer glides and hinges have leveled up our cabinetry game. These are the easiest parts we’ve found to work with, the easiest to install, and just feel high quality. We can’t recommend Blum enough.
Southco latches - These aren’t the only latches we use, but they’re by far the most common. The pop out(link) and the pull latch (link) keep doors closed on the toughest of washboard roads.
Joinery - we do a lot of custom joinery with our CNC machine, but whenever it’s easier or we need a little extra strength, we us a lot of Kreg jig pocket holes. Combined with your favorite wood glue (link) these make a super strong butt joint. Just be sure the screws don’t poke through your cabinet face!
Miscellaneous - we use Apexstone gas struts (link) to keep cabinet doors open hands free, 1/4-20 wood inserts (link)to join wood to wood surfaces stronger than a screw, and we have found these plastic drawer latches(link) extremely useful for keeping doors in place. Sometimes you need a little more beef on the drawer glides. These heavy duty glides (link) have come in handy for toilet drawers and heavy duty truck boxes.
While building custom cabinetry is awesome, sometimes you just want a cabinet fast. These companies have great premade products that can shave countless hours off your build.
Van Essential (link) - Simple, cheap, effective. We have two of these in our rental van and they are so convenient. They hang up on (2) L track rings and you can simply lift them up to remove them and bring them into your house to pack up and hit the road.
Flatline Van Co
Adventure Wagon
Serg Supply
Have another product we should consider? Leave a comment below. (is this an option? Can we integrate a comment section in our site?)
Here are some of the best practices for installing van cabinetry safely in your van.
Riv nuts are king. The best connection is a threaded connection. We always install our cabinets into the sheet metal of the van’s interior wall. You need one of these tools (link) and riv nuts (link) of your favorite size and thread (we like 1/4-20). Anywhere you can, this is the best option for attaching upper and lower cabinets to your van’s walls (here’s a video of how to do it).
Screws - if you can’t get a riv nut installed or you have solid wood attachment points, wood screws are super strong connectors in a van. Every van we build has a 3/4 marine grade subfloor that is a great base to attach your lower cabinetry to. We often use Kreg Screws or just a simple angle bracket to bring our cabinets flush to the floor and add additional strength. If we have a wood ceiling installed, you can also screw cabinets directly to the ceiling to help tie more elements of the van together and minimize movement.
“Alligator bolts” - this is the weakest option listed here, but sometimes it comes in handy. Most vans and RVs have some sort of 1/4” wall panel. These panels generally don’t hold much weight or hold screws very well. In certain applications an alligator bolt can be used to help reinforce a piece of thin material and take advantage of distributing pressure behind a thin panel. (this can be especially helpful in renovations when you don’t know exactly what’s behind a panel or it would be incredibly labor intensive to take it down)
blah blah link to youtube blah blah reddit page for van cabinetry blah blah this blogger did some cool cabinets.
