Cabinet Latch Replacement

I recently upgraded the Revel's cabinet latches with Owl Vans' metal latches. It was a little bit frustrating, since 2018 Revels have an unusual latch position, and required a special catch for the latch.  Installation instructions are online, but here are a few comments from my experience.

There are 6 latches to replace, and I spent a few hours doing the replacement and adjusting them to fit properly. As ridiculous as it sounds, I found the removal of the chrome plastic discs to be a real pain, and although I tried hard to save them intact, I ended up destroying them with brute force by the 2nd or 3rd latch.

The positioning of the 2018 latch required a CUSTOM catch mechanism for $30 from Owl, and I was kind of irritated that the screw holes did not match the previous holes from Winnebago, meaning that I had to put new holes in the cabinet frame.  Not sure why this is the case - - is it somehow bad practice to reuse the holes?

Note that the new custom catch mechanism for the 2018's extends an inch or so into the cabinet opening, unlike the Winnebago version, which was tiny & minimal.

In spite of my best efforts, these latches are not quite as tight as the originals, so I added some adhesive foam pads for any vibration that I may have introduced.

It was a bit of an expense for something that is mostly aesthetic, but they do look better (IMHO), and they definitely feel better under your hand - - higher quality, and with a more durable mechanism.

2-May-2020

Pantry Hinge Spring Removal

Many of us have found that the pantry door has excessive 'snap' from the springs in the hinges. Following some others' advice, I removed the springs in the center hinges. The pantry door opens and closes with about 33% less force now, so that's an improvement.

The springs are encased in metal capsules that are easily removed with a flathead screwdriver. They will go flying when they're released, however, so put a towel or cloth up against them to dampen their trajectory, and keep your eyes closed or covered.

1-May-2020

Pantry Improvements

We make all of our meals when we're on the road, so we tend to travel with a lot of food. As a result, our pantry is typically very full. However, Winnebago's first few units did not extend the shelf supports all the way to the top and bottom, meaning that owners have less flexibility in how they use the pantry. We needed to fix this.

Can't put shelves up here.

 Can't put shelves down here.

I bought 4 new pieces of 48" shelf support, twice as long as what was previously installed.

Ran it all the way to the top.

All the way up and down.

Winnebago only shipped the Revel with 2 shelves, and that just wasn't enough. So I made 3 more shelves using aluminum stock and some plywood (didn't go hunting for matching formica).

I just used the existing shelves as a pattern, and it took about 2 hours to make these new ones. Required a jigsaw, hacksaw, drill, and screwdriver.

Also needed more shelf clips, easily purchased from my local big box store.

Locked and loaded!