The cabinet has been built in two sections. The lower section boxes in the wheel arch and the upper section is big so that it will house my battery, charger and cool box side by side. The coolbox is about twice the height of the charger and battery so there is a large space above the battery and charger at present.
My idea now is to partition the top area in two: one for the cool box and the other for the battery and charger. I'll then stick a shelf in above the battery and charger making a further storage area and having the effect of isolating the battery and charger in their own little box. This section can have a plywood panel screwed on the front so that the battery and charger are hidden away but can be accessed by unscrewing the panel. Sounds good.
Regarding power points, I'll put one double 12v socket into the upper shelf such that the 12v cool box can be plugged in here, and one spare appliance too. I see us charging mobile phones and stuff here, hidden away with the door shut. Nice and neat. Then I'll stick a double 12v socket down in the lower wheel arch section coming out of the front into the main van. This front section will be hinged and made into an access door. I don't expect to open it often but it will be possible to do so if desired. This double 12v socket provides power to the main van when needed.
When the 240v hook up goes in this can feed into the lower, wheel arch, section. In there we can put a double 240v socket on the hinged lower door, next to the double 12v socket. This will give 2 sockets into the van. Then we can stick a third socket inside this lower section, hidden away. This socket will take the mains charger plug so that when the van is hooked up the leisure battery will automatically be charged. It will all be hidden away in the lower compartment this way. Neat. I'll need a hole in the shelf inside the battery area to drop the plug and wires through into the wheel arch section but that should be hidden away as well.
The two front panels will be hinged at the bottom using piano-hinges. These give the best support as they can run along the whole length of the door. The top most door, which will cover the entire upper section, will be supported by chains which will stop the door opening at exactly 90 degrees. This won't be super sturdy but should provide a strong enough work surface, when opened, to stick a kettle and some mugs on. This should make a handy addition to the cabinet.
When it comes to finish, I was thinking of just getting it all carpeted over, but I'm now thinking I might cover it with stick on wood veneer to make it look somewhat professional. The jury is still out on this idea but it's simple enough to do and could make for a good looking cabinet I reckon.
With this design I get:
- A lower wheel arch section into which most of the electrical wires will be housed and hidden. There will be space in here to store quite a bit of spare stuff - I'm thinking I'll probably stick spare bungees and stuff like that in here.
- A battery/charger compartment what is hidden away but accessible easily by removing some screws.
- A cool box section which is big enough to slide the cool box into whilst having it safe and secure when driving. It should just about be big enough to open the cool box whilst in this location too.
- A spare storage location above the battery box, which has a double 12v socket in it for powering the coolbox and another appliance. I envision storing a 12v kettle and some mugs in here.
- A pull down door on the front of each section. The top one will be supported by chains so that it makes a nice shelf/workspace when opened.
Just got to get on and finish building the thing now!
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