Custom Cabinets for the Dutch Star

10/25/04 - Back to Eugene
We spent today at the RV Corral in Eugene (Map) where we had a tow bar and braking system installed along with some other modifications to our Newmar Dutch Star. We had requested that the outlets and switches be moved up above the midline in the living room slide so that they would be above the custom desk and cabinets that we were having built. Newmar ignored that request so the RV Corral spent most of the day rewiring the slide out.

10/25/04 - Davis Cabinet Saga Continues
We got up early this morning and drove to Davis Cabinets in Junction City. We were actually pretty much on time arriving at 8am, but they didn't get around to seeing us until about 9am. Then Rick had a bunch of questions about the design. Relatively few pieces had been built so we had the flexibility of making a few changes in the specifications. We were a bit surprised that there were no real drawings of the plans and that we were pretty much starting from scratch.

When I made the original design for the new desk it included a monitor lift that would hide my new Apple studio Display beneath the desk while traveling and raise it up to desk level when parked. Unfortunately they could not find a lift that was the correct size for my application, so I did some research on my own and did not have much luck coming up with an alternative solution.

By 11am they were pretty much done with us for the day and so we went to lunch and then did some shopping. One of the places we stopped was a great big home improvement store in Eugene called Jerrys. I asked several of the very helpful people in there about ideas for the monitor lift. No one had any great ideas and I left a bit discouraged.

We did buy some new stuff for our coach including towels, plates, a ladder, stuff to wash the exterior, cargo containers, etc. We had a great dinner at the Roadhouse Grill in Springfield.

10/26/04 - More Questions Then Answers
Last night it occurred to me that auto windows used an electric regulator that might be adapted to the monitor lift idea, but after calling a few auto wreckers, they convinced me that the motors would not be strong enough. Davis Cabinets began working on our cabinets today and we met with Rick a couple of times but basically we had another free day because they were so backed up with work that our job got pushed out a bit.

We found a good place for brunch and went shopping for a small set of pots and pans and other stuff for the new RV. We also spent some time visiting with some of the other RV owners parked at Davis Cabinets. This aspect of traveling (having new people to meet and interact with) is one that we are looking forward to.

One of the coaches was getting some new electronic equipment and I spend some time talking about Internet access with a pretty knowledgeable guy named Dave. He suggested that the Air Cards supplied by Verizon and others was a much cheaper and fairly reliable alternative to a satellite dish. I'll have to look into this option some more.

10/27/04 - More Ideas, No Solutions
One of our new neighbors this morning has a portable Direcway antenna on a tripod that he spent some time talking with me about. I'm not sure I like the tripod idea but it is considerably cheaper than the roof mounted, automatic satellite tracking mechanism. He also is a photographer, with a bunch of digital Canon cameras, so we had a lot to talk about.

I spent some time talking with Shaun, the owner or Davis Cabinets about my monitor lift and he had some ideas (including a tilt up monitor) that I had not considered. He said he would give it some thought and look on the internet for other lift options. Rick (Shauns dad) had a couple of things built, but still more questions that product for us to consider.

10/28/04 - Possible Solutions, Finally Some Progress
Last night I created some drawings of a mechanical lift that used weights, pulleys and a gear mechanism to control the up and down movements. But when I showed the drawing to Rick he didn't seem to approve, so we reconsidered the tilting idea instead. I came up with an idea i thought might work, and Rick spent considerable time today creating and modifying a prototype that, in the end, just didn't work out. By mid afternoon I realized that I was just going to have to give up on the idea if I was going to get any cabinets installed this week.

We did see most of our new cabinets sitting in the shop before we left for dinner, so we had some sense that we were on the verge of getting them finally installed. They looked great and despite my frustration at not realizing my monitor lift dream, I felt some hope that at least most of the dream was about to be realized.

By the way, my back is almost back to normal finally. I still need to be a little careful and I still can't walk very far without pain, but normal movements and sitting are no longer painful.

10/29/04 - Cabinet Installation Begins
I had hoped to be back at the RV Corral this morning to get the rest of the work done that had been started or still to be done from Monday. However I decided to stay at Davis Cabinets in hope of getting my new cabinets installed. We did see most of the stuff at one point or another, but several pieces did not fit quite right and most of the day they spent making adjustments of one kind or another.

We finally left for RV Corral about 5:30pm without our table, the top of one of the cabinets and no sign of the cabinet for my Epson 2200 printer. We will need to return next Tuesday to have the work completed.

Tonight we got our Brake Buddy (which will engage the Trailblazer's brakes when needed) and new vent covers installed on our coach. Tomorrow we will get some other work done and then drive home for a couple of days.

One of many beautiful Carlton sunsets

11/1/04 - Home Again for a Couple Of Days
It was good to be home for a few reasons. Being able to soak in our hot tub at night was one, for sure. Having the tools to build a couple of small projects for the coach was another. We spent most of the time, figuring out what else we wanted to bring with us on our next trip.

Around 8pm we finally got our act together and headed down the road. We stopped at a nearby market to attach the Trailblazer to the coach, but when we went to test the brake lights, we found that we had not only lost the left turn signal but the running lights on both the coach and the dinghy. So after a few phone calls we decided to return home for the night and drive down to Junction City in the morning.

The bright side of this change of plans was that we got to see a TV show we were interested in and we didn't have to drive a couple of hours in the dark and in the rain. It was a bit disappointing to have trouble with the new coach though. Fortunately we have an appointment at the RV Corral to have some service done, so we can get the running lights fixed then.

11/2/04 - Back to Junction City
We got up early this morning and drove directly to the RV Corral service center in Eugene where they took care of a few blown fuses very quickly. Then we drove to Davis Cabinets to have the rest of our custom cabinetry installed. Everything went fairly smoothly, except that they decided they had no good solution for the printer cabinet that I wanted them to build. I had envisioned a roll top cover for my Epson 2200 but they claimed the design was impractical.

Generally we are very happy with our new furniture, but there are a few things that we are disappointed about including no monitor lift, no printer cover and a cabinet for my wife turned out shorter than she would have liked. The craftsmanship is certainly impressive, but the experience of dealing with Davis Cabinets, left much to be desired.

Note from the Future
As it turned out, not having the monitor lifter left much needed room under the desk for my feet and our four dogs, who love to hang out by my feet. The monitor has found a home in a cabinet above my desk, which doesn't close completely, but is a safe place during transport. The printer, which I worried about sliding off the desk during our travels, has never moved an inch after placing a piece of non-skid rubber mat under the printer.