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Part 12 — Porta-potty cabinet
How to Build a DIY Travel Trailer - Porta Potty Cabinet (Part 12)
Source: How to Build a DIY Travel Trailer - Porta Potty Cabinet (Part 12) · 2020-07-16 · 15:39
What Joe did
- Built a cabinet around the wheel well from 2-by-2 framing and pocket holes.
- Added plywood skin, a storage opening, and a face frame that matched the other cabinets.
- Made a countertop and flip-up seat from 1/2-inch Baltic birch plywood over a pine framework.
- Added an access door for the flush handle, a flip-up seat, aluminum trim, a latch, and shelves.
- Remade the countertop and main door after each was cut too narrow.
Numbers
| What | Value | Where in the video |
|---|---|---|
| Framing | 2-by-2 | I just used two by twos and pocket holes |
| Face frame | 1/2-inch Baltic birch plywood | using a piece of half inch baltic birch plywood |
| Top plywood | 1/2-inch Baltic birch plywood | layering a half inch sheet of baltic birch plywood |
| Usual face frame | 3/4-inch material | normally face frame with three quarter inch material |
| Door error | 1/2 inch too narrow | a half inch too narrow so I ended up |
| Camping elevation | around 9,000 feet | camping somewhere around 9000 feet |
Materials and parts
| Item | Detail as Joe says it |
|---|---|
| Frame | 2-by-2 lumber |
| Plywood | 1/2-inch Baltic birch plywood |
| Top framework | pine |
| Finish | wood filler, stain, polyurethane, paint |
| Trim | aluminum trim |
| Hardware | pocket-hole screws, hidden hinges, hold-open latch |
Tools Joe used
- Pocket-hole jig and driver
- Saw
- Sander
- Router
Tips and mistakes
- He let glue cure overnight before rounding corners and final sanding.
- A too-narrow top and door required remakes; he shows the cost of checking fit before final trim.
- He added more seat support because one 2-by-2 did not seem sufficient to him.
For my build
- Nathan: Make a full-size mock-up of any bathroom cabinet in Nathan’s different floor plan before cutting finished plywood.
- Nathan: Keep removable storage and access doors simple; they can be more useful than a permanent fixture in a small trailer.