Replacement over an bed plastics? (1 Viewer)

[Maluisarot]

Hello everyone,

I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction to find a replacement pocket front for the overcab bed plastic storage area thing. They seem to have been used in a lot of the chausson overcabs?

We've recently bought our motorhome and it's all cracked (easy to see why). I was going to reinforce with some hardboard cut to shape and glued to the back side but had a slight disaster when I went to remove it to mark the board up.

Seeing no screws, I foolishly assumed it would be held in with little plastic catches like on car door cards. I then found out how wrong I was. Gave a little tug and half came off in my hand and the other half remained GLUED to the rest of the unit and I immediately regretted my assumption.

My vans in having service and timing belt at the minute but here's a stock photo of the bit I'm after.

Thank you all

 

[Minxy]

I doubt you'll be able to get a replacement so instead I'd make a template out of hardboard slightly wider than the original then get it covered in material, stick the original stuff back as best you can and then attach the new hardboard to it, with it being a bit wider it should hide the existing piece nicely and look better too.

Alternative is to remove all th existing panel and use a thicker piece of hardboard/ply and forget the original bits altogether.

 

[Maluisarot]

I feared this would be the case. Time to fetch the jigsaw out and brush up on the upholstery skills

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[Minxy]

I feared this would be the case. Time to fetch the jigsaw out and brush up on the upholstery skills

You could do a less 'shaped' version to make a proper headboard rather than the daft swooping shape that looks good but is less practical - if you get a sheet of foam you can pad it to make it more comfortable, a staple gun will also make it much easier to upholster too, just don't get staples that are too long, if you wanted rather than fix it in place permanently, use some Velcro instead so you can take it to clean if necessary.

 

[Maluisarot]

Some good ideas! You seem to know a bit more about this kind of thing than me, do you do commissions?

 

[Minxy]

I have been known to assist others as I do like fettling. This was our previous camper:

globecarcampscoutinfo.yolasite.com

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[Maluisarot]

Thought I'd drop by and give a little update. Sadly couldn't find any plastic replacement, although almost glad I couldn't as I'm sure they'd have been very expensive and broke again within a month!

I pulled the rest of the front off and made a jigsaw of the pieces to create a cardboard template. Then used this to make out some 8mm MDF Ive had down the back of the sofa for a while and sawed out the shape, adding a bit of extra height to the front cover as the original was very low and I felt like it didn't make the most of the space for the amount of storage it provided.

The next step was to remove all the bits that stuck proud from the main part of the unit where the front pocket cover had been glued.

A little bonus here was the spots being rattled loose and massive access holes appearing which made it much easier to run cables for the twin 5v USB socket I wanted to fit.

The original pocket cover did curve inwards to go across the smaller right hand pocket which made making the replacement more interesting. Have decided to make it in two parts with a mixture of spacers and, to follow later, wood filler to smooth it off.

Supported the two parts with tape, checked fitment and measured the distance between the two parts.

This happened to be 16mm, perfect as I was able to use two strips of 8mm MDF glued and clamped. These are deliberately staggered so I can fill with wood filler and smooth off and mean a lot less sanding will be needed.

Now to leave the glue to set then I'll fetch it out the van and work on the curve and have a think about how I'm going to attach it going forward. I quite like the bright green gaff tape but my partner isn't as keen. Before that I'll need to get some fabric for my first ever attempt at upholstery! Wish me luck

 

[Maluisarot]

I have been known to assist others as I do like fettling. This was our previous camper:

globecarcampscoutinfo.yolasite.com

Thanks for letting me have a look around your lovely camper too! Some great tips and ideas on there.

 

[Minxy]

If you make the panel removable (eg strong Velcro-type attachment) you'll have some useful little hidey-holed there for bits and bobs ...

ludo what was the very tough Velcro-type stuff you bought once?

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[ludo]

3M Dual Lock.

 

[Maluisarot]

Finished it off this evening and thought I'd share the finished project with you all.

Decided to pull out the whole unit as made working on it a whole lot easier. It was only held in with 3 screws and 2 of these were loose from the plastic cracking around the screw heads.

Fortunately had some uPVC facia joint covers I was able to trim down to cover the holes and held these in place with some "wide boy plastic repair filler". I used the same product to repair and re-enforce the screw points.

I then filled the front with the same and sanded down once hardened to make it flush for attaching the velcro.

Once the main unit was back in place, with an extra 6 screws because 3 just didn't seem sufficient, especially as I may be pulling the front off to access the newly formed storage holes (thanks for the idea Mindy), I made my first ever attempt at upholstery and I've got to say, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out

Velcro stuck on and the front pocket fitted to the main unit and here she is in all her glory!

Definitely an upgrade on the old plastic one and hopefully much more fit for purpose in that it won't crack and break apart at the slightest of knock now!