How To Add Drawers To Unused Cabinet Space In RV's & Campers

May 27
3 min read

Updated: 18 hours ago

I keep finding unused cabinet space in the hybrid Rockwood Roo camper that we have, and I believe this is the same in most campers. For a small space, they didn't bother to make the most efficient use of space. There are many useful spaces that are just blocked off with panels.

Between the entrance and the kitchen countertop is a slightly lower countertop with a cabinet underneath. The cabinet has a door, but above it is a 12-inch-wide by 6-inch-tall panel between the framing that is completely empty behind it for a depth of 12in. This is a perfect location for a cutlery drawer, which the camper is missing.

You can get custom wood drawers made to any size with drawer slides. The framing support for the slides still needs to be added inside the cabinet.

By chance, I discovered this metal drawer on Amazon that is a perfect fit. It has its own frame, which greatly simplifies the install. Since it's only 3.15 in tall, 2 of these drawers will fit stacked in the space. That's better than one deep drawer for storing cutlery and smallish items. Then you don't need to dig to find things that are covered up by other junk. The frame opening height where the panel currently is is 6in. The total stackup height of 2 drawers is 3.3in. I will have to cut away 0.3in of the frame.

WHERE TO BUY:

Under Desk Drawer Storage, Pull-Out Office Hidden Counter Drawer, Metal Sliding Organizer Mount Below Table, Optional Bracket Height, Black

Amazon listing showing a black under-desk pull-out drawer mounted beneath a wood tabletop, with product title text on the right.

Black drawer tray dimension diagram with handle, labeled extension and inside dimensions in inches on a white background.

Two underside desk mount diagrams: without crosspiece and with 1.2-inch crosspiece, showing a black bracket under a wood desktop.

HOW TO INSTALL

The drawers are intended to be individually mounted under a table. I wanted to stack them, so it required some very basic modification and fabrication.

The two stacked drawer frames are a tiny bit taller than the cabinet opening. The easy solution was to unscrew the crossbar right behind the top of the cabinet door. There are 2 counterbored screws at each end of the crossbar that attach it to the cabinet face. The crossbar was removed, creating space to install the stacked drawer frame assembly.

(Coincidentally, the undermount bracket was the perfect height for the top drawer, but I couldn't use it like that because it created a gap between the top and bottom drawers.)

The drawer cage frames have 4 holes on their underside. These are intended for use with the undermount bracket. I used the underbracket mounting holes on the top frame as a template to drill holes in the top of the bottom frame, then bolted the two frames together with the provided bolts intended for the undermount bracket. Use blue loctite for all screws and nuts to make sure that they don't rattle apart.

I did attach the undermount bracket to the bottom drawer frame. To the top of the undermount bracket I screwed a piece of wood, and to that I screwed a piece of plywood passing over the drawers. The height of the plywood above the drawer frame matched the offset between the cabinet face and the underside of the countertop.

I placed this 2-drawer frame + undermount brackets + plywood assembly under the countertop, lined up the drawer frame openings with the opening in the cabinet, and then screwed the plywood to the underside of the countertop.

FINISHED RESULT

The end result is amazing! Both drawers fit perfectly with minimum effort.

Wooden RV cabinet with black drawers and metal handles beside a red Fire Blanket pouch and control panel.

RV cabinet with dark countertop, drawers, and control panel; red fire blanket pouch labeled FIRE BLANKET hangs on the side.

The full extension drawer slides allow full access to the contents of the drawer.

Open RV kitchen drawer with black mesh tray under a countertop, beside a red fire blanket and control panel.

Open RV kitchen drawer with black mesh organizers and silver handles beside a red fire blanket under a brown countertop.

SILVERWARE TRAY FOR DRAWERS

I wanted to find a silverware/cutlery drawer that perfectly fit the drawers and didn't waste space. It was challenging to find something that was a perfect fit, or even something that could be trimmed a little.

The drawer interior measures 11in wide by 12.5in deep.

The answer ended up right under my nose at Walmart. This silverware tray measures 10.9in x 13in. The additional 0.5in length should be easy enough to trim down. Those rolled over corners look like they are at least 1/4in.

Rubbermaid 5-compartment black utensil tray with forks, knives and spoons, labeled no slip base and size on white background.

WHERE TO BUY:

Rubbermaid No-Slip Small Silverware Cutlery Tray Organizer, Black with Gray Base

Amazon product page for Rubbermaid black cutlery tray organizer with gray non-slip base and 5 compartments, rating shown

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