Stop Tossing Your Drawers On The RV Floor

Ever turn a corner in your RV only to hear the silverware drawer come crashing onto the deck? These old school fasteners don't always keep your drawers secure in the RV environment. I personally built our two person desk in our RV and while I was at it I also tore out all the existing drawer rails and replaced them with full extension rails. It's nice being able to open a drawer and actually have access to the whole drawer. Some RV drawers only come half way out - ooooh that drives me crazy! The only drawback of these full extensions rails is that they ride on ball bearings and are too smooth. If you get too much momentum going into a corner they can shoot out of the cabinet frame like a cannon ball. I've tried several types of drawer keeping hardware and some are better than others. The absolute best drawer keeper for the RV environment is the sliding bolt. You can pick these up at Home Depot or any hardware store in the cabinet hardware section. The trick is to use the sliding bolt key-hole as the drawer holder. Determine where you want the key-hole and mark where you will pre-drill the holes. Drill two holes being careful not to drill through the face of the drawer. These holes are important because they will allow the retaining screws to go in easy and prevent the wood from cracking. Once the key-hole is mounted re-install the drawer and measure where you will put the sliding bolt. Slide the bolt handle down revealing the top hole. I just held the bolt in place where I wanted it while I drilled the top hole. Screw in the top of the bolt before you drill the bottom hole. Fasten the bolt in place and slide it over the keyhole to make sure you have a snug fit. These sliding bolts look nice and work like a champ. With these babies installed there's no more, "Clean-up in isle one." Helping keep everything in your drawers where it belongs - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing