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Tom Anderson of Huddersfield writes:
The following adaptation may be of interest to anyone in need of a bit more worktop space in the Piccolo and possibly other Murvi models. I donʼt have knowledge of layouts in other models only the Piccolo.
Faced with the need to be able to dish out meals from the kitchen but being hampered by not having space available I began to wonder if it was possible to gain some space.
I had many thoughts but non were either sensible or practical. Then the Eureka moment as I was lying in bed looking at the underside of the wardrobe. How about a slide out thing living in this unused space.
The idea proved to be basically simple but the methodology a little less so. It had to be within my capabilities, sensible, and safe to use.
What I have done is to use a standard size white shelf from B&Q because it had all the edging on. Finding a means to slide it in and out was a thought process and I came up with the grooved (routed) pieces of beech which I could machine and fixed them to the underside of the w/d.
A bit of holding help is needed as you have to fit the wall side rail first then fit in the shelf whilst fitting on the second rail then screwing it up. If you do it with small screws these can be replaced with bolts and washers and nuts once you get it in place and running smoothly, your helper then is free to make you a cup of tea!
Remember you may have a couple of plates of hot food on the shelf and screws alone are not recommended from a safety point. Luckily the wardrobe base lifts out easily (we use this space to hide such valuables as we have!) How you do it depends on how much willing help is available at the time and what your skills are. There may well be other ways of achieving this action.
We have found this to be one of the most useful additions to our van.
I have spoken to Rex about it and he was most interested. I have attempted to keep to the Murvi philosophy and did the best I could so that it appears to be a manufacturers mod and not a DIY addition.
Iʼm sure that others have ideas on how to customise our Murviʼs. I hope someone finds this useful.
If anyone needs specific measurements etc I can provide these but the pictures will give you enough of an idea about size etc.
Photos: piccolo worktop