Hello and welcome back to my Nissan NV200 campervan build.
Since buying the van I always thought this area
behind the driver's seat would be a great place for some storage.
Measuring 43cm wide by 15cm deep by 22cm high, it's a decent size space
which is just going wasted, so now it's my opportunity to make the most of it.
There are already screw threads in the frame
of the seat which seem like a good place to attach a door to.
The top holes on either side take an M10 bolt and the bottom ones take an M8 bolt.
To create this door I took some off cuts of wood from my previous storage box build,
cut them to the correct length of 43cm and using wood glue
and clamps stuck these together to get to the correct height of 19cm.
The wood is 18mm thick and to make the door a little sleeker
I planed the glued boards down to about 10mm.
After that, I cut the top two corners off with a handsaw, rounded them with a sander,
and proceeded to sand the rest of the board.
I then used a trimming router all the way around the edges for a much neater look.
After a final sand the board had come out really nicely and I was ready for varnishing.
I used the same matt finish polyurethane varnish that I used on my wheel arch storage box
and, being the same wood, it's a nice match.
I applied two lots of varnish and sanded between coats for a nice smooth finish.
With the cupboard door finished, I could turn my attention to attaching it to the seat.
I really didn't want to drill new holes in the seat and wanted to utilise the
M8 or M10 screw threads that I mentioned earlier.
The most viable options were to either have the door swinging outwards with hinges on one side
or to have the door open downwards with hinges on the bottom.
I opted for the second option as it meant greater access if the floor was full of other things.
I sourced a pair of zinc plated 35x150mm back flap hinges.
I worked out where I needed the new holes to go to match the screw threads in the seat
and drilled two 8mm holes with a step drill bit for the bolts to go through.
I wasn't happy with the hinges being a metallic gold colour, so I spray painted them,
the nuts and bolts, and the heads of the wood screws in a matte black paint
so they match the black metal of the seat.
I applied a few coats and they came out really well.
I first attached the hinges by loosely screwing in the bolts
and could then line up the wood and work out where to fix the hinges to.
With this marked out I removed the door, drilled some shallow pilot holes and, using a piece
of cloth to prevent any damage to the black paint, gently screwed the hinges into place.
I was worried about the screws coming through the
front of the door so tightened them gradually and they fitted perfectly.
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I could then reattach the door, this time adding the nuts behind
the screw thread and tighten everything firmly.
Next, I needed to make sure the door would close and hold firmly in place.
Despite the hinges being ideal for the job, they aren't the thinnest
available and I was left with a small gap between the back of the seat and the door.
I sourced some round magnets that would stop the cupboard door from falling open and,
utilising the hole in their centre, screwed these onto the door with a
small piece of wood behind so they will reach the metal of the seat.
They provide a very strong hold and I'm confident the door won't open while I'm driving.
With the magnets added the cupboard was complete and I can begin using this space properly.
It's an ideal easy to access location for storing my camera bag and, well, this GoPro...
I've got lots of other videos in this van build series,
so please do check them out and don't forget to hit the subscribe button.
Thanks for watching!