My knock-down shelf mod

First, let me say this isn't really my shelf mod, it's ours! The ideas you guys have created and shared on here led me to this design. This thing is perhaps not yet complete because it's only "so" stable and I want to take it on a trip in a couple of weeks to see how it does before I finalize it. This isn't going to carry much weight so it shouldn't cause it to lean forward much. I have added 820 square inches of shelf space that I didn't have yesterday morning!!

I didn't want to add much clutter to the counter top so I designed it to go up instead of out.


I have a gap behind the hinged counter wide enough to fit a leg into. The back of the gap is the bed slider.


The leg holds the weight and the square part on the counter top adds stability.


The counter space is also the indoor home for my stove, although I usually cook outside. During my recent snow trip, I found it better to keep the stove inside, hence the height of the first shelf.


The distance between the two shelves is about 7 inches.


The joint above the square section is not glued so it can be turned 90° for stowing. Here it is laid flat for transport.


....and with the sink stowed over it.


Materials list with costs:-
2 @ 3/4" x 10' PVC pipe $3.46
8 @ 3/4" PVC Elbow $2.40
9 @ 3/4" PVC Tee $2.70
1 @ 3/4" PVC Cross $1.70
3 @ 3/4" PVC Cap $1.05
8oz PVC Clear Glue $4.18
3 @ 24" Single Shelf Support $8.01
6 @ 8" Single Shelf Brace $13.56
1 @ 1" x 8" x 8' Pine Board $8.98

Total $46.04

Which translates to $0.056c per square inch!

 

Thanks for the comments. Stability is definitely an issue although the unit cannot fall anywhere because of the small gap that the leg stands in. I wish I would have thought of canned goods when it was set up. I decided to leave it until my next trip out, in 2 weeks, to load it with stuff that I actually have on a trip and see how it does. The leg is not yet glued on because I think that, if it is not stable enough, I will adjust it there and replace the 3 end caps with 3 more elbows which I will trim down on the horizontal until they fit tight between the back of the cabinet and the front of the bed slider. That should stabilize it.

 

Again, thanks for the comments. The stability issue is not in the vertical stiffness, it's that the bottom of the foot is not quite wide enough to fill the gap between the back of the cabinet and the bed slider. This causes it to shift forward (away from the window) and might dump items off the shelves. If I have time (and weather) this Saturday, I will open it again and work on it some more.

 

Stability issue resolved. I just got to this this afternoon and thought I'd add a picture for those wishing to use this idea. As I thought, just extending the back of the leg out to meet the bed slider made this unit much more stable. I added an extra 3/4" PVC Tee to the leg so it is sitting on the slider and then added a couple of shims made of 1/4" poplar to the other two legs.

The original leg in the first design.


The modified leg. The Tee had about a 1/4" cut off the horizontal part to fit nicely.

 

Again, thanks to all for the positive comments. I'm heading for them thar hills this weekend so this mod will be put through it's paces and we'll see how it does.