The shelf in the hanging locker project

Scout came with a small hanging locker by the bed.  We do not take hanging clothes when we are out.  In the bottom of the locker we keep our toaster oven.  Scout has a microwave but no conventional oven, so we carry a toaster oven for the likes of bagels, toast, pizza, baked potatoes, etc.

There is a shelf above the space that we keep the toaster oven.  and it is tall.  It was designed for hanging clothes.  It also contains a 110v outlet that is connected to our inverter.  This project is to add space and provide for a place to charge phones while driving, or camping.  While driving, we can run the inverter off of the Diesel motors alternator.  The Mercedes Sprinter came equipped with a 220amp alternator.  This is enough to run our refrigerator on AC from the inverter and power the phones while not reducing the batteries charge.  When dry camping we can also run the inverter.  We have 220 amp hours of battery capacity, so we have a fair amount of backup power at our disposal.

Here is what the hanging locker looked like before.

See the space above the toaster oven.  Here is how much space that locker uses....

Down  at the bottom of the locker to the right of the tape measures bottom, is the 110 outlet.

I crafted a template for the shelf from cardboard.  The locker is kind of a one sided trapezoid and the outside wall bends in.  The result is the farther up we go, the smaller the shelf becomes.  Another consideration is that the documents on the left side of the locker provide the weight limitations of the Mercedes Sprinter and should be accessible and not be removed.  So we had to work within those constraints.  The ultimate goal was to provide a place for dry clean towels, clothes that have been worn, but are not dirty and will be worn again, as well as provide a secure place to charge phones, tablets, laptops, etc.

Here is the shelf in place.  You can see the outlet on the left.

And here is the finished product.

I added a couple of bins to hold the phones.  These are held in place by velcro.  I am not really that happy with those, they may be replaced.  The light that you see is a Mighty Brite reading lamp powered by 2 aaa batteries.  That may or may not stay.  I am pleased with the fit of the Belkin usb charger/ac outlet/surge protector.  The shelf is unfinished plywood.  That may or may not get stained and varnished depending upon how ambitious I become :)