Revisiting the sink cover

North of 49° · 05-14-2016, 06:48 PM

Our trailer didn't come with sink covers, and I found the price for the factory ones prohibitively expensive, so I went about and made a set out of some 3/4" pine shelving I had lying around. They were okay, but I still wasn't happy with them:

So I thought I'd stain them to match the rest of cabinetry. The stain color was close enough, but IMHO they looked even worse:

I shopped around and bought the biggest polyethylene cutting board I could find. This one is 18" x 24" x 1/2" of food-grade poly:

I made a template, threw it out and made another one... over and over until I got one that I was happy with. This is the key; that little jog at the top of the larger sink is a pain to deal with, and only with a proper template can you get it to fit. Polyethylene can be worked with woodworking tools, and fortunately I have a decent table saw and sander to get the edges straight and smooth.

A couple of 1" holes make it easy to remove the two parts of the cover.

Cross another one off the list.

BigJohnD · 05-14-2016, 07:31 PM

And it looks as good or better than factory. Very good. Sink covers is one thing we have never used in any Rv, especially if you full time like us and constantly use the sink. But, if you need them, the route you took is probably best, unless you don't have the means to make them.

need-a-vacation · 05-14-2016, 09:08 PM

Great job!!!

gocarp · 05-14-2016, 10:32 PM

Ha! I did the same last weekend. Great minds think alike.

gocarp · 05-14-2016, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by North of 49°

Polyethylene can be worked with woodworking tools, and fortunately I have a decent table saw and sander to get the edges straight and smooth.

I used a jigsaw and a Dremel. The right tools make any job easier.

North of 49° · 05-15-2016, 08:45 AM

Thanks, everyone. I was originally thinking of a butcher block look with the wooden cover, but like I said, I wasn't happy with it. And with the wood not being sealed, any water dripping from the faucet was starting to stain it. But since my only investment in that project was my time, I wasn't too concerned about scrapping it.

The poly covers give the sink a more finished look and hide any stuff that may be in the sink. Plus, counter space is at a premium in pretty much any RV, so having more of that makes things so much easier. Next, I'm contemplating whether it's worth it for us to get a cover for the stove.

The 1/2" thickness of the poly lets it sit a little more flush with the edge of the sink, while the 3/4" thick pine sat up a little too high. All in all, I'm happy with the way it turned out, and if it ever needs replacing, I'll use this as a template for the next one.

LynnAllen02 · 11-02-2016, 08:39 AM

Looks great!

We got ours this week from Amazon, we chose Brown (cooked meats color for food).

We are going to work on this weekend.

https://www.amazon.com/Winco-x24-Cut...ng+board+brown

One question though, how does it travel down the road? Does it stay there or do you have to store it?

bansai · 11-02-2016, 08:48 AM

I actually really like the pine version at the top of the thread. When you see that, you think 'custom' immediately. I might have to go that route when I do mine.

mike837go · 11-02-2016, 08:55 AM

I did similar:

I didn't trim the right side of the board, so it hangs over the smaller bowl of the sink.

North of 49° · 11-02-2016, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bansai

I actually really like the pine version at the top of the thread. When you see that, you think 'custom' immediately. I might have to go that route when I do mine.

Yeah, I was thinking of leaving them like that, and maybe treating them somehow so they look like a butcher block. But then I ruined them by staining and I didn't have any more 3/4" wood so I went with the poly cutting board. When I left them untreated, they were getting water stains from the occasional drip from the faucet.

Quote:

One question though, how does it travel down the road? Does it stay there or do you have to store it?

They stay in place quite well; since that part of the kitchen is almost directly over the wheels, there's very little bouncing. They don't fit tightly at all in the indent in the sink lip so they do slide a bit, but they don't bounce out at all.

Gman1372 · 11-02-2016, 08:51 PM

This is something I'd like to do. Especially since the one that comes with it is a 1/4" Pringles chip.

LynnAllen02 · 11-06-2016, 12:58 PM

Here is our finished project! It was harder to work with cutting board than we thought! But we got it done!

jkorman · 11-07-2016, 08:57 AM

Sorry, hijacking the thread...

Lynn, I see you have a cover on your 212 QBW. What cover did you get? Do you like it?

Thanks.

Jeff

LynnAllen02 · 11-07-2016, 11:30 AM

No problem, we bought this one last spring, it has a waterproof top with breathable sides, the top keeps water off the caulking on the roof in freezing weather, We use it all the time, on and off in the season which has left a few nicks and a broken zipper, which we fixed with velcro! It fits nice on the trailer, keeps the trailer looking nice, has cinches around the bottom for the winter! They don't last much more than a few years with winter only use, so we figure we are ok. We will buy it again when this one is done.

https://www.amazon.com/ADCO-34842-De...rds=adco+34842

LynnAllen02 · 07-08-2017, 02:24 PM

It pops out occasionally on REALLY rough roads! But doesn't hurt anything. Just hangs out there on top of sink. I travel with one sink with gallon bottle of water for dogs and I slide it down into the sink, and that stays there....

But I love it for the extra counter space it gives me!

Greenic · 02-26-2022, 04:38 PM

Going to bring back this thread in 2022!

Long shot, but hoping the OP or someone who read this can chime in....how did you measure out the exact contours of the sink so it looks and fits perfectly like yours!. I was thinking of trying to cut a piece of cardboard as a template but it's not going as well as I hoped.

Wondering if there's a pro tip! - a better way of measuring it out so I can make the cover myself.

Thanks all...if anyone read this!

Raine1937 · 02-26-2022, 04:58 PM

Here I am, oh boy was that a while ago, I think I traced the contours with paper and then traced it to cardboard and made sure the cardboard fit the way it should. I fussed with it until I thought it was perfect. Then DH took over with I think his jig saw and he fussed and fussed with it…and he used some sort of drill bit for the holes, it was a joint project. They are still in there…

It came out ok they hop out of the sink when we go on bad roads, but they keep the dirty dishes hidden when we are in the campground!

Good luck with your project and pictures for the next guy down the road, we didn’t know we were going to get it so didn’t photograph the way to the finish!

It was a worthy DIY, we have never found sink covers you could buy for this sink. And have been happy we did it!

And the link I left here to Amazon is still working though I think we didn’t pay that much for them!

Greenic · 02-26-2022, 05:08 PM

Awesome, thank you so much for the reply and tips! I'll do exactly that. I appreciate you replying so quickly.

We found that we needed that sink space for food prep as the 29L lacks enough counter space, but is an otherwise awesome trailer.

Hopefully ours works out as well as yours! Thanks again.

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