More power in the kitchen ?

[boatguy]

We hate the lack of outlets in the kitchen area in our 166 and the one that is located on the side of the lower cabinet face is kind of awkward to use .

I am thinking of drilling a hole and installing a pop up "tower of power" on the back side of the counter top . Looks to be plenty of room underneath the countertop towards the rear center . Can tag 120v power in quite easily from the existing outlet .

Anyone else try this yet ?

[TomC_AZ]

I have thought about it but after putting about 14k miles on our trailer over the last year and living in it for a little over two months straight we found those two sockets to be fine. We also found that when doing dishes and drying them etc that counter can get pretty wet.

What all do you need to power on that counter?

With the little counter space that it has to begin with that would also open that tower up and everything under it to water getting down in there. If you have the tank heaters that power socket is under that counter as well as the water pump and a number of other main electrical wires.

[boatguy]

Well, had some extra time and installed some more 120v outlets in the kitchen countertop area . We just dont like the 166FBS kitchen outlets on the front of the lower cabinet face position , and we have a larger dog who can potentially cause some issues with wires dangling .
Decided against the countertop pop-up tower of power due to the fact that it is a kitchen countertop , and might not be the safest . Just added a plug in powerpole "socket" with 2 120v outlets and 2 USB outlets . Just drilled a 3" hole, and it installed pretty quickly . It comes as a plug in extension power socket, so no hardwiring needed. Just plugged it into the outlet in the cabinet above the and behind the TV . The TV is 12v so the 120v Outlet was not used for anything anyway. Easy peasy , and now we have easier to access power for our coffee maker , ice maker, etc. Plus some extra USB's when we are plugged into shore power. We rarely use the cooktop anyway, so it is just basically more countertop where we set our coffee maker and "stuff" .
While I was at it I also added some extra 12v USB outlets just under the TV latch . Extra 12v USB outlets come in handy when not hooked up to 120v . I just wired them into the TV 12v power feed . I dont love the fact that the pop-up , power of tower in the bed headboard is 120v only , so I also installed another 12v USB outlet on the front bed side of the TV cabinet for our cell phones when we sleep (we sleep with our heads on the doors side of the RV ) .

Here is the power socket that was used -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

Picture -

[DonBr]

Originally Posted by boatguy

Well, had some extra time and installed some more 120v outlets in the kitchen countertop area .

Yours is a lot fancier than mine. We never use the cooktop, so it is covered with a 24x24 bamboo cutting board (held down with just 4 small pieces of velcro, so easy to remove if desired). The toaster is short cord, it is also velcroed down. Coffee pot rides elsewhere, but is also very short cord, such that it had to be front and center to be used on the factory socket.

Mine is hardwired as part of my conversion of all sockets to use the Microwave's 20A circuit, which is also fed from my 2000W inverter.

I also put one up on the near side of the Microwave box, without the foresight to realize anything plugged in would stop the adjacent cabinet from opening. Still, there have been a couple of times that it has been useful.

[boatguy]

Originally Posted by DonBr

Yours is a lot fancier than mine. We never use the cooktop, so it is covered with a 24x24 bamboo cutting board (held down with just 4 small pieces of velcro, so easy to remove if desired).

Like the idea of the wood over the cooktop. We almost never use our cooktop, and just use it as a countertop , but something to cover it up would be great and safer , while also leaving it in place just incase we need it .

[DonBr]

Originally Posted by boatguy

Like the idea of the wood over the cooktop.

Like most things I've done to the trailer it isn't original to me, although I think this is bigger than one I saw to get the idea. 24x24 is perfect to fully cover the stovetop with nothing hanging out. This https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GYCJHYQ and many applications of food-grade mineral oil. I chose to put groove side down, as it is easier to keep clean.

[TomC_AZ]

Boatguy, on that aluminum how did you stick that on the wall? I see the silicone at the bottom edge. Also what size sheet is that, was it a standard size found at like lowes/home depot.

[boatguy]

Originally Posted by TomC_AZ

Boatguy, on that aluminum how did you stick that on the wall? I see the silicone at the bottom edge. Also what size sheet is that, was it a standard size found at like lowes/home depot.

Tom, that is actually stainless steel . I used 3m transfer tape , its kind of like a super thin double sided tape , but VERY strong. We use it all the time on boats for sticking down "seadeck" (neoprene flooring ) , on the floor and swim platforms . Works great in semi wet or dry environments.
The thin paneling on the side of the kitchen was starting to show very light signs of water damage from boiling water, coffee maker, ice maker, etc that we use in that area . Decided to nip the problem in the bud, and had a local machine/fab shop make up a SS panel to fit the area. Its very thin, not even 1/16" So, thats a no for Home Depot or Lowes.
It was a real pain to cut the hole for the power outlet I installed , and ruined a 3" hole saw in the process !