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Imagine XLS Murphy Bed Drawer Storage Mod.
My wife and I fell in love with the floor plan of the Imagine XLS 17MKE. Great kitchen and plenty of storage for the two of us.
After a few trips we discovered a problem with the under Murphy-bed drawers. You can't get to them with the bed down. The planners probably designed them thinking the bed would be up except at night. We keep it down all the time as our dog has claimed it for her own.
Issue:
1. Drawers are inaccessible when Murphy-bed is down.
2. Left hand drawer in inaccessible when the slide is in.
3. I needed to make room for another lithium battery.
Solution:
1. Cut drawer face on the right hand drawer and add a piano hinge to the bottom of the drawer. I added a "baby" lock to keep the face in the upright position.
2. With the slide in, I measured where the door could open. I then cut the right side face off and cut through the front of the drawer. A piano hinge was placed vertically and a closure was placed on the right hand side. (You will see the closure in the photos. I have since decided to use a standard cabinet closure similar to the drawer closure.)
3. I reinforced the drawer with what wood I had in the shop and cut out an area for the new battery.
Other issues with the 17MKE design:
The recliner next to the bed cannot recline as the bed is blocking it by about two inches. This could have been solved by using a narrower inset piece between the two recliners and thusly moving the recliner over those inches needed.
We are very happy with our Grand Design. We just got back from an 8000 mi. trip in all weather and enjoyed it very much. Maybe in the future Grand Design will put "Grand" in their design.
Jeff House
Drawers open with Murphy Bed down.
Drawers closed with Murphy Bed down.
Drawers with slide in.
Murphy bed drawers opened.
Modified drawer with slide in.
Hope this helps some of you other Murphy bed users. That storage is too good to waste.
God bless.
Jeff House
After a few trips we discovered a problem with the under Murphy-bed drawers. You can't get to them with the bed down. The planners probably designed them thinking the bed would be up except at night. We keep it down all the time as our dog has claimed it for her own.
Issue:
1. Drawers are inaccessible when Murphy-bed is down.
2. Left hand drawer in inaccessible when the slide is in.
3. I needed to make room for another lithium battery.
Solution:
1. Cut drawer face on the right hand drawer and add a piano hinge to the bottom of the drawer. I added a "baby" lock to keep the face in the upright position.
2. With the slide in, I measured where the door could open. I then cut the right side face off and cut through the front of the drawer. A piano hinge was placed vertically and a closure was placed on the right hand side. (You will see the closure in the photos. I have since decided to use a standard cabinet closure similar to the drawer closure.)
3. I reinforced the drawer with what wood I had in the shop and cut out an area for the new battery.
Other issues with the 17MKE design:
The recliner next to the bed cannot recline as the bed is blocking it by about two inches. This could have been solved by using a narrower inset piece between the two recliners and thusly moving the recliner over those inches needed.
We are very happy with our Grand Design. We just got back from an 8000 mi. trip in all weather and enjoyed it very much. Maybe in the future Grand Design will put "Grand" in their design.
Jeff House
Drawers open with Murphy Bed down.
Drawers closed with Murphy Bed down.
Drawers with slide in.
Murphy bed drawers opened.
Modified drawer with slide in.
Hope this helps some of you other Murphy bed users. That storage is too good to waste.
God bless.
Jeff House