Shelving Material

[GallenH]

I'm going to put some shelves into various cabinets in the RV and I'm wondering about what material to use for their construction. I won't be spanning great widths with them....14-20" max. I'd like them to add the least amount of weight in terms of material. No shelves will be in the bath.

I know many of you have dealt with this in remods and in new builds. What are your thoughts and recommendations?

thx
glenn

[Rlum]

Originally Posted by GallenH

I'm going to put some shelves into various cabinets in the RV and I'm wondering about what material to use for their construction. I won't be spanning great widths with them....14-20" max. I'd like them to add the least amount of weight in terms of material. No shelves will be in the bath.

I know many of you have dealt with this in remods and in new builds. What are your thoughts and recommendations?

thx
glenn

How about the white wired racks at Home Depot? They are pretty light coated with some kind of vinyl or rubber. I used them to replace my refrigerator so it would increase increase air flow between shelves.

[GeorgeRa]

I used this glass fiber composite material, Thermo-Lite, for the floor in my van conversion. Strong, light, doesn’t absorb water but it is expensive.

"Our material is a unique closed cell, lightweight composite product, manufactured with cross-linked polymer foam and fiberglass, that offers high specific
strength and toughness. The non-absorbent material is extremely durable,
provides and excellent bonding surface, has good impact strength, sound and
thermal insulation, and is resistant to contamination. Offered in sheets or cut
into parts, our material is built for lifetime performance, and is ideal for endless coring applications subjected to static and dynamic loads."

https://www.spaceagesynthetics.com/

[booster]

You might get lucky and find some "light" plywood at a home store or lumber yard. It would be made with lighter wood in the cores like balsa or poplar. I got some a number of years ago from Menards in Minneapolis and used it for replacement table tops and shelves for the van, in 3/8" thick.

[Doneworking]

I have built shelves in a couple of rigs over the years using quarter inch tempered masonite. It is inexpensive and works great for me. I don't put a lot of weight on those shelves and used them mainly for clothing, etc.

Our RT has a so called hanging closet. We removed the rod and made three adjustable shelves. We covered the shelves with contact paper from Walmart. They have held up for over ten years and worked just fine.

I also built some shelves for a Class B using 3/8 inch plywood with birch veneer which I stained out finished to match the cabinets.