2016 Georgetown GT3 Center Console Cabinet

This is our 3rd Class A motorhome and after a 10,000 mile journey across America and many other road trips around the Southeastern United States, I finally decided to custom build a cabinet with storage, cup holders that are easy to reach without taking my eyes off the road, AND a table that will hold lunch while under way. Our Georgetown 30X3 is a perfect size for us, but the cup holders that sit down on the engine cover (doghouse) are way too low and won't hold Tervis Tumblers, Yeti's and many other larger drink containers, and there's absolutely zero storage between the seats that are handy for keeping the stuff you need while traveling down the road. Here's what it looks like, stock from the factory.

I'm sure other owners of this model have had trouble squeezing around the round pedestal table that's mounted just behind the doghouse, to get into the driver and passenger seat, not to mention setting stuff there only to fall off when you hit the brakes. It's even very hard to maneuver around that table to get to the upper storage cabinets above the windshield. I saw a couple of photos that was posted on an RV Facebook Group that caught my eye awhile back that really made sense. It was custom built and designed to fit over the doghouse that had drink holders, table space and a drawer for storage. The best idea was to use hydraulic lift brackets so the table and cup holders would pivot up and back to a more convenient location for the driver and passenger to reach, and add quite a bit of storage space to boot. Here's what I built and the materials I bought at Home Depot and Amazon to custom build the cabinet.

My first task was to find the hydraulic lift brackets. I'd seen them used in lift top coffee tables in furniture stores, and I found exactly what I needed on Amazon. Here's the link and a photo of what I ordered first:

Amazon Link: Gas Hydraulic Folding Lift Brackets

These brackets were $22 with Prime shipping and were very well made. I sketched up a 3D model to see how much room I would need to allow for these brackets to raise and lower the table top, then I designed the cabinet size to fit over the doghouse with the existing cup holder shroud removed. To get the right dimensions and measurements and make sure the table top would be square and level with the floor, I leveled the motorhome with the leveling jacks, then positioned a 2' hand level above the doghouse and and took measurements down to the top of the doghouse. I cut a cardboard pattern with the measurements and checked the fit of the contour for a perfect pattern for the sides.

From there I measured the width and length and it worked out so I could leave the round pedestal table in place if I wanted to use it too. The back of the cabinet would rest on the floor trim where the doghouse sits. Here's my 3D sketch:

With those basic measurements, I headed for Home Depot to find some project boards to work with. Here's what I used:

Edge-Glued Pine Panel 24" x 48" x 3/4" for the top

Birch Plywood 24" x 48" x 1/2" for the front/back/sides and the drawer.

I've had a little experience with wood working over the years, but I decided to do a little research on YouTube for DIY cabinet making and ran across several videos on how to assemble cabinets and drawers with pocket screws. Back to Home Depot to find a Pocket Hole Jig and here's what I bought:

Pocket Hole Jig Kit, complete with jig, drill bit, driver bit, screws and plugs. This made it easy to drill and counter bore the holes at the correct angle and depth to fasten the plywood pieces together so the fasteners were on the inside where they wouldn't show. This was a very easy tool to use, very accurate and assembly was quick. I glued all edges before driving the pocket screws. I DID have to buy more pocket screws as the kit only came with a small assortment of sizes.

After assembly of the cabinet and cutting the top to size, the biggest challenge was how to align and mount the hydraulic lift brackets. With the cabinet sitting upside down on top of the table top, mounting was easier than I expected. I used 3/8" hex head cap screws to attach the brackets making sure the screws didn't poke thru the outside of the cabinet. With the brackets mounted, the table top attached, the main part of the cabinet was assembled.

The drawer was built the same way, with pocket screws and I mounted the drawer with

12" Side Mount Drawer Slides

I had to install 2" wide pieces of 1/2" birch plywood inside to mount the slides to and that allowed room between the drawer slides and the lift brackets. It worked out well with the deep compartment I created in the front of the cabinet for storage. Here's a photo of the assembled cabinet with the top removed to see the detail:

I stained the cabinet with oil based stain and applied 3 coats of urethane clear coat to finish it. As soon as the finish was dry, I installed magnetic catches in each corner to keep the top secure, then installed it in place. Here's a few photos.