Finding a place to put your trash that is convenient and out of the way, but not unsightly can be a real challenge in an RV. Space is at a premium and no one wants to kick over a bag of rubbish while walking through their bus. You can leave the garbage bag outside and dispose of it before you go to bed. But sometimes you can forget and in an area with a lot of creatures or bears, you can wake up to a big mess. If you have a large enough interior storage compartment or cabinet space, it’s time to make the slide-out trash can retrofit.

Installing a slide-out trash can is pretty simple. If you opt for a residential type, the available kits come with everything you need to get going. You can also use a pull-out drawer kit if you want a bit more durability, but they will likely cost more. And you have to find a way to secure the trash can to the drawer so it doesn’t fall out when you slide the drawer out. This can be done by bolting the trash can through the bottom of the drawer, using large blanking washers on the side of the trash can so the bolts do not go through the bottom.

Mounting the sliders can be done in two different ways. The first and easiest is to use a residential kit. The supplied bracket is nothing more than two slide rails and four “L” brackets. Each bracket is secured with wood screws to the bottom of the cabinet in which you are installing the trash can. The rails are then attached to the brackets with machine screws. The assembly that holds the trash can has rails with small wheels that slide onto the rails mounted on the cabinet. This is the easiest and fastest way to have a basic slide-out trash can.

The other way to install is if you have a cabinet whose dimensions will not allow readily available kits to be installed directly without modification. This is where the fun begins. You can measure the depth of the cabinet and buy some sliders to fit that dimension. You may even need to add some spacer strips along the sides of the cabinet so the slides can go over the outside edge of the cabinet. You may even have to cast caution aside and get creative with how you mount the slides to the cabinet. There are many types of brackets that will work and all are available at your local home improvement store.

If you really want to get fancy, you can add a door mounting kit. This kit is used to mount the cabinet door that you would normally open to slide the trash can out, to the ends of the sliders so that when you pull the door handle, the door and trash can slide out like a single unit. Installation is easy. Remove the cabinet door. Remove the door hinges. Mount the supplied brackets to the inside of the door and to the ends of the sliders. Slide door brackets into slider ends and secure. A nice addition to a very useful mod!

Tip: Weight can be a concern with a slide-out trash can. If you fill your can with a lot of heavy stuff, you may exceed the weight limits of the slider rails. Make sure when selecting a residential-style kit that you ask about its weight limitations. With a custom installation, this shouldn’t be a concern, as the construction and attachment of the rails are typically strong enough to support the weight of a full trash can.