Top ten RV improvements

[Snowman9000]

I love to tinker and improve, so I got to thinking about a list of which changes were best. I'm not talking about replacing tires, batteries, or any other repairs or maintenance. Just improvements and how useful they have been to me. This is my top ten list for our Trail Lite B+ MH.

10. Oxygenics shower head: Decent help for using less water. Debatable.

9. Samlex inverter, pure sine wave, 150w with cig plug. Runs our low-draw Vizio TV, even including DISH receiver if need be. Recharges all our goodies. Also, I added a cig outlet by the TV, to power the inverter, because there was none.

8. Ultra Gauge (like a Scan Gauge). Fun to have but not essential. Gives MPG, RPMs (I have no tach), dozens of other gauges and reports, reads and clears codes, etc.

7. Hopkins rv levels on dash and inside drivers door. This is a set of two small curved levels with graduated marks. Read the numbers, try to find a level spot. If not, get out the lego blocks, pretty simple, and very useful.

6. Led lights in the house. From ebay. Use practically no juice.

5. Vizio tv, looks great, uses very little juice when on 12v.

4. Hunter digital thermostat. Comfy!

3. Removed jacknife sofa and replaced with built in "twin" bed. Not for everyone. But worked for us in a big way.

2. Bath door holder/ Cipa wide angle window lens. Made a small fixutre to hold the (rear) bath door open, allowing the driver to see the rear window from the inside mirror. Put a wide angle lens on the window, now it's like having a rear view camera. Very useful.

And finally, the number 1 improvement:
Extend-a-shower. I've put these on our last three RVs. They make a tight shower roomy.

[myredracer]

If we are talking the more challenging, complicated and/or difficult fun mods on our TT:

- added 10 new LED puck lights under cabinets and in shower
- 4 stage water filtration under kitchen sink using 10" whole house filters
- installed water pressure regulator, gauges and master shutoff valve under kitchen sink
- relocated awning, slide & light switches to more accessible location
- installed 120V recept. and 12VDC charging center where the original switches above used to be
- light switch on wall for bedroom lighting (totally concealed wiring)
- completely new 15" deep cabinets in bedroom using factory doors, installed in empty cavity behind the shower - upper is 15"W x 30" tall and lower is 28"W x 30" tall.
- new drawers on roller bearing slides beside bed in cubby hole spaces
- replaced all standard LED "pancake" overhead lights withmore attractive low profile ones
- installed SensarPro on the wall below TV. (concealing the co-ax cables was NOT an easy task.)
- lighting inside the pass-through compartment
- adjustable shelving in upper cabinets in kitchen and above dinette and in pantry, bathroom & wardrobe.

What the dealer did for us (mostly because our TT is new):

- installed Horst Miracle probes on 3 tanks (had to pull down underbelly)
- new Monroe shock absorbers
- replaced "standard" wobbly dinette table legs with Lance ones
- Dexter equalizers and wet bolts

My favorite is the new shock absorbers. What a difference.

There WILL be more mods in the future. Making something better than it already is, tinkering and figuring out out how to do something is what makes camping great, lol!

[SkiSmuggs]

shenandoah75 wrote:


EZ-flex, underslung flip, Maxxis tires (how i hate Good Year Marathons - but i just bought another set of 4 as no one carries maxxis when you need em)!

Amazon carries Maxxis tires. When mine arrived, I checked the manufacture date and they were only a few weeks old.

[shenandoah75]

#1 - upgrading to 50 AMP service (100 amps in terms of real capacity)... I can't believe i made it 10 years in our prior trailer w/o doing this. However, with a wife and 6 kids, This was the first upgrade i did upon deliver of our current unit. On our current 3 week road trip, i warned the mrs to remember we were on a 30 amp site. Wasn't 10 minutes later she tripped the breaker at the pole (Vacuum/Microwave/AC). I added two dedicated 20 amp circuits at opposing ends of the kitchen to run the electric heaters from (or the capability to run multiple kitchen appliances at once)

*** this also makes it very easy to separate the loads you NEVER want to run on #2 below by putting them on one of the 120V legs and connecting the inverter through transfer switch only to the other.


#2 - Magnum 2000W inverter. See #1, only apply it to drycamping (be it state parks / walmarts, rest areas, etc)

2a - the remote control panel and BMK monitor to see how we're doing on power consumption/etc...

#3 - Upgrade to Trojan T105s for the extra amp hours...

#4 - 4AWG dedicated charge line and disconnect from the tow vehicle. see #1/2/3... Depending on how much we've discharged them, I can usually bring the batts to 100% SOC after a few hours on the road. I can run the fridge off 120 while driving, i can change a ton of devices (laptops/ios/nooks/etc) and run an extension cord to the suburban to run the playstation on the same long legs of our cross country trips. I also have an outlet in storage to run the Milwaukee 18V charger for the cordless drill and impact driver - all while driving.

#5 - Fantastic fans + endless breeze - keeps things bearable in walmart parking lots when we're making a jong jump from destination A to B.

#6 - Honda Generator. For when we draw too much power and have too short a trip to replenish from #4. Quite and reliable...

#7 - EMS-HW50C - lets me monitor shore line power consumption on both legs...

#8 - momentary push button in tow vehicle, lines, + a couple relays to flash the parking lights on the trailer to thank folks for headlight flashes when changing lanes... (flashes off or on depending on whether they're currently on / off). Honestly, I've slowed down with the new trailer and don't do very much passing anymore, but it comes in handy even when navigating in town/etc where interstate lanes shift/diverge...



9/10/11: Pending on current unit:

EZ-flex, underslung flip, Maxxis tires (how i hate Good Year Marathons - but i just bought another set of 4 as no one carries maxxis when you need em)!



Additional/Misc:

quickie flushes, 12 volt outlets by the wheels for portable compressor...

Bonus:

If i could finally completely sealed the underbelly and keep rats out of the darn thing, that might tie for #1. I've pulled resealed it twice and they're still getting in. Third time's a charm?

[scottykrug]

Replaced toilet (old one leaked sewer stench)
Articulated shower curtain rod
Coat rack in the bathroom for towels
Vortex fan over bed (might replace the one in the bathroom in the future)
Flipped axles
Wet bolts
Bigger tires
Second spare
Fridge fans (in and out)
Tried led lights but wife didn't like them
Tried oxygenics but wife didn't like it (now in my shower at home 🙂 )
Foam mattress topper
Upgraded old wfco converter to progressive dynamics (old one kept breaking down)
Got rid of cracked plastic bearing dust covers and downgraded to proven old metal ones
Hinged bumper sewer slinky doors
Black tank rinser

[Winged_One]

Disneyfix wrote:

Winged One wrote:
2 2 inch receivers added for Swivel Wheel and bike rack

Whew.

Can you either post a pic or explain how ya did the bike rack with the swivel wheel? I added 2 receivers too for a total of 3. I am going to have 2 6 foot posts welded to the outside receiver tubes and hang 2 bike vertically on each one. Using and 8 inch nub or sleeve this way the 6 foot post are removable.
Thanks for any enlightenment.
Chris

Added three receivers also. Can only use for swivel wheel or bike rack. Not at same time. Sorry for any confusion.

[Disneyfix]

Winged One wrote:
2 2 inch receivers added for Swivel Wheel and bike rack

Whew.

Can you either post a pic or explain how ya did the bike rack with the swivel wheel? I added 2 receivers too for a total of 3. I am going to have 2 6 foot posts welded to the outside receiver tubes and hang 2 bike vertically on each one. Using and 8 inch nub or sleeve this way the 6 foot post are removable.
Thanks for any enlightenment.
Chris

[Rolling_Condo]

Replaced bath fan with a Fantastic Fan w/accompanying cover.
Upgraded old converter w/ PD 9245 also added parralel to original #6 wiring to batteries.
Added fans inside and back of refrigerator.
Switched to a pair of of 6V golf cart batteries.
Added separate charge line from truck to trailer.
Aluminum 40# propane tanks.
External and internal refer fans.
Replaced most light units with LED's.
Replaced old water pump with a pump/accumulator.
Added additional 12V accessory outlets.
12V bed warmers.
Hunter T'stat upgrade.
Pro Pride 3P hitch.

[Winged_One]

1 Added a second 12v battery and tray
2 2 inch receivers added for Swivel Wheel and bike rack
3 Vortex fan in bath
4 TurboMaxx Air fan added in bedroom
5 Fantastic fan in kitchen replacing squeeking Shurflo fan
6 Vent covers over kitchen and bath fans
7 2 sliding shelves built from scratch and installed in kitchen cupboard
8 PI EMS-50HWC hardwired internally with remote display
9 Cat doors added to bedroom door and closet (litter box)
10 Shelf added in storage compartment to hold DVD player for television
11 Privacy film added to door glass
12 Trialair Triglide added
13 Neverfail bushings added
14 Hard wired camera to monitor Swivel Wheel
15 Rampage lift added to Swivel Wheel
16 Tire minders and booster added.
17 Goodyear G614 tires replacing ST's
18 Water sensor/alarms added
19 Winegard UHF Booster added to batwing
20 Winegard Sensarpro strength meter added
21 Water regulator
22 Secondary water filtration
23 Eva-dry dehumidifier
24 HDMI cables added to televisions and DVD players
25 Lube plate for hitch pin
26 Midland Weather Alert radio
27 Swagman XC Cross Country bike rack
28 Sidestands added to couch
29 Door stop repurposed as a support for glass door to stereo
30 Cell phone base added to back wall
31 Key holder added
32 Painted white 110v surface mount recepticle bronze to match trailer
33 Added bronze louvered night light to surface 110v mount
34 Spice rack added
35 Wireless Interior/exterior thermometer for trailer added
36 Wireless fridge monitor
37 Fridge fan added
38 Room darkening curtains made and installed
39 Over the shower wall towel rack added

Whew.

[Steakman]

Hmm Lets see.

# 1 Built/isntalled Welded Aluminum Rear Bumper Extension for Extra Storage (removed that 4 X 4 tin unit & now use a 4" Diam 6' length of PVC with caps for my dump hose)...also incorporated into said extension an area for fire wood.

# 2 Added two fold down counter extensions..our mid kitchen unit was a tad sparse on counter space. Used pre-made stair tread from HD -stained and varathaned to match.

# 3 installed Slam latches on main storage compartment-fabulous.!

# 4 insulated every water line I could access with that flexible foam product with a slit in it.. and at same time used a pce of 3" memory foam to underline the water pump - Waaaay less noise.

# 5 Added 160W solar anbd twin 6V Batts

I will be looking to add shock absorbers to the tandems (LIppert), a 1500W inverter at some time and 3 slide awnings.

Ive only had it 3 months...takes time ya know..LOL

cheers,

stk

[maria13]

1. Satellite systems
2. cabinetry ( ugh tube TV? finally replace with 3D LED TV and soundbar for better sounds. Cabinetry match my wood. Amazing adds he value of my Motorhome.Thank you to the amazing guy from grants pass that did all my upgrade very affordable too.thank you advanced tech. services.
3. New awning
4.New Tires
5.new fridge


5.

[kellertx5er]

My top ten:

- stabilizer bars for front/rear jacks
- pantry lighting with door switches (nice!)
- digital t-stat
- blackout curtains in bedroom
- separate switch for step light
- 10 ft. extension cord for shore power
- boot/shoe scraper
- DVRs
- water pressure gauge
- 'keepers' for bumper caps

[doughere]

In no order again:

Electric pushbutton starter on stove.
Added microwave
Honeywell T'stat for heat
Removed 30 gal fresh water tank under couch; more room. Installed 3 40 gal fresh water tanks under trailer.
Removed 40 gal grey tank, replaced with 3 35 gal grey tanks.
Solar; 120 watt fixed on roof, 100 watt portable.
2 GC's instead of single #27 battery
All LED lights
Added exterior lights to side and back of RV
Installed wall switches to control many ceiling lights and bathroom fan.

Doug

[Cummins12V98]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Sleep Number Bed

TrailerAid Plus

GY H tires and 17" Alcoa Wheels

Extra pantry and linen shelving

My custom TrailAir extended kingpin bike rack mount.

[C_Schomer]

In no particular order:
Solar
Water accumulator
Disc brakes
Dual panes
Battery watering system
LEDs
Maxair type covers
Air pin
LT tires
Shocks/suspension upgrades