B+ motorhomes

[Daniel_C_]

I just bought a Trail Lite B+ 211s with 8.1 Chevy
engine. This is my fifth motorhome (others range
from an old 20' Vagabond, and three Winnegagos, from 19 to 32'. This vehicle is fantastic. I am
using it as a mobile office (and sneaking in a fun
journey from time to time). It gets about 9.5mpg
and I believe I could pull a bus behind it if I wanted! I paid low $40's which is about what I had expected to pay for a five or six year old Chinook with a nicer interior, but fewer features
(slide). I am delighted thus far.

[markopolo]

burlmart - I used 1" x 4" uprights between the shelves. I cut the shelves so they would fit tight. I put the bottom shelf in, then 6 upright pieces (2 ea on three sides). Then I put a shelf on top and nailed it to the uprights using a brad nailer. Then more uprights for the next shelf. I made one of the shelves high enough to fit my portable BBQ.

It's more like two tables stacked on top of the lowest shelf. Two of the center "table" uprights are fastened to the same wood cross piece that I attached the hinges for my new door.

I removed the whole panel inside the RV so that I could cut a piece off the top for the interior opening. I kept that piece so that I could restore it back to how it was originally if I ever want to.

Surprisingly, it is a very solid structure.

[burlmart]

Welcome Marcopolo. Always happy to see someone w/ the same rig as you have yourself, but regardless, reading posts in this thread, it feels like all of the B+ floorplane in the mid to low 20 ft. range provide very similar living experience.

I have often thought about the very mod you did on the outside storage space with indide door. You did a nice-looking job. What are the shelf supports, and how did you attach them to the existing compartment walls?

Happyjack2, when is the rally, and who can attend? Is there a direct link to the info in case the one Gene mentioned does not get right there?

[markopolo]

Thanks for the welcome guys :B

I took some photos of the shelves I added. They're just rough plywood. I added a door inside below the wardrobe doors to access some of the space. I'll probably use it for shoes etc. It's an oak board and I used a router bit on my Dremel to make it look a bit better.

[Gene_in_NE]

markopolo - Welcome to the group of B+ owners. I have read your many postings over the past several years - mostly in the CVC forum. I completely understand your move and hope that your "new to you" unit provides you great service. I too find the the Trail-Lite to be a great value for the money.

happyjack2 - Will be looking up the R-Vision rally, Thanks for mentioning it. I presume you mean at R-Vision Camping Club

[happyjack2]

Welcome Markopolo. I also read the thread (all 150 pages) after we got our B+ in April. Lots of good ideas and tips. We're getting ready for our first long trip, camping at Lake Chautauqua in western NY the week of the 4th.
I've got ideas for mods also and am thinking of enlarging the battery door and adding #2. I hope to get some more ideas and advice when we go to the R-Vision factory in IN when we attend the R-Vision Camping Club ralley there in August.
During my Navy days I got to visit Vancouver BC after flying up to NAS Whidbey Island WA. Beautiful area.

[markopolo]

I sold my Class B and bought a Trail-Lite 213 B+. It's an '05/'06 but doesn't have space for two batteries. I think the '06's do.

It is good value for the money spent, imho.

I've been reading through this thread and have lots to learn. I'll be doing a few mods 😉

One thing I did already was to add basic plywood shelving to the rear corner exterior storage. I didn't need the height of that compartment so the uppermost shelf I added (at the top of the exterior compartment door) is now accessible from inside (below the wardrobe). I put on a simple drop down Oak plank door below the wardrobe. I'll try and post photos soon.

[Gene_in_NE]

burlmart - Well I do not have a specific location for the docking station in mind. I was just thinking if you selected a place (i.e. under overhead kitchen cabinets), one could spend some time lacing in the wires behind, under, over along whatever so it looks as best as possible. Then you would merely dock the laptop and watch away. Most of the time you would not want your laptop sitting on a shelf out in the open, you would want to tuck it away somewhere - thus the docking station which keeps the cords all plugged in.

[Goldencrazy]

I removed the 24 inch tv from my BT cruiser. We cut a piece of masonite to cover the exposed area. I then packed the entire overhead with insulation. Much less heat and a large new cabinet for storage. Found doors at Menard that matched mine and matched the color by using several coats of sealer. Looks great and got that weight out of there. At first I just set a 15 inch LCD at front of cabinet but soon realized that was not a comfortable place to watch. I have a dinette and barrel chair. Dinette is a slide. I then installed a swing arm at opposite end of living area across from the sink at about three feet off the floor. Much more comfortable viewing angle and I can swing it for viewing anywhere in RV including back bedroom. I now need to install an outlet and coax very near as I would like to get rid of cords loopin along the ceiling. I still want to install a swivel for passenger chair in this E-450.

[burlmart]

Gene, where would one place the dock station w/o still having wires up to it getting in the way?

Cheeze, if your LCD fits up near the ceiling in your new shelf space, my guess is it is a 19" screen?? If so, maybe your door is plenty strong for a 20 lb. set - worth a try.

We took the RV for a quick spin and experimented with a 16x16x2" concrete paver placed where the TV used to be. The 40 lb. weight had minimal squeak reducing effect. I am thinking the noise resembles styrafoam rubbing. Is there a layer of foam in the composite of plywood -?? - steel cab roof that males the base for the cab overhead shelves. If I understood the buildup process from the cab steel roof to the wood cabinets, I might have a grasp of what to look for?

[cheeze1]

Hey Burl, I wish I had taken pix. Next time I get her back here.
FWIW, I ended up not mounting my flatscreen permanently. Because of the weight and associated allowances I would have to make for heavier hardware, I made a rack to lay it in inside the cabinet, near the ceiling of the cabinet. That gave me another large shelf area under. The only difference in usage is that I have to hold the door open when using the tv. Not a biggie.

[Gene_in_NE]

burlmart - Your comments on using a laptop w/TV tuner are exactly my thoughts. It would work fine for portability, but all the wires are a real pain. I've thought about purchasing a port replicator (what frequently is called a docking station). Then setting up that docking station where one would likely watch TV or movies the most. You could then lace or arrange the cabling more to your liking and then merely dock the laptop when needed. Here is one source Priority Electronics. A port replicator, for those not familiar, is a device where all of the external ports on a laptop are brought to a common device. You can then plug in external monitors, keyboards, mice, speakers, printers, charger, high speed or dial up etc. to this port replicator and the laptop merely docks to the replicator. Very useful for home use and then taking the laptop on a trip.

[burlmart]

Cheeze1, I thought you may have mentioned in passing that you went ahead and did the TV mod, but I do not recall you describing much about what you did and how it turned out. I would like to know, and perhaps see a photo, if you can.

Happyjack2, I did not (yet) install a flat screen TV on the big door that I posted pics of several months back. We use the new laptop and WinTV USB tuner to watch movies/shows recorded from the tuner hooked up to the home desktop PC (record to hard drive and burn to DVDs). We bring the DVDs and the tuner with the laptop in the RV - mostly watch the DVDs, but may also want live TV for news and weather.

I initially found the whip antenna to be better than the crank-up batwing, but now think the batwing is better in wooded areas. The program guide and recording scheduler is far better software with WinTV tuner than the original Pinnacle tuner that we returned.

Overall, there are too many wires associated with using the laptop, but you do get to put it at eye level and look straight at it sitting on the sofa (laptop is on a TV tray placed in the aisle, though if you leave the dinette table up, that would be a good place for it also). The speakers needed more volume, so have to plug in external speakers that get power from a USB port and sound from the earphone jack - even more wires!

[cheeze1]

uh, HappyJack, Burl is not the only one to do the flat screen deal.
😉

[happyjack2]

Picked up a 2003 Chevy Van owners manual on E-bay this week for $12 and shipping from PA. Fills in the info on the cab part of the 211 i.e. fuse locations, maintenance intervals,instrument panel explanations,(tow /haul) etc. Right after I got the B+ I picked up a Haynes Repair Manual on Chevy Full Sized Vans '96 thru '05 #24081 at Pep Boys for $15 or so. It has wiring diagrams and chapters on brakes and other do it yourself stuff. If anybody needs a page of info faxed I'd be glad to help.

I wanted to get all the info I could since I've got some mods in mind, replacing the TV with a flat screen the way Burl did, dual batteries, outside propane hook-up for a portable grill, a rear camera, TOAD,and more. Plus more camping. This summer is going to be to short.

[happyjack2]

Charles,
Along with the rest I wish you fair winds and following seas on your new land yacht. Hopefully my DW and I will be able to snow bird in ten years and move up to a C+ or an A for our winter on the military base circuit in the south and west.

Your postings really helped me with learning the 211. Here and at the R-vision camping site I've found a wealth of knowledge and will indeed miss your observations.

Good Luck