I have had my new to me Shadow Cruiser for a little over a month now and had one 4 day off grid camp trip to shake loose any additional mods I needed to do. Here are the highlights of the mods I have done.
1 - We like having a little light when coming and going so I added a small light that shines straight down and at 45 degrees forward and back. It only draws 16 mA. I wired it to the same switch as the outside light.
2 - The refrigerator has a fan on the condenser for extra cooling but it runs more than needed so I added an off switch. Plan A was a different temperature sensor but the one I ordered was to large so plan B.
3 - Added a small down pointing light for mode lighting and when just cleaning up before bed or in the morning when you really don't want bright lights. I wired it to the water pump switch on the demand pump. An extra reminder to turn off the pump before we go to bed or leave the camper. The reflect can be used for more direct light or left off for more glow. Only 35 mA draw.
4 - Hard to see from the picture but it is a micro toggle switch that I wired across the thermostat on/off switch. As long as I have the thermostat set at a reasonable temperature I can turn the furnace on from the bed on those cold mornings. We normally have enough sleeping bag and blankets to not need over night heat but it is nice to get up to a warm camper. Our previous camper had the thermostat with in reach of the bed.
5 - Dual 2. amp USB charger. Nice but does have an idle draw of 15 mA.
6 - This is the same light as I used in #3 but without the reflector so it mostly shoots down but gives off an over all glow. The switch is the small black spot above it. Gives us some low level mood lighting when we are just sitting around the camper on out iThings or whatever.
7 - Can't see it but it is a small battery operated LED light that is the middle of the night pee light (PortaPot is in the front cabinet). Not sure were I got it, used it in the previous camper. Have another one in one of the kitchen cabinets so the wife can find what pan she needs. They take two button batteries and are about 1"X2"
8 - I switched to fixtures that have switches for each bulb so we can fine tune the amount of lighting we want. Camper had 3 double fixtures that I swapped out, bought them off eBay for around $25 shipped. All 3 fixtures are now equipped with LED lighting.
Kitchen area - 145 lumens ea and 195 mA draw.
Living area - 70 lumens each and 135 mA draw
Bed area - 20 lumens each and 25 mA draw.
The kitchen area ended up brighter than necessary I would probably drop back to the 70 lumen bulbs I put in the center fixture if I was doing it over and save a few dollars.
9 - 12 volt sockets 4 outlet (one has a plug in volt meter). I wired this directly to the battery with 14Ga wire through a 10 amp fuse. Use it for additional USB adapters when needed and other toys that need to be plugged in.
10 - I added several stainless loop tie downs around the camper to secure items while traveling. You can see how we use a set to secure two lawn chairs.
11 - The Shadow Cruiser had a strange dinette setup. They had a raised platform with two small storage compartments that the table sat on with longer posts. They then used the shown shorter legs when the dinette was made into a bed. We like an open floor plan so we can sit in lawn chairs when we are inside because of weather, because they are more comfortable than the normal dinning area. I took out the raised platform since there is just two of us and we don't sleep on the dinette. I mounted the table sockets on a piece of wood and it sits where one of the cushions normally sits. Two of us can still eat at it or the wife can use it for more counter space. It all stores under the bed or stapes to the wall.
12 - We eliminated all the cushions, they just get in the way most of the time. I carpeted the bare wood that was exposed from removing the cushions and we have two high density sports cushions we can use when we need to sit where the cushions use to be. The Shadow cruiser has a fold up platform over by the door normally part of dinette bed but it makes a good second seat. The table actually has a sliding top and can be slid further into the room when we are eating.
Two truck modifications. I added the reflector strips years ago, they actually show under the tailgate when it is on and gives more visibility from the back.
Our previous camper was short enough we could leave the tailgate on which was nice for coming and going form the camper. The SC sticks out to far so I added the yellow diamond plate on top of the bumper to fill in the gap at the license plate. My idea and friend made it work and constructed most of it. It attaches with two bolts in the center back of the bumper. There is a piece of angle iron welded to the center section and with two well placed holes it allows the bolts to clamp the plate to the bumper.
I have made a few other mods but they are fairly standard stuff or very specific to a SC like adding a rail for a bag awning and adding lots of special attachments in the storage compartment to optimize the space. A few more small things to do yet but pretty much the way we want it for now.
1 - We like having a little light when coming and going so I added a small light that shines straight down and at 45 degrees forward and back. It only draws 16 mA. I wired it to the same switch as the outside light.
2 - The refrigerator has a fan on the condenser for extra cooling but it runs more than needed so I added an off switch. Plan A was a different temperature sensor but the one I ordered was to large so plan B.
3 - Added a small down pointing light for mode lighting and when just cleaning up before bed or in the morning when you really don't want bright lights. I wired it to the water pump switch on the demand pump. An extra reminder to turn off the pump before we go to bed or leave the camper. The reflect can be used for more direct light or left off for more glow. Only 35 mA draw.
4 - Hard to see from the picture but it is a micro toggle switch that I wired across the thermostat on/off switch. As long as I have the thermostat set at a reasonable temperature I can turn the furnace on from the bed on those cold mornings. We normally have enough sleeping bag and blankets to not need over night heat but it is nice to get up to a warm camper. Our previous camper had the thermostat with in reach of the bed.
5 - Dual 2. amp USB charger. Nice but does have an idle draw of 15 mA.
6 - This is the same light as I used in #3 but without the reflector so it mostly shoots down but gives off an over all glow. The switch is the small black spot above it. Gives us some low level mood lighting when we are just sitting around the camper on out iThings or whatever.
7 - Can't see it but it is a small battery operated LED light that is the middle of the night pee light (PortaPot is in the front cabinet). Not sure were I got it, used it in the previous camper. Have another one in one of the kitchen cabinets so the wife can find what pan she needs. They take two button batteries and are about 1"X2"
8 - I switched to fixtures that have switches for each bulb so we can fine tune the amount of lighting we want. Camper had 3 double fixtures that I swapped out, bought them off eBay for around $25 shipped. All 3 fixtures are now equipped with LED lighting.
Kitchen area - 145 lumens ea and 195 mA draw.
Living area - 70 lumens each and 135 mA draw
Bed area - 20 lumens each and 25 mA draw.
The kitchen area ended up brighter than necessary I would probably drop back to the 70 lumen bulbs I put in the center fixture if I was doing it over and save a few dollars.
9 - 12 volt sockets 4 outlet (one has a plug in volt meter). I wired this directly to the battery with 14Ga wire through a 10 amp fuse. Use it for additional USB adapters when needed and other toys that need to be plugged in.
10 - I added several stainless loop tie downs around the camper to secure items while traveling. You can see how we use a set to secure two lawn chairs.
11 - The Shadow Cruiser had a strange dinette setup. They had a raised platform with two small storage compartments that the table sat on with longer posts. They then used the shown shorter legs when the dinette was made into a bed. We like an open floor plan so we can sit in lawn chairs when we are inside because of weather, because they are more comfortable than the normal dinning area. I took out the raised platform since there is just two of us and we don't sleep on the dinette. I mounted the table sockets on a piece of wood and it sits where one of the cushions normally sits. Two of us can still eat at it or the wife can use it for more counter space. It all stores under the bed or stapes to the wall.
12 - We eliminated all the cushions, they just get in the way most of the time. I carpeted the bare wood that was exposed from removing the cushions and we have two high density sports cushions we can use when we need to sit where the cushions use to be. The Shadow cruiser has a fold up platform over by the door normally part of dinette bed but it makes a good second seat. The table actually has a sliding top and can be slid further into the room when we are eating.
Two truck modifications. I added the reflector strips years ago, they actually show under the tailgate when it is on and gives more visibility from the back.
Our previous camper was short enough we could leave the tailgate on which was nice for coming and going form the camper. The SC sticks out to far so I added the yellow diamond plate on top of the bumper to fill in the gap at the license plate. My idea and friend made it work and constructed most of it. It attaches with two bolts in the center back of the bumper. There is a piece of angle iron welded to the center section and with two well placed holes it allows the bolts to clamp the plate to the bumper.
I have made a few other mods but they are fairly standard stuff or very specific to a SC like adding a rail for a bag awning and adding lots of special attachments in the storage compartment to optimize the space. A few more small things to do yet but pretty much the way we want it for now.
I modified / cut window blind to fit the windshield area and then mounted it upside down to get it to work , I'm going to include a mod I learned on here which is to restring the blind using 50# FISHING string
