Cool Mods - Thread restored 10/18/2012

[2Rad4U]

My daughter was getting a little warm in her bunk during our last camping trip, so I decided to put her a fan in to keep the air flowing.

I had been wanting to add a 12-volt fan to the main living area anyway, so I decided to tackle both jobs today. A trip to Wal-Mart for two fans($8.48 each) and we're halfway there.

She picked the spot, and I got to work -



I picked up the power from her overhead light. All I have left is to install a short piece of wire cover and I'm done -



I added one in the main area -



I dropped by Lowe's and found this cool soap dispenser. I also just installed these Pop-a-Toothbrush holders -



I added a sopa dispenser to the kitchen area as well. I also installed a Pop-a-Napkin under the radio -



Here's an easy mod. I found this over the door towel rack at Walmart and it works great -

[mikedboyd]

EVT0005 wrote:
I second the B/U light mod..

Also going to add some side lighting to see where the tires are and a manual switch to turn them on and off. Right now they come on with the TV reverse lights.

If you buy a 7-pin socket (< $10, like on your truck, but without the mounting bracket) and jump the 'hot' lead to the 'backup' lead, you can just plug your Trailer-to-Truck wire into this when you disconnect from your truck. You will now have the reverse lights without needing to wire in relays, switches, etc. I do the same thing with my running lights, to have them on at night for a nice gentle glow around the trailer, but not too bright.

Link to wiring connector to buy

Link to diagram showing pin locations on connectors

[lookinin]

Got kinda tired of the noisy water pump, so I insulated the box it's mounted in. Plus, I added an accumulator tank to let us get pressurized water without the pump cycling on everytime we opened a tap, especially on night runs.:W

Cheers,
Kevin

[StuartW]

Yak Fishin Fool wrote:

StuartW wrote:

stugpanzer wrote:
Ok.....I just talked to a rep from Forest river and yes.....all the cabinets that I want to remove are just screwed in place and are not structural! And.....as long as I don't tear things up, I will not void my warranty! Once I get going on this....I will post photos!

I just did a similar mod last winter in the front bedroom of our Holiday Rambler 26RKS ... except we re-installed full-length 30x80 'half-queen' mattresses, one down either side of the rig, and created a center walkway. Not quite as romantic as a regular queen, but I'm 6'1" and my wife is 5'10" so anything less than a full-length mattress gets old fast. We had custom mattresses made with firm support and pillow tops - worth every penny based on our trips so far this year.

You'd be amazed how little structure was actually in the old pedestal. I removed a few long wood screws, pulled out a few staples, and it was history. My new twin support frames are built *much* better and each will have a large drawer on heavy-weight full-extension drawer glides so the under-bed storage is just about doubled.

Here's the modified floorplan :

The only real trick was moving the slider door for the bathroom to the opposite side of the partition, which meant moving the vanity about 3" closer to the shower - fortunately there was room to do this and no plumbing changes were required.

Note: Moderator edit to re-size picture to forum limit of 640px maximum.

Where did you get half queens from? I love this set up. Lot's more room. Scott

Hi Scott,

Sorry for the delay in reply ... I must not have subscribed for notifications on this post. Anyway, we got the mattresses at a local outfit called The Original Mattress Factory. They'll make you any size you want in any firmness you want with or without pillow tops. There was about a 2 week lead time.

The new mattresses are working out great and we really appreciate the extra length plus the room to walk between the beds. Note that the pass-through storage between what is now the foot of each bed acts like a bench for putting your shoes on, etc ... will have to ask the DW to make a custom cushion to go there!

Right now I've just ordered some unfinished cabinet doors and drawer fronts so that I can finish up the new storage drawers (one under each bed) and the revised overhead cabinets across the front of the coach. I've found via other projects in this rig that red oak with a single coat of MinWax Golden Pecan stain plus three coats of spray semi-gloss polyurethane matches the factory wood very closely ...

The storage drawers are 12Hx36Wx24D and are on heavy duty 100# full extension glides. They should hold quite a bit in terms of hiking boots, etc.

The overhead cabinets in the nose had to be shortened a bit (9") on either side (where the useless shirt closets used to be) for more footroom. These are now nice cabinets with two fixed shelves so they're good for sweatshirts, folded jeans, and all other 'real world' camping stuff that never gets put on hangers anyway! I'll post photos when it's all done.

Cheers ...

[Wife_nHubby]

The 'tick, tick, tick, tick, tick' from our stove fan hook vent flapping in the breeze was really bothering me. I made a teeny, tiny ball of the tacky tape (like you use to hang posters on the wall) and stuck it to the bottom of the vent frame. No more 'ticking' noises and vent still functions as it should.

Shari

[7happycampers]

Not sure if these qualify as 'Cool Mods' but they work for me.

First we installed a Blue Streak Chemical dispenser to the toilet.




Second: Added a Barker Power Tongue Jack...no more cranking...YAY!!!



And Finally got around to installing a receiver hitch to the back of the trailer for our bike rack.






Kevin & Crew

[allenhpycmprs]

I installed a brass drain valve in my 01 TT water heater when new.
Now I just got a new TT with a anode rod in the water heater, and I wanted the same kind of drain valve, after a search I found this
Anode Rod with drain valve problem solved!!

[mtkbuckeye]

mxsjw wrote:
Dryrot found in the rear, turned into a nice new Wilsonart HD laminate shower.
Not fun, but I sure like the way it turned out.

That looks very very nice.

[mxsjw]

Dryrot found in the rear, turned into a nice new Wilsonart HD laminate shower.
Not fun, but I sure like the way it turned out.

[Community Alumni]

Triathlete wrote:
snip......All of these things add weight. Are there concerns about exceeding the posted weight limits of the trailer?

Yes. Anytime a modification is made one should always consider the impact to the integrity of the RV, along with towing characteristics. If a modification is going to add "notable" weight, a trip to the CAT scales should be part of the modification as well (check WD adjustments, weights, etc.).

Turk2500

[Triathlete]

This is a great forum! And, I haven't even read them all yet. I am not nearly as talented or creative as those who have made the mods, but would sure like to have a few of them. There is one question. Many if not most are to find extra storage space be it in a cupboard, carrying a generator or making a bike rack. All of these things add weight. Are there concerns about exceeding the posted weight limits of the trailer?

[ctpres]

ctpres wrote:

snarfattack wrote:

ctpres wrote:

campin4kids wrote:
ctpres, a picture would help.

Yes I agree . But I am a 70 year old techie and I really find the picture posting here older than me. When it gets brought up to date I'll post lots of pistures. I really think there is no use in posting pictures off the site in todays world. Just a SWAG but about 10% of the pictures I look at are gone. Sorry if my words didn't get it done.
For my double door Dometic-visualize a 1/2" inch thick piece of wood between the doors with a block nailed on each end. You can slide it closer to the hinges or latch to adjust the opening.

Really? I like their policy. Reduces their cost as they don't have to pay for the bandwidth of your pictures. Even better than that, I retain the publishing rights to my pictures as I can take them down anytime simply by changing my photo account or moving my server. Sounds like you just want a reason to be a cranky 70 year old who doesn't want to change with the times.



Signed, a 30 something year-old techie...

Now we know who is stopping improvements at rv.net. Most of us are just interested in sharing ideas and having a little fun . Most of us are not interested in making money off our efforts on the forum.

[ctpres]

snarfattack wrote:

ctpres wrote:

campin4kids wrote:
ctpres, a picture would help.

Yes I agree . But I am a 70 year old techie and I really find the picture posting here older than me. When it gets brought up to date I'll post lots of pistures. I really think there is no use in posting pictures off the site in todays world. Just a SWAG but about 10% of the pictures I look at are gone. Sorry if my words didn't get it done.
For my double door Dometic-visualize a 1/2" inch thick piece of wood between the doors with a block nailed on each end. You can slide it closer to the hinges or latch to adjust the opening.

Really? I like their policy. Reduces their cost as they don't have to pay for the bandwidth of your pictures. Even better than that, I retain the publishing rights to my pictures as I can take them down anytime simply by changing my photo account or moving my server. Sounds like you just want a reason to be a cranky 70 year old who doesn't want to change with the times.



Signed, a 30 something year-old techie...

[snarfattack]

ctpres wrote:

campin4kids wrote:
ctpres, a picture would help.

Yes I agree . But I am a 70 year old techie and I really find the picture posting here older than me. When it gets brought up to date I'll post lots of pistures. I really think there is no use in posting pictures off the site in todays world. Just a SWAG but about 10% of the pictures I look at are gone. Sorry if my words didn't get it done.
For my double door Dometic-visualize a 1/2" inch thick piece of wood between the doors with a block nailed on each end. You can slide it closer to the hinges or latch to adjust the opening.

Really? I like their policy. Reduces their cost as they don't have to pay for the bandwidth of your pictures. Even better than that, I retain the publishing rights to my pictures as I can take them down anytime simply by changing my photo account or moving my server. Sounds like you just want a reason to be a cranky 70 year old who doesn't want to change with the times.

Signed, a 30 something year-old techie...

[ctpres]

campin4kids wrote:
ctpres, a picture would help.

Yes I agree . But I am a 70 year old techie and I really find the picture posting here older than me. When it gets brought up to date I'll post lots of pistures. I really think there is no use in posting pictures off the site in todays world. Just a SWAG but about 10% of the pictures I look at are gone. Sorry if my words didn't get it done.
For my double door Dometic-visualize a 1/2" inch thick piece of wood between the doors with a block nailed on each end. You can slide it closer to the hinges or latch to adjust the opening.

[jeffmarshall911]

Bucky Badger wrote:

texashornsfan wrote:

ScottandCathy wrote:
I will be converting my electrical cord to a detachable style.(Conversion kit) For those of you that have done this conversion, anything tricky I should be aware of??

I'm looking at this also as I'm concerned about critters climbing onboard through the electrical portal. Any thoughts?

Steel wool in the hole. I can't see spending that kind of money on the conversion kit.

The kit is as easy as it says. I did it simply as I liked the advantage of taking off my power cord and stowing it elsewhere rather than stuffing it. It's also seals the hole from bugs, rodents or errant kids looking for a place for their trash.

/Jeff