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 -
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 -
kraushad wrote:
I found some unused space above our pantry. I added some supports, a shelf, and then hinged the countertop for easy access.
My current trailer came with a storage unit much like yours and what they did was opened up both sides above that shelf you put in and then put the oak type spindle railing across the openings so you had storage access w/o messing with the countertop. Below is a pic of my unit
I also have an outlet but it is inside and you could convert your unit to something like I have by simply moving that outlet to the wall inside using a surface mount outlet. This would give you that space w/o having to take everything off the counter and raise it to access that area. Of course if you had to cut your countertop to clear that board you installed on the wall redoing what you have done might not work.
Larry
Central Vacuum System
Since our new (to us) Holiday Rambler has vinyl floors, I decided I wanted a vac-pan to try and make it easier to keep the floor clean.
When I used to work at an arena, one of the TV trucks that came in for basketball games had a Shop-Vac in the belly, plumbed to regular central vacuum inlets throughout the equipment rooms above. This made it easy for the TV truck personnel to vacuum the carpets at the end of the night.
I picked up a small Shop-Vac at Wally World for about $30:
and a central vacuum inlet from Ebay for about $45:
This auction included a PVC elbow and some adapter pipes.
(and a short section of flexible hose that I didn't need for this project)
I also had to pick up a PVC 1 1/4" x 2" bushing from the plumbing department at Lowe's to adapt the shop-vac hose to the elbow that came with the inlet.
Here is the dinette in my TT:
and the corner behind the dinette where I want the inlet to be located:
This was my first chance to try out my Variable Speed Oscillating Multifunction Power Tool:
I was able to make a very clean plunge cut....very happy with my new toy!
Views of the cut from inside the dinette:
and with the inlet in place:
The Shop-Vac I chose has a wall-mount bracket....I attached it to the dinette with a scrap piece of wood to act as a spacer:
Picture of the shop-vac in place, plugged into the relay box:
The relay box is a silicon relay inside a deep 4-square box with a single receptacle on top for the vacuum. I tapped AC from the existing outlet in the dinette, and brought 12 volt control power from the fuse box. A 12 volt mechanical relay would work just as well...I had the silicon relay on hand. Remember to leave the vacuum's switch ON! The vacuum inlet has a simple, low-voltage switch that closes when you move the lever that opens the valve....extreme left in this picture of the final install:
I may yet build a simple shelf to guard the switch on the top of the inlet.
It works really well....you just sweep the pile up to the front of the inlet, move the lever with your toe,and the vacuum comes on. Sweep the pile into the opening. Poof! Gone.
The shop vac takes up less space than a portable vacuum would, and we have to carry a broom anyway. If you wanted to, I suppose an inlet for a wand could be added for vacuuming carpet or rugs, but then you would have to store the wand somewhere, and to get a beater bar wand for a central vacuum system is $$$$.
Since our new (to us) Holiday Rambler has vinyl floors, I decided I wanted a vac-pan to try and make it easier to keep the floor clean.
When I used to work at an arena, one of the TV trucks that came in for basketball games had a Shop-Vac in the belly, plumbed to regular central vacuum inlets throughout the equipment rooms above. This made it easy for the TV truck personnel to vacuum the carpets at the end of the night.
I picked up a small Shop-Vac at Wally World for about $30:
and a central vacuum inlet from Ebay for about $45:
This auction included a PVC elbow and some adapter pipes.
(and a short section of flexible hose that I didn't need for this project)
I also had to pick up a PVC 1 1/4" x 2" bushing from the plumbing department at Lowe's to adapt the shop-vac hose to the elbow that came with the inlet.
Here is the dinette in my TT:
and the corner behind the dinette where I want the inlet to be located:
This was my first chance to try out my Variable Speed Oscillating Multifunction Power Tool:
I was able to make a very clean plunge cut....very happy with my new toy!
Views of the cut from inside the dinette:
and with the inlet in place:
The Shop-Vac I chose has a wall-mount bracket....I attached it to the dinette with a scrap piece of wood to act as a spacer:
Picture of the shop-vac in place, plugged into the relay box:
The relay box is a silicon relay inside a deep 4-square box with a single receptacle on top for the vacuum. I tapped AC from the existing outlet in the dinette, and brought 12 volt control power from the fuse box. A 12 volt mechanical relay would work just as well...I had the silicon relay on hand. Remember to leave the vacuum's switch ON! The vacuum inlet has a simple, low-voltage switch that closes when you move the lever that opens the valve....extreme left in this picture of the final install:
I may yet build a simple shelf to guard the switch on the top of the inlet.
It works really well....you just sweep the pile up to the front of the inlet, move the lever with your toe,and the vacuum comes on. Sweep the pile into the opening. Poof! Gone.
The shop vac takes up less space than a portable vacuum would, and we have to carry a broom anyway. If you wanted to, I suppose an inlet for a wand could be added for vacuuming carpet or rugs, but then you would have to store the wand somewhere, and to get a beater bar wand for a central vacuum system is $$$$.
Water Heater lockout device:
We all know that running the water heater AC element when the tank is empty is BAD, or running it (accidentally) on inverter will drain your batteries in a heartbeat.
I saw this on another forum. It's a little safety device to prevent the water heater from accidentally being turned on. In my case, it will prevent it from being turned on when I am running the inverter or generator... in other words, anytime I am dry camping.
It's called a "mirror clip" and most decent hardware stores have them. I went to a local ACE Hardware in my neighborhood.
It took longer to type this writeup than it did to actually do the mod. This is a cheap mod too, total cost was $0.49. I spent more in gas driving to the store to get the parts than what the parts cost.
This mod is suited for the "Decora" style AC switches - the big flat "rocker" style switches.
Side view:
Top view:
Step one, flatten it. I sanded off the stepped portion on the back.
Choose your mounting location, and orient it to the side like shown, so it will clear the switch when you want to run the HWH on AC power
Done: This is in "lockout" mode
Run mode:
We all know that running the water heater AC element when the tank is empty is BAD, or running it (accidentally) on inverter will drain your batteries in a heartbeat.
I saw this on another forum. It's a little safety device to prevent the water heater from accidentally being turned on. In my case, it will prevent it from being turned on when I am running the inverter or generator... in other words, anytime I am dry camping.
It's called a "mirror clip" and most decent hardware stores have them. I went to a local ACE Hardware in my neighborhood.
It took longer to type this writeup than it did to actually do the mod. This is a cheap mod too, total cost was $0.49. I spent more in gas driving to the store to get the parts than what the parts cost.
This mod is suited for the "Decora" style AC switches - the big flat "rocker" style switches.
Side view:
Top view:
Step one, flatten it. I sanded off the stepped portion on the back.
Choose your mounting location, and orient it to the side like shown, so it will clear the switch when you want to run the HWH on AC power
Done: This is in "lockout" mode
Run mode:
