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 -
The biggest mod I've done to mine thus far is fabricating a mount to secure a tv bracket onto. Now the counter space is clear, and I am able to tilt/swivel the TV to get rid of any annoying glare. After I took the picture, I cleaned up the cables with tie-wraps and the plastic conduit.
Some of the things that I don't have pictured is the before and after from painting the tongue and rear bumper areas. Rolled/brushed on the Rustoleum gloss black, and the improvement was well worth it, and added another layer of corrosion protection.
I have three of the Camco remote control organizers. The color that they are out of the box is a perfect match for the interior of my trailer. I have two beside the bed to hold the remote control for the fan/heater, and the other one holds my phone at night. I drilled a hole in the bottom so that I can run the power cord into the phone and let it charge overnight.
Some of the things that I don't have pictured is the before and after from painting the tongue and rear bumper areas. Rolled/brushed on the Rustoleum gloss black, and the improvement was well worth it, and added another layer of corrosion protection.
I have three of the Camco remote control organizers. The color that they are out of the box is a perfect match for the interior of my trailer. I have two beside the bed to hold the remote control for the fan/heater, and the other one holds my phone at night. I drilled a hole in the bottom so that I can run the power cord into the phone and let it charge overnight.
I want to play.
So I made a battery box since the trailer had only enough room for one deep cell, and the way my wife likes to dry camp (boondock) one 12 deep cell does not last through the evening and night. (we're working on it though).
The Box I made has two "banks" and Bank 1 is 2-6 volt Costco golf cart batteries, and Bank 2 is 1-12 deep cell group 27. I try to always have a back-up plan, so the idea is that the 6 volts were plan A, if plan A doesn't work, Plan B is there (Which is where my wiring comes in), and if I have a problem with plans A & B; it's easy to drop in a new easily obtainable 12 volt battery to save the day.
The Box has a standard main selector switch, and an automatic switch that charges the selected bank, once charged; the switch closes and charges the alternate bank. Assuming both banks are charged: As the batteries are drained, both banks are used to a set voltage, then the switch opens and only uses the selected bank. That way there is always a charged battery to switch to if the first bank doesn't make it. The switch has a slight draw, I installed an on/off switch for storage.
I don't think I have seen others do this, but I'm sure I'm not the first. Since I have done this modification, the 2-6 volt cart batteries have lasted until the next charge. We will go out for a week at a time, and I sometimes can last a few nights without a charge, if managed. (I have a big young family, so it's hard to manage).
In the box, I have also installed a small 12 volt plug so that I can hook a charger, inverter, air compressor, accessory directly to the batteries. It takes less time to charge, and it gives a better charge. It's also handy when I need to fill up the inflatable water toys. I can use my jumper cables that have the plug on one side to hook it to other batteries, or a truck to charge the banks. Endless possibilities.
I made the cover lockable, even with a weather door to the controls that also can be locked.
I have other little mods that I will share later.
Enjoy!
Joe Zeppe
So I made a battery box since the trailer had only enough room for one deep cell, and the way my wife likes to dry camp (boondock) one 12 deep cell does not last through the evening and night. (we're working on it though).
The Box I made has two "banks" and Bank 1 is 2-6 volt Costco golf cart batteries, and Bank 2 is 1-12 deep cell group 27. I try to always have a back-up plan, so the idea is that the 6 volts were plan A, if plan A doesn't work, Plan B is there (Which is where my wiring comes in), and if I have a problem with plans A & B; it's easy to drop in a new easily obtainable 12 volt battery to save the day.
The Box has a standard main selector switch, and an automatic switch that charges the selected bank, once charged; the switch closes and charges the alternate bank. Assuming both banks are charged: As the batteries are drained, both banks are used to a set voltage, then the switch opens and only uses the selected bank. That way there is always a charged battery to switch to if the first bank doesn't make it. The switch has a slight draw, I installed an on/off switch for storage.
I don't think I have seen others do this, but I'm sure I'm not the first. Since I have done this modification, the 2-6 volt cart batteries have lasted until the next charge. We will go out for a week at a time, and I sometimes can last a few nights without a charge, if managed. (I have a big young family, so it's hard to manage).
In the box, I have also installed a small 12 volt plug so that I can hook a charger, inverter, air compressor, accessory directly to the batteries. It takes less time to charge, and it gives a better charge. It's also handy when I need to fill up the inflatable water toys. I can use my jumper cables that have the plug on one side to hook it to other batteries, or a truck to charge the banks. Endless possibilities.
I made the cover lockable, even with a weather door to the controls that also can be locked.
I have other little mods that I will share later.
Enjoy!
Joe Zeppe
Hoosier Daddy wrote:
After putting up a closet rod at the DD's new house I had an idea on a ladder for the Grand-kids to access the top bunk in the TT.
While originally thinking of doing it all in PVC, I was using a length of vinyl coated wooden closet rod from Home Depot that looked about the same size.... Hmmmm.
On the way home I picked up a single 1" PVC "T" from the local HWI to take home and test fit onto my scrap rod... sure enough, even though the Rod is 1-1/4" a 1" PVC "T" had nice snug fit! (stay with me here...PVC pipe is measured by it's ID while the closet rod is by it's OD.)
Did the math and next time I was at Home Depot picked up enough of the closet Rod, two 1-1/4" rubber feet and two 1" PVC Caps and their 1" PVC "T"s to tackle my project.
I cut everthing to size for 12" wide treads, and at a shorter 10" rise for the Tots little legs and started assembly.
Here is where I ran into a snag. While the rod did have a snug fit it was a little too snug to put all the way into the "T" by hand so I used a mallet to fully seat it. While assembling the rungs I broke the "T"...
I noticed the single test "T" that I had bought from HWI had molded in gussets in the corners and seemed to be better material.
So back to HWI for their superior pieces. Having already commited myself to a bunch of cut up closet rod, I even took an extra precaution and warmed the PVC in hot water while putting it all together.
That worked like a charm! The hot water bath expanded them and probably softened them just enough to make assembly much easier.
I put the two rubber foot caps on the bottom to keep it from sliding and the PVC caps on the other to give it a finished look. Final outcome holds my weight with little flex so I think it's going to be fine for the Grand-Kids to get in and out ofthe top bunk on their own
Nice ladder! Looks a lot better than the one I bought for my previous TT and probably cost you a lot less.
Jpbeck1 wrote:
Here are a couple simple mods we did to our Jayco. Each took less then a half hour to perform.
Since we boondock for weeks at a time I carry along a 55gal barrel to refill the fresh water I bought a 30 dollar cast iron A/C pump from harbor fright. It drains the barrel in about 5 minutes.
It's very important to drain that pump and never leave it completely full of water: it's a cast iron pump, and is thus not rated for domestic water applications. Domestic water is very high in oxygen, and thus will corrode the cast iron volute and any other ferrous materials in the water stream. They are used in closed loop systems, like boilers, where the dissolved air breaks its bond with the water molecules, and are removed from the system. Acceptable pumps volute/casing materials for domestic water applications: bronze, stainless steel, and plastic.
