RonVBT
Explorer
Joined 11 years ago
User Profile
User Widgets
All Activity
Re: Chassis battery disconnect failed while driving
I wouldn't bother spending much time on the phone with Thor or a dealer. It's a "RV Customs Products" recall. You can do the recall in 5 minutes yourself and save yourself the gas money. Better yet...you can make your system better by installing a manual battery switch from an automotive store like others have done. That way the system is hard wired "on" unless it will be parked for an extended time, then you manually switch it off.993Views0likes0CommentsRe: Replacing the Sofa bed with a Love Seat
We have 57 inches between our sofa and the dinette when both slides are out. Our plan is to buy a Queen size air mattress like this one at Amazon. It has an inflatable platform to raise it up to a normal bed height of 19". It has a built in air pump so set up is fairly easy. I believe it will be much more comfortable than the old sofa bed.336Views0likes0CommentsRe: Replacing the Sofa bed with a Love Seat
One thing I decided to do was to remove the locking clip on the backs. If you have ever fought with these clips, you will agree that they make removing the backs very difficult to impossible if you can't get around to the back of the chair. Just unscrew the mounting channel and remove the lock clip, then screw the mounting channel back on. I don't think there is any danger of the back flying off by itself.336Views0likes0CommentsRe: Replacing the Sofa bed with a Love Seat
Here is the bottom of a typical reclining Loveseat. Not the best photo but it is easy to mount these chairs since there is a huge rectangular metal frame that contacts the floor area making mounting options numerous. When you lift the foot rest up, it is easy to get under the chair to work.337Views0likes0CommentsRe: Replacing the Sofa bed with a Love Seat
Here is the slide out space prepped for the new Loveseat. The advantage to using a reclining love seat is that most love seat backs come off making installation much easier...especially getting it through a 23 1/2 inch wide door (or 22 inch without removing the grab bar). Here is ours in place and screwed down. We lost an inch or so of isle space with the slides in but I think it is worth it.336Views0likes0CommentsRe: Replacing the Sofa bed with a Love Seat
The Loveseat we decide to replace the sofa bed with is this one. It's a recliner. I found that the old sofa could be taken apart fairly easily by unscrewing the bed mechanism (frame). After removing the bed frame, I was able to get to the screws that held the sofa in place on the side. The sofa was held down to the slide out floor by three screws on each side. After getting the sofa loose, I discovered that the sofa back would slide up and off the bottom section.336Views0likes0CommentsReplacing the Sofa bed with a Love Seat
After realizing how unusable our sofa bed was, we decided to replace it with something else. The mattress was so pathetic that we ended up putting an air mattress on top of it to make it usable. After thinking about it for a while, I discovered that we have enough floor space between the sofa and the dinette (with the slides out) to put a queen sized air mattress on the floor. Amazon sells an air mattress with a built in air platform for $114.00. The air platform makes the bed about 19 inches high, which is normal height for a bed. They are way more comfy! I read about the horror stories of people trying to get their sofas out of their coaches but decided to try it anyway. Our Coach entry door is 23 1/2 inches wide but the door has an arm on it to prevent it from opening all the way so that it won't hit the slide when it is out. The arm is easily disconnected. Also there is a grab handle in the doorway but I didn't even need to take it off even though I could have. This makes the door about 22 inches wide with the grab handle. The old sofa bed, besides being a horrible bed, was ugly too.2.7KViews0likes9CommentsRe: Rear leveler jacks on Ford F53 Chassis
I got the Jack Kit from Equalizer two weeks ago and contacted a local welding shop. The owner said to prep the brackets by grinding the paint off the edges where the weld would be and grinding a bevel along that edge as well. In addition, he said to grind the paint off the frame area where the jacks where to be installed and clamp the brackets in place. The welder suggested going down to Harbor Freight and to buy a hand grinder if I didn't already have one. He said I could buy one there for $12.00. I thought that sounded way too cheap but to my surprise, I found one with a grinding wheel for under $20.00! It lasted long enough to finish the job (and is actually still working). I also bought the C Clamps at Harbor Freight. Doing this prep work saved me a ton of money at the welding shop. All the welder had to do was lay 8 vertical beads on the brackets and they were done. Total welding cost was $300.00. I had a friend that said he could do it for free but it would have cost $135.00 in gas and delayed the project by two weeks. Me, being the impatient type, went for the quicker, more costly solution. Next (after driving the MH home), I bolted the jacks to the brackets, ran the hydraulic lines, mounted the leveling "Brain" under the floor, ran the electrical harnesses, wired the pump to the battery and mounted the control panel near the driver seat (actually it is still laying on the floor beside the driver seat). I found a large rubber grommet near the steering column that was easy to pull down from below and modify to run my new wiring harness up to the driver's control panel. It isn't rocket science, just a lot of labor. The Equalizer jacks are quality constructed and work great. My only beef was that the instructions could use a little editing to make them clearer.425Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rear leveler jacks on Ford F53 Chassis
Thanks Dale, your photos are exactly what I needed to get going on this project. I talked to two of my friends that have welders and both said they would help me with the welding portion of the project. My wife and I bought the Hurricane last weekend and are getting it ready for the maiden voyage tomorrow. I'll have to use leveling blocks this time but hopefully, I'll have the jacks installed for a trip in May.425Views0likes0Comments
Groups
Motorhome Group
Join in here to discuss all things motorhomes.Jan 22, 202538,705 Posts
