Mods/Upgrades while waiting out social distancing . Please share yours.

JCALD

This is something I saw on this forum that I had to do to my 400.  The drawer was sourced from https://cabinetdoor.store/.  It came unassembled for about $21.00 not including shipping.  It is 10” x 18” x 3” outside depth and is 1/2” Baltic Birch plywood ( like the T@b 400 drawers are made from). They will assemble it and finish it if you want.  The drawer slide was also from them and is a Koss 18”  unit.

DougH

It's beautiful.

Slackers

We performed a simple mod to stow the bed slats for our 320 CS at the back of the cabin on the wooden ledge between the opposing seats.  The Lagun table is factory mounted to this ledge.  We added three strips of furniture pads on top of the ledge to cushion and soften any blows from the slats as the tab travels down the road.  The slats are held in place by complementary velcro strips stuck to the back wall and then to the band of velcro that wraps around the slats.  It's a simple mod specific to CSs.  We'll see how this works on any lesser maintained roads.

Bayliss

@SlackerBill, can you post a photo of how you stow the bed slats?

Slackers

To improve upon this you may use longer strips of velcro. I'm considering putting a removable section of foam pipe insulation around the Lagun table leg.  The slats don't get in the way of your seating; your shoulder hits the overhead cabinets long before reaching the slats.

Sharon_is_SAM

Very clever @SlackerBill!  This is a first.  We substituted half of the small slats for 3 boards to be used with a single bed set up.  I usually stow those in the wet bath, on the shelf next to the toilet.  I may use your idea!  You can even travel with the table top secured in place.

Cbusguy

Had a chance to fully deploy my solar to see what I would get in full sun today.   Not bad.  This is with three renogy 160 watt flexible and the stock roof solar.

DougH

I like the "Time remaining : Infinite" line!

Michael49

jameskuzman said:

Deb55 said:

We had a Maxxair fan installed to replace the Fantastic Fan. People who have done this, what did you do with the Fantastic Fan that was removed? Ours was only used twice, so it's nearly new. 

We're having this done at the Mother Ship along with a couple of minor warranty fixes. We're having them move the Fantastic Fan (and its MaxxAir cover which we had installed at the dealer upon delivery) to the bathroom to replace the cheap, noisy OEM fan. 

How do you like the MaxxAir fan so far? I've heard nothing but good things from lots of happy campers (intentional pun brought on by cabin fever...sorry) :-) 

I just replaced the Fantastic fan in our 400 with the Maxxair fan and so far I love it. Installation wasn’t really that difficult. It’s quieter, much more adjustable and seems more powerful. The ability to use it in the rain is a huge bonus, plus the remote is the bomb!  

I’ve considered using the old fan to swap out with the bathroom fan, but I honestly even though our 400 is only a 2018 it doesn’t look in the best of shape. Totally overkill, but now I’m thinking about just getting another Maxxair fan for the bathroom . 

Michael49

JeffroNC said:

Here are some things I have done both before and after our trip.
We added a memory foam topper but in order to access the storage under the bed, we cut it into three pieces. Then we used crib sheets to keep them in place. We use an RV Superbag for our bedding which has been great. We really don't notice the seams.

I moved the shower curtain from behind the toilet. Because I like to stand when using it. :-)

I put shelves in the closet. Netting from Organized Obie will be here tomorrow. The vacuum is on its charger base, plugged into the 110 outlet in the cubby by the bed.

One of these switches turn off the TV and radio as well as the 5-volt supply I installed behind the television to power my Fire Stick and Raspberry Pi media server. The other one controls the power supply I use for my CPAP. It converts 12 volts to the 24 volts needed by the unit. With the humidifier off, it only draws 12 watts.

Finally, I installed some 12 volt sockets under the driver side seat to connect my laptop 12 volt adapter and charge devices when dry camping. I had great luck finding the wires that run to the 12 volt panel by the sink. This is a much better location. In hind site, I could have moved them down a few inches to prevent interference with the table in its low position. I don't envision ever using that feature. A lagun table is my next project.

I have learned a lot from the group and I hope somebody can use these.

Looks great. Couple of questions. Do you mind if I ask where you purchased your memory foam mattress and how thick it is?  Also, where exactly did you access the power for the USB outlets and where did you run the wiring. Thanks!

JeffroNC

@Michael49 I got the foam topper on sale at bed bath and beyond. Nothing special. The details on the wiring are in a discussion titled:

12 volt outlet at dinette

quickkarl

I have a very basic T@b, no heat, sink, stove. I do a have a/c and fridge. so i added a drawer . Drawer was made by a good friend of mine.

Sharon_is_SAM

Welcome to the Forum!  Nice work!  Good use of that cabinet.  Why no heat?

quickkarl

i bought it used, didnt have it. i do have a electric and propane space heater

Sharon_is_SAM

What year @quickkarl?

quickkarl

2014

Tampakayaker

Built this since the closest sewer drain ..at my house is about 50 foot away.  Tested it today and it worked great.  Hooked up to the drain using a dishwasher hose then two 25 foot sump pump hoses.  Only issue was when I went to connect the clips to the T@B battery and discovered it’s inside a battery box and the terminals aren’t exposed.  So substituted my truck battery and jumper cables.

Cbusguy

Just curious, what sort of drain are you pumping your tanks into?

Tampakayaker

Cbusguy said:

Just curious, what sort of drain are you pumping your tanks into?

We have a clean out outside of one of our bathrooms, that goes around to the front of our house then to a septic tank.

Cbusguy

Ya had me worried.....had visions of cousin Eddie

Tampakayaker

Cbusguy said:

Ya had me worried.....had visions of cousin Eddie

Nah, I don't own a bathrobe or a flapped winter hat, plus I don't smoke! 

Michael49

BirdieJane said:

Michael49

To remove the hinges you need to remove the sink. 4 screws on top of the sink, unthread the drain at the base of the sink. Then disconnect the hot and cold water lines. Remove the glass top from the hinges. Now you must remove the original faucet. I found this difficult without damaging the hot and cold attachments at the base of the faucet. If you can get the PEX fittings apart it should come out, if not the hot or cold nipple will break off and it will come out.

Now for the hinges, each hinge is installed complete with 2 rivets. The rivets need to remain so your sink does not leak. So you need to remove 2 screws with nuts and 2 springs each side of the riveted hinge frame. Once these are removed you will need to flex the hinge to remove it from the hinge pass through opening. You should pad between the hinge and sink and flex the hinge so it bends enough to slide out the hinge opening. Once both are out you are ready to install the faucet. 

You will need 2 double male 3/8 compression fitting nipples, and a short 3/8 female to 1/2 female hot and cold line. These will connect between the faucet plumbing and the Tab plumbing. 

Hope this was helpful, sorry to ramble.

Thanks for your help!......

Removing those hinges was a major pain! - but I got it done without snapping any rivets.

Also, because I purchased the sprayer version I had to modify the stop point for the sprayer weight - used electrical tape so it would stop a bit higher and not lay on the shelf.

I also have a silicone coated rolling sink cover on order to cover the sink when not in use and to use as a drying rack.

BirdieJane

Nice work, looks great.

pthomas745

I've had the Visor Pole Repair on my list for ages, and bought some replacement poles from Tent Pole Technologies. Under the "I want parts and materials to build my own poles"  I ordered 9.5 mm poles with the ferrule ends.  Tent Pole Tech will want to know the length of the pole you need.  (The visor pole segments are different sizes, so measure them).

I used: 

A pair of mini vise grips.  You will need something to hold the shock cord and keep it from snapping back. 

A pair of needle nose pliers to untie the knot at the end of the shock cord. 

Something to handle the broken fiberglass sections you are replacing.  I used gloves.  The tiny fiberglass shards can hurt!

A 3 foot section of stiff 12 AWG wire.  With help from a You Tube video, I discovered the easy way to draw the shock cord through the pole.   Anything you have that is long and thin enough to slip through the pole with the shock cord butt spliced to it.

Some scotch tape.

Picture 1:  The mini vise grip is used to grab the shock cord at the point you want to start replacing pole sections.  The pole on the right will be replaced.  This keeps the cord from slipping back into the pole set.  After you have trapped the cord, you can untie the little knot at the end of the shock cord.  (The knot isn't shown.  The needle nose pliers helped untie the knot.)

Picture 2:  With the knot untied, and the vise grips holding the shock cord, the pole (or poles) can be slipped off the cord.

Picture 3:  I found some 12AWG wire that fit through the pole, about three feet.  Using the scotch tape, I butt spliced the shock cord to the end of the wire, and tried to smooth the tape as much as possible.

Picture 4:  The wire passed easily through the inside of the replacement pole, pulling the shock cord along with it.  I held on to the cord, and moved the vise grips to this end of the pole to hold it in place.  I retied the knot at the end, and that was it.  Took just a few minutes.

I had another pole set that had two broken sections that required removing 5 sections and rethreading the shock cord.  That didn't take long, either, except my butt splices had to be redone a couple of times.

I promise never to use this part of my floor ever again for a photo session!

VictoriaP

Today, I finally got brave enough to install a cutoff switch on the stereo.

As much as I like the clean look of the flush mount installs I’ve seen, I simply don’t have the tools or skill set to do a perfect, professional looking install of that kind, and who knows when I could get someone to help these days? I opted instead for a simple, freestanding, adhesive-backed switch that I could route through the same hole between the cabinets used by the kitchen light. So no drilling at all, and if the switch isn’t as attractive as everyone else’s, well, it’s hidden from view and placed high inside the left hand cabinet out of the way, where nothing is likely to bump it. It works, and I’m pleased.

Switch is this one: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G17HWW8/

Next up is the faucet, waiting on UPS to bring the last parts today, because it turns out the 2019’s plumbing differs from earlier models, so what’s a super simple job for everyone else with a 320 is a bit harder on this model.

Bayliss

Looks good to me, @VictoriaP!

VictoriaP

Bayliss said:

Looks good to me, @VictoriaP!

Thanks! Definitely would have preferred a more “finished” look, but having a working kill switch for that parasitic draw is the most important thing. 

Sharon_is_SAM

Please remember to reduce your photo size before posting.  If you need help, just ask.

DougH

The original Fantastic Fan never had the best air flow. It had better power utilization and low speed adjustability with the PWM mod everyone does than the original 3 way resistor block, but the final straw was a chirping noise from the stock Atwood fan motor that showed up in the last few months. Time to move on.

Looked at the MaxxAir options like the 5000 - 7000 series (much nicer option than stock FF), but the rear 6" overlap would have slightly covered the center solar panel whenever closed. And at the strongest setting, the flow, while better, is only 900cfm.

But I found plenty of 5-15A fans with real aerodynamic blades pushing 2000-5000cfm. That's more like it. Removed the Atwood dog bone / bowtie, removed the lid switch so I could have the pseudo MaxxAir ceiling fan mode, connected it all through a PWM board and the existing reversing switch, then adjusted the shroud depth to get maximum velocity.

Looks stock, so it's sort of a stealth ventilator. But time for real testing. With such huge flow, I figured with the aero vent cover on top pushing all that air backwards, I'd get huge forward thrust to improve top speed when climbing hills. So I put the camper on level ground, opened the windows a couple inches, pointing the unhitched camper towards the end of the street, and turned the fan motor to maximum. Nothing. Not 20mph. Not even 5mph. Camper didn't even budge. But at least I can change out the air faster than with the stock fan.

Campwise

Low tech comfort mod:  To improve our 320S seating, I place two 9"x6"x3" foam yoga blocks (standing upright on their long sides) on top of the wood platforms, behind the two longer seat cushions.  This pushes the bottom cushions out 3 inches, making them more comfortable to sit on, and creates a nice angle of repose for the back cushions.  I also place one yoga block behind each of the shorter upright cushions, to create a better back support angle.  It all stays in place while on the road with no issues.  For sleeping, the 6 blocks are stored in a stuff sac under the bed.  At first I tried swim noodles, but they didn't work.  The yoga blocks make a big difference in overall comfort, especially nice for my husband who sometimes uses the t@b in the driveway as a writing studio ;~)