I talk about RV modifications we've made on various rigs we've owned.

I started this follow-up long ago; now it is time to continue the stories. 

We now own two RVs, numbers seven and eight in history, since we started to go real RVing in the 1990s. As I discussed in the first post of this blog, I had started tent camping on my motorcycle trips. 

Then in the late 1970s, when the Time Out small trailer became available and was advertised as a tent trailer for the larger motorcycles of that era, like my 1975 Honda Gold Wing, and small cars, I got one of those and never really tent camped again except for one trip in 1994. 

In ownership up to our first 5th wheel, our 1999 Tahoe, mainly RV life, was about just keeping it going. I never knew anything back in those days about routine maintenance or how to handle situations that may arise as part of RV ownership. 

Checking the roof seals?  Never even became a 'thing' to me until our early 2000s Wilderness travel trailer that we found out, while on a long trip in 2012, that the front cap had never been connected to the roof system until I saw that tuft of pink insulation sticking out at a fuel stop. I had only bothered to get up on the roof and check it out! Something I ALWAYS do now, twice a season. I might have discovered that factory defect when the RV was new and could have been fixed under that one-year warranty period. 

But no. The rest of that hot July trip was spent trying to get a fix that would hold onto the roof. The problem was it was at a point of the roof that had the maximum suction lift from the air going over the nose cap. And it seemed like nothing was going to hold. Even the Eternabond tape kept lifting up under pressure. It just wound up taking several rolls of Eternabond to get it to stay down!

That defect would end up costing us over $1,200.00 to get repaired, a chunk of that cost having all that Eternabond removed off the roof! And that extended warranty we bought and paid for? Worthless!!!! Especially after buying our trailer, the sales business went out of business, and not being able to have that business put in the problem meant we were out the cost of the now worthless warranty. 

But the repair we paid for installed the missing rafter support and connected the rubber roof to the nose cap that had been missed during the build of that unit. 

Then a year later, after the repair, we traded that unit in for our next RV.  

OK, back to the subject. Modifications!

So, I'm not talking about RV renovations like are currently a big thing going around. Generally, small things to make the RV easier to use or, in one thing, make it a bit safer. 

First mod. Since the old Tahoe, I have always installed those crank-up vent covers. I just do not understand how those are not considered standard equipment! 

I have seen RVs going down the road with a damaged roof vent flapping around or read stories about how an owner forgot to close theirs, only to come back and find the inside of the RV covered in dirt or puddles of water that got in through the wide-open roof vent. With the roof vent cover, you can open the vent and let the air vent out. Heat rises remember? And generally, it can rain without water getting inside that area. The vent itself, and they're usually a poor plastic that can't take the UV from the sun and become brittle over time and will last much longer. 

The second thing installed on the last three of the RVs we've owned is magnet door holders. I know that many newer RVs come with them already on them. And they're a great thing too. But none of ours, up to our newest RV, the 2018 Winnebago, didn't have them. It does now!

You can get them on Amazon; they're not too expensive and come in sets. You should have a basic knowledge of some tools, and installation was simple. 

Above: this is a sample of the ones we've used. 

Right: a set installed on our Jayco at the rear storage bay. 

Above: installing one on a compartment door. A tiny drill bit, some silicon, and you must also supply your own screws for this installation, two screws per mount.

Right: the compartment at the rear of our 5th wheel shows the open door with the magnetic holders. They're pretty strong!

On our last trailer, the 2014 Wildcat Maxx, it also needed those magnetic latches, too, as well as I also wanted to move the spare tire from the rear folding rack. 

Right: While I liked the idea of this folding rack, we actually never used it as it was a bit of an aw

awkward size, and I really didn't like how it bounced when it was folded down with that spare tire all the way at the edge of the rack. 

The tire needed to be moved!

Left: so I found that the B.A.L. company makes a relocation or additional spare tire option. 

This was how I got it from Amazon. It is kind of long since it is supposed to span between the frame rails of the RV. I have seen this included in some RVs, and it worked great and wasn't difficult to install, I just needed help holding it up to mount it. And this is another installation you'll need to buy your own mounting bolts.

Below: installed and holding the related spare under the Wildcat. It worked great. I never needed to actually get the spare off it, but I practiced, and it worked easily. 

Bug screens. 

We live in a very buggy area, so I wanted to help prevent any hornet nests inside any of the appliances on our RV. I have read where some bugs go for the propane smell. While I don't know about that, I do know hornets will make nests in all kinds of locations, and in the fall, those imported from China stink bugs WILL get into everything they can!

In the last few years, I have seen stories about not using them because some RV manufacturers have warned of too much air blockage from installing those screens. I really don't think so. This was one of the first things I bought for our 5th wheel when it was new, and since it is way past warranty, I think I'm good with them. 

The single cover for our Atwood furnace

For the Atwood water heater

And the three-screen pack for the original RV gas electric fridge. 

Speaking of fridges, last year, in 2022, we decided to make a big swap, bought a 12-volt Norcold fridge, and replaced our Norcold propane/electric RV fridge. 

We had already had it with the propane fridge being unable to keep food cold in hot weather. When we spent almost two weeks at an RV park in West Yellowstone, the way we were parked at the site had the entire passenger side of the 5th wheel, and the fridge is in the passenger side in the afternoon sun. Since it was also a heatwave then, and it was getting into the 90s in the afternoons. The fridge barely was able to keep the fridge cold and was unable to keep the freezer frozen.

So we decided to go for it and buy a new fridge to get all set for long timing and traveling. Going by the RV fridge box measurements, we shopped and chose the Norcold fridge we bought.  We bought it last January, and we installed it last May after the snow was all gone and we could uncover the 5th wheel and get inside it to do the swap. 

I had watched all the fridge swap videos I could find at the university of YouTube, and it didn't look to be a complicated job. But, of course, ours was a different swap! We got the old fridge loose, but we couldn't move it! All the videos I saw indicated that just take out all the screws holding the unit in place, and it just slides right out? Ours wasn't sliding anyplace!

So, you backtrack and double-check everything. In doing that, I found that when the fridge was installed at the factory, for whatever reason, the installer had glued the fridge in place. After a time of very carefully prying at the bottom metal of the fridge, we were able to get it loose without damaging or destroying the floor of the fridge box! Damaging that could have been a very bad thing. The old fridge was finally out of its place. 

Luckily, we have a larger size entry door into the 5th wheel at 28 inches wide. So, we were able, with some wrangling and using the cardboard from the new fridge to help slide it down, and slide the old fridge and then the new fridge using one of our quad loading ramps, getting the old one out and the new one in. No dents or damage to either unit, but we didn't take all the protective material off until the new fridge was in its place. 

My biggest concern was wiring the new fridge in. It was still a 15-amp fuse, but the manual called for thicker wiring than the old fridge did. We had gotten some heavier wire, and it was lucky that the RVs fuse and electrical panel are very close to the fridge, and the new unit was wired up without any difficulty. I did move the fuse in the fridge wiring from the top of the box because there would have been no way to get to that fuse without pulling it all out again. So, I moved it to the back of the unit. There was enough stock wire that it just needed a little rerouting, but now it can be gotten to if I ever need to at the back of the unit accessible at the outside panel in the RV wall from the original fridge. So, the unit in and works great, and there are two fuse points and the 15 amp breaker keeping it going.

Above: undoing the no longer needed gas line. It was plugged with a tapered plug, 1/2".

Right: the old fridge is finally out and on cardboard on the floor to protect it from getting gouged. 

Above: the box for the fridge. All that gray was where the adhesive had been used to glue it in place. Why?????

Right: Stacy taking off the protective cardboard on the new fridge doors. The new fridge is in place and partly screwed in. Still, some mounting points that need to be screwed in, a part most install videos don't mention. There are three screws on each side where the doors are that are to be screwed into the sidewall for better support. We still needed to work out the trim, as it turned out that the fridge box wasn't square and wasn't flush at any point. I found a black trim we used on Amazon that hides the inconsistencies and looks nice. 

Left: the stock opening with the new fridge installed. The capped gas line was secured, and I don't think there's any reason to remove it, just in case!

 

We kept the new fridge on for about a week to see how it would work, and it worked fine. In September, we used the 5th wheel for a week as Stacy had a conference to attend, and we took the dogs, and all went. It worked great. It was not noticeable when running at all. The over 2 cubic feet more of storage over the stock 8 cubic foot fridge was a great bonus!

We went all in on Solar!!

In June of 2021, we went to Reno, Nevada, to have a solar power system installed in the Jayco. VERY EXPENSIVE but so worth it! It is as great as you may have seen some people say that it is like having the RV plugged into power all the time, anyplace you go. The trip was a week, and the installation took about four days. 

Over 1,200 watts of solar panels, 400amp hours of lithium batteries, a 3000-watt whole house inverter/converter, and the charge controller for the panel's input. 

Above: 4 batteries, inverter/charger, solar controller, fuses, etc. All in the front bay. 

Right: The 3-430 watt panels used in our installation on the Jayco roof. It was installed by Zero Declination in Reno, NV. They were recommended by Battleborn (the batteries), and they did a great job. 

Left: on our way back from Reno, we couldn't find any RV park vacancies, so we got to use the system right off the bat for the three-day trip home. Here was from our last night, and we used our Harvest Host membership for the first time, too, staying the night at a parachuting facility near Spokane. I really enjoyed the stay. 

We actually enjoyed the solar so much that we decided to get the small RV, the 2018 Winnebago Micro Minnie, a solar package too. 

Just two 100 amp hour batteries and 200 watts of solar on the small roof. It works great also, and it is so nice being able to use the air conditioner while stopped for lunch or breaks like we did during the summer on trips to Boise in the heat. 

Speaking of air conditioners, the A/C unit in the Micro Minnie actually died in June, in the heat, and in Boise, blowing air but no cold air. Taking the cover off showed a refrigerant leak, and no place will repair RV a/c units, so we had to buy a new one. 

Taking the opportunity, we went for as quiet as we could find as a replacement unit. We picked a great one too. 

A Houghton brand made in Australia and most often used in van conversions originally. But I'm seeing those units on other RVs now. An easy replacement, other than not getting killed getting the old unit off the roof and the new unit on the roof! Low profile and soooooooooo quiet! We love it! Expensive, though, a replacement Dometic would have been about $700.00, and the Houghton cost over $1,600. But, should any other units go out like the incredibly loud Dometic did, we'd replace it with a Houghton, no question!

Above: it came in a big box and over 100 pounds.

Right: installed on the Micro Minnie, lower and longer than the Dometic but oh so quiet!

Above: this is it, the only wiring needed for this installation. Just power as the unit for this RV is non-ducted, and no separate wall switch. The controls are all on the unit itself. This new unit is powered by a remote control, and in the photo below, you can see it was set to 70 degrees. You can turn off the display for nighttime, and in addition to cooling, it also has a built-in heat pump, but we haven't needed to try that out yet. 13,500 BTUs and the small space of the micro Minnie works perfectly! It can be on, and you can hear and have a conversation! You could NOT do that with the Dometic unit as it had only two settings, louder and loudest! 

What is next?

In about four months, we'll be traveling to Elkhart, Indiana, to the MorRyde factory, and we're scheduled (we were scheduled almost 2-years ago; that's how far they have to schedule due to business!!!) to have their Independent Suspension system installed into our Jayco 5th wheel. 7,000-pound axles, disk brakes, no more shackles, and springs. 

We put the money away for it back then, so while expensive, we have it and hope this will be the last big expense for a long time!

That will be it for this post!