There isn’t really a good place to put a trash can. Tried to remove in a non-destructive method, didn’t work. Just bust it out.
#002 Replace Analog Thermostat with Digital
The factory thermostat is an analog unit with about a 4 or 5 degree swing. Replace it with a digital. (Courtesy of RV.NET).
#003 Seal Up Leaks in Furnace, Adjustable Registers in Kitchen & Living Room
The outbound side of the furnace leaks like a sieve and the blank (unused) ducts fall off. Seal it up with aluminum tape. (Courtesy of LDay).
#004 Basement Power
Install power in the basement for rechargeable tools, etc.
#005 TV Input
This mod was not necessary and I removed the A/B switch. I did not realize that the antenna booster also handles the CABLE input. The SATellite input is an entirely seperate, point to point connection and will connect to the satellite receiver, not the TV. (Original idea: Install an A/B switch for the 2 inputs: antenna & satellite. Now you can simple flip the switch instead of moving the coax cable back and forth.)
#006 Relocate Dining Table
Remove 2 dining room chairs and move the table over so there is more room. The couch can be moved away from the wall also.
#007 Relocate the Clothes Rod
For some reason, they install the clothes rod too close to the mirror. Recenter it between the wall and mirror.
#008 Fridge Fan Install
Install a fan that keeps the fridge coils cool in excessive heat. (Courtesy of Hunter11)
#009 Oven Cabinet Power Install
Install 110v power in the cabinet below the oven for use by items like a cordless Dust Buster.
#010 Hand Crank
You know that hand crank that hopefully you’ll never need but still must carry with you? Here’s a handy place to stash it away. I also but a piece of tubing on the carriage bolts and cable tied it down to keep it quiet.
#011 Spare Fuses
All the 12v circuits use 15a fuses. There are a few that aren’t used, empty plugs. Take a spare fuse and install it in a blank spot so you always have one handy. To make it obvious which one it is, just plug it into one leg and let the other hang in space. Next time a fuse blows it will be instantly obvious which one is the hot spare.
#012 Outside Shower Re-plumb
You’ll notice that the plumbing for the outside shower eats up most of the lower area in the bathroom cabinet. Buy (4) elbows ½” x 3/8” and about 18 – 24” of 3/8” tubing. As you’ll see, I had to loop one of the connections around because the 2 T’s were too close and the other connection was in the way. At least it loops sideways, not toward the front. I bought 18” so my loop is a bit tight, 24” would allow a more gradual loop.
#013 Drip Clips
Tired of black streaks after a rain? Install Drip clips. (Courtesy of Hunter11)
#014 Replace the Storage Compartment Locks
Almost every trailer manufactured uses the exact lock and key. The locks can be easily replaced for about $20. Obviously this doesn’t make the doors any stronger but it will slow down someone who thinks he can easily use his key to gain access to your stuff. Make sure they are all keyed alike and don’t forget about the outside shower door, like I did. While I was at it, I made sure all the locks and knobs on the other end work the same direction i.e. clockwise to lock, counter clockwise to unlock, always horizontal when locked. That way I can tell at a glance if everything is locked up. The battery compartment was off by 90°, which reminds me that I have to check out the LPG knobs.
#015 Seal Up Air Leaks
There are quite a few areas where air and / or critters can get in. I used 2” insulation rigid foam to seal up the 110v power cord compartment; one piece along the top of the board that separates it from the power panel compartment and another against the vent. You’ll also need to squirt a little bit of spray foam where the top piece doesn’t quite meet the vent wall due to braces in the way. I used spray foam everywhere else. (Courtesy of Hunter11 & LDay).
#016 Re-caulk Shower
I ran a thick bead of caulk around the 2 back walls of the shower where the walls and pan overlap. Not sure if it was necessary but couldn’t hurt. Also redid the rest of the shower caulking while I was at it.
#017 Seal Laundry Chute
Plugged the hole with a piece of masonite, glued to bottom. Used 10-24 x 1” bolts and wing nuts to fasten down cover. Didn’t want to make it permanent because we’ve used it a couple of times to take a hose inside to fill black tank.
#018 Dog Blockade
At home the dogs sleep with us and have for all their lives so they expect it. On the road, the bed is too small and too high for them to jump down; they could tweak their backs. During the trip home we jerry rigged something to keep them off the bed. Here is the final product.
#019 Basement Storage – DTV Dish
Took a while to find a place where the dish could get stashed away, be protected, be easily accessible but not take up a lot of room. Stare at something long enough and eventually something will pop into your head. The board is a 2 x 6, sitting on the cross member; notched to fit behind the landing gear. 3 screws into the side from the LPG compartment keep it from going anywhere. Be sure to use ½” screws, not ¾” for the plumbers tape.
#020 Protecting Basement Furnace Ductwork
Of all the mods, I think this one came out the nicest. CrossRoads runs the bathroom & bedroom furnace ducts thru the basement. They are made of a flexible foil material that wouldn’t be too hard to rip when placing items into the basement.
I prototyped the cabinet with cardboard because it took a few shots to get it right. Then it was a simple matter of tracing the cardboard onto the plywood, cutting, gluing and screwing. The hard part was crawling in and out of that basement.
I used 3/8 plywood to build a cabinet around the bulkiest portion then used some 4” drain pipe to protect the remaining length for the bedroom duct. I had to cut the drain pipe lengthwise since both are 4” but it was easy to spread it apart enough to get the furnace tubing into the drain pipe. Also, it takes a weird turn when it gets to the register. I wasn’t sure how to protect that portion until I thought about it for quite a while. I bought (2) metal, adjustable 90° elbows at HD. When you buy them they look straight but they have 4 or 5 joints in them that allow you to form anywhere from a 90 to a 180. I used them back to back to replace the weird angle that the flex took; and a ton of aluminum tape to keep them in place. Now the flex doesn’t bend at all at the register end. Be sure to use ½” screws, not ¾”.
#021 XM Radio
Connected an XM Radio receiver to the AUX input on the stereo. The XM antenna seems to get an adequate signal sitting inside the adjacent cabinet.
#022 MaxxAir Vent Covers
These are supposed to allow use of the vents even if it rains. These are the 800 model which includes a screen to keep junk out and louvers to help block rain.
#023 Basement Door Bumpers
I installed 2 bumpers on the basement door next to the entry door. The one on the left protects the entry door when it and the basement door are both open. The one on the right is to protect the door if the wind catches it and forces it against the basement door. If you have Ace Hardware stores in your area the part number for the bumpers is #51636.
#024 Pop-A-Whatever
I installed these 3 Pop-A-Products for Sandy today; Pop-A-Plate, Pop-A-Napkin and Pop-A-Bag.
#025 Battery Switch
I removed the blade style battery switch and upgraded to a marine style. It is a lot easier to get to and allows the battery box to close further.
#026 Bedroom Wardrobe Shelves
Since the wardrobe across the front is big enough for all our hangup clothes, I added shelves to the wardrobe along side of the potty room.
#027 Network Wiring
The rig is configured for Wireless Internet access but some parks offer DSL service. I installed a Cat5e circuit from the rear of the fridge to the wireless bridge.
#028 Screen Door Release
This clothes hanger release allows you to unlatch the screen door without sliding the plastic door back and forth. I can't take credit for thinking this one up, I saw it at the CrossRoads Rally.
#029 Water Filter Holder
Built a water filter holder from a toilet plumbing base and some 4" drainage pipe. I can't take credit for thinking this one up, I saw it at the CrossRoads Rally.
#030 Sewer Hose Holder
The sewer hose wasn't fitting in the rear bumper very well and the storage bin I bought took up too much room in the basement so I built this holder from 4" drain pipe.
#031 Rear Stabilizer Jack Mudflaps
Hopefully this will reduce the amount of junk the tires fling up on the stabilizer jacks. I can't take credit for thinking this one up, I saw it at the CrossRoads Rally (Thanks WesleyD).
#032 Basement Hose Storage Shelf
I store my water hoses, galley drain hose, extension cords and coax cables in the non-door side basement compartment. It seems like the one I need is always on the bottom and the water hoses tend to get smashed if they aren't on top of the pile. One of the businesses in town advertises shelves for garages and it looked pretty easy to retrofit them to the rig. Home Depot had the exact shelves for less than half price. The hoses and cords fit on the shelf and there is still adequate room below the shelf for other items.
#033 LPG Tank Hold Down
I didn't think the factory LPG tank support was adequate so I added a traditional T support. I bought a 3/8" x 36" threaded rod from Home Depot and the dual tank bracket and wing nut from a local RV supply house. The entire project cost less than $10 and the tanks are now very solidly in place.
#034 Cable Actuated Dump Valves
The dump valves for both grey water tanks on our CF29RK were tucked under the rig a ways, making it hard to reach them, so I replaced the valves with cable controlled valves.
#035 Step Light
On a recent camping trip Hunter11 noticed some rigs that had lights on their steps. This sounded like a great idea as the dogs have problems negotiating the steps in the dark.
#036 Campground Running Lights
The contacts on the truck to 5er pigtail were getting pretty bent up so I decided to replace the pigtail. While I had it opened up I decided to install a switch that allows me to turn on the 5er running lights while parked at a campground. Thanks to Diesel Dave ( 2 New Mods ) and others on the CrossRoads forum for the idea.
#037 Eliminating Water Pump Noise
Our water pump has always make a lot of noise. It got better when I insulated where the water lines pass thru cabinets but it was still too loud to my liking. I read on the CrossRoads forum where RDTravel ( Noisy Water Pump ) installed an expansion tank that solved the same problem on his rig. I was about to install one but I remembered hearing somewhere that installing a flex line between the pump and the hard line would also work. I tried that 1st since it was easier and cheaper and it seems to work well. Just don’t over tighten the fitting on the pump and crack the housing like I did.
#038 Corner Desk & Glider In Place Of Couch
We only purchased one factory rocker and replaced it with a wall hugger recliner last year. That made watching TV much more comfortable for one of us, usually me. We decided this year to remove the couch and replace it with a glider we had at the house. Since the glider was a lot smaller than the couch, we needed something to help fill the space. We found this corner desk at Staples and it fit real nice. Now we have a dedicated place for the laptop and don’t have to move it every time we eat.
#039 Tornado Black Tank Flusher
For those of us without factory installed black tank flushers you might want to consider installing a Camco Tornado flusher. Man, it works awesome.
#040 Outside Fridge Switch
This switch allows you to easily and quickly turn off the fridge prior to fueling up.
#041 Fresh Water Pickup
Want to use the last 20% of your fresh water? Check this out.
#042 SeeLevel Tank Monitor System
Accurately display the level of your holding tanks.
#043 Network Cable
Install a network cable in the bottom of the TV cabinet.
#044 Screen Door Threshold
Block the gap at the bottom of the screen door.