Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Travel Trailers: Cool Mods


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Open Roads Forum > Travel Trailers > Modifications and Accessories

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T3rry1

Alberta

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Joined: 01/14/2015

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Posted: 04/05/15 05:05pm

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Also plug mod, didn't want to pay for the expensive locking plugs, and also wanted somethign that would exit the trailer at a 90* angle to avoid dropping or knocking it, so i modded this up.. works just fine.

[image]

Also got to test out my x-chocks, they do seem to take out a lot of the trailer jiggle!

[image]

And new stabilizer, overkill? probably but they also help a lot with the trailer movement.. and i got them on sale, so for $40/pair, i couldn't refuse (also would have had to remount the old ones with the new rear bumper, so it was convenient)

[image]

And my wife's FAVOURITE mod, Ikea had a sale on their kitchen stuff, they were clearing it out at 50%+off, so i picked up 3 cabinets and 9 drawers for around $50... turned this old useless "wardrobe" in to a very functional drawer set for clothes.

[image]

Houston Remodeler

Houston

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Posted: 04/05/15 09:03pm

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Our 2015 Starcraft TT came with the factory 6 gallon hot water heater (HWH) with the usual "feels like 9 gallons" claim. Y'all know the drill; No washing dishes while showering, Quick showers, spacing the showers to let the HWH make more hot water.... I shopped for factory made RV gas fired on demand HWH and found they run about $1200 and had to be professionally installed. I am too [s]cheap[/s] thrifty to spend two grand for hot water.

Then I had another McGyver moment - why not add our existing Ecco Temp 5 On demand hot water heater to the TT to have endless hot water?

The new install works excellently. Last weekend we hosted 12 people showering (they are in tents) with no want for hot water all weekend. They did have to bring their own towels.

What we did-

1- Install a diverter tee to the stock incoming cold water supply pipe just before the stock HWH. This tee sends the cold water supply either to the on demand or to the stock heater, making the mod reversible.
2- Installed another (regular) tee just after the diverter tee to bring the water back from the on demand. Since the diverter tee will not allow backflow, the second tee doesn't need to be special.
3- Ran pex from the tees to the on demand heater at the rear of the TT, which hangs on the outside ladder, keeping the heater a few inches away from the trailer siding.
4- At the ends of the pipes outside are self shut off, brass, hose style quick connect fittings. These fittings also act as valves, preventing backflow, pipe drainage, and makes the mod reversible.
5- We made jumper hoses from the quick connect fittings to and from the on demand.
6- The on demand uses a typical 20 pound LP (high pressure) tank which also serves our outdoor fire pit. The TT has low pressure LP so we can't use the TT gas to run the on demand.
7- To keep the wind from blowing out the flame* on the on demand and add a rain shield, I installed a typical galvanized, off the shelf from home depot, 4x10" rectangle to 4" round galvanized duct, topped with a class B roof cap. These caps are designed to prevent pilot blow out. Our weekend was very windy and we had zero problems.
8- Dis-assembly is as simple as the quick connects for the 2 water hoses and the LP to the portable tank. We toss the whole thing in the rear storage compartment on the same corner.
9- To keep the fittings on the outside / underside of the TT clean, there is a short jumper hose which replaces the on demand while the TT is in transport or storage. It loops around the nearby bumper to keep it from sagging or pinching.

Counting the heater itself, we spent $286

The on demand is excellent at bringing hose water up to a much higher temperature and acts as a pre-heater to the stock HWH. The factory HWH is excellent at topping off the temperature to nearly scalding, which is how I like my showers. Use of cold water was necessary as we had endless, more-than-hot-enough water to take showers as long and as many as needed. There were times when people were in line using the shower one after another. We washed dishes at the same time. Everyone was happy.

*The Ecco Temp LP HWH's are battery powered, self igniting flame when they sense water flowing. However, when its windy, the flame can be blown out, shutting down the water heating but not the water flow. To restart the flame, either the water needs to be stopped and re-started OR the unit turned off and back on by means of the rocker switch on the bottom of the HWH. Thus the attention to wind is important as you're in the shower nekkid when the unit is running. This usually is a really bad time for the HWH to stop working. The addition of the HVAC adapter and the B vent cap eliminated the fear of the flame being blown out.

2015 Starcraft Launch 24RLS
2014 Ram 2500 diesel 4x4
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Zeppe807

Lost in wonder

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Posted: 04/06/15 09:09pm

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^ ^ Nice Rack!

I built mine last year and maybe put more ideas into it than I should have, due to weight capacity…

I wanted a removable rack, with the ability to load my 6500 Watt Husky Generator, some firewood, and miscellaneous gear, along with my bikes. I built it to mount off two 2in hitches off the top of the bumper for extra height clearance. I added my spare tire to the bottom, and a hitch mount tucked into the back so I could add my Bicycle rack to the rack. I added tie down points throughout the sides and a D-Ring to the hitch to lock my bikes too. The Rack is 36” x 90” so I fit a lot on it!

To hold the Rack, I removed the stock welded on tube and added a new bumper. I used a 4” x 4” x 1/8” square tubing for the bumper and mounts. I made it mount to the frame about 1.5ft down the frame. I added a ½” plate inside the tube, drilled and tapped it, so then I drilled the frame and bolted it through. I also added a center support that bolted to the cross member. I trimmed the tubing and installed a 2” receiver and a D-Ring under the bumper. On the top I added two 2” hitch receivers with added gussets since it was only 1/8” tubing. I added almost 200 lbs to the rear… I might just be able to tow a boat off this rack…..

I am now in the process of adding my new Yamaha and enclosure to the rack.

Happy Trails.

Joe Zeppe

In Pursuit Of Happiness and lost in wonder - Wife, Daughter, 2 Sons, dog
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 Diesel Auto Quad Cab Short Bed, some mods
1999 Kit Sun Chaser 29ft Bunkhouse, LT tires & some (unique?) mods
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msalyer

Michigan

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Posted: 04/06/15 10:48pm

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Doesn't look like your taillights are very visible when the rack is loaded like that.

Sinnettc

Oregon

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Posted: 04/12/15 07:27pm

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Our TT (2010 Trail Cruiser 23qbc) came with 3 plastic trays under the sink. I've never liked them and I don't know how many times I pulled the little one completely out. So, I decided to replace them with drawers.

[image]

Last weekend I went to Habitat for Humanity's ReStore and bought 3 drawers and a couple of cabinet doors that looked to be a close match for the interior of our 23qbc. Total cost was $6.50 since it was 1/2 price day! The drawer glides and new 10 inch saw blade cost a lot more.

This weekend I got to work on the demo and fabrication. I was going to go with 3 drawers to match the trays but decided to change things up. The first thing was to (carefully) remove the rails the trays slide on. Once those were out I put a piece of 3/8 plywood on each side to give me a good backing for the drawer rails.

Space under the sink is constrained by the drain at the top and the heat ducts at the bottom. between the two I had about 13 inches of space so I decided to go with an 8" x 13" x 19" drawer on the bottom and a 4.5" x 13" x 19" one on the top.

I pulled out the table saw and got to work cutting the oversized drawers down and reassembling them. As usual the first one took much longer than I expected. Lots of bruises and considerable cussing ensued before it was mounted in the cabinet. The second one went quicker, though I'm sporting a nice bruise across my stomach from the bottom kicking back when I was cutting it to size on the table saw; guess I should have double checked the fence was straight. Lesson learned.

It was almost dark so I did my final cuts, using part of the doors I'd purchased to make fronts for the drawers. This morning I put the fronts on, put the drawers in and loaded them up. As a bonus, the little silverware tray that came with the trailer fits across the top of the drawers so we'll continue to use it for shower change, batteries and other loose odds and ends.

[image]

1995 Chevy Silverado K1500 4x4 short bed
2010 Trail Cruiser 23QBC
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pchartrand

Michigan

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Posted: 04/12/15 08:11pm

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Wow nice job on the drawers!!

2014 Keystone Bullet Premier 22RBPR
2017 Chevy Colorado (Duramax)

ROBERTSUNRUS

Salem, Oregon

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Posted: 04/12/15 10:20pm

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Hi, nice job; Much nicer than the three trays.

"> Bob ">
2005 Airstream Safari 25-B
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ejbrandley

Philadelphia(mayfair)

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Posted: 04/14/15 08:09pm

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T3rry1
The bumper is kick but , but it looks like the rear stabizer jacks are too far back . if you bottom out on a drive or a speed bump your gonna loose them or mangle them . Judging on the skids that are pictured its bottomed out a few times already

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