Alterations-Modifications?

[treecounter]

Are any of you guys doing modifications or alterations to your rigs to make them fit your lifestyle?

[johnsandywhite]

:D Sure are. Solar panels. Extra batteries. Satellite TV. Invertor. :wink:

[tonigil]

I built a sewage drain pipe strorage container. The one on my BTC was too small and would not fit a longer drain hose. So I went to a landscaping place where they sell stones and pipes for irrigation. I bought a PVC pipe with pre-drilled holes for drainage or irrigation. I also purchased a solid screw cap (and drilled drainage holes in the bottom) for the bottom end and a colar & screw in for the top. All I have to do is unscrew and insert the longer hose and the connectors for the hose. I installed it at an angle to the ladder over the rear bumper with pipe clamps and 2 pieces of wood with half moon cut outs to fit the hose holder.
I will try to insert a picture here if possible.
Toni
PS. See pictures on my site and click on the "About Me" Tab at the top of the home page.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeojvhi/tonigilmartin2/index.html
PS. I tried to import a picture. Didn't work so that is why I referr to my Web Site.l

[tonigil]

The above Sewerage pipe storage tube may be used for any RV as long as it has a ladder. But, I am sure this can be again modified to suit other types of installation.
Toni

[s79vette]

Gonna rig up a door to guard my gas cap from vandelism. It didn't come
with a locking door or cap and filler design is formed to install a locking door easily with a little effort. Steve

[tonigil]

Gonna rig up a door to guard my gas cap from vandelism. It didn't come
with a locking door or cap and filler design is formed to install a locking door easily with a little effort. Steve
I have a locking door over my gas fill. But the door is so flexible that it can be pryed open with anything even just a key. Wouldn't it be easier if you just got a locking cap instead. I was thinking of getting a locking cap since the door is really not that secure.
Toni

[treecounter]

We added a Wilson Truckers Antenna for our cell phone. We were boon docking off of 97 in Oregon and went from no bars to five bars. This thing really works

[tonigil]

Where did you get it? And was it hard to install?
Thank you, Toni
My Web Site
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeojvhi/tonigilmartin2/index.html[url]

[s79vette]

Wouldn't it be easier if you just got a locking cap instead.

Tonigil,
Probably but my cap is now attached with a plastic lanyard and it would be me to forget to put on locking cap after fillup and lose a 27 dollar cap.

I got it made and altho it doesn't look storebought it will work. I added two
small metal braces to back side of door to prevent flexability. It would take a big prybar to overcome. Nothing is foolproof but it will slow someone down. Steve

[tonigil]

e79vette
Thank you, sounds like it should work out great.
Toni.

[treecounter]

Toni, we got ours at RS but you can get them at any Truck stop. We mounted it on a CB antenna base on the drivers side and ran the wire through the window for now. Be sure to mounted it on a Spring. Didn't run the wire through the wall as this antenna has w bunch of small probes on it that trees will eat. Wanted it to be easy to remove. Not difficult at all.

[tonigil]

Toni, we got ours at RS but you can get them at any Truck stop. We mounted it on a CB antenna base on the drivers side and ran the wire through the window for now. Be sure to mounted it on a Spring. Didn't run the wire through the wall as this antenna has w bunch of small probes on it that trees will eat. Wanted it to be easy to remove. Not difficult at all.
Thank you for the info. When I am On The Road Again, I will check out the antenna in the Truck stops. Then I will get one of my sons to do this for me. I have printed the info for them.
Again Thank you very much.
Toni

[treecounter]

When we travel we use a satellite to get the internet. Not one of the fancy and expensive roof top mounts but one on a tripod. getting the wires into the coach with out putting holes in the side of our Friendship proved to be a challenge. The desk is in the bed room on a slide out. We drilled two holes through the floor under the desk. Found that the floor had styro foam insulation in it so we took some "funny hose" from HD and coated it with silicone glue and put in tn the holes. After the glue set trimmed it inside and out. We run the lines through the holes when we are parked and when we are traveling they are inside. No air leaks and no holes in the side of the coach. We also built a "desk" for a lap top in the cab. Discovered that with a little trimming a 3" PVC pipe fit in the coffee cup holders. mounted a piece of quarter inch plywood large enough to hold the laptop on the PVC with angle brackets and built hold downs cushioned with silicone glue. to hold it from bouncing off. Waxed the PVC where it fits in the coffee cup holder and it rotates smoothly from driver to passenger. Now we have a navigation system to see where we are. As Glub says like you need a navigation system to get to Yuma you have been over that road twenty times. "They" just don't understand.

[treecounter]

Yesterday we replaced the thermostat in the front room with a "Hunter" digital thermostat. It took two tries as the wire colors were different than the ones in our fifth wheel. It has an adjustable range of up two three degrees so there isn't a big fluctuation in room temp. It also has a digital thermometer so you know how warm it is in the coach. Got it at Wally world $20.

[treecounter]

I'll bet you guys think all we do is work on our rig..... your right. We will continue to "modify" it until it is truly ours. When on a trip to Craters of the Moon last summer we needed to run our generator to have air conditioning. The exhaust came in the coach and into the next camp site. So we suffered in the heat. Looking at the system I measured the exhaust pipe and found it to be inch and a quarter. Went to HD and got ten ft. of inch and a quarter steel conduit and three unions and a 90 degree bend. About $25. Used a piece of corner brace mounted on the CB antenna and a strap to the conduit. Hooked it up and the exhaust goes up above the coach with most of the noise. Better than $135 CW wants for their PVC system. Cut the 10 ft. piece in half for easy storage. We bought a inch and a quarter PVC ninety and tried it first. It melted.

[RV Wizard]

We have two model numbers on this coach so I am not sure what it means. Maybe it was ordered with a pacakge to include another model?
Anyway, I did not like the fact that the front TV was not the best place to watch toward. I had a 27" in the house when we sold it ane I put it into the coach on the bottom of a roll around computer cart/desk. I left the bottom partitions off and moved the keyboard slideout tray up a little to accommidate the TV size. Put it up againt the wall where the LR/DR slide out would cover when pulled in across from the 4 door refrigerator. When we get ready to travel, I put it behind the dinnete chair and slide the room in. This position is much better to view and the top of the desk serves as more counter top space when needed; very handy in front of the refrigerator.
If someone can coach me as to how to upload photos to this forum I can do so.

[gsadmin]

I'll bet you guys think all we do is work on our rig..... your right. We will continue to "modify" it until it is truly ours. When on a trip to Craters of the Moon last summer we needed to run our generator to have air conditioning. The exhaust came in the coach and into the next camp site. So we suffered in the heat. Looking at the system I measured the exhaust pipe and found it to be inch and a quarter. Went to HD and got ten ft. of inch and a quarter steel conduit and three unions and a 90 degree bend. About $25. Used a piece of corner brace mounted on the CB antenna and a strap to the conduit. Hooked it up and the exhaust goes up above the coach with most of the noise. Better than $135 CW wants for their PVC system. Cut the 10 ft. piece in half for easy storage. We bought a inch and a quarter PVC ninety and tried it first. It melted.

Be careful with that "solution". I am not an expert, but i know that most engines require a certain amount of backpressure, or in this case lack thereof. The exhaust extensions i have seen actually do not connect directly to the pipe but have a small gap to allos some of the pressure to release. All I am saying is that the extension of the exhaust pipe may make the engine not run to spec.

[treecounter]

Looks like we are the only ones working on our rig. Last week we added Datastorm. So we are on line much faster and no tripod.

[gsadmin]

Looks like we are the only ones working on our rig. Last week we added Datastorm. So we are on line much faster and no tripod.

what was the hardware and installation cost and what is your monthly cost?

[treecounter]

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. $5000 installed and $80 a month. Steep but it works very well and We don't have to fight with fine tuning on a tripod. Getting the signal was a snap but the fine tuning got to be a pain.

[gsadmin]

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. $5000 installed and $80 a month. Steep but it works very well and We don't have to fight with fine tuning on a tripod. Getting the signal was a snap but the fine tuning got to be a pain.

$5000!!!!

Ouch!

Guess I won't be going that route anytime soon :)

I could stomach the $80 as I would leave it plugged in and use a wireless router to feed my house network when at home, but that hardware cost...sheez...

[darbyjudy]

I have a 2004 Gulfstream sunvoyager, triple slide.
In the last week I have installed a shelve in the cabinet in the bathroom.
Today I installed a shelve under the bed to hold the extra bedding. I made it so it just lifts out because also in that area is the converter and the transfer switch. Wish the bed had struts to hold it up but at the present I use a prop.

[gsadmin]

I made it so it just lifts out because also in that area is the converter and the transfer switch. Wish the bed had struts to hold it up but at the present I use a prop.

Be careful of propping that up...i nearly broke my neck on that. As you know, the bed base and mattress weighs alot. I used a mop and the weight of the bed folded it in half and it slipped out. This is another pet peeve i have on my coach. I mean, really, how much would it have cost to do this (put in a proper support)? How much will the lawsuit be when someone does break their neck on this and die or worse yet turn into Christopher Reeve?

I have the same beef with five of my exterior comparments that do not have struts. I have pointed this out to my dealer/service as well as GS directly and was told this was how the coach was "designed".

So far, this design has caused me a sore neck from the bed compartment when the support i jimmyed slipped out and one knot on my head when the same thing happened to me on my electrical compartment when someone got in the RV while i was working, and the weight shift dislodged my makeshift support.

This is yet another thing that the factory should take responsibility for and fix IMO. Again, how much will a lawsuit cost them...especially since they now know it is an issue from me and others bringing it to their attention...can you spell negligence?

[treecounter]

Our Friendship came with a drawer under the sink in the kitchen that was worthless. It was shaped to fit under the and around the sinks plumbing. It had some compartments but you couldn't get silver ware in them. We built a new drawer with eight compartments. Six of them long enough to hold all the silver and long knives and two that hold Salt and Pepper, can opener etc. Mounted the original face on it and it looks like the original drawer.

[treecounter]

I have a 2004 Gulfstream sunvoyager, triple slide.
In the last week I have installed a shelve in the cabinet in the bathroom.
Today I installed a shelve under the bed to hold the extra bedding. I made it so it just lifts out because also in that area is the converter and the transfer switch. Wish the bed had struts to hold it up but at the present I use a prop. When we lifted our bed found the blocks for the slide outs were stored there the work great for holding the bed up.

[treecounter]

I'll bet you guys think all we do is work on our rig..... your right. We will continue to "modify" it until it is truly ours. When on a trip to Craters of the Moon last summer we needed to run our generator to have air conditioning. The exhaust came in the coach and into the next camp site. So we suffered in the heat. Looking at the system I measured the exhaust pipe and found it to be inch and a quarter. Went to HD and got ten ft. of inch and a quarter steel conduit and three unions and a 90 degree bend. About $25. Used a piece of corner brace mounted on the CB antenna and a strap to the conduit. Hooked it up and the exhaust goes up above the coach with most of the noise. Better than $135 CW wants for their PVC system. Cut the 10 ft. piece in half for easy storage. We bought a inch and a quarter PVC ninety and tried it first. It melted.

Be careful with that "solution". I am not an expert, but i know that most engines require a certain amount of back pressure, or in this case lack thereof. The exhaust extensions i have seen actually do not connect directly to the pipe but have a small gap to allows some of the pressure to release. All I am saying is that the extension of the exhaust pipe may make the engine not run to spec. I agree with you. So I cut the pipe off and attached a three inch by eight foot piece of plastic pipe. The inch and a half runs into the three inch about a foot. The exhaust pulls cold air in at the bottom and cools the PVC. I saw the ones at CW and that was the way they are. Thanks for the constructive criticism.

[treecounter]

I'll bet you guys think all we do is work on our rig..... your right. We will continue to "modify" it until it is truly ours. When on a trip to Craters of the Moon last summer we needed to run our generator to have air conditioning. The exhaust came in the coach and into the next camp site. So we suffered in the heat. Looking at the system I measured the exhaust pipe and found it to be inch and a quarter. Went to HD and got ten ft. of inch and a quarter steel conduit and three unions and a 90 degree bend. About $25. Used a piece of corner brace mounted on the CB antenna and a strap to the conduit. Hooked it up and the exhaust goes up above the coach with most of the noise. Better than $135 CW wants for their PVC system. Cut the 10 ft. piece in half for easy storage. We bought a inch and a quarter PVC ninety and tried it first. It melted.

Be careful with that "solution". I am not an expert, but i know that most engines require a certain amount of back pressure, or in this case lack thereof. The exhaust extensions i have seen actually do not connect directly to the pipe but have a small gap to allows some of the pressure to release. All I am saying is that the extension of the exhaust pipe may make the engine not run to spec. I agree with you. So I cut the pipe off and attached a three inch by eight foot piece of plastic pipe. The inch and a half runs into the three inch about a foot. The exhaust pulls cold air in at the bottom and cools the PVC. I saw the ones at CW and that was the way they are. Thanks for the constructive criticism.