If you own/ buy an older Class A. Do you upgrade some of the systems or use it as-is

[Waiter21]

I just relocated the entry light switches and step switch.

They were down low on the bench seat back and I moved them to the top of the bench seat back.

They were very hard to reach while standing inside, they are now easy to reach from both inside and outside the door.

http://www.2001mirada.com/FORUM/index.php?topic=38.0

[Shaky]

I just ordered Koni shocks all around and am having the bushings in my front and rear sway bars replaced. I also updated my CB and antenna. I installed a Cobra C75WXST compact unit with the built in weather channel. Eventually I'll install a HAM radio, but that's going to be a bit down the road.

No matter how good the RV is there is always something you want to make it a bit better, or more personalized. My wife is looking at some different light fixtures. I'm fine with the fixtures we have. They look nice and they all work. Different priorities I guess... ;-)

[wa8yxm]

New or used you will always "Personalize" this may mean upgrading some things or Just changing them (Lateral pass) It all depends on You.. After all you need to make it YOUR RV.

[DD788Snipe]

Installed laminate flooring
New carpet on dog house, in closet and on slide in salon.
Upgraded Both TVs and added one outside in compartment.
Replaced awning Material. On toppers too.
Changed out steel wheels and liners to Aluminum.
Installed ScanGageD.
Re-did cabinets in overhead in cockpit and in bedroom where old CRT TV was at.
Installed upgraded water pump.
Removed battery tray, descaled and repainted.
Installed new Koni shocks
And I still have projects to do this coming winter.
I guess you'd say it's a work in progress.

[Tyler6357]

1990 1/2 Fleetwood Bounder 34-S
- All New batteries
- 3 camera back-up/blind spot/security camera system
- New cooling unit for fridge
- New Air Bag shocks
- Tires all around
- Tire/Air Bag compressor/w 50 foot hose
- Liquid Rubber the whole roof
- Digital TV Antenna
- GPS map
- Flat screen TV replacement


Everything works! Hey, how can I paint this beast?? Oh well, I'm hitting the road!!

[pop-sicle]

Waiter 21
I keep an eye on your site because our coaches similar we have a 2000 Coachmen Mirada 340 mbs just bought in Nov. 14 so very similar to yours. I like some of the things you have done. I have removed old crt-tv and will build multiple drawer cabinet for personal needs such as phone charger pens pencil sunglasses etc. We got 40 Inch tv to replace old will mount either above passenger seat or on cabinet above chair by door, probably will make the tv portable and just hang it when in camp. I am still looking at CHF and track bar but seem to be satisfied with how mind drives I have air bags on rear so I think that helps. Future plans will need a new roof, maybe remove couch and dinette and put love seat and recliner. Enough for now, thanks for your Website.

[Waiter21]

Thanks Jerry;

There doesn't seem to be a Coachman site, so thats one of the reasons I put it up.

If you have a chair behind the passenger seat, You may be interested in how I moved it a little. I noticed a lot of people remove the chair, but I wanted to keep it.

Check it out

Moving chair aft to get it away from passenger seat | 2001 Coachmen Mirada 300QB



WHen you install the TV, take a lot of photos and post it I'd be interested in maybe doing something like that with mine.

..

[MSHappyCampers]

Since we bought our 2002 Windsor in 2012 I have done the following upgrades.

1. Removed the old TV above the dash, rebuilt the cabinets so they're level all the way across, and installed a 40" flat-screen on a remote controlled motorized mount behind the couch.

2. Installed new surround sound system, including receiver, Blu-Ray DVD player, and powered sub-woofer.

3. Removed old carpet and ceramic tile. Installed premium vinyl tiles and new carpet. (just finishing carpet installation tomorrow)

4. Installed SteerSafe steering stabilizers, not for stability but for control in case of a blowout on a front tire.

5. Replace the cooling unit on the Norcold 1200 fridge with an Amish-built unit. Installed Fridge-Fix fan bar inside for better air distribution. Installed fans in the roof vent. Bought ARP protection unit which I have not installed yet.

6. Replaced the old chairs with an Ashley loveseat with powered rocker-recliners.

7. Added Rand-McNally RVND7710 GPS

8. Installing ScanGuage D systems monitor today.

9. Replaced old mattress with Select Comfort Sleep Number, with full-size heated mattress pad.

10. Installed Smart Tiles backsplash in bathrooms over lavatories.

11. Installed low-wattage heaters with thermal controls in the tank bay, wet bay, and equipment bay to prevent freezing.


That's about it for now. We chose to buy an older DP so we could afford to customize it to our liking!

[TexasTom]

Originally Posted by Waiter21

I generally buy older used MH, My latest is a 13 year old Coachman Mirada.

I enjoy doing this and like to personalize it with features and also upgrade some of the older systems.

LEDs to replace incandescent bulbs
multi-stage converter to take care of the coach battery.
TVs and radio.

Upgrading is half the fun.

And as I saw on this forum, when you run out of upgrades....break something!

[harleyjt]

We bought our 2005 Newmar Kountry Star the first of February. It was a very low mileage unit so all I have really done with the powertrain and chassis is routine maintenance - oil and filter, lube, etc. I did replace a leaky heater hose.

I had to replace all 10 clearance lights because the front ones were leaking onto the dash when it rained. And we had a lot of rain in February and March! They had all deteriorated pretty badly. I also replaced the two mid-ship marker lights with LED. I polished the headlights and tail lights and replaced the porch light with an LED unit. I also replaced the light in the acrylic entry assist handle with an LED kit I found on Amazon.

One of my first projects was to jettison the old crt tvs and replace with new LED units. I installed a 32" in the front along with storage trays underneath for remotes, and a folding "simulated speaker" door with push to release latches. I cleared out the old Winegard control box and added a SensarPro antenna power supply/signal strength meter, and a new Rayzar antenna to replace the existing analog Sensar antenna. The mattress that was in the coach was a Sleep Number mattress in great condition. I did relocate the air pump assy from the shelf beside the bed to the storage area under the bed. Now its completely out of sight and the only thing showing is the remote control.

I also added some drawer units in the storage bay adjacent the wet bay for hoses and fittings. I have drawers for potable water hoses and one for sewer hoses. Other, smaller drawers hold sewer fittings, and still another small drawer holds fresh water fittings and parts.

All the fixtures in the coach were the old shiny bright brass. Cabinet handles as well as all the bath fixtures. I have changed out the cabinet pulls in the bath and front end of the coach with brushed nickel handles. I have installed a new sink faucet and shower faucet with brushed nickel ones. Additionally, I replaced the shower head with a brushed nickel Oxygenics shower. By the way - it works great!

I still need to decide exactly how I am going to mount the new 22" bedroom tv, and will add a dedicated dvd player with it. I also plan to change out the dash radio to a unit with Bluetooth capability (possibly one with a pop out/up 7" touchscreen as well that could handle the rearview camera) and will upgrade the two speakers in the front of the coach.

I also plan to pull all the bright brass light fixtures out of the coach, scuff them up and paint them with Rustoleum's satin nickel paint. It will be interesting to see how the paint looks and compares to the real nickel pieces I've added/

In the future I see a laminate or vinyl tile floor throughout. I also plan to add a central vac system in the basement. I'm also studying on adding an inverter to power the theater system when not on AC power.

Other than that, the Diamondshield crap has to go. It's failed, and looks terrible on an otherwise very nice coach.

I have to admit I'm having a ball tinkering with it and making it "ours".
jt

[Shaky]

The Koni shocks and sway bar bushing replacements have made a ton of difference in the drive and handling of our coach. We thought we were done with things for the time being which would allow us to start packing up for the first trip of the season. I go to run the gen set for it's monthly exercise and guess what... the darned thing isn't working. I figured the Onan gas generator would last forever. I guessed wrong. We really need to hit the road because of a time sensitive visit so I'm going without a gen set.

I have planned all of our trip around RV camps with full hookups so AC won't be an issue, but it sure is nice having onboard power in the event you need to spend an evening at a rest stop (Oregon has some of the nicest on the coast). When we return we're upgrading the old 5000kw with a 7000kw unit. This will be the single most expensive upgrade we've made to our motorhome. We do like the occasional state parks for our trips, or moving out to the motorhome when the area loses power in bad weather, but we thought we had our rig all gussied up for a long time to come. Oh well, I'll order the replacement and have it dropped shipped upon our return.

I mentioned earlier that we have added Apple's iTV to both our front and rear flat screens. If you haven't thought of it you might really want to give it a try. We purchased TVs with built in DVD players and HDMI connectors. With WiFi being available at most parks the iTV makes satellite antennas a thing of the past. We have Hulu Plus, Netflix and a home Direct TV account. We can now watch any movies, or music videos I have on my laptop, login to Direct TV with the laptop and watch it on the big screen, or watch whatever we want on Hulu and Netflix. Add that to the digital antenna and we have a good amount of entertainment for the price of an iTV and controller.

I have my fingers crossed that we can get back to tweaking the odds and ends that work, but we want to change for the sake of customizing the look of our home on wheels. Wish me luck.

[Imurphy907]

Lets see.

Ripped out carpet, put down wood.
changed all lights in and out to led, including headlights.
swapped all tv's to led flat screens
installed 600 watt solar.
ditched the 8d starting and house batteries. installed 2 gp31 starting batteries. modified the batter carrier to hold 6 gc2's for the house.
installed cb, and 4 band ham radio.
took out the 1500watt msw inverter and installed a magnum 3012 system with ags.
installed higher hp fuel plate on cummins 6.8l diesel
installed dedicated battery for genset with smart combiner.
And more when I think about it.

1993 Monaco dynasty 34d

[wa8yxm]

Any time you buy a new home be it a motor home, or a towable home. or a sticks and bricks home.. YOU UPGRADE.. You modify,, You make it your own.

But you always upgrade.

Does this answer the subject qaestion?

[DD788Snipe]

Originally Posted by harleyjt

We bought our 2005 Newmar Kountry Star the first of February. It was a very low mileage unit so all I have really done with the powertrain and chassis is routine maintenance - oil and filter, lube, etc. I did replace a leaky heater hose.

I had to replace all 10 clearance lights because the front ones were leaking onto the dash when it rained. And we had a lot of rain in February and March! They had all deteriorated pretty badly. I also replaced the two mid-ship marker lights with LED. I polished the headlights and tail lights and replaced the porch light with an LED unit. I also replaced the light in the acrylic entry assist handle with an LED kit I found on Amazon.

One of my first projects was to jettison the old crt tvs and replace with new LED units. I installed a 32" in the front along with storage trays underneath for remotes, and a folding "simulated speaker" door with push to release latches. I cleared out the old Winegard control box and added a SensarPro antenna power supply/signal strength meter, and a new Rayzar antenna to replace the existing analog Sensar antenna. The mattress that was in the coach was a Sleep Number mattress in great condition. I did relocate the air pump assy from the shelf beside the bed to the storage area under the bed. Now its completely out of sight and the only thing showing is the remote control.

I also added some drawer units in the storage bay adjacent the wet bay for hoses and fittings. I have drawers for potable water hoses and one for sewer hoses. Other, smaller drawers hold sewer fittings, and still another small drawer holds fresh water fittings and parts.

All the fixtures in the coach were the old shiny bright brass. Cabinet handles as well as all the bath fixtures. I have changed out the cabinet pulls in the bath and front end of the coach with brushed nickel handles. I have installed a new sink faucet and shower faucet with brushed nickel ones. Additionally, I replaced the shower head with a brushed nickel Oxygenics shower. By the way - it works great!

I still need to decide exactly how I am going to mount the new 22" bedroom tv, and will add a dedicated dvd player with it. I also plan to change out the dash radio to a unit with Bluetooth capability (possibly one with a pop out/up 7" touchscreen as well that could handle the rearview camera) and will upgrade the two speakers in the front of the coach.

I also plan to pull all the bright brass light fixtures out of the coach, scuff them up and paint them with Rustoleum's satin nickel paint. It will be interesting to see how the paint looks and compares to the real nickel pieces I've added/

In the future I see a laminate or vinyl tile floor throughout. I also plan to add a central vac system in the basement. I'm also studying on adding an inverter to power the theater system when not on AC power.

Other than that, the Diamondshield crap has to go. It's failed, and looks terrible on an otherwise very nice coach.

I have to admit I'm having a ball tinkering with it and making it "ours".
jt

Jerry on the bedroom TV here's what I did. The counter top is granite and I screwed a piece of 3/16" aluminum plate to the wall studs and mounted a flat screen wall mount to the plate. A 28" TV fits perfectly in that spot.