You can view pictures of the following modification in my photo gallery at...
These are not all my ideas for sure, but things we have seen along the way, or problems that we needed solved. We did not buy our MH to sell, but to use it as comfortable as we can (afford). Maybe it will give some of you some ideas of your own.
Any questions or more information please PM me and I will be glad to answer them or send more pictures.
400 watt Coleman Inverter-tapped and fused under the hood. Runs the XM Satellite Receiver/ TV & HD Rec / Laptop & GPS "DELORME" Receiver - (Big Lots $40) Rewired one plug in the Video cabinet to a new romex cable and ran the cable down the windshield post to a regular AC plug that can plug into the outlet under the dash when plugged into a campground, or into the inverter when boon docking or traveling.
Antenna Reminder Clip that holds the MH keys to remind me Satellite/Crank up antenna is up and keyring also has a wood block on it to remind me if I have any blocks out. (Jacks or steps) I will also put the toad Key on the clip if I have locked it up overnight, and have to unlock its ignition to get underway.
Second Fire Extinguisher in Bedroom, (a third one is in an outside compartment by the stairs that is never locked.
Bedroom ceiling fan. I ran the power from the bathroom fan switch. - The fan is remote controlled so it didn't need a separate switch. I also replaced the bathroom vent with a 4 speed "FanTastic" fan that works great at getting rid of humidity and it won't wake up all the sleeping dogs in the campground at night.
A Microwave Cart - It adds much needed counter space in the Kitchen and additional storage as well. Locking rollers keep it in place while traveling (travel position in picture) but I bungie cord it just in case.
The Three steps into/and out of the MH were very dangerous and pulled the door from the wife and almost pulled her out. A 90 degree stop Strut like some of the "Fleetwood" Units have, (a 17# strut ) works great and it also allows us to keep the doorway inside the screen room.
A cottage cheese container fits the Banks Exhaust outlet perfectly to keep the critters out. If you forget to take it out, it just blows out when the engine is started. A laundry liquid soap container top works great on the generator exhaust pipe as well. In Florida, little lizards are everywhere, up North and out West, the squirrels and chipmunks can add a lot of stuff almost overnight.
My backup camera's field of view had over a 1/3 at the bottom of the screen as the back of the motor home completely wiped out on sunny days. I moved the camera out an inch and now I can see the hitch for the toad perfectly.
I also added a U-clamp flag mount on the ladder.
We purchased a 26" Sharp LCD HD TV a few years ago for the house, because it was the largest that would fit into the front cabinet. When there were more than 4 HD channels on Direct TV, I made an Angle iron mount with 3/16" plate bolted to it was drilled so that it grabs all the mount holes on the back of the TV. (Most mounts only grab a few holes and those screws are too small for only a few to survive the pounding the front end gets on the roads we travel. I pried up one corner of the grate in the back of the cabinet, (I had to when the HDMI cable fell out on one of our good roads.) Entire mount was less than $10. and it works great.
The screen door handle I can't take credit for, I saw it on a Canadian rig years ago, but he came straight through below the slider panel, so you had to bend down to open it from inside. Just a few extra bends to clear the outside door handle, and you don't have to bend. A standard metal hanger(I had to really search for one), a copper washer for the end, and a dab of solder to keep it from falling out of the plastic handle, and a loop inside with the end soldered to keep the end from injuring anybody's hand. Two small holes one in the plastic handle and one in the door jam. We can still use the slide to pass my coffee cup without opening the door.
When the grab handle broke sending my son-in-law across the driveway,(pretty scary), I ordered a new one. (Everyone knows that it is $80 or more from a dealer and none of the holes line up). Sent it back, and called a "Plastics" store in town. He had a 4' piece of 1" "Lexan" left over from a job, and sold it to me for $30. Ten minutes with a hacksaw and a file later to match the ends, had a new one in place with no modifications to the brackets. Its straight (I think trying to curve the plastic ones weakened them) but it works great, and lights up just not quite as bright. Now I have three spares, and I don't think this one
will ever break.
In the Kitchen, we added a bread box, and a paper towel/wax paper holder (available at most RV shows) and a new faucet with a pull out sprayer.
I added a couple bubble level devices to tell me how bad a campground site is before trying the jacks. It is much easier to drive up on a 2x12 than to twist the frame 2" to get it level. I carry enough blocking to raise both rear duals up 6" if need be. (I have used them all at some campgrounds in New England) I have
seen idiots parked for weeks with front wheels 8" or more in the air. Not me. I want my jacks to last.
I also took 2 pieces of 2x12x12, stacked them at cross grain, and screwed them together and added a regular D-door handle to the sides, one for each jack, (to ease carrying them). It keeps the mud off the jacks and prevents destroying a hot asphalt driveway. They are easily retrieved with the awning pole.
I have two voltage monitors (along with a 50Amp plug in surge protector/wiring verifier), One monitor is in the living area and one in the rear near the power panel to check current draw when in a 15Amp or a 30Amp pedestal or driveway. The one in living area caught a malfunctioning generator when at a rest area using the microwave, reading 149volts because the regulator board (that was designed to prevent this) quit in the generator. Would never have known why any appliances would have quit without it. Luckily I caught it in time and no damage was done.
The rear unit is a "VENA" available only by phone now but their web site is still active. It gives DC voltage and DC Current Draw as well as AC Current Draw.
I marked by backup monitor with some thin strips of black tape to mark 5/10/15' markers at 9'Wide, so I can back towards a target. The wide angle lens is very difficult to back with. It helps believe me.
After a summer with the old sofa/bed in the living room and feeling sorry for the wife and swapping with her often, the uncomfortable/(unused sofa bed) had to go. We saw the recliners at "Brad & Hall" in Indiana, but they only had left or right arm rests and a 30" useless console. The Console would not fit in the space of the sofa. So we bought a sheet of 3/4" plywood and ordered some extra material to match, a staple gun and a saber saw, and made our own console on the picnic table in the campground. The console holds the computer monitor and keyboard and other stuff while underway. I bolted a 110v table light that you can read by to the back of it. They recline almost flat for the grand kids, and moving the kitchen table out of the way makes room for a twin or double air mattress (we carry both) for the seldom occasions we need them.
I had a problem with the wipers coming on automatically when it started to rain. I thought at first that they were wired to a rain sensor. Problem was, they would not shut off or change speeds when the rain stopped. Newmar replaced the wiper motor, same thing next storm. Wrapped everything in tape, put silicone
in the connectors, but the same thing. A piece of 1/2" thick sticky back foam insulation in the hood crack and problem gone.
I Also added an outside temperature sensor on the hood, ran the wires through grommet in firewall, along with outside satellite cable, and power cables for the 400 watt inverter. (No room left in the grommet, I will have to start drilling holes if anything else has to come through.
I use Six Teflon/Nylon kitchen cutting boards (not sure which) to park the tires on as a vapor barrier when parked for any length of time. It helps keep the steel radials from rusting.
I got tired of the wine glasses rattling and getting broken, so I borrowed a hole saw from a friend and drilled some holes in a 1/4" thick board, cut it to length, and put some legs on it.
I was tired of trying to find different glasses (I was always misplacing them) while driving. A sticky backed tooth brush holder the wife found works great and keeps them from getting scratched.
I was tired of setting the clocks every time we stopped, and didn't care for the big ones at CW, so we bought a couple of the battery clock kits and put one in the front cabinet door above the driver, and one above the table area.
I was going to use dice as the numbers, but after my last trip to Vegas, I decided not to....
The pull down sun shades that came with the MH go up and down very good, but they don't help with the sun that is low in the sky. A couple of $3 Wally World pull down shades cut to length do a great job and don't block
traffic vision (Unless you foolishly pull them all the way down, which you don't have to do to block the sun)
The Video cabinet had to be modified, with the shelf on side blocks and the Receiver/and video switch box accessable depending on what we are going to use. (roof top, tripod mount, cable, crank up, DVD player/recorder and also getting ventilation to the Receiver. (they get hot, some earlier ones even burned up from overheating.
?
I have also added a surge protector to every plug in the motor home that has an appliance plugged into it. Refrigerator/Microwave/all TV's / Water Heater/ Converter/Washer Dryer. They are only a few dollars each, and in our last motor home while in a storm in Nebraska, we got a surge in the town owned campground that wiped out a dozen big rig inverters/ washer-dryers etc. My surge protectors were charred to dust. Ran down to Wally World and picked up a handful of replacements and for $25 we were back in business. (That was before the 50 Amp in line surge Protectors, but we don't use it when plugged into a relatives driveway or a 15Amp pedestal up North.
If anyone needs any information on any of these modifications, send me a PM and I will be glad to answer any questions and provide more additional pictures if required.
I hope that maybe some of these ideas will spark even more ideas to make your unit more enjoyable.
Walt & Joan