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Old 07-24-2012, 05:41 PM   #1
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Alpine "build thread" a collection of upgrades. (pic heavy)

After the first trip out we decided the "old girl" was perfect for our needs and we decided since it was going to be around a while we should take care of the small things.

In the Jeep building world it's not uncommon to have a "build thread" to put in one place the upgrades you've done to your rig. I thought I'd archive what we've done to make our Alpine more suitable for us.

Swiveling reading lamps replaced all the recessed "spot" lights. We enjoy reading at night and with these the (LED) light is focused right were you need it allowing the overheads to be off conserving the all important electrons. I replaced all 3 in the living area and both in the bedroom. All interior fixtures had LEDs put in at the same time.






The coach had the original 19" CRT in front and a 13" in back. I put in a 32" Visio LED/LCD TV in front and a Samsung 22" LED/LCD in the bedroom. Both on arms so they can swivel out for viewing.
Stowed


Put out for viewing, it also pulls forward even with the cabinet on the right.


Bedroom stowed. Both have their own DVD player and share the cable in.


Bedroom out for viewing.


The poor girl that filled our propane at the Co-Op had such a hard time bending under the door that I felt sorry for her and put in a slightly longer strut and moved the hole up a bit.



Quite a difference, I'm thinking of doing the same modification to the other under slide doors but I know me and I WILL forget to close them. Maybe a removable chain?


Next post, water system and exterior.
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Old 07-24-2012, 05:55 PM   #2
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There is already a thread for this at the top of this forum. Major upgrades can be added to the ACA Technical website.
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Old 07-24-2012, 05:57 PM   #3
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The water system was next, this first part is pretty much (totally) a rip off of takepride's work in this thread.

First off, when I filled the tank all the way I noticed that the overflow poured out of the bottom of the RV, the whole bottom, not an overflow pipe.

This is what the dumb ***** at WRV put in when they built it. There is a hole in the floor for the overflow to go through, it's just a bit short. The overflow dumped right on the OSB flooring.


The finished modification, I went with a ball valve instead of the easier spring check so I could winterize it easily. Just turn the valve and any water trapped above it drains out.


While I was running new PEX I decided to put in a check valve and a couple of ball valves for ease of winterization. Before I put the check in the water pump would lose its prime when the water tank was low, now it can site for 3 days with the tank below 1/4 and still have a prime.



When I drained the tank on my gravel driveway it dug a pretty nice hole, also the water was wasted. I also wanted to dump 50 gal or so on the last boondocking trip but didn't want to dump it in the area.

A little 1 1/2" PVC routed the drain over to by the side door.


Screw in the adapter


Add a hose



and water your plants



OK, well water the scrub oak but you get the idea, it's not digging a hole in my driveway ;-)


And now I saved the best for last. RMMPE and Todd49 took pretty good care of the old girl but she was showing her age. I was noticing white streaks down the side widows form the chalky roof so I decided to do something about it. After lots of study I decided to do RedMax Pro/Zep High Traffic. No Lowes so Zep it was. I did the roof first, it looked so good I did the front and rear end caps. They looked so good I had to do the sides.



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Old 07-24-2012, 06:28 PM   #4
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Lookin good Dave! I like the off set drain and garden hose adapter, may have to do that one!!
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Old 07-24-2012, 07:43 PM   #5
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Thanks guys, good to meet you the other day.

Sounds, Jensen head unit with USB input. That little blue thing sticking out of the right of the radio has over 120 CDs on it plus about 3 Gig of random music I like, the remote is on velcro just beside it. The XM radio is tied to the rear AUX input.


P-3 brake controller for when I tow the rock crawler on the trailer. Running that wire back to the trailer socket was fun


CB for keeping in touch with the rest of the Jeep club on the road.
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Old 07-26-2012, 10:00 PM   #6
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Wow, Dave...had to put my sunglasses on just to look at the pictures of your "new" exterior!! Nice job!
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Old 07-27-2012, 09:10 AM   #7
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The 'old girl' is lookin' good!

How's the Pac-Brake override working for you?
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Old 07-27-2012, 09:38 AM   #8
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Hi Gail and Bob,
Thank for the kind words Gail. Perhaps once we get the animal count down a bit ( currently 7 cats/5 dogs/1 horse/2 donkeys ) we'll get to a So Cal Rally

Bob, that Pac-Brake override is the best thing since sliced bread. Descending hills my right had steers while my left hand is playing keyboard on the tans/Pac-Brake switches. It truly gives a gear/exhaust brake for every situation.
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Old 07-27-2012, 09:50 AM   #9
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Glad you like it, Dave.
I still have the schematic of the new circuit in AutoCad but, as you probably don't have the program, can send it in Word if you want it.
Check the binder - it may already be in there.
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