Bounder: Checking-In from the Road

[Elwood58]

My wife and I have been on the road for the past 22 days, and have 5 more days before we get back to home base. We were talking at dinner the other night about endless updates, upgrades and tinkering, which is one of my favorite things about RVing. I thought it would be fun to go from front to back on changes to our 2016 Bounder 33C.

Bad Boy Horn - Not sure what Ford was thinking with their Roadrunner whimpy horn, but now people pay attention.

MagnaShade Covers - Windshield and wheels. I do not bother to deploy for an overnight, but everywhere else it works great for privacy and heat reduction.

Five Star Tune - Big improvement in drivability, especially in our western mountains.

Roadmaster Suspension - Steering Stabilizer, Front Sway, and added Rear Trackbar. These changes, plus the reattachment of the rear sway bar bushing brackets makes this F53 pretty rock solid. Trucks and crosswinds are no longer to be dreaded.

ScanGuage - Nice to be able to see real number for things like Water Temp and Transmission Temp. Real time MPG data is terrifying, but it is what it is.

EEZRV TPMS - Does a great job for the RV and Toad.

CB/Weather Radio - The CB part is not very useful these days, but might come in handy in a pinch. The Weather Radio is very handy, as warnings come through even when the unit is off.

Amazon Echo Auto - Just like home but paired with a cell phone.

Garmin RV760 Navigation - Keeps us out of trouble, and has lifetime map updates and traffic.

Dash Cover - Really softens up all of that plastic.

Dog House Sound Deadening - Used a hush mat product designed for car stereo installs. It really helps on this high RPM hill climbs.

Cab Area Loft Bed Mattress. The air mattress was a bad idea. Bought a memory foam from Amazon. Grandkids have been the only ones to sleep there, and said it is comfy.

Kitchen is too many to list, but the Keurig Coffee maker is a must have. The Berkey Water Filter is the other addition worth mentioning.

Ottomans - The included couch screams for somewhere to put your feet up.

Table Lamp - In the corner by the sofa, and makes for a very nice evening experience.

Area Rug - Under the Ottomans. Breaks up the tile is is warm on the feet.

Shower Fixtures - replaced all of the cheap plastic with brushed nickel. Single lever controls, Oxygenics shows head and soap/shampoo/conditioner dispensers.

Wet Bay - Accumulator Tank and Brass Quick Connects. Accumulator smooths out the performance of the water pump.

Electric Blanket - Low power that will work well with our inverter, but used mostly with hookups. Both the furnace and the heat pump are loud. The less they run, the better.

Amazon Firestick TV - Plugged into a 3-way HDMI splitter to all of the TVs. Remotes are RF devices, so work from anywhere, including outside.

WeBoost Drive Sleek - I put the external antenna on the side of the coach. Helps pull in better Cell signal. We use Visible Hotspot for everything.

NAS - Sometimes there just isn’t enough of an internet signal to stream, so we keep 1000 movies and some of our favorite TV series.

Splendide Washer/Dryer Combo - We were not sure how much we would us it. Now we would not leave home without it. It shakes the RV like an earthquake when spinning starts.

AGS - Bought the parts off of Amazon and wired it myself. Have not used it other than to test it.

Bluetooth Control - After Fleetwood added it to the newer models, I reached out to Precision Plex. They sold me the needed parts to do my own install. Controlling all of the lights from the couch or bed, and moving the slides while outside watching them, are the biggest uses.

Smoke Detectors - Installed two of them in the storage bays.

BullDog Surge Protection - Cheaper to repair than the unit built into the RV, and gives me the ability to monitor from my phone.

I am sure there are things I have forgotten, but you get the drift. Endless fun. My wife says her favorite thing about the RV is that it takes her to visit her Grandkids.

[computerguy]

Good update.
Any more info on the following (like cost, where purchased, etc.)?
Also, have your captains chairs started flaking? Mine just started and I am looking to get them reupholstered. Mine are Lexington (as I guess yours are too.) not Flexsteel. But still the junk fabric as Fleetwood provided to the manufacturer. So far the choices I got are too high and cheaper to buy new ones at Bradd and Hall.

Dash Cover - Really softens up all of that plastic.
Shower Fixtures (did you have to get behind the shower to replace those controls?)
Bluetooth Control (was it hard to do? I looked at what I thought needed to be replaced and looked like a bear to do).

TIA