OUTLAW Mods and Easy Fixes

[focker]

What a story about the fall from the loft Jeff!!! Yowzers (and ouch). The RV is looking really superb, "I love what you have done with the place:"
It will be interesting to see if the cab is quieter and more temperate when you are rolling.

[1Motorhome]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

I believe all Outlaw dash shells are the same within any individual model year...Ford, Workhorse, and Freightliner FRED. The instrument panel inset is what is different.



We have that issue with the dash hump edge mounts cracking.

That molding looks very nice...could you provide any specific info on it?

Thanks

That looks GREAT !!! I too have the cracking bubble edge problem and have been scratching my head how to fix it.
Could you tell me what type material he used to make the band with. He also did a great job covering it with vinyl.
Any more info would be most appreciated!!!

[JeffAZ]

OK, I got a text reply from my tech on how he made the dash component:

"It was handcrafted out of mdf & body filler . . . it's kind difficult to explain over text but I basically made the shape with a contour tool, chamfered the edge with a router & then body worked the rest . . .wrapped it in vinyl & secured it with stainless hardware."

Hope that helps. I have gotten the new carpet installed except for a couple pieces I wanted to get the edges binded (for the trapdoor and under the driver's pedals). Here's a couple of photos of carpet, first in the loft and staircase, then the doghouse and passenger firewall.
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[JeffAZ]

Now I'm in the process of re-installing the dinette benches, and looking for a new sofa-sleeper. I will install the forward bench 2 inches forward to give a little more room at the table. Both benches had wood and staples that were failing on the wall side, so I placed some L brackets to reinforce.
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[harleyjt]

Originally Posted by JeffAZ

Now I'm in the process of re-installing the dinette benches, and looking for a new sofa-sleeper. I will install the forward bench 2 inches forward to give a little more room at the table. Both benches had wood and staples that were failing on the wall side, so I placed some L brackets to reinforce.
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Wow. Easy to see why they failed. Such fine craftsmanship.
jt

[Scarab0088]

Great Mod, Jeff

Originally Posted by harleyjt

Wow. Easy to see why they failed. Such fine craftsmanship.
jt

Now, now...that is only the form. The real strength is from the wood sheet shell that wraps around that super lightweight form.

The thick ply or OSB sheet provides lightweight but strong foundation and shear strength.

It is so strong that all I had to do to make the end caps into doors was to pull the screws out of the form, add blocks, hasps, and hinges.





http://www.irv2.com/forums/f121/outl...ml#post1445999

I will submit that the connection of the shell to the form must be good, so check those screws if your dinette is wobbly.

Safe Outlaw Travels

[JeffAZ]

And that wood frame is over 10 years old, and I do travel over some rough, unpaved roads when boondocking. And they are in the process of failing, they haven't actually failed yet.

Yes, jt. I do love my Thor/Damon Outlaw toyhauler motorhome.

I like that hinged door mod, Steve. Did you not have the speaker in the forward bench seat?

[Scarab0088]

Originally Posted by JeffAZ

...
I like that hinged door mod, Steve. Did you not have the speaker in the forward bench seat?

Jeff,
There was no speaker/Subwoofer in our model trim.

In 07, that was an option (SUB in the dinette and AMP by the driver's foot well - left). That and a bunch of other trim stuff would later become the "Scorpion" package.

But, we do have a new in-dash stereo...the speakers are OK, just OK.

[clarkcollins]

Jeff: Now that you have side doors for the under dinette storage you might want to add some pull out bins as I have done in ours. It already had the side doors. I might want to follow your lead on moving the seating out from the wall a bit.

Other than the pull out bin photo I am also adding photos of some other mods I've made and not posted. I'll try and add info on the photos. If I can't I'll post info in another post.

[clarkcollins]

Here is the info on the other photos. One is of the cat heater in the main salon with the 12v port, USB ports and voltage meter to easily monitor the voltage. Sorry about it being sideways. Another is of the bins we use on the shelf above the frig. They are tall enough so that with shelf pads on the shelf they won't come out when underway. Next photo shows the EZ tire monitor and GPS that I use when driving. Then there is the cat heater in the garage as I sleep in there most of the time. Last is the charging station I installed in place of the un-necessary wall light between the dinette and the couch.

[JeffAZ]

Nice mods, Clark, but it is actually Steve who has the dinette side doors. Those rolling shelf baskets are handy, we have them in our S&B kitchen.

I also have some cloth baskets over the wardrobe area, for dirty clothes. I have been wondering what to replace that silly wall light with, is that charging station an Amazon item?

I elected to go with the salon electric fireplace instead of the heaters you have, much to the dismay of my son.

So if not for sleep, what do you use the loft for?

[clarkcollins]

I got the charging station at the local RV store, but they probably have them on amazon.
The wife and our small dog sleep in the loft. The wife uses a c-pap at night, but the main reason I sleep in the garage is because I have to get up often to pee. The loft is warmer at night, too, so that works good, I need less heat at night. We boondock a lot so electric heat wouldn't work for us.

The main salon heater is only 10,000 BTU and can't keep up if it gets below 30F, so below that we sometimes have to use the furnace. If real cold it's a good idea to run the heater anyway to prevent plumbing freezing.

So far our solar set up has been able to keep the batteries charged even though the c-pap uses power from them. If we don't get good solar gain I just run the genny for a bit in the morning.

[Kickstand]

Finished augmenting the main panel on my 29H. Added USB power strip with on/off switch and voltmeter by running 12ga under the shower and behind the outside TV panel to the main power distribution. Used a clip on “add a circuit” to the full panel and doubled up on the negative dc bar bolted to the floor behind the converter. The strip now powers an Alexa and is the main power for a Lux Geo smart WiFi thermostat. The thermostat is great, and has a battery backup to keep all settings and full use as thermostat without usb or WiFi. Also installed the high/low fan throw switch.

Already installed the Trik-l-start and next is the inline PD 30amp voltage protector, and then a switch on the 20amp a/c circuit to add a heater outlet and built in fireplace when the a/c isn’t needed. Some LED strip lighting inside garage and blue ones outside around the ramp to increase visibility when the decks in use, and I think the electrical mods will be done. For now.

[JeffAZ]

Very nice, Kickstand. I need to get more knowledgeable about moving electrons so I can do some cool electrical mods. For now I am stuck in the realm of general hardware type of mods.

I did get the OEM couch replaced. I was never real fond of having to blow up and deflate the mattress every time the bed was used, and my son always complained it was cold to use in cold weather. And the sliding drawer under it had broken.

After much searching I decided on the simple design of the Cliff full size sleeper from Living Spaces https://www.livingspaces.com/pdp-cli...er-sofa-225831. It has the smaller width that I wanted, and the back is low enough to not block the escape window behind it. It easily rolls out to deploy the memory foam bed. And all the cushions are used for the bed, so you don't have to use precious space to store the unused cushions in the motorhome. Because of its short width, I could move the forward dinette bench 2.5" forward, which makes a large difference for seating comfort there. At $600 it was definitely in the budget. And it allows for the use of the seatbelts behind it. There is even room enough to deploy the bed without the slide out, as long as the stair trapdoor is down.
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