|
Time to Check In from Denver
After almost one season with our 2400BH its probably time to check in.
We picked up our 2015 2400BH at the end of March but didn't have decent enough weather to get out on the shake down trip to south of Colorado Springs (MountainDale) until late April - we had the place pretty much to ourselves, but hit a window of nice weather. Since then we got to re-winterize twice until we got through Maycember (that week long month we seem to have every year in the middle of May where we get a "surprise" 6+" of snow), and have made a half dozen trips to various spots in Colorado, mostly at 9,000 feet plus.
We just got back from a great weekend with the grandkids (their parents came along too) Brainard Lake at 10,300 feet. We slept four adults, a 2 year old and a 4 year old plus the 10 month old pretty well, though the baby did a good job of keeping Mom from getting much sleep. Have to add a cargo net in front of bunks to keep him from deciding to crawl off the edge.
We tow with a 2012 Nissan Armada - tows quite well, even up mountain grades, as long as you don't mind the 8 miles per gallon when pulling at 8,000-10,000 feet. Torque curve in 4th isn't so great at 40-45 MPH so we spend a lot of time in 3rd gear.
Made a few modifications
- Added a fold down shelf in the bathroom - makes a big difference in having a horizontal surface to put things on
- Changed out the shower head to an Oxygenics head. Didn't even try out the stock head. Minor gripe - when you turn off the water at the head, you get about 3 seconds of cold water when you turn it back on. I suspect its the faucet design.
- Bought a Yamaha 2000is generator and converted it to propane with the US Carburetor snorkel and regulator kit. Works great and no worries about hauling a gas can around.
-Added a wired rear view camera - Rear View Camera RVS-770613-213. Simple Install by running the cable in a corrugated cover and wire ties to the gas piping- I didn't want to trust wireless plus worry about dead batteries.
- Found the the 7" monitor mounts very nicely on the magnetic phone mount I bought a while ago - Mountek nGroove Snap 3 Magnetic CD Slot Car Mount. This mounts in the CD slot (solving the problem of what to do with a CD slot) and the magnet is strong enough to hold even the 7" screen. The monitor has a metal back that was really a fortuitous design.
- Replaced the main trailer vent with a Fantastic Fan and Fantasic Ultra-Breeze cover (and learned about the joys of stripping and replacing Dicor)
- Replaced the OEM water pump with a Shur-Flo 4008 pump and silencing kit. The OEM pump and its installation sounded a bit like a machine gun. Thinking about adding a dampener.
- Replaced the heater vent in the bedroom area with one that have louvers. Found that the heater heats the bedroom really well and needed to cut it back. The thermostat seems to be the last part of the trailer that sees the internal temperature.
- Added a battery disconnect switch
- Plus about a hundred other minor items from battery chargers to cups and plates and all sorts of hold down bars.
We took the trailer into the dealer this morning for a few fixes. None of these was particularly troublesome, but need fixing
- Fix the slider cable connections per the Keystone Recall
- Fix the refrigerator operation on gas. We've had intermittent but consistent problems with the refrigerator Check light coming on. Flame lights OK, but the ignitor keeps sparking and the control board decides its not working. Turning it off and on about 3 times gets its to work, but it only works again for 8-12 hours.
- Fix about 10 bubbles in the floor - this is probable the worst of the problems. Keystone blew this floor letdown.
- Put a couple more washers in my Equal-izer hitch. The Dealer only put two washers in an never did a proper set up. I was able to get things pretty level by raising the L bars one hole, but with a full load of water, it could use some more force on the bars.
We get it back after Labor Day (no problem, I hide from the crowds on holiday weekends). Thinking about a Utah trip in mid September. Then probably into storage for the winter.
|
Linear Mode
