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View Full Version : $2K in Mods....Before 1st Payment Due


Wally15
02-14-2014, 06:44 PM
And I thought the cheapest place to keep my new-to-me TT was in the driveway!
Bought a 1 year old Laredo 308RE a month ago that was in very good shape. In that 30 day period I have done the following:
Bought a w/d hitch
Bought an extended warranty
Added 50 amp shore power from my garage to the TT
Added an EMS
Added a 2nd 13.5 a/c (has 50 amp service and was prewired)
Added a fantastic fan (just today)
Bought a Q120 grill
LED lights for patio (not installed yet)
2 Camco vent covers (1 of 2 installed)
Added Bluetooth to the stereo system
LED replacements for the 921 bulbs
And a bunch of other minor stuff, water filters, fuses, etc.
Ebay loves me and the UPS driver hates me.
But it's been fun and I've learned a lot. No telling what I would have spent if the weather hadn't been so miserable the past 30 days.
Only major thing left I want to do is run a low pressure line from after the propane regulator to the awning area to run the grill. And maybe a small fish cooker.
The one thing I sorta wanted was an outdoor kitchen but this used TT w/out the kitchen was a good deal and had some other extras I also wanted (50 amps for ex.). But I should be just about set up when (if?) warm weather ever arrives.

Festus2
02-14-2014, 06:53 PM
Mike -

You may not have had time to carefully read all the print - especially the fine print - in your Extended Warranty. I would suggest that when you aren't too busy with all of your mods and upgrades you sit down and go through this document - paying particular attention to what is NOT included. You may be surprised (or not) to find out that there are an abundance of exclusions you may or may not know about.
Many people buy these things thinking that it will cover this and that but are disappointed to learn that, sorry, this and that are not covered.

I realize there are many types of warranties and they are not all the same in their coverage or their time frame. Yours may be the exception but somehow I doubt it.

Wally15
02-14-2014, 07:20 PM
Mike -

You may not have had time to carefully read all the print - especially the fine print - in your Extended Warranty. I would suggest that when you aren't too busy with all of your mods and upgrades you sit down and go through this document - paying particular attention to what is NOT included. You may be surprised (or not) to find out that there are an abundance of exclusions you may or may not know about.
Many people buy these things thinking that it will cover this and that but are disappointed to learn that, sorry, this and that are not covered.

I realize there are many types of warranties and they are not all the same in their coverage or their time frame. Yours may be the exception but somehow I doubt it.
Nope, I'm not the exception on my extended warranty. Probably has more holes in it than an aged Swiss cheese. I debated long and hard about even purchasing it, but if only one major "covered" thing fails, it may at least be a break even deal. I bought the TT with only two weeks left on the original 1 year warranty, so I needed to make a fairly fast decision to keep coverage intact. And in the grand scheme, it's not all that expensive.
But I appreciate the insights you and the other "pros" provide on this forum, in a lot of ways I feel like DW and I have jumped into the deep end of the pool on this RV'ing thing. My last real camping was in a Coleman fold out tent-on-wheels almost 30 years ago. Kids and careers took priority after that. Now that I'm retired, I want to get back into it, just not in a two wheel tent. I probably check this forum a couple of times a day, gleaning info from new posts and stickys. Hope to run across some of you guys at CG's and other places down the road. First ones on me!

f6bits
02-15-2014, 07:19 AM
Nice setup!

How did you add Bluetooth to the stereo?

Quad
02-15-2014, 07:22 AM
Not trying to taking your thread off track.... ( I like the mods you done so far!) but I had an aftermarket warranty on a used car I bought. Had a differential go out. They decided it was in there best interest to install a used one in my vehicle instead of rebuilding or a new unit. I explained that I had less then 100,000 miles (92,000) and that isn't a quality fix or repair. It was a bandaid and crap shoot as to when this used one could go bad and by then I'd be out of warranty and it'd be my problem. Climbing their management ladder and 4 or 5 people later they told me I'm short, tough, deal with it, and I quote "we aren't in the business to make customers happy". So my point is when I bought my new camper last year my rv dealer tried to sell me a warranty. Sure enough the same company for the car one was selling rv as well. I looked through it and it has the same quote about at their choice they can choose to install a used parts that meet OE standards. Maybe I expect too much. But when you pay $1000,$1500,$2000 for these things no one explains they can choose to put used parts in your unit or vehicle if they see fit. Obviously if they did most wouldn't buy it!! So just a word for the wise. Watch out for things as such. The company I dealt with was premier.


2005 Silverado 2500HD D/A
2013 Laredo 321BH

Quad
02-15-2014, 07:23 AM
I too would like to know how you went about adding Bluetooth. Thanks!


2005 Silverado 2500HD D/A
2013 Laredo 321BH

hankpage
02-15-2014, 08:58 AM
I may be wrong but I think your Q120 has a regulator and needs full pressure propane. JM2¢, Hank

Keep up the good work, you're making me look bad. "bouncey:

MarkS
02-15-2014, 09:55 AM
Nice setup!

How did you add Bluetooth to the stereo?

X3 on the Bluetooth mod.

Bob Landry
02-15-2014, 09:58 AM
I may be wrong but I think your Q120 has a regulator and needs full pressure propane. JM2¢, Hank

Keep up the good work, you're making me look bad. "bouncey:

It does have a regulator, but it can easily be removed and fitted with a quick-connect. There's a sticky on the forum that I wrote about doing that. I've quipped both the Baby Q and the Camp Chef stove with QCs and I do a lot of cooking under the awning. I'm guessing it would be pretty easy to add a LP line onto his existing black pipe manifold by adding a "T" at the end running off of that, but I suppose there are many different gas line configurations.

I thought Keystone put low pressure lines to the rear of all of their trailers, but I guess if it doesn't have an outdoor kitchens, it wouldn't have one.

Wally15
02-15-2014, 02:10 PM
[QUOTE=Quad;112452]I too would like to know how you went about adding Bluetooth. Thanks!


Got the Bluetooth 4.0 off ebay for $40. See below for details.Very easy install and seems to improve the quality of the sound. Has range of about 50'. Right now my Iphone cuts off after about 3 songs and I have to restart Pandora for some reason. I think it's a phone setting I need to change because the Bluetooth is still connected.

The Weber Q does have a regulator but I'm going to remove it and go with a QC per Bob Landry's excellent sticky. I hate those 1 lb bottles. I did get an adapter to run 20 or 30 lb tanks through the existing regulator and 1lb bottle connection.



New Bluetooth 4.0 Music APT-X Audio Stereo Wireless Receiver iphone mp3 A2DP ( item: 200976229927 transaction: 1005340146010 )

yeabuddy
02-16-2014, 04:35 PM
Got this handy gadget...
I can now control my trailer stereo wirelessly with my phone from the campfire with this adapter http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Bluetooth-Streaming-Receiver-Adapter/dp/B008AGQMQC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392597197&sr=8-1&keywords=Mpow%C2%AE+Portable+Bluetooth+3.0

KMH
02-25-2014, 12:44 PM
I like the bluetooth mod and am trying to apply it to our 235EXP. Does the New Bluetooth 4.0 Music APT-X Audio Stereo Wireless Receiver iphone mp3 A2DP unit you bought require shore power? I believe it does, but if the input on the charger is 12v or less, I could probably make it work in the camper.. We usually camp without power more often than not, so I want to be sure we're not limited.

Thanks!

Wally15
02-25-2014, 05:14 PM
The power supply for the Bluetooth 4.0 is 120V, but a small 12V-120V inverter would be suitable for dry camping music. I don't have the spec sheet in front of me, but it draws an incredibly small amount of power. It doesn't even register on my EMS display.
Hope this helps.

KMH
02-26-2014, 12:19 PM
The power supply for the Bluetooth 4.0 is 120V, but a small 12V-120V inverter would be suitable for dry camping music. I don't have the spec sheet in front of me, but it draws an incredibly small amount of power. It doesn't even register on my EMS display.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply. I have no interest in doing any sort of inverter.. Now that I look around, there are some 12v options, like this one:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1EsehYQbYE3/p_822BTREC/Milennia-MIL-BTREC.html?i=822BTREC#customer-reviews-tab

Had I not seen this thread, I wouldn't even have thought adding Bluetooth to the camper. Thanks!