What did you do to your RV today?

[NH_Bulldog]

Today I started to tackle the install of my hardwired EMS.

The good: There is easy access to the back of the power center, converter and wiring under a panel of the dinette seat.

The bad: This absolutely tangled mess of wiring that the engineer in me just can’t leave it as is.

I cut zip-ties, re-routed and loosely bundled the wires where I could with new zip-ties. I did have to disconnect a few wires to re-thread them through the mess, but overall it looks 100% better. I wired in the EMS, mounted it to the side panel, tested everything (that initial "thunk" when it activates made me jump a bit), and now we are good to go without having to worry about all that extra hardware sitting at the pedestal.

 

[cougar23]

Wife did not like the 3 glass shower doors that slide together, could not clean them.
Removed the glass doors and installed shower curtain. Doors must have weighed 20 pounds each.

 

[GlasNav]

Today I started to tackle the install of my hardwired EMS.

The good: There is easy access to the back of the power center, converter and wiring under a panel of the dinette seat.

The bad: This absolutely tangled mess of wiring that the engineer in me just can’t leave it as is.

I cut zip-ties, re-routed and loosely bundled the wires where I could with new zip-ties. I did have to disconnect a few wires to re-thread them through the mess, but overall it looks 100% better. I wired in the EMS, mounted it to the side panel, tested everything (that initial "thunk" when it activates made me jump a bit), and now we are good to go without having to worry about all that extra hardware sitting at the pedestal.

THUNK, yep, sounds like a Hughes WatchDog with Bluetooth?

 

[NH_Bulldog]

THUNK, yep, sounds like a Hughes WatchDog with Bluetooth?

Nailed it!

 

[GlasNav]

Nailed it!

I like the resettable KwH consumption feature.

When visiting and plugged in to friends homes I zero it out and as a courtesy hand them cash for the power we have consumed as we leave. The look on their faces can get weird. But, I tell them fair is fair, we came by to visit, not scarf your electricity!

 

[NH_Bulldog]

Today I went to install my water pump inlet filter, and discovered that it actually came with one already installed from the factory. That was an easy one to check off my to-do list! So with all the extra time I gained I decided to apply our North America travel map decal on the back of the camper

 

[wiredgeorge]

Today I went to install my water pump inlet filter, and discovered that it actually came with one already installed from the factory. That was an easy one to check off my to-do list! So with all the extra time I gained I decided to apply our North America travel map decal on the back of the camper

Have you check the roof penetrations to ensure they are properly sealed? Water where it isn't supposed to be is a killer and from what I have heard of recent purchases, might not be a bad idea to check.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

Thanks George! I actually got on the roof and crawled around on my hands and knees when we did our walkthrough at pick-up. Thankfully it was indoors since it was a torrential downpour at the time. I paid particular attention to the solar panel mounting brackets and vent pipe penetrations, but everything looked good. When we got home, I spent additional time doing a more thorough inspection of the roof and front and rear transitions since we hauled it 600 plus miles and everything still looked great. I am planning to install my Kool RV kit this weekend and will check the AC mounting bolts (lesson learned from a Jayco I bought new in 2003) when I have the ceiling assembly off, and when I get back on the roof to install my soft start I will check the AC from above.

Our unit was built on 3/6/24 (coincidentally the same day I placed my order at a different dealer for the unit that still hasn't been built). I can say with certainty that they did not spare an ounce of Alpha self-leveling sealant when they built this one! I plan on closely watching the roof once we get into the heat of summer and log more travel miles.

On a different note, my wife put everything in the new camper that came out of the old camper and commented about how much "extra" space we have now. I said good, let's keep it that way!

 

[GlasNav]

On a different note, my wife put everything in the new camper that came out of the old camper and commented about how much "extra" space we have now. I said good, let's keep it that way!

Good luck with that one!

 

[Bill-2020]

Today I started to tackle the install of my hardwired EMS.

The good: There is easy access to the back of the power center, converter and wiring under a panel of the dinette seat.

The bad: This absolutely tangled mess of wiring that the engineer in me just can’t leave it as is.

I cut zip-ties, re-routed and loosely bundled the wires where I could with new zip-ties. I did have to disconnect a few wires to re-thread them through the mess, but overall it looks 100% better. I wired in the EMS, mounted it to the side panel, tested everything (that initial "thunk" when it activates made me jump a bit), and now we are good to go without having to worry about all that extra hardware sitting at the pedestal.

You have lithium batteries right? Check your converter and make sure it’s changing and/or in auto mode to charge lithium. Also, check your charge controller (Victron). Mine was set to lead acid mode so I turned the setting to 7, I believe it was number 7 for lithium.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

We did not opt for the lithium batteries, so our charger is glowing green for lead acid charging and our solar controller is set for #2 for the default battery. When/if we decide to put in lithium batteries it looks like setting #7 is the correct one to use.

 

[wiredgeorge]

Thanks George! I actually got on the roof and crawled around on my hands and knees when we did our walkthrough at pick-up. Thankfully it was indoors since it was a torrential downpour at the time. I paid particular attention to the solar panel mounting brackets and vent pipe penetrations, but everything looked good. When we got home, I spent additional time doing a more thorough inspection of the roof and front and rear transitions since we hauled it 600 plus miles and everything still looked great. I am planning to install my Kool RV kit this weekend and will check the AC mounting bolts (lesson learned from a Jayco I bought new in 2003) when I have the ceiling assembly off, and when I get back on the roof to install my soft start I will check the AC from above.

Our unit was built on 3/6/24 (coincidentally the same day I placed my order at a different dealer for the unit that still hasn't been built). I can say with certainty that they did not spare an ounce of Alpha self-leveling sealant when they built this one! I plan on closely watching the roof once we get into the heat of summer and log more travel miles.

On a different note, my wife put everything in the new camper that came out of the old camper and commented about how much "extra" space we have now. I said good, let's keep it that way!

That is great! Have your wife come by my camper and pull all the junk out of my passthrough that have accumulated over the years and not used. I have an old storage building on the property full of old motorcycle parts that are being covered with RV parts and stuff left over from projects. I wish I was capable of throwing something away since I can never find that one thing I need anyway and end up buy another to only find the thing weeks or months later.

 

[Old Mustanger]

That is great! Have your wife come by my camper and pull all the junk out of my passthrough that have accumulated over the years and not used. I have an old storage building on the property full of old motorcycle parts that are being covered with RV parts and stuff left over from projects. I wish I was capable of throwing something away since I can never find that one thing I need anyway and end up buy another to only find the thing weeks or months later.

I read this one to DW and she asked if I wrote it!!

 

[NH_Bulldog]

Today must have been utility day!

I installed the Kool RV duct kit. It was a bit of work to install and required some creative field engineering due to the tight area, but I dropped 20 Db between before and after.

Next, I installed the Micro-Air EasyStart that I had removed from the Passport. I had to install, then reset to factory original, and then relearn the new AC. Tested before the EasyStart was installed, I was pulling 28 amps at compressor startup. After the EasyStart was installed, I was drawing 3.9 amps when the fans started (Furrion AC units have two separate fans on the roof), and then jumped to a total of 11.2 amps when the compressor kicked in, before dropping to a fairy steady 10.6 amps while running fans and compressor. Very pleased with the EasyStart all over again and should have no issues using the AC off my generator or a 20 amp power source (if I ever needed).

I pulled the ceiling vent assembly down over the front bed to make sure that the duct ends were taped off (and they were).

Next, I pulled the Blade ceiling louvers down in the bedroom (2) and installed a piece of pool noodle just past the ceiling openings to prevent air from going down that last 3-4 feet of dead-end duct on each side.

Now I have to figure out if those Blade vents can be modified or swapped out with something that provides a better sense of air movement in the bedroom, or be closed off in the rear bedroom so our daughter doesn't get frozen out when my wife sets the AC to "meat locker" mode.

My final task for the day was to fill the fresh water tank with bleach solution, purge the lines and run the pump at each faucet inside and out. Tomorrow I will drain and flush everything to prepare for next weekend (our first legitimate camping trip with the new camper).

 

[Raptor Dave]

Busy... Busy...

Replaced the garage door handle. Was jacked up from jump street. You had to pull up only to open it. It finally pooped out. I got lucky and HD had the exact replacement (except original was silver) in the screen door section for under 50 dinaro. Anyway, happy now, I can pull up or push down to open it.

Only 83 degrees here today so I figured a good day to do my inverter plug project. Got a green light so I must have done something correct!:whistling:
I know, I know, you're asking yourself why did this dum dum put the plug up so high on the wall? Next project is install my bracket for the Starlink router and power supply next to it after our favorite home delivery brings it.

 

[Raptor Dave]

Was a little pricy for the plastic bracket. However, I think it looks a lot cleaner than our original thought of hanging a basket and just putting the router and power pack in it.

 

[jonahex2099]

Replaced the bed overhead puck lights with dimmable led pucks, added motion sensing lights to both bedside closets, added small dimmable bedside lights, added a small side table beside the recliners, installed an outdoor thermometer, replaced the shower hose.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

Today I installed two 100ah LiFePO4 batteries in place of the single FLA battery installed by the dealer. Upgraded the battery cables, and installed a Victron Smart Shunt. Let my converter run for a few hours and confirmed that it auto-detected the LiFePo4 batteries (green internal light changed to blue).

We will be out this weekend and although our site has power, I am going to give the system a test and see how long I can run off batteries and 220w of rooftop solar under a typical usage situation. We don't have any boondocking plans until Labor Day, so we will have time to make adjustments, add another solar panel, etc. if needed before then, and also have the generator as a backup if needed.

 

[markdol1]

Let me know if you find any knucklehead parts under the rv pile !

 

[MattHelm21]

Cat6 for Starlink antenna

I finally got tired of fishing my Starlink cable through my slideout seal in order to route it to my router. Instead I did the unthinkable this weekend. I drilled a 1 inch hole in the side through to the area behind my fireplace and installed one of these Cat6 female to female waterproof ports. I also cut my Starlink 75 foot cabling leaving about 10 for the permanent inside connection between the router and the port after installing a Cat6 shielded end on the cut and the rest for the dishy where I installed another Cat6 shielded end for the removable part of the port. It works perfectly.