In a few weeks, I will begin my first cross country trip in Oliver our RV (race vehicle) Siesta 24SA. Over the last few years, there are some things that seem to just be an annoyance. Given that Dana and I will spend about three weeks going from Alexandria, VA to Tucson, AZ and back I figured I would make a few changes and I would share.
1.) How do you close the screen door? So Dana and I race bicycles, and we have a pretty steady flow of people in and out of the RV. Every time they come in; it is a lesson on closing the door. To be fair, it takes a little getting used to reaching through the screen door making sure not to have hold of the unlock flap... blah blah blah.. you know what I am talking about.
Solution: Camco 42183 Screen Door Cross Bar (Black) - $9.14 Took 10 minutes to install. (pic below)
2.) The occasional smell from the black water tank. After watching a bunch of videos especially from www.fitrv.com, figured out a solution.
Solution:
- Valterra Products, Inc. A-70 No Fuss Flush with Check Valve - $22.00
- Valterra A71 No Fuss Assembly Kit - $24.00
- 4-foot hose from Home Depot - $8.00
It took me about 2 hours to install. I drilled the hole on the left side (side toward the front) of the black water tank. I was able to get to the tank via the compartment beside of the wet bay. Then I added the intake plate in the wet bay, see photo. Now when I dump, I can connect a hose turn it on and flush the black water tank while dumping. PASSED the sniff test - opened the toilet valve with the fantastic fan on. No smell!!!!!!
3.) We run out of outlets when charging our iPhones and iPads.
- Replaced the outlet above the dinette
- Leviton USB Charger / Tamper-Resistant Outlet - $22.97
- HDX Shallow box - $1.97
I took about 30 minutes. I had to add a shallow box since the outlet that Thor used is only secured with two "wings" that come out when you tighten it down. I had to clean up their cutting since there square was nowhere close to being square. Now we have the two outlets and two USB ports.
4.) Clean up of the media area above Fridge.
- Free - Took the quest media center and flipped the rack and mounted it on the top of the area. Now it opened up a ton of room.
Tomorrow's work:
1 - Installation of WeBoost Cellular Booster
2 - Installation of Peplink Pepware MAX BR1 Cellular / WAN Router
If anyone has any storage tips, I am all ears. I am going to open up the area under the bathroom sink by moving the little wood partition back a few inches. I am also going to split the shelf above the sink into to areas, instead of the one big one.
Oh, anyone has suggestions on what to use to lube the shower door. Ours sticks something dreadful.
Thanks
Chuck
1.) How do you close the screen door? So Dana and I race bicycles, and we have a pretty steady flow of people in and out of the RV. Every time they come in; it is a lesson on closing the door. To be fair, it takes a little getting used to reaching through the screen door making sure not to have hold of the unlock flap... blah blah blah.. you know what I am talking about.
Solution: Camco 42183 Screen Door Cross Bar (Black) - $9.14 Took 10 minutes to install. (pic below)
2.) The occasional smell from the black water tank. After watching a bunch of videos especially from www.fitrv.com, figured out a solution.
Solution:
- Valterra Products, Inc. A-70 No Fuss Flush with Check Valve - $22.00
- Valterra A71 No Fuss Assembly Kit - $24.00
- 4-foot hose from Home Depot - $8.00
It took me about 2 hours to install. I drilled the hole on the left side (side toward the front) of the black water tank. I was able to get to the tank via the compartment beside of the wet bay. Then I added the intake plate in the wet bay, see photo. Now when I dump, I can connect a hose turn it on and flush the black water tank while dumping. PASSED the sniff test - opened the toilet valve with the fantastic fan on. No smell!!!!!!
3.) We run out of outlets when charging our iPhones and iPads.
- Replaced the outlet above the dinette
- Leviton USB Charger / Tamper-Resistant Outlet - $22.97
- HDX Shallow box - $1.97
I took about 30 minutes. I had to add a shallow box since the outlet that Thor used is only secured with two "wings" that come out when you tighten it down. I had to clean up their cutting since there square was nowhere close to being square. Now we have the two outlets and two USB ports.
4.) Clean up of the media area above Fridge.
- Free - Took the quest media center and flipped the rack and mounted it on the top of the area. Now it opened up a ton of room.
Tomorrow's work:
1 - Installation of WeBoost Cellular Booster
2 - Installation of Peplink Pepware MAX BR1 Cellular / WAN Router
If anyone has any storage tips, I am all ears. I am going to open up the area under the bathroom sink by moving the little wood partition back a few inches. I am also going to split the shelf above the sink into to areas, instead of the one big one.
Oh, anyone has suggestions on what to use to lube the shower door. Ours sticks something dreadful.
Thanks
Chuck