2015 Puma Unleashed mods and updates....

[ferguson65]

Since the pics I had on my old thread were both way behind and not longer working I decided to make a new thread with the mods and updates I've done to it over our year of ownership so far.................There's a lot here.

First mod I did was add the vent cover over the bathroom vent. El cheapo Chinese fan motor quit after 6 trips. Installed a new one to finish the year, added a fantastic fan and fantastic vent cover over the winter. Moisture from showers is a non issue now!

Added a Progressive EMS surge protector. Trailer was only ordered 30A. Big mistake. Bought another 50A progressive unit, and converted trailer to 50A with second 15K ac in garage. Much better cooling now!






Factory license plate location is stupid. Hangs way too low, drug it on the ground first trip out. Cut tabs off light assembly, installed a new red lends intended for the right side (no clear on bottom for plate light), trimmed the top corners of the plate to fit it between the hinges and bolted it on. I'm still not satisfied with the plate light, it throws a ton of light, but most of it goes everywhere but on the plate.







Added a master switch in the battery box. no more dead battery after it sits 2 weeks without being plugged in.



The spare tire, like the plate mount hangs too low and I drug it on the ground when one of its "guards" folded under the weight of the trailer going through a dip. When I took it down, I found that the tire only tightens up against one crossmember and the winch shaft. Guess it really was an afterthought. I don't have a fuel cell, so I made a new bracket for the spare tire winch in that location. Have to crawl under the trailer to lower it, but we'll call that theft deterrent.










Added a second sewer hose tube back between the spare tire and sewer outlet. Used a D&W super slider extendable tube that can be fit to any frame width. Not a glamorous job but a great product! Now I have my 15 foot rhino hose in there along with adapters, and the 10 foot extension in the factory hose tube.



While I was there I noticed that there were L brackets welded to the frame to bolt the bottoms of the steps to the frame, and there were predrilled holes in the steps, but not in the frame. Drilled the holes and added 2 bolts. Steps are now much more solid.

[ferguson65]

More

Added 1/4 turn valves to the low point drains. Simple and cheap. Just rewinterized it today for a freeze tonight. Much easier than fooling with caps!



Spring pins for the landing gear rather than the PTO clips. Nothing to lose and much easier to pin the legs.



Bug screens for the WH, Fridge, and heater outlets. Used rubber door edge trim to keep them from scuffing the paint on the WH door. The big one on the WH door sort of interferes with the latch, but not enough to be concerned about. I modified the lower fridge vent screen to let the drain hose out. Alternately, I've seen people drill a hole in the cover to let the tube out.






Had the stupid floppy table base changed out for the old pedestal legs. Table is much better now.



Ordered keyed alike baggage door locks to match the door key. Also rekeyed rear door to match front. Now I have 3 keys for everything. 1 for rear door padlocks and sewer hose padlock, 1 for both doors and baggage doors, and one for the outside shower. The outside shower has a much shorter tumbler than the rest. It's possible with an offset lock arm one of these others would fit to key it alike. Something I'll have to mess with yet.



Added flip down cupholders next to the couch. Tired of putting my beer in on of my boot to hold it up.



Clothes hooks on the bedroom sliding door track.



Towel bar in the bathroom. Could hang one towel on the shower rod, but where do the rest go? This is a 24" double bar, with about 1.5" cut out of the rods. The vanity side is on a stud. The wall side there is no stud, I was able to pull out the garage TV outlet and slide a piece of 1"x2" into the wall and screw it to that. The piece is about 14" long, I added a SS screw about 6" below the bar to fix the wood to the wall and keep it from flexing. It won't take pull ups, but it should have no issues with towels.



I've also done the Oxygenics shower head, TST 507RV tire pressure monitor, Supernight LED dimmer for the awning light, and have the Stromberg Carlson extend a shower rod kit in the trailer yet to be installed. It looks like the factory shower curtain will be too short to use with it. Hoping to get it installed this week and Amazon Prime a curtain if needed. So tired of the cold curtain sticking to me when I shower.

I think that's everything. I may be wrong. I'll post up if I remember more.

Bear with me as I type it all in here and then edit and add pics from my phone

[Oaklevel]

Nice Mods.................

I agree 100% with the 30A and one AC not being enough. I went a different route and added a regular service and breaker box to the garage. Added outlets (mostly for the second fridge) and added the second AC but to lessen the cost cost considerably just added the second service so I use two thirty amp cords to the pedestal. No it will not work everywhere but it does where we camp. 50A was not an option for the 2013's when we ordered.

[gilwilliams101]

Ferguson 65, NICE JOB!!! For towel racks in the bathroom, I went to Wal-Mart and bought a over the door towel hanger for 10.00.


I love your coat hooks in the bedroom above sliding doors!

[ferguson65]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

I agree 100% with the 30A and one AC not being enough. I went a different route and added a regular service and breaker box to the garage. Added outlets (mostly for the second fridge) and added the second AC but to lessen the cost cost considerably just added the second service so I use two thirty amp cords to the pedestal. No it will not work everywhere but it does where we camp. 50A was not an option for the 2013's when we ordered.

I fell into a pile of sh*t and came out smelling like roses on the 50A conversion. Due to one serious QC failure on FR's part that they originally wanted the trailer sent back to the factory to have the slide pulled and entire center disassembled to replace a piece of subfloor that had and "extra" 2" hole right smack in the center of the floor. Dealer asked them what they would charge to do the 50A conversion while they had it there and apart. FR also gave me a few simpler options the dealer could make and they would take care of the EVERYTHING for the conversion except the actual labor for the install of the AC unit.

Basically, they cut out a 2" puck and secured it with a larger piece of subfloor from the bottom. I can't even find where it was, and got the entire conversion with the 15k AC unit done for $681 out of pocket. I'm happy with the outcome.

If they took it apart so far as to replace that piece of subfloor I would not have wanted it back.

[ferguson65]

Originally Posted by gilwilliams101

Ferguson 65, NICE JOB!!!.............


I love your coat hooks in the bedroom above sliding doors!

Thanks! The coat hooks were the wife's idea though!

Still have more mods coming in the near future.

My name is Scott and I have a problem.......................


Also for anyone with a 2015 or 2016 with the iRV radio, there IS updated software for the volume being too loud even at the lowest setting. We just had the radio replaced under warranty and it IS night and day. It looks like somewhere in the 2016 lineup they ditched the iRV radio though.

[dmchapman]

Is your dinette on a slide? If so, how thick is the slide floor and what kind of screws did you use to mount the pole sockets?

[ferguson65]

Originally Posted by dmchapman

Is your dinette on a slide? If so, how thick is the slide floor and what kind of screws did you use to mount the pole sockets?

It is. I can take a look, but I'm not sure. The dealer did the work on that one. I can say the 2016 units have the poles just like mine does now.

[ferguson65]

Tonight I attempted the extenda shower rod. Attempted being the key word. The factory curtain rod was just jammed between the two walls with the end covers to hold it there. None of the end cover screws are in studs, just into the wallboard. The studs are about 1" from the medicine cabinet and right next to the door. But for it to work it would have to be located higher than the medicine cabinet. Not sure if I like that, curtain would rest tight on the corner, and need to be about 1' taller.

So for now, I just moved the factory rod out 2". Will try it out this weekend and see how it goes. Tried to use a tape and level to get in in position, but gave up since nothing else is level, even, or plumb..........................Just has to look good to the eye.

I also moved the table top out 2" so adults can sit behind it. Very close to the bathroom wall now, about 1/2", had to trim the noodle down to fit, but should keep it more stable going down the road.