1 A Camper 12RBST Modification

[1A Camper]

I guess I will start with my grey water trap.



Straight forward no problems.

Then on to the shower door non key latch.



Now the latch is mounted in a grove and I had to file the handle so did not hit the grove.

On to dual battery on front frame.





The dealer added the frame to the trailer and group 27 batteries and boxes. I did the wiring.
The brakes are wired to one of the batteries so they will alway have power.
The grey cover is a waterproof cover for household wall switches and this is what I am using to turn on and off 12 Volts. The 2 connector that can be seen are for solar cells, the pins of the solar connector that can be seen are ground.

Here are some solar panels, I've had for some time.





End part one.

[thehamguy1]

Very nice! And this is only part 1, can't wait to see part 2!

[Wojo]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing.

[1A Camper]

During the checkout at the dealer, we had the BQ hung on the side of the trailer. When we took it off, there were 2 dents where the small feet were against the side of the trailer. It was 90 plus that day. Two days later the dents pop back out and you can not see them. So this mod. was done.



Found the bigger black feet at Home Depot, direct replacement. Seem to be a good fix.


When we were doing our Ck out I notice a big stack of group 24 battery cases. The guy doing our Ck out ( one of the owner ) said they were left over, as the factory ship them with the trailers, but they could not use them as they installed group 27 battery on their trailer. They even tried to give them to the people that they buy their group 27 cases from. They said they could not take them. They did not want to throw them away but want to recycle them and ask if I want some, I took 4. If you cut off the handles they just fit in the pull out storage.



The next 2 mod were the result of traveling on some dirt roads. The ice box door came open the micro wave door came open, the door under the sink came open. Now I am going to say a few words and let you come to your own picture of what the inside of the trailer looked like. Can of soda with hole in it, dish soap lid not on tight, salt and pepper lid left open, dishes and pans and you name it were not were they belonged. I am sure this only happen once to a camper.
The velco will keep the door shut.


The hook is one of those kid proof locks.



Found this 3 socket outlet at an auto parts store Most of our 12 Volt stuff has this connector on it. The meter was from Harbor Freight. A free give away, so I mod it with the plug to measure 12V.

I drilled a hole on the side of the cabinet by the bed to run the wire. Removed the fire extinguisher and was able to pick up 12V from the wires going to the outside light.




During the Ck out the guy said the water filter was good but reduced the water flow. He said some use it and other do not. I saw no reason to use it, so I decide I would turn it upside down. I would gain some shelf space, it would be easier to drain using compress air, and it now acts as a Accumulator. We do not leave our water pump turn on.




This is the end of part 2

[1A Camper]

After our first camping trip, we decide we needed more accessible storage. There is plenty of storage just not easily accessible. What I came up with is a new table. The picture are what I came up with.

The hole in the middle will hold big plates and bowls



The part next to the wall will hold clothes.



The drawer are 4 inches high and about 12 inches deep



The round dots are locks

[thehamguy1]

Inverting the filter canister and gaining an accumulator: genius! Nice design work on the table too. I bet you've spawned a wave of mods among your readers now...

Did you need to add any backing to screw into behind the new position of the filter bracket? Not a lot of wood in that panel otherwise.

[1A Camper]

The screws seem to take to the wood fine. Did not back. The hoses are stiff so they help to hold it too.

[thehamguy1]

Thanks! Thinking of doing this too, and wondered about the need for backing. How does it do as an accumulator? It would lack the air/water separation membrane that accumulators have; any problem there?

[1A Camper]

I did not even think about a backing plate. It has 4 screws and seem fine. You can just see the water level in the picture. It is about half way. Opening the faucet the filter container will empty, so that what about 2 cups. It seem to work just fine as an accumulator.

[thehamguy1]

Great, thanks.

[Pooneil]

Originally Posted by 1A Camper

Where did you get the three outlet 12V socket.

[1A Camper]

I was afraid that someone would ask where I got the 12 volt socket. I pick it up 3 or 4 years ago. I thought it was at an auto store but could not find it. I can not find any name on the socket. I did find this a wal-mart, not the same but close.

Get the Bell Power Strip with USB Port at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better.

[skisteveski]

Originally Posted by 1A Camper

During the checkout at the dealer, we had the BQ hung on the side of the trailer. When we took it off, there were 2 dents where the small feet were against the side of the trailer. It was 90 plus that day. Two days later the dents pop back out and you can not see them. So this mod. was done.



Found the bigger black feet at Home Depot, direct replacement. Seem to be a good fix.


When we were doing our Ck out I notice a big stack of group 24 battery cases. The guy doing our Ck out ( one of the owner ) said they were left over, as the factory ship them with the trailers, but they could not use them as they installed group 27 battery on their trailer. They even tried to give them to the people that they buy their group 27 cases from. They said they could not take them. They did not want to throw them away but want to recycle them and ask if I want some, I took 4. If you cut off the handles they just fit in the pull out storage.



The next 2 mod were the result of traveling on some dirt roads. The ice box door came open the micro wave door came open, the door under the sink came open. Now I am going to say a few words and let you come to your own picture of what the inside of the trailer looked like. Can of soda with hole in it, dish soap lid not on tight, salt and pepper lid left open, dishes and pans and you name it were not were they belonged. I am sure this only happen once to a camper.
The velco will keep the door shut.


The hook is one of those kid proof locks.



Found this 3 socket outlet at an auto parts store Most of our 12 Volt stuff has this connector on it. The meter was from Harbor Freight. A free give away, so I mod it with the plug to measure 12V.

I drilled a hole on the side of the cabinet by the bed to run the wire. Removed the fire extinguisher and was able to pick up 12V from the wires going to the outside light.




During the Ck out the guy said the water filter was good but reduced the water flow. He said some use it and other do not. I saw no reason to use it, so I decide I would turn it upside down. I would gain some shelf space, it would be easier to drain using compress air, and it now acts as a Accumulator. We do not leave our water pump turn on.




This is the end of part 2

What is an accumulator?

[1A Camper]

A hydraulic accumulator is a pressure storage reservoir in which a non-compressible hydraulic fluid (In this case water) is held under pressure by an external source (air trapped in the upside down water filter).

We do not leave our water pump on, so if a valve is left open or is leaking, it does not drain the water tank. If you turn off the water, the pump will run until it compresses the air in the water filter. Then turn off the pump. you can now turn on the water and it will run until the air is uncompressed. About a quart of water. Enough to wash hands or a glass of water without turning the pump on.

[ThunderRoad]

Brilliant on turning the filter canister over. I've been wanting to add an accumulator and have been lazy about it because it would probably be more-involved than I wanted. This works perfectly and gains storage.

[D-mo]

Great idea on the water filter ... even for winterizing its a great idea ..cause you never have to unscrew the thing to empty it .... to refill with anti-freeze .. will be doing that next year for sure .... love the idea ..

d-mo

[OldCoot]

Agree, brilliant idea until you have to change the filter unless you can turn it back with the canister down.

[Pooneil]

Since the consensus is that the filter cuts water pressure too much and should be left out, changing it will not be a problem. The housing will need to be drained periodically to maintain the trapped air that helps it serve as a accumulator. Probably this will occur when opening the low point drains and faucet to drain the system. I do that after every trip.

[Pooneil]

Originally Posted by 1A Camper

uring the Ck out the guy said the water filter was good but reduced the water flow. He said some use it and other do not. I saw no reason to use it, so I decide I would turn it upside down. I would gain some shelf space, it would be easier to drain using compress air, and it now acts as a Accumulator. We do not leave our water pump turn on.

I was looking at mine today to do this mod. How did you hold the reinforcement block behind the wall in place while putting the screws into the new location?

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Pooneil

I was looking at mine today to do this mod. How did you hold the reinforcement block behind the wall in place while putting the screws into the new location?

The old stand by, DUCT TAPE! Never leave home without it!