2013 Encounter

[1nshort]

go6car,
I bought a que cube automatic portable satellite dish 5 years back and have been very happy with it. It will take two receivers but they both have to be watching a channel that is on the same satellite. It will automatically switch satellites. I have dishnet. I will be switching, soon, to the roof mounted autodish that tracks all satellites at the same time (1400 @CW). The current portables are around 500-600.

It's a fair chunk of change. With a coach mounted unit you need to set up camp where you have a clear view of the southern sky. With the portable you can set it up to get around blockages as they come with a 50 ft cable.

[go6car]

That's exactly the dilemma I'm faced with. Do I want a stationary or portable unit. Let alone do I even want one at this point. Thanks for all the feedback as I continue to ponder this one!

[1nshort]

Our thought on it was..well since we have sattelite at home, why not when we are in the RV? We'll just use one of the home receivers. We chose the portable because when you park at campgrounds you can not always get an unobstructed southerly view. With the long cable on the portable we could overcome the blockages. I went the route with a portable antenna bought a signal meter to aim the dish. It was a real pain in the posterior getting skew and angle just right....the portable was automatic 5-10 minutes and you are watching.

[1nshort]

All,
Was browsing other sites and found a thread that a MH owner used some pliable insulated reflective coating for cold weather (20's) camping with very good results. Got me to thinking I could emulate that. They used Reflectix. Costs around $1.54 a linear foot (48in X 100rt roll). I found a comparison site for other types at;
Comparing Prodex to Reflectix, Tekfoil, Eco foil, Tempshield, etc

It is $1.35 a linear foot (48in X 175ft roll) but has a higher R factor. I am still researching and comparing.

Just athought.

[go6car]

Originally Posted by 1nshort

All,
Was browsing other sites and found a thread that a MH owner used some pliable insulated reflective coating for cold weather (20's) camping with very good results. Got me to thinking I could emulate that. They used Reflectix. Costs around $1.54 a linear foot (48in X 100rt roll). I found a comparison site for other types at;
Comparing Prodex to Reflectix, Tekfoil, Eco foil, Tempshield, etc

It is $1.35 a linear foot (48in X 175ft roll) but has a higher R factor. I am still researching and comparing.

Just athought.

Thanks for the heads-up on this!

[Roll]

Originally Posted by 1nshort

All,
Was browsing other sites and found a thread that a MH owner used some pliable insulated reflective coating for cold weather (20's) camping with very good results. Got me to thinking I could emulate that. They used Reflectix. Costs around $1.54 a linear foot (48in X 100rt roll). I found a comparison site for other types at;
Comparing Prodex to Reflectix, Tekfoil, Eco foil, Tempshield, etc

It is $1.35 a linear foot (48in X 175ft roll) but has a higher R factor. I am still researching and comparing.

Just athought.

Are you thinking this would be good to cover the water tanks? Would probably have to cover the outside of the wet bay as well, but even with insulation, you have to find a way to heat them. Otherwise they will still freeze albeit it will take longer.

If you were determined to make the coach four season capable, you could also cover the windows when parked and only uncover what you needed to have some daylight. Would have to think about how to fasten it up, inside I guess.

Any idea how heavy the material is? The Hush mat I installed to reduce engine noise was thin but extremely heavy for its size. Density I suppose is the reason.

Roll

[1nshort]

The person that posted was using it to stop heat loss through their windshield and windows during 20 degree weather. They used velcro tabs to mount it and where they could strip magnets. That was mostly for their roof vents (magnets). It would not be good for insulating tanks. The material is very light. It mostly consists of bubble insulation sandwiched between two layers of reflective foil (similar to that found in solar survival blankets. The R-Factor is from the bubble sheets and the heat/cold reflection is the rippled foil. They had a class C and tested it in 17-20 degree weather here in MD. They claimed it was easy to maintain the temp around 70-71 using two electric space heaters with a little (but not too much) assitance from the rig's propane heater. I will try and find the thread and provide a link but I was doing aimless surfing through the Forest River threads.

[1nshort]

Hah! Found it.

FORUMS
Forest River Tech Talk
Modifications and Updates
RV Insulation mods winter/summer DYI

[Roll]

Originally Posted by 1nshort

The person that posted was using it to stop heat loss through their windshield and windows during 20 degree weather. They used velcro tabs to mount it and where they could strip magnets. That was mostly for their roof vents (magnets). It would not be good for insulating tanks. The material is very light. It mostly consists of bubble insulation sandwiched between two layers of reflective foil (similar to that found in solar survival blankets. The R-Factor is from the bubble sheets and the heat/cold reflection is the rippled foil. They had a class C and tested it in 17-20 degree weather here in MD. They claimed it was easy to maintain the temp around 70-71 using two electric space heaters with a little (but not too much) assitance from the rig's propane heater. I will try and find the thread and provide a link but I was doing aimless surfing through the Forest River threads.

I have some of that stuff. At least something like you described. Can't remember what I bought it for but most of the roll is on a shelf in the garage. You're right, hustmat is entirely different.

I would like to make my Encounter winter capable but from what I can find and have read, it's an expensive job and would require a lot of work. That may be something that I either give up or look for if I ever trade.

We hope so spend some time on the road; more than vacation time. A month or two at a time but we never planned to give up our stick house which we love. So the stick home can be the winter home and the coach we will use for spring, summer, or fall.

Starting the countdown: 4 months 3 weeks until retirement.

Roll

[1nshort]

Roll,
Enjoy your retirement. I will most likely retire for the 3rd time September or December. 1st retirement 23 years military, second retirement Contractor (govt work) 17 years, 3rd retirement Fed Gov't 9 years....soon. Goin to Snowflake Arizona as a base building a steel frame house with blown foam insulation solar slab heating and solar shell electric supplemental energy. I plan on traveling 6-8 months out of the year.
Installing dual voltage heat blankets on the grey and black water tanks won;t be too bad. Found water hose with built in heat coils. As you mentioned water tank would be expensive because of dropping genset to install heat blanket.....but how about a temperature controlled heating element sort of like in the water heater except lower temperature? AC and DC elements exist.

[Roll]

Originally Posted by 1nshort

Roll,
Enjoy your retirement. I will most likely retire for the 3rd time September or December. 1st retirement 23 years military, second retirement Contractor (govt work) 17 years, 3rd retirement Fed Gov't 9 years....soon. Goin to Snowflake Arizona as a base building a steel frame house with blown foam insulation solar slab heating and solar shell electric supplemental energy. I plan on traveling 6-8 months out of the year.
Installing dual voltage heat blankets on the grey and black water tanks won;t be too bad. Found water hose with built in heat coils. As you mentioned water tank would be expensive because of dropping genset to install heat blanket.....but how about a temperature controlled heating element sort of like in the water heater except lower temperature? AC and DC elements exist.

Impressive work history!

Sounds like you know what you are doing. Would you mind documenting your progress winterizing and taking pics as well. I'd really like to see what you do and how you do it; that will be the instruction manual for me if it works for you.

Did you ever check your range cover? I'm interested in knowing if FR/Coachmen decided to fix that problem.

[Edit] Sorry 1nshort, I posted this before I saw your message. I'm sure you are looking forward to getting the coach back. Long drive though.

Gary (Roll)

[1nshort]

Originally Posted by Roll

Impressive work history!

Sounds like you know what you are doing. Would you mind documenting your progress winterizing and taking pics as well. I'd really like to see what you do and how you do it; that will be the instruction manual for me if it works for you.

Did you ever check your range cover? I'm interested in knowing if FR/Coachmen decided to fix that problem.

[Edit] Sorry 1nshort, I posted this before I saw your message. I'm sure you are looking forward to getting the coach back. Long drive though.

Gary (Roll)

Got the coach back. Checked the electrical area and it came with the auto-switchover for gen to shore power/shore power to gen. The CCC is 3104 pounds, so the all wood and tile floors etc in the package cut around 900 lbs from the CCC. All of the accesories faucets etc. are brushed nickel. Bedroom door and bathroom door are solid maple, not ovrly thick but solid and thick enough. Bedroom and dining area tvs are 24 inch, living and outside tvs are 32 inch. Bedroom and living area dvd players are blue ray. All electronics are magnavox. Did not check to see who made thhe surround sound. Outsside tv and dining tv have
composite connectors. I will pobably go wireles hdmi or go hdmi over cat5 cable which would be easier to run. I'll have to research that one. Two 24 volt deep discharge batteries are in the second entrance step, very easy access. The stove cover is two pieces of Corian and no they did not address the issue you hd, but I must admit it takes a good lean on to get it to flip up, I will fix that by making a maple spacer stained to match that attaches by velcro. First I will tackle the couch reading lights. You have to have the overhead lights on for them work, now that is really dumb! Next I will replace all those idiotic overhead haloggen lights with LEDs. I'll wire in a surge suppressor in the power access bay with the remote display at the dining area. I'll research the fresh water AC/DC adjustable temperature probe and keep you posted. Oh yeah, the bottom of the king matress area is solid I sat on it with no effect. I'm 6'2" and 220 pounds so they addressed that. Mattres still sucks, put a 4" foam topper from wally mart and I sleep like a baby that snores loudly!

Happy Camper (soon)

[Roll]

Wow. A month of cooresponding about problems and solutions and you blew through all the answers in a single post.

I'm tired just reading it.

Lets get a beer, its on me. Thank you 1nshort.

Roll

[go6car]

...And I'm turning green just hearing about both of your retirements!!!!

Interesting that there's about a 180lb difference between Inshort's and my CCCs (I have the Chalet package too - all wood/tile). Wonder what that difference is. Roll - you definitely made out there for fulltiming, weight-wise, by not having the interior upgrades!

Sounds like I missed out on the transfer switch.

For what it's worth, I have the same range counter top issue - but you do really have to lean on it as well. My fear is someone unknowingly leaning on it, and it falling on the tile and cracking both. I got a handful of extra tiles from Coachmen in anticipation of this happening. They've stopped using the earth-tone colored tile that is in my unit and now it's a white color.

Definitely would like to do the all-interior LED conversion. I've been looking around and reading online and still a bit puzzled as what would be best. Would want soft-white lighting. Basically, would want it to "look" the same as it does now.

Inshort - Your dealer special-ordered a bunch of Encounters, so you may have even more different options than I do in my 2013. I actually have the 2012 Cross Country interior in ours (same box-window treatments everywhere, but we added duo-shades throughout). I happened to talk to one of the East Coast sales reps and asked why that dealer's inventory looked different and was told that. Interesting.

Noticed some very recent delivery Encounters have a residential fridge option, which I would have really liked to have. Looks like they're using the same model that's in the new Georgetowns. Have no idea where they're putting the extra batteries for it, though.

Add me to the virtural beer list for sure! Great to share info with other owners!

[Roll]

On the Range cover.

There may have been adjustments that provide a little more stability over the last two years.

I found the problem the hard way. Standing a little out from the range and facing the front of the coach I reached out and leaned the palm of my hand on the edge, at an angle, as I reached down with my right hand to pull a shoe on. It flipped up and I almost went down. Then knowing the problem, I continued to do roughly the same thing a couple of more times before I learned.

Here are a couple of pictures of how I sorted it out.

The white plastic strip is not special and available anywhere. Epoxy glue works fine.

Take a look at the underside of the front cover and see how they notched it behind the round front edge. That is the pivot point about 2 inches from the very front of the cover. I'll bet if they cut the cover straight out without the notch it would not lever up with pressure on the nose/front edge. Just a thought.

[Roll]

Originally Posted by go6car

...

Interesting that there's about a 180lb difference between Inshort's and my CCCs (I have the Chalet package too - all wood/tile). Wonder what that difference is. Roll - you definitely made out there for fulltiming, weight-wise, by not having the interior upgrades!

Sounds like I missed out on the transfer switch.


Add me to the virtural beer list for sure! Great to share info with other owners!

On the CCC. I would gladly have given up the extra weight capacity to have the Chalet package but it was not offered in 2011 at least I don't think it came out until 2012.

I have more capacity but I don't use it. Fully loaded I have some 1600 pounds of capacity remaining although I keep finding "stuff" I can't possibly
travel without.

Go-Six you might want to check into the transfer switch. If that was included as a standard item during your model year you may be able to get Coachmen to send you the unit. Labor would be all yours but they run in the range of $250. Not a fortune I know but what the heck, it's the largest part of a tank of gas.

The Refrigerator is one of my gripes. I think the residential fridges are options on some models but not the 37 TZ. There just isn't room for a residential fridge in that tiny space which brings me to my gripe. I didn't really consider the fridge when we bought. Wife wanted this floor plan and we dived it. The fridge in the 37TZ is plainly too small. Even for just the two of us it does not have enough space.

I did upgrade my two 12-v batteries. I had four 6-v batteries installed. FYI they pulled the two 12 volts out of the stair well and I use that space for storage now. They put the four new 6-volts in the second compartment back from the entrance door on the passenger side. I had an 1800 w inverter installed as well which went in the compartment just ahead of where the batteries are now, (just left of the door) and when they did that they moved the 110 receptacles to the very front compartment on the passenger side where my outside TV is mounted. Related; I added a solar panel for the roof with a charge controller to assist with charging the house batteries.

[1nshort]

There are three replacement types that I found. I am going to order one of each. I will post the results. Might take a bit of time. From what I get from the web site, the leds are coming from singapore. Price was good though.

[1nshort]

Thanks for the pics. I will study and look about for items you mentioned.

[Roll]

Originally Posted by 1nshort

There are three replacement types that I found. I am going to order one of each. I will post the results. Might take a bit of time. From what I get from the web site, the leds are coming from singapore. Price was good though.

I'mm interested in the LED/halogen light swap too. Looking forward to your conclusions.

Roll

[go6car]

Originally Posted by Roll

The Refrigerator is one of my gripes. I think the residential fridges are options on some models but not the 37 TZ. There just isn't room for a residential fridge in that tiny space which brings me to my gripe. I didn't really consider the fridge when we bought. Wife wanted this floor plan and we dived it. The fridge in the 37TZ is plainly too small. Even for just the two of us it does not have enough space.

The Thor Challenger 37KT (similar floorplan to yours) actually has a residential fridge. I think it's ~11'.

Here's some pictures: New Thor Motor Coach Challenger for sale in Alvarado TX | 2013 Thor Motor Coach Challenger W/3 Slides 37KT Model RV for Sale Class A For Sale from Motor Home Specialist in Alvarado Texas

Good to know if you ever wanted to swap out some day.