Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-05-2016, 11:17 AM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 79
My Wolf Pup mods

I've had my '17 Wolf Pup 16BHS (Bunk House) for a few weeks now and have finished a half dozen or so mods. Some are simple while others are a bit more aggressive.

Mod 1 - Bunk storage.
The dealer who sold me the camper included a pair of folding chairs. They had these little storage pockets hanging off of one chair arm so I took one... added snaps and installed the snaps in the bunks so the storage pockets can hang in each bunk for the kids glasses, books, water bottle etc.

Mod 2 - Bunk Privacy.

a hemmed bit of brown fabric and a few snaps and the bunks have removable privacy curtains.

Mod 3 - Convert RV queen bed into full queen length.
The camper came with an RV queen up front. It also had a "Headboard" shelf at the head of the bed which was about 8" wide. I removed this headboard, slid the stock RV queen tight to the wall and filled in the resulting 8" space at the foot of the bed with a 8 inch wide piece of foam rubber. I then covered the mattress and filler with a full size gel style queen mattress topper. Now, I can sleep in comfort without my feet being jammed into the wall. Perfect as I am a bit over six feet tall. Where the stock head board was removed I added a piece of stained molding to cover a few screw holes and provide a sort of head board look to the area. in a future mode I plan on adding small shelves to the headboard wall each side of the window to allow storage.

Mod 4 - Shoe storage nook.

I added a 13" deep finished nook under the bench closest to the front. This was done by simply popping out the stock plywood panel and installing a box behind it. The box has a finished bottom, back and sides which fight exactly the size of the existing cabinet frame. I left the box unstained so that it would be brighter. This gives an easy quick place for slippers and shoes to hide so they don't get walked on. The nook is varnished and is sealed to the existing woodwork with silicone so it can be washed clean easily.

Mod 5 - Undercabinet lighting switched on/off by the door switches.

One big gripe I had with the stock camper is you have to enter a dark camper and reach up to the ceiling to get to the closest interior light. There were two switches by the door which controlled the two outside lights. I removed the switches and saw that there was room to add a bigger switch unit with three switches and the wall cavity beside the door was open going up for the wiring. I simply found on Amazon a 3 gang replacement switch for RV's and added a 18" long strip 12v LED under-cabinet light. To get hidden wiring from the switch area to the under-cabinet area was a bit tricky. The bottom of the cabinet above is a lightweight sandwich of 1/4" finished plywood top and bottom of a 3/4" spacer so I knew that I could drill into the end of the cabinet bottom to access this void space. Now... how to get from the wall cavity to this void space. Simple... I added a small tapered shelf to the outside. The shelf has the same hollow construction as the cabinet bottom and inside the shelf is the 12v wire running from the under-cabinet light over to the wall and then down to the new 3 gang switch. So... I now have a wall switch controlled light in the camper and a bonus small shelf (with lip) at the door for flashlight... matches or other handy items.

I hope you like my mods. There will be more coming soon.
1201alarm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-06-2016, 06:34 AM   #2
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 22
Nice changes, particularly the under cabinet lighting.
__________________
Prof and Agate
2016 Wolf Pup 16FQ
2004 Oldsmobile Bravada
CJ (Claudia Jean) Pit/Lab mix
2016 Trips 6 Nights 18
2017 Trips 0 Nights 0
Prof and Agate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2016, 08:22 PM   #3
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 79
Another week and more mods!

Mod #6 - Magnetic hold open


While at the dealer shopping for my Wolf Cub I noticed on a more expensive Palamino that instead of hatch hold open latches, they had magnetic hold opens. No more fiddling trying to get the hatch latched open while holding objects! I bought a few RV magnetic hold opens on Amazon and installed them on my camper. I left the stock latches in place. Easy mod and oh so handy!. I used a gasket of self sealing rubberized tape under the magnet before attaching to waterproof the screw holes.

Mod #7 - Mirror and Medicine cabinet.

Since everyone needs a mirror in the RV I added a custom mirror and corner medicine cabinet above the toilet. The corner cabinet is 8" x 8" x 22" tall with an angled front and it will hold the tooth brushes and other items nicely.

Mod #8 - Table light.

After using the trailer a few times we missed having a light directly above the table. Our Wolf Pup has a ceiling one nearby but to turn it on or off you have to stand up. I wondered if it would be possible to mount a fixture under the cabinet over the table. I noticed that the radio was in the end of the cabinet so there was 12 volt power nearby. I searched on Amazon and found a cheap LED switched dome light. To route the wire I planed on drilling a hole up through the bottom of the cabinet and hiding a wire inside the cabinet running about 3 feet down to the radio. When I drilled the hole on the bottom I realized that if I was careful maybe I could run the wire inside the hollow bottom of the cabinet over to where the radio was. The void space was interrupted by a wooden cross support but luckily I had a 3 foot long drill bit. I was able to fit the drill bit carefully into the void space and drill through the obstruction. I finished with a small hole directly down from the radio into the void space and was able to fish a wire from the radio to the dome light. Presto... a light for the table which you can turn on and off while sitting. The dome light has two separate sides and you can have one or both lights on if you wish.
1201alarm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2016, 09:13 PM   #4
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 22
More nice details.
__________________
Prof and Agate
2016 Wolf Pup 16FQ
2004 Oldsmobile Bravada
CJ (Claudia Jean) Pit/Lab mix
2016 Trips 6 Nights 18
2017 Trips 0 Nights 0
Prof and Agate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2016, 10:51 PM   #5
Junior Member
 
LifeAsBen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 11
My mods...

- Tornado black tank flush (this should be standard!)
- LED light above stove
- Electric jack
- Levels (should also be standard!)
- Sealed up undercarriage and various parts of exterior
- Swift Hitch cam mount on back
- Siliconed every nook in the bathroom
- Installed better on / off for shower head
- Added refrigerator remote monitoring
- Added valve on toilet (keeps from wasting water when dry camping)
- Installed shelves in pantry
- Added electric ignition in stove burners
- Key hanger
- Paper towel holder
- Custom ladder for upper bunk
- Bathroom cabinet and mirror (modified Ikea)
- LP tank gauge
- Better finger hole under dinette seat
- Memory foam topper
- Exterior insect screens on furnace vents
- Modified / enhanced fridge heat deflectors
LifeAsBen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-15-2016, 07:05 AM   #6
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 22
Sounds like some great tweaks and upgrades.
__________________
Prof and Agate
2016 Wolf Pup 16FQ
2004 Oldsmobile Bravada
CJ (Claudia Jean) Pit/Lab mix
2016 Trips 6 Nights 18
2017 Trips 0 Nights 0
Prof and Agate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-15-2016, 07:21 AM   #7
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 22
Drawers under foot of bed

Perhaps you've seen this post elsewhere but I thought I would repeat it here.

We are enjoying our Wolf Pup 16FQ. However we were struggling a bit with how little storage it had compared to our old 25' Areolite. The front queen had a lot of space under the foot of the bed but accessing it was clunky if one of us was still in bed. My solution was to cut open the foot of the bed and install the bottom two thirds of an old dresser we had in the house. I need to work on matching the color to the trim in the camper more closely but this was a big improvement. There is still enough room behind the drawers to access the bypass valves on the water heater.

Attached are a few process photos and the finished product.

We've also added a medicine cabinet, towel racks, paper towel holder, batteries LED lights over the sink/table and head of the bed.

Next year the plans include a flip down jack extender.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	20160701_161345.jpg
Views:	987
Size:	428.7 KB
ID:	120255   Click image for larger version

Name:	20160701_153102.jpg
Views:	1924
Size:	260.2 KB
ID:	120256   Click image for larger version

Name:	20160704_120010.jpg
Views:	1381
Size:	336.9 KB
ID:	120257   Click image for larger version

Name:	20160826_163439.jpg
Views:	1873
Size:	344.6 KB
ID:	120258  
__________________
Prof and Agate
2016 Wolf Pup 16FQ
2004 Oldsmobile Bravada
CJ (Claudia Jean) Pit/Lab mix
2016 Trips 6 Nights 18
2017 Trips 0 Nights 0
Prof and Agate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-15-2016, 09:04 AM   #8
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 79
Quote:
Originally Posted by LifeAsBen View Post
My mods...

- Tornado black tank flush (this should be standard!)
- LED light above stove
- Electric jack
- Levels (should also be standard!)
- Sealed up undercarriage and various parts of exterior
- Swift Hitch cam mount on back
- Siliconed every nook in the bathroom
- Installed better on / off for shower head
- Added refrigerator remote monitoring
- Added valve on toilet (keeps from wasting water when dry camping)
- Installed shelves in pantry
- Added electric ignition in stove burners
- Key hanger
- Paper towel holder
- Custom ladder for upper bunk
- Bathroom cabinet and mirror (modified Ikea)
- LP tank gauge
- Better finger hole under dinette seat
- Memory foam topper
- Exterior insect screens on furnace vents
- Modified / enhanced fridge heat deflectors
Great list! Reminds me I really need to add the levels!

I'd like to know what you mean by sealing the undercarriage. For cold weather or just sealant?

Your list reminded me of a few more I mods I had done but not listed.

I also improved the dinette seat storage covers. I removed them, rounded all the sharp corners with a 1" radius, sanded the rough edges and then added finger holes on all four sides.

I also took a belt sander to the seat base top corners where you scrape them against the back of your thighs. I did this after the first two time I sat down and felt the pain. A quick round over and touch up with dark stain and no more problem.

I did the adjustable pantry shelving upgrade and added the paper towel holder the first day also.

Last night I added the screens on the furnace vents.

Im in the process of building two big drawers for under the front bed. Hopefully they will be done in time for this weekends camping trip.
1201alarm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2016, 08:18 PM   #9
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 79
I finished a couple more mods just in time for a weekend camping trip.

Mod #9 - Reading Light.



Hopefully this will be the last of the interior lighting mods. I like to read in bed and the stock light over the front bed is centered over the middle of the bed. I found a small 12v led RV wall sconce style reading light and mounted it beside the headboard window below the cabinet. I was able to access 12v power via the existing light centered on the cabinet. Again I used the void space of the cabinet bottom. I carefully removed the thin molding between the cabinet bottom and the front wall of the camper and found a 1/2" wide gap. In this gap I ran a wire from the new light location over to the center of the cabinet where the stock lighting wiring left the front wall and entered the cabinet bottom void. I spliced into the wiring above the stock light. if you remove the stock light you expose a 2" diameter hole where you can do you splicing. Over at the reading light wall I had to run the wire surface mount for about 6" down to the new light. I used a black length of wire wrap to cover the wire and stuck this to the wall with hot melt glue.

Mod #10 - Storage Drawers installed under the front bed.



The stock bed support wall is thin paneling on a frame of 2x2's. I removed the center2x2 by twisting them until they popped out. I then traced a cutout slightly bigger then the new drawer faceframe I built out of 3/4" X 3" poplar.



Next I install the face frame by screwing through the back 2x2's into the rear of the new face frame.



I replaced one of the 2x2 vertical supports which I removed earlier centered behind the frame between the new openings to restore the support.

Next I installed the drawers which I had built out of 1/4" light plywood with reinforced corners. I found matching drawer pulls on sale which was nice. I made two drawers, each 20" wide x 12" tall x 18" deep. This depth is about 3" short of the outside storage hatch so I retain a good sized storage space in front of the drawers.



1201alarm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-17-2016, 12:20 AM   #10
Site Team
 
Terier's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 10,446
Nice mods, nice work. I really like how you added the two drawers in the bedframe and the pocket holders by the bunk bed.
__________________
Great choice for "Living within my means" and camping for one...

Formerly owned 2011 Salem Cruise Lite 20RBXL & 2011 Toyota Tundra Dbl Cab
Terier is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-17-2016, 09:19 AM   #11
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 22
Bed drawers

Very polished work on the drawers.
__________________
Prof and Agate
2016 Wolf Pup 16FQ
2004 Oldsmobile Bravada
CJ (Claudia Jean) Pit/Lab mix
2016 Trips 6 Nights 18
2017 Trips 0 Nights 0
Prof and Agate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-15-2016, 12:03 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
K2Kevin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 362
I was wonder if anyone has installed a TV, if so, where? I would like to get a small tv mounted on the wall at the foot of the bed near door, above window. I'm a bit concerned about a mounting point in that area.

TVs are so light these days, but still need some true Tula support in the wall for any bracket.
K2Kevin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-15-2016, 01:14 PM   #13
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 79
Quote:
Originally Posted by K2Kevin View Post
I was wonder if anyone has installed a TV, if so, where? I would like to get a small tv mounted on the wall at the foot of the bed near door, above window. I'm a bit concerned about a mounting point in that area.

TVs are so light these days, but still need some true Tula support in the wall for any bracket.
I'm planning on installing a TV in the same location. I'm hoping to find a cheap one this shopping season. I figure a 26" x 17" TV will be perfect.

There are 2x studs on edge in this wall... just tap to find them. If they are not under the bracket location I plan to use a plywood spacer to bridge two adjacent studs. Run the cords up and over the door behind the valance trim to the prewired TV jack.
1201alarm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-15-2016, 03:31 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
K2Kevin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 362
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1201alarm View Post
I'm planning on installing a TV in the same location. I'm hoping to find a cheap one this shopping season. I figure a 26" x 17" TV will be perfect.



There are 2x studs on edge in this wall... just tap to find them. If they are not under the bracket location I plan to use a plywood spacer to bridge two adjacent studs. Run the cords up and over the door behind the valance trim to the prewired TV jack.


That's what I was thinking as well. I haven't looked for a stud or even measured... but seems like the best spot. Will post pics when I get around to grabbing a TV.
K2Kevin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-04-2016, 05:10 PM   #15
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Rancho Cucamonga CA
Posts: 15
Hi we just bought exact same camper made in west coast. Picked up today. I'm sitting in it right now googling RV replacement queen mattresses. Because I insisted the dealer get rid of the crap one that came with it for is! It literally was fabric and springs and squished down to about an inch thick sitting on it. So now my thoughts are ....to buy a standard queen but a more flexible one to just bend the 5" up back of headboard. This would give more options of instant pick up, price and many choices. Or...when boyfriend isn't looking in getting out the hacksaw!!! He's in my 5'10" and I'm 5'3".
So what's under the head board? I was even thinking what if we left the frame work and cut out the paneling. Or cut down at plywood height and add a fill plywood piece.
RoyJo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-04-2016, 05:13 PM   #16
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Rancho Cucamonga CA
Posts: 15
Oh didn't say...interestingly our light switch is at the door. Funny the differences from each factory.
RoyJo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2016, 07:27 AM   #17
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 79
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoyJo View Post
Hi we just bought exact same camper made in west coast. Picked up today. I'm sitting in it right now googling RV replacement queen mattresses. Because I insisted the dealer get rid of the crap one that came with it for is! It literally was fabric and springs and squished down to about an inch thick sitting on it. So now my thoughts are ....to buy a standard queen but a more flexible one to just bend the 5" up back of headboard. This would give more options of instant pick up, price and many choices. Or...when boyfriend isn't looking in getting out the hacksaw!!! He's in my 5'10" and I'm 5'3".
So what's under the head board? I was even thinking what if we left the frame work and cut out the paneling. Or cut down at plywood height and add a fill plywood piece.
I don't know how sticking a mattress under the headboard would work with the upward opening bed storage as the headboard is fixed. You'd probably have to remove the headboard like I did to use a bigger mattress.
1201alarm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2017, 09:30 PM   #18
Junior Member
 
Wpup's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 11
Very nice work 👍🏼
Wpup is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2017, 07:09 AM   #19
Junior Member
 
CoyDogs413's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 6
Hi. Can you post a pic of your custom ladder?
CoyDogs413 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2017, 10:45 AM   #20
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 10
This thread is awesome. I have a 2016 BHS and I would love to do almost all of these things...
jblake4124 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
modifications

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:37 AM.