Pimp my 19RR!

[Stargazerandu]

Originally Posted by essness

I keep forgetting that I have a little extra room I saw Tom put the 26" TV in and I was concerned about going any bigger. I have a 32" in my bed room at home and didnt really want to buy another TV dedicated to the camper. So, just for giggles, I took the 32" out to the camper today and to my surprise, It fit fine.
I think I'm going to extend the cabinet top a little bit (about 3 inches each way) and put sone self adhesive foam on the back edges (sides) wedge it into the corner and screw it right down to the cabinet top.



That way I dont have to worry about it going down the road and will come out to go back to the house with 1 screw

Nice!! LOL...when I am done with all my mods, my 19RR will be as big as the 21RR.....LOL!!

[Stargazerandu]

Originally Posted by heytomgraywolf

Olga;

I am not sure if I would mount a bicycle rack to the rear bumper since it would have to fold down or be removable to use the rear ramp. I strap our bikes to the sofa when it is folded right next to the motorcycle. I have seen bicycle racks that mount to spare tires on SUV's and now that I have mounted a spare tire on my rear ramp, I am considering using that.

My concerns are most of this bicycle racks that mount to spare tires go behind the tire quite a bit since most SUV's have the tire spaced off the vehicle pretty far. The spare tire I mounted to my rear ramp is "smack dab" against the ramp door, so I would have to look at these bicycle racks in person to see if they would mount on my spare tire.

Can you send a picture of the rack you bought that you thought you could mount to the front tongue of the trailer but the propane tanks were in the way? Maybe seeing what you have will spark some ideas. Maybe you already returned that rack.

Tom

Tom, it is just like this one:
Hitch racks, Sport Rider, bike racks, trunk racks, bicycle carriers - Hollywood Racks

It sticks pretty far out and that is why it gets in the way of the propane tanks.

[heytomgraywolf]

Olga;

Wow, that is a wide bicycle carrier, but I guess if you have recumbent bikes you need one that big. I don't see how you could mount that on the front of the trailer tongue. Not only would the propane tanks get in the way, but I would think it might limit how tight you could turn without hitting the bike on the truck.

The only idea I have would be to get a 2" trailer hitch receiver tube and weld it to the back bumper of the 19RR. I would think you would have to brace the receiver tube back to the frame also, but then again, bicycles are not that heavy. Then you could just take the bicycles off and slide out this bike rack before opening your rear ramp. Even if you choose to mount the spare tire on the rear ramp, I think there are a lot of 2" shank extenders out there so that the bike ramp clears the spare tire.

What ever you figure out, please be sure to take pictures and post. Good Luck!

Tom

[heytomgraywolf]

Originally Posted by essness

I keep forgetting that I have a little extra room I saw Tom put the 26" TV in and I was concerned about going any bigger. I have a 32" in my bed room at home and didnt really want to buy another TV dedicated to the camper. So, just for giggles, I took the 32" out to the camper today and to my surprise, It fit fine.
I think I'm going to extend the cabinet top a little bit (about 3 inches each way) and put sone self adhesive foam on the back edges (sides) wedge it into the corner and screw it right down to the cabinet top.

That way I dont have to worry about it going down the road and will come out to go back to the house with 1 screw

Scot - I was trying to figure out how you fit a 32" TV in that corner and you ended up with more room on either side of the TV between the doors. I couldn't figure it out compared to how full mine looked with a 26"


Then I remembered, you have the larger 21RR trailer! They must have the entry door moved slightly more forward from the right-rear corner of the trailer than the 19RR. (I was about to reply "are you sure your 32" TV is a 32" TV, but you can tell it is larger in height than a 26" )

[Stargazerandu]

Two more mods.....
Mounted the tire on the ramp and put in a hitch for bike carrier...

[retiredguy]

See on the FR web site that they are coming out with a 25RR. Concept must be working.

[heytomgraywolf]

Stargazer - Great job on the rear spare tire. Now our trailers look like twins from behind. Well, actually I would need to put a receiver hitch on to match now!

Where did you buy the receiver hitch and how much did it cost? The logo looks like DrawTite, but it seems to say "Curt". I think I would like to mount one to hold one of those aluminum carriers that you can put an icechest on or something. Not too much weight because I don't want to mess up the tongue weight.

Is it just mounted to the bumper, or did you reinforce the hitch back to the frame. If you did some reinforcing, could you post some pictures from underneath to show us how you did it?

Last, but not least, maybe due to the rear ramp hinges, but it does not appear the hitch is in the center of the bumper. Maybe just an optical illusion since the rear ramp is not centered, but I am guessing the hinges were in the way and since you wanted this for a bicycle carrier, maybe being dead center was not that important.

Great work again. You are way ahead of me on your "pimping". I was on vacation one week (without the camper) and then out of town on business the last 2 and heading back out of town on business next week. Going camping near by for Labor Day weekend. Take Care.

Tom

[Stargazerandu]

Hi Tom!

I used a Curt hitch that you can install from under a bumper and Curt has two sizes for such an application. I used the narrow one but still had too modify the bumper for installation. As you know, the bumper has a two inch shelf in the rear and this hitch fits exactly over that shelf but it leaves a two inch vacuum between the hitch's back plate and the bumper. Well, to fill that gap, I cut a treated 2X6 and fitted on the shelf, driilled the holes, tightened the bolts and there you have it.... I would take pics of rear but space was too narrow for camera to focus. Now, I also had to buy a hitch extender for the bike rack to clear the spare tire.

I am attaching three picks to show another mod I did this weekend..

Happy Trails!!

Olga

[heytomgraywolf]

Olga - very nice, thanks for the pics. I like the diamond plate mud-flaps! Lucille and I went camping over the Labor Day weekend in Sarasota. Lucille's parents used to camp and when we got our 19RR, they went out and bought a pop-up, so we camped together at an RV Resort for the holiday. The RV Resort was nice, but it didn't seem like camping like going to the state parks. This weekend we are running up to Gainesville to see the girls. One of them bought a small 50cc scooter mail-order, had it sent to "Dad" to put together so we are putting the scooter in the 19RR and running it up to her this weekend. We will camp just Saturday night at the Paynes Prairie State Park. Need a few weekends at home to get back to my "pimping". Plenty of ideas, not enough time!

[Stargazerandu]

I hear ya, Tom!! My ideas are non-stop....

[campnqueen]

Hey Y'all,

UPDATE: Okay so in May 2010 we had a "Phantom" retractable screen put in on out back ramp (photos to follow later). Really wasn't that expensive ($150 bucks?) and they came to us and installed it! AWESOME. We love it...use it every chance we get.

Retractable Screens by Phantom — Retractable screens for doors, windows and large openings

Okay so now I am making a clear vinyl plastic roll up/down shade. That we can have the ramp door open and the A/C on or if it's winter and a little cool... keep the warm air in. I am almost finished with the project... in the "fitting" stage now. I will post photos later...and let you know how well this project has worked out.

Considering the cost....less than $40.00 total ( materials purchased at my local Wallly-mart)....and my time (about 1/2 day) this could be a good investment.

STAY TUNED!

[essness]

Originally Posted by campnqueen

Hey Y'all,

UPDATE: Okay so in May 2010 we had a "Phantom" retractable screen put in on out back ramp (photos to follow later). Really wasn't that expensive ($150 bucks?) and they came to us and installed it! AWESOME. We love it...use it every chance we get.

Retractable Screens by Phantom — Retractable screens for doors, windows and large openings

Okay so now I am making a clear vinyl plastic roll up/down shade. That we can have the ramp door open and the A/C on or if it's winter and a little cool... keep the warm air in. I am almost finished with the project... in the "fitting" stage now. I will post photos later...and let you know how well this project has worked out.

Considering the cost....less than $40.00 total ( materials purchased at my local Wallly-mart)....and my time (about 1/2 day) this could be a good investment.

STAY TUNED!

Looking forward to it CQ I need to get my screen done as well.

[campnqueen]

Originally Posted by Stargazerandu

Okay, everyone, finished the tile project and adding access door for under bed storage.

Stargazerandu,

Your bed mod is just what we want to do! PERFECT!
Does not look like it was too heard to do. Did you put any kind of finish on the inside of the cutout? Where did you find a door?

AWESOME JOB!

[campnqueen]

Originally Posted by essness

Looking forward to it CQ I need to get my screen done as well.

UPDATE: Got the Plexiglas we got at HD cut and installed on our screen door. Really beefs up the door and wasn't that hard to cut. I use .093 think Plexiglas and cut it with our Dremel with a little cutting blade..and used our small mouse sander to smooth the edges. Attached sticky Velcro strips to the door and one side of the Plexiglas. STORM DOOR! Awesome

Bottom photo is the new drop down clear vinyl curtain I made to cover the ramp door. Now I can have the A/C on or the heat on. Door is open and keep some of outside air out! Just waiting for it to relax a little so I can go back and add Velcro to the side.

[campnqueen]

Here are a few more photos of our pull down Phantom screen (frame and top roll up storage) and vinyl drop down curtain I made.

Clear vinyl roll up/down curtain for RV

1 spool – Upholstery thread (white) $2.07

Heavy-duty stick on Velcro (2” wide X 1 ½ yds) 7.47

Sew on Velcro (white) for tie up strap .79

54” X 3 yd medium weight clear vinyl (used only half) 7.97 (3.99)

54” X 3 yd medium weight white flannel backed vinyl
(used only half) 7.97 (3.99)

Material total $18.31

Time to lay-out, cut and sew: 3-4 hours

Clear vinyl seems to be the right weight. Would have rather had regular vinyl/oil cloth and not flannel backed for the trim and edging . Flannel backed vinyl seems to have some stretch to it.

[Stargazerandu]

Originally Posted by campnqueen

Stargazerandu,

Your bed mod is just what we want to do! PERFECT!
Does not look like it was too heard to do. Did you put any kind of finish on the inside of the cutout? Where did you find a door?

AWESOME JOB!

Campnqueen,

What I did is first find what size opening I wanted, then I cut out the opening to be less than the size of the door. I made that door myself. I got a thin sheet of plywood, cut it, then per shaker style doors on trailer, cut four pieces of 1X2 strips of wood. I glue them and screwed from back side and then per the routing on the cabinets in trailer, I routed to match that style. Finding the matching hinges were the next hurdle. I googled a cabinet hinge store and found the perfect match but I had to spray paint to match the color. I then went to home depot to match the stain.

On the inside of that storage area, I reinforced the opening so when I screwed in the hardware, it had something to grab on to. And finally, I lined the inside with a rubber mat.

It works very well!!

By the way, I love what you did to the ramp area. That screen enclosure is wonderful!! Thank you for sharing that!!

Olga.

[campnqueen]

Tom,

How much heavier is the ramp door to lift up with the spare tire on it? YOU are a manly-man... but me I am a 5'4" woman... if I drop the door am I going to have hard time getting the ramp door back in place?

I am NOT a weakling... but is the door more bulky? Wonder why FR did not do this in the first place... or find a place under the frame to mount the spare tire.... like on my pick truck.

[heytomgraywolf]

Hi CampnQueen;

The total weight of the ramp door does not seem that much different after mounting the tire. Most of the weight of the tire is close to the hinge. The further up the door you mount the tire, the heavier it would feel, but Lucille can still lift the gate up and I would NOT say it is a struggle.

I will have to check my settings on this Forum. I see there is a whole 10th page on "pimping my 19RR" and I did not get email notifications.

Boy... I have to get going on doing more "pimps" to my trailer.

Here is my latest "idea" but it is still in the idea stage. I would like more "full time" light in the back corner of the trailer (though darkness does help TV viewing). I noticed that many other trailers (and maybe even early models of the 19RR... 2009 versions) had a window in the main door (entry door, not ramp door... because we would not want to have to drive over a window loading our bikes...duh). For security and privacy, I would not want that window to open (like the one above the sink) and I would prefer if it was obscured (frosted). I see this RV window with shipping for only $53 and I think if I just take my time and cut a hole in the door smaller than I need and slowly trim it out, it is doable. Does anyone have any concerns on why I might NOT want to do this? Thanks.

RV CAMPER ENTRY DOOR WINDOW ASSEMBLY PHILIPS 12 X 21 | eBay

[essness]

Tom,
I dont know if there is any reason not to do the window, I do know that I will be looking at doing the same thing next spring.
I dont know why they didnt put them in the newest models? But I feel like it really needs a window in the entry door.

[heytomgraywolf]

Thanks Scot. I think I just found one slightly cheaper than the guy on Ebay. This one doesn't include shipping but even with shipping it is $46.49

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...aign=partsfeed