Upgrading my Microlite 21DS

[Iamcanadian]

I have had my DS now for two years. This is a 2014 model with two seasons on it and during that time we found some shortcomings with the stock trailer that we thought could be improved at minimal cost. Well, maybe one or two items were a little more expensive than we thought. However, I thought it might be beneficial to some of the other DS owners to share what we thought were improvements to the functionality and ease of use of the 21DS.

First, we added Maxair reversible fan over the bed. The second fan really helps in hot weather camping of the grid with pulling and pushing air out of the trailer. I also installed the sharkfin on the toilet vent to help in vacating any smelly stuff.

The trailer also benefits from a dual battery set up and a solar panel hook up at the trailer tongue.



To complete the outside mods, I added a petcock drain for the fresh water drain instead of just the plug in the center of the trailer that requires you to crawl under. I also added the same two petcocks to the low point drain lines at the rear of the trailer, making draining and flushing the lines a lot easier.





Inside, we started at the door with a full screen door bar and protected the bottom half of the door with a metal screen for doggie madness.

Next we changed the table setup in the dinette by removing the contraption that holds up the table and substituting it with an air assisted single pedestal. Yes that was costly. But as you can see from the pictures, it is rock solid, rotates and creates an enormous amount of foot space.



We added two doors to the storage area over the dinette taking out the blanking panels, which was also done over the bed. This creates more storage and is easier to access.





Lastly, I added a shelf to each cabinet beside the bed. We don't hang stuff so this creates more storage. I also changed out one of the slimline LED lights over the bed and substituted it with a dual soft white LED light with dim function. It's a little bigger but you will all appreciate how harsh white light can be at night when the missus wants to sleep and you are still stuck in the Camping world catalogue.

Besides the obvious things like adding papertowel holders and towel racks, I did change out the plastic taps in the bathroom. They are now real ones, a little heavier but much nicer to operate. I will change out the kitchen tap next.

I also constructed two pvc supports for the electric awning to help with tying down the awning. This idea came from a user on wildcatcamperforum.com forum named mrwoodwin. Just search for power awning tie down and he posted a super thread on how to accomplish this safely for minimal cost. Here is a screen shot of the parts list needed.



Hope this helps. I sure am interested to hear other improvements that members have mad to their trailers to make life just a bit better.

Thanks for reading

[aceinspp]

Funny you would think all tt would have the built in drain cocks. Later RJD

[Iamcanadian]

Ahh yeah. Memory foam mattress. The single most useful upgrade in a TT.

[fella10]

we had the 21DS last yr. and one of our first mods has always been to enlarge the table top area, ......since its just the two of us and we never expect to use the tables for a bed, I made a cap that fit over the table and extended back to the seat back cushion against the wall,.... makes plenty of room for two laptops, eating area, and all the other things that end up needing somewhere to be,.....that seat area under the table becomes a handy place for a box of dvd , snacks, ect.....also, the dvd player was contrary to use so I mounted a blu ray player under the cabinets of the dinette on my side to play movies from there, ran a HDMI cable to the tv and it worked great

[Iamcanadian]

ah always wondered what to do with that small seat along the window. Extending the table out to the wall is a good idea. I might consider that. We turn the table a quarter to present the longer side to the benches and provide more tummy room as well as a wider work surface.

The pedestal still allows us to turn it into a bed.

Hope to see more ideas for this particular tt.

[SuwanneeDave]

Nice upgrades.
Where did you get the new ceiling lights? Is the dimmer built in?
Also, did Forest River supply the additional cabinet doors?

[fella10]

to go along with the table mod, here is an idea that works great for us,.....our 25KS dinette area is the same as the 21DS was , it just doesn't slide out,..... in the 25KS the kitchen slides out,.......but we always had to clear the table of everything to travel, but not any more,.....I cut the border pieces out of 5" vinyl post, we clip them into place on three sides and now the table actually becomes a place to put things while traveling,.....anything that makes our trailer time a little more comfortable or less troublesome is welcomed......we love this idea.....

[Iamcanadian]

Thanks. The ceiling lights came from Camping world. Dual bulb with a build in dimmer switch. I did change out 5he LED bulbs for a softer white though. About 70 bucks total. The doors came from straight from the manufacturer through my dealer. 4 doors with hardware totalled 200 bucks. The table post came from Sprinfield Marine totalling (ouch) 295 US.

Originally Posted by SuwanneeDave

Nice upgrades.
Where did you get the new ceiling lights? Is the dimmer built in?
Also, did Forest River supply the additional cabinet doors?

[JayArras]

I would like to revive and keep this thread going, because there is some good stuff here.

We just purchased our Micro-Lite 21DS last weekend and are trying to figure how to best configure it for our needs. So far, we've added wire rack shelving from Home Depot in the cabinet next to the fridge and ClosetMaid cloth hanging shelves in the cabinets on both sides of the bed. I also have an indoor/outdoor thermometer from my old trailer that will hang on the wall next to the kitchen window.

I will add additional posts and pictures as we progress setting up this trailer to our liking.

[rbrewer]

I would be interested in seeing what you've done in your cabinets with the wire shelving, could you send me some pictures?

[JayArras]

Will do. I haven't even seen them yet. Wife was installing them today.

[JayArras]

Originally Posted by rbrewer

I would be interested in seeing what you've done in your cabinets with the wire shelving, could you send me some pictures?

As promised, here is what we did:

1. Purchased the HDX 3-shelf storage unit from Home Depot for about $20. You have to assemble it INSIDE of the cabinet, but it goes rather quickly. My wife said it took her longer to get it out of the box than to assemble it. It also comes in black and ivory.
2. Purchased the ClosetMaid 8-shelf hanging organizer for about $15 from Home Depot. It has Velcro straps that attach to the bar in the wardrobes on either side of the bed. It's much longer than you need, so my wife is going to cut it in two, as it's only cloth material. I think we are only going to use 3 of the compartments so that there is more space to shove items underneath.

I think the pictures tell the story, but if you have any questions, ask away!