2800 QS Mods

[AbdRahim]

nicely done

[Duckogram]

Up on the roof again. This time the bathroom vent gets a low profile Aero-Flo rain hat. Other than the big guy getting up on the roof, the install was easy. Took 1.5 hrs including preping and cleanup. Stay tuned for the next rooftop project which will be a full heng vent replacement with a maxxfan 6200 in the bedroom.


Note: Not fond of the proximity of the black tank vent to the roof vent. Really!

[Duckogram]

Cartman was up on the roof again. This time it was for the installation of a maxxair model 6200 vent fan.
I began with the removal of the Heng followed by a ton of prep work including sealing all the old screw holes. The new fan got a strip of buytl caulk on the mounting flange. I like to miter the ends so the seams do not face forward.
After mounting the flange, the screw heads get a coating of silicone sealant. Then I add a step. The entire perimeter of the flange gets a strip of eternabond tape. I had a quantity of tan on hand so thats what I used. Again, the corners get mitered and the tape is rolled. Next I’m back to the regular install by sealing all the edges with Dicor self leveling lap sealant. Four screws to mount the fan and Viola! I also took the time while I was topside to “touch up” any blemishes in the factory sealant and trim leftover masking tape from the paint job. Tightened up the loose screws on the AC shroud as well. Those loose screws were a dealer gift. Now I just need to connect the wires and mount the new garnish to finish the job on the inside. More pics to follow...

[Duckogram]

The total time, including prep, cleanup and additional rooftop preventive maintenance was 3.5 hours. (In 90* Florida full sun) One roasted Duck!

[Tombsy]

Very nice [emoji4]

[Duckogram]

Finished up the wiring and cutting the garnish to fit. I did add a 5 amp blade fuse in line. Just another hidden fuse for the next owner to find.

[Duckogram]

I made a fresh water fill valve to eliminate the thrashing required to get water
into the tank. Simple and inexpensive. Made from parts in the shed.

[Duckogram]

Another delivery today.
Picked up a Dash Care custom made dash cover from seatz manufacturing.
It is listed as 2009-2015 however it fits the 2017 chassis dash perfectly.
Chose the carpet material in mocha. Looks great with the OEM cabin colors.
30 minute install. eazy peazy

[Duckogram]

Just added a Renology Solar 100w self contained briefcase system.
The install was very easy. I started with gathering the parts needed to make this work for my unit.
Renogy 100w Briefcase with Voyager 20A Waterproof Controller
Note: The Renogy came with a 10’ cord with alligator clips for the battery.
I will use that to charge the chassis battery.
For the House batteries:
20’ pair of 12 ga PV cables (UV resistant, UL rated) with MC4 connectors.
2 Renogy MC4 assembly/disconnect tools.
MC4 Renogy connectors (5 pair was cheaper)
MC4 In-Line Fuse Holder (Not pictured)
SAE Battery Connector (will make 2 adaptors)

I began by determing the polarity of the OEM connector. Next I made the connector to go from SAE reverse polarity to MC4 standard.

[Duckogram]

All that was left to do was take the panels out of the protective case and plug it in!

Why I chose a portable briefcase unit: The 100w Renogy is large enough for my needs but can be expanded with the Voyager Controller. I do not have much roof space on my unit. Two panels will fill it up. I have no ladder to get up there to maintain them (and no desire). I prefer to park in shaded areas. The portable, with 20’ of cable, allows me to position the panels in full sun while the coach is in the shade. Note: I made a locking cable to secure the unit to the coach. Enough to keep it from walking away.

[Duckogram]

The Renogy Briefcase is plug n play out of the box for charging your coach battey.
#AdventureUninterrupted

[Duckogram]

I wish I put this on my F-53. The Fumoto makes an oil change a tool-less operation. The F106S fits the 6.8L and has a short nipple for attaching a drain hose. Makes things neat and clean and does not extend out to where it could be hit by road debris.

[charles l]

Originally Posted by Duckogram

On our maiden voyage the frost on the coils was very much noticeable after 6 days of operation. I had been researching circulation fans for some time now and found the battery powered models to be lacking and take up precious fridge real estate. I found the RV Cooling Unit Wearhouse Deluxe model fit the need better than anything else. It has a switch, inline fuse, 2 small low amp draw brushless fan motors, a nice looking housing snd protective grills. I wired it through the drain tube and used the supplied piggyback connector on the 12V power supply.
Photo is the finished project with fan running.

Where is the power supply located that you hooked the fan unit into? I have a similar fan but am unsure how to wire it. How did you place the wires through the drain tube to get to the power supply? Is the access the panel under the refrigerator? Thanks for any help you can offer.

[Duckogram]

Originally Posted by charles l

Where is the power supply located that you hooked the fan unit into? I have a similar fan but am unsure how to wire it. How did you place the wires through the drain tube to get to the power supply? Is the access the panel under the refrigerator? Thanks for any help you can offer.

The power supply I used is the 12v power to the fridge circuit board. You access it from the back of the fridge simply by removing the vented cover. It’s the same place that your water trough drain tube comes out. I just push the wire through the tube to get to where the power is. No drilling, no thrashing. Plenty of room in the tube for the little wire (20-22ga) and the water to drain as well. Then I routed the wire with the other wires going to the circuit board. Removed the 12v power feed, installed the duplex adapter, reconnected the power to fridge and connected the fan to power on the new duplex adapter. Its dark now so its too dangerous to go out back but I can pull the vent and get you a pic tomorrow if you want.

Edit: Post #54 on page 6 can be blown up enough to see the fan power wire routed out the drain tube. It’s in the lower left corner.

[charles l]

I will give it a shot this weekend.

[Duckogram]

After reading up on the subject and experiencing quite a bit of steering wandering I decided to have the alignment checked. After the work was done I noticed that there was a significant reduction in wandering and the steering felt much tighter. Small corrections in high winds or when semi’s pass was all that was needed. I am satisfied with the corrected alignment enough to try our first summer adventure without any additional suspension/steering add-ons.

Note: In order to achieve a positive caster of >5* adjustable bushings must be used.

[Duckogram]

Alignment Update... Forest River has just notified me that will reimburse me for the cost of the alignment. I am very impressed that they make things right and stand behind their product. I have no regrets or “buyers remorse” from my purchase.

[Duckogram]

So there we were, trying to stuff everthing from out defunct Class A into a B+.
The floorplan in the 2800 gives us more living space but less bath and bedroom space. The underbed storage went to supplement the outside storage which is fine but the wardrobe slide is marginal. So I started looking for unused space. The wardrobe has four drawers on the bottom. The sum of those drawers amount to 1.15 Cubic Feet of useable space. I pulled the bottom right drawer out to investigate. OMG! There is a cavern in there. So out came the drawers and all the suspended hardware. My DW lined the bottom and I am just finishing up my solution which now yields a whopping 6.55 Cubic Feet of storage.

Note: The final coat of polyurathane is curing so final install pics are a day or two out.

[Duckogram]

Notes: The doors are custom made by Hi-Lo Industries in Chanute, KS. rawdoors.net
I measured for 1/2” overlay frame face mount with 100* opening hinges (included).
Door sizes are 12.625 high and 15.00 wide. Due to location, they are both left hinged.
The stain is miniwax gel in dark walnut. (might be a bit too dark).
Miniwax satin polyurethane over the top.
Pull knobs are from Lowes and are an exact match to all of the cabinets.
Total cost of this mod: $85.00

[Duckogram]

Finished up this morning. Works perfectly with the doors both being left hinged.
Looks like I went one shade too dark. Ooops. Don’t have time to adjust that now. This is a mod worth doing. I think it would be a beneficial and cost effective change for FR to incorporate into future models. YMMV