Motorhome Mods 2251

[Toyman]

I’m putting this under General Motorhome Discussion because some of my mods may be applicable to several models.

I bought my 2251 as a replacement for a late model Foretravel. My criteria was, full size bed, Chev chassis, less than 25', easy floor plan to mod (I knew no one made what I wanted). My criteria was developed from experience of 40yrs motorhome ownership. I’ll do this in sections.

First I pulled out the dinette. To compensate for the storage lost, I built a storage bench 11” wide 12” deep along the wall. The section directly behind the driver seat was made slightly larger to hold HER Instant Pot. These dimensions actually loose less than 2” of floor space due to the base configuration on the chairs.
I put in a insulated, top down-bottom up blackout shade on the window. To increase the insulating ability, I added a window sill for the shade to land on. This basically seals the window off from the cabin.
Added USB outlets on the relocated 120v outlet, then added 12v USB outlets when it dawned on us that we didn’t want to run the inverter just for charging "stuff".

TBC

[Toyman]

I removed the batteries from under the step...which functionally won’t hold 6V batteries unless modified, shame on you Forest River. Anyway, I gained a nice size storage area, easily accessible from outside. This, with minor changes, could be a ice chest to hold drinks.
I put a hinged lid on replacing the BOLTED ON lid that FR installed. Guess they don’t know that most batteries require maintenance access ?

[KenandCarol]

Dave,

This looks great. You have inspired me and I'm in the process of modifying my Sunseeker 2250 to take out the dinette and put in a reclining love seat.


Where did you end up putting the batteries?

Keep up with the pictures!

[Toyman]

The galley left a little to be desired so.

First, we don’t use the oven so I pulled it out & tossed it. Nice cavity under there. I replaced the oven with a toaster oven that we use daily. Lined the cabinet with aluminum, probably not necessary.

Running power was the hard part. As FR had included ONE galley outlet under the overhead cabinets, it had to be done. I ran under the refer, across the coach under the false floor, up & around the water tank to the breaker panel under the bed. I used the breaker I abandoned when I removed the power converter.

THEN the cabinet top started delaminating, & the partical board was crumbling. In the thought process was a 2 burner stove replacement. We had in our Sprinter vans a very nice little Dometic, with a glass cover, so that was bought. Another complaint from her was the space under the sink the P-Trap took up. I decided to replace the trap with a straight thru trap, of course the plumbing didn’t match.

I rebuilt the cabinet top with 3/4” marine plywood, covered it with Formica, & finished the edge with ceramic tile. While the cabinet top was off I re-did the plumbing. Probably gained 6-8” of usable cabinet top, plus the covered stove top.

While under the stove, I added a gas drop for connecting a Wave heater.

She re-did the back splash using the fake tile sheets. Looks good, but I’m concerned about the longevity of it.

Probably more stuff to do in the future, she’s talking a convection microwave now.

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by Toyman

Probably more stuff to do in the future, she’s talking a convection microwave now.

Nice looking kitchen upgrade! My DW like the RV's convection microwave so much I had to replace her plain old microwave at home...

[Toyman]

These projects turn into something akin to pulling a loose string on a sweater! I’ve been asked for a shot of the galley showing the edge.

[Toyman]

Question asked, where did I move the batteries ?

I changed the location from under the step ( from the box not tall enough for 6v, good thinking FR!) to under the bed. A great location for my application, maybe not for yours. Photo shows the area under the bed, with the lid removed.

[KenandCarol]

Thanks for showing where your batteries went. I know there is a lot of storage in that spot. We use it for gallon bottles of water and our six packs to refresh our fridge.

I have 2 12V under the step and always have had electrical hookups (and have it at home between trips) so I think that is adequate for me.

[Toyman]

6 Packs "to refresh the refrigerator" .... now, that’s creative thinking !

[Toyman]

I had a problem accepting the power cord configuration on my 2251SLE, so I reconfigured it. While installing the batteries under the bed I found a wasted area at the curb side end of the water tank. Now, since FR didn’t see a need to use the space for an additional 10gal of water, I used it for power cord storage. The 2251 originally has the attached type of power cord that you stuff in a hole, the cord then coils up in the storage area. Problem with this, on the 2251, is the cord is stuffed into one of the best storage bays on the coach (with a few mods) which it then want to tangle with EVERYTHING in there. I purchased a additional cableway, matching the original, and mounted it forward to where the cable would coil into the otherwise unusable area at the end of the water tank. This made the entire large bay available, after mods, for storage & electrical equip. Like inverter, solar controller & etc. I repurposed the original cable to an inlet for my portable solar panel connection.

New location and old repurposed location shown.
Reconfigured and usable storage area.

[Toyman]

When I installed my inverter I had a limited number options for installation of the control pane. My limited choice led me to integrate it with the FR panel on the fwd side of the closet. A pretty easy wire pull, except for the number of wires already pulled to the location by FR.
Before & after, or maybe after & before photos.