2005 Jayco 19RB mods consolidated.

[mds47588]

Like most of us, to me the most fun is making our trailers our own. And for that reason, this is my favorite section in these forums.

A lil background on my trailer. The previous owner purchased it brand new in September 2005 and lived in it while his house was being renovated after Katrina. Then, in December 2005 it was parked inside an airplane hangar out of the sun/elements...etc til I purchased it in September of 2014. During that time it never moved an inch. Sale cost: $2,500.00!! Deal of the century in the RV world!

I also use my trailer differently than most of the members here. I actually live in mine for work. My job as a conductor for a railroad carries me thru the southeast Texas and Louisiana coastal regions. If it wasn't for me having this trailer, then I would simply not be able to continue working.

Some of these mods have been on this site previously, but I wanted to consolidate them all into one thread.

[mds47588]

Most recently, I have been growing increasingly tired of the "antique brass" (gold) cabinet, door pulls. I tried several different varieties and ended up using these black pulls. Instant difference. Also replaced the hooks that I installed by the front door and I thought that the hinges would be easy to find in black. I was wrong on that! Actually quite elusive and I ended up painting them with Rustoleum hammered black paint and reinstalled them with new screws from the local Lowes.


The old and the new:




And...with the newly painted hinges:

[mds47588]

Time for the old shower curtain to go! I had searched all over to find something that was close to what I have in there new pattern wise and came across this at a local "At Home" store. It's a good match for the comforter on the bed. I used a tension rod with the lil cap thingys at the ends to keep it from moving. I did however pay a local seamstress $10.00 to have the width shortened as a RV shower is substantially narrower than a S&B home.

I was going to order another replacement shower curtain from a local Jayco/StarCraft dealer, but it would have been pushing $40.00!

[mds47588]

Repost on this, but here it is again anyway...

This will probably work on most everyones trailer and it is so easy to do. There is what is essentially "free" space directly above the microwave on most units. Simply remove the stapled panel, remove the staples themselves and fabricate a shelf. This was a minimal cost and no one can ever have enough storage.


Before:




After:

[mds47588]

Another repost...

Upgraded ALL the interior lights (except for the one inside the fridge) and exterior lights with LED's. The difference is huge. The old incandescent bulbs had yellowish effect and were simply nowhere near as bright as the new LED's are. I did not put a meter on to measure the difference but there is no doubt that these are more efficient while being much brighter at the same time. Not really a good picture, but it does show a comparison as best a cell phone camera can.

[John H]

Looks good. It sounds like you got a real good deal. I just changed all of my bulbs over to LED but have not had a chance to try them yet.

[Kampfire]

Nice job, love the bread shelf above the microwave.


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[mds47588]

My trailer has the surround speakers in the ceiling and they weren't doing anything.




So...a $20.00 eBay purchase for the radio mount and another $20.00 for the radio at a local Wally World (more on this later), $12.00 for some wire, and about 90 mins of my time...and voila!! Looks great, sounds better. In fact I was more than a lil surprised just how good the speakers do sound. There is one at each "corner" and a fifth one in the center. To keep the sound balanced it isn't connected to anything...just there hanging out.




After I had the box, I was searching for decent radio and stumbled across this unit. Again, from Wally World, it was on their site to store area and was only a mere $19.99. Is it a case of ya get what you pay for, or how could I go wrong? Rolled the dice and got it. It has Aux input, more presets than I will ever need, SD card slot (never used it), even a remote. But my favorite feature is to be able to sync up to my iPad or phone with Bluetooth and listen to my Pandora stations. Now, I've seen where some stores actually are stocking this radio.

[mds47588]

While certainly not high on the "WOW" factor, it's a vast improvement of the drains that were there previously. Only took a few min to replace these on each side of the sink, and I just ordered a replacement for the tub/shower.

[AtkRWC]

Great work, keep the updates coming as you complete!

[mds47588]

Today I had replaced the outside stove vent. I could have went for one of the nicer looking units, but I am not going to drill more holes in the siding/wood if I can avoid it. The one that I got was an exact replacement and I went back in with new screws as well.

I also purchased an exterior door handle today, but the dimensions between the mounting screws were different so it will be going back until I find one that matches the on there now.

Out with the old:


In with the new:




During the next few weeks I want to replace the exterior plastics. While far from being new my trailer is in excellent condition and doesn't leak. However, even after spending so much time indoors UV fading is inevitable.

Future "big" projects include replacing the steel wheels with aluminum wheels and replacement Jayco stripes. Also will be fabricating some kind of table to hang on the grill bracket.

[mds47588]

Finally did the fridge fans. There's as many thoughts on what works best as there are people who have done this mod.

I decided to use a pair of these computer case fans from a local Best Buy and place them at the rooftop fridge vent. In a perfect world they are rated for 8.7 years while running 24hrs a day 7 days a week so they should last a lil while. The hardest part of this (for me) was working with the small gauge wiring but I used heat shrink crimp connectors and doubled them up for a snug fit. I tapped into power from the fridge board and each fan has their own switch. I still have a lil bit of "cleaning up" in the fridge compartment and will update tomorrow.



One installed:


Both installed:


I stumbled upon the Valterra fridge fan just a few min after I had bought these fans. The price at the local RV store was $57.00 and the fans were $22.00. Still the Valterra fan seemed to have good reviews but I found it Walmart site to store for $38.00. It should be here on Friday and will most likely install that one also near the bottom of the fridge compartment.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Valterra-...&wl13=&veh=sem

[John H]

Nice work, I plan on doing something similar, and maybe installing on inside the fridge as well. Let us know how it performs for you. You would think more air flow has got to help.

[Seann45]

Be aware those zip ties will fail long before the fans do.. look at the zip ties as a yearly replaceable item.

[mds47588]

Originally Posted by Seann45

Be aware those zip ties will fail long before the fans do.. look at the zip ties as a yearly replaceable item.

When I get back home it will be easy enough for me to fabricate a lil something more permanent. However I had the tie-wraps here and used what I had. Today when I got back to the trailer I noticed that the freezer temp was 12deg, which is considerably cooler than it was before the fans were installed.

I got a text today that the Valterra fan I had ordered from Walmart.com had arrived...less than 24hrs after ordering!!! I had used the site to store a few times before and if I keep getting quick delivery to the local store then count me in as a regular customer.

[mds47588]

Valterra fan installed today. I removed the cover for the fridge board and secured it to that with stainless steel fasteners. Quiet, seems to move a good bit of air and now my fridge is just above freezing and thefreezer is in the low-mid teens, despite being in the sun almost the entire day. You can also see the two switches I used for the computer fans at the top of the vent stack. I will fabricate a better mount for the switches in time.

[John H]

Nice neat job. I’m glad it’s making an improvement.

[mds47588]

Replacement medicine cabinet:

Grew tired of emptying all the contents in the sink and running out of room. I got this from Lowes. I ended up getting this one from Lowes. Go big, or go home...

[mds47588]

Replacement dome lid: The old vent lid dome was turning yellow, but still sturdy and I wasn't concerned about it cracking. Most of the local RV stores to me were selling it for $64.99 and up. etrailer.com for $39.99 and free shipping.

[mds47588]

My work situation has changed somewhat (for now). As a result, I'm not living in the trailer anymore and have actually been able to take it out for fun a few times, most recently last weekend. When not being used I am now able to store it indoors in the adjacent hangar when I first saw it before purchasing. Now that it's covered and out of the elements, I've a long list of minor things to do (watch this space) and in the last month it's been there I've been able to give it a full wash and wax. I've replaced all the exterior plastics to include the power cable hatch, city and fresh water connections, cable tv plug, and the exterior patio outlet cover. Also I replaced the insert moldings around the two exterior storage doors and the front entry door. Last but not least, some fresh paint of the front tongue and rear bumper makes a big difference!