Alante/Vision 31V Mods

[Foretm]

I'm seeing more and more folks posting with Jayco Alante 31V/Entegra Vision 31V floorplans. We've had our Vision 31V since December 2018 and have put over 21K miles on it visiting 18 states so far in the eastern US, and we love it!! I wanted to start a thread on mods and upgrades to this floorplan to share what I’ve done as well as hear from others with the same floorplan on the mods they have done to theirs.

I'll start with a consolidated list, then add entries for each with pictures and details. I'm not the best at documenting the process, so bear with me as most pictures are of the finished product, not necessarily in-progress.

• Electrical (Progressive Surge, AMP-L-Start, Autoformer)
• Handling (CHF, Tracbar, Steering Stabilizer)
• Internet (Pepwave Max Transit Duo & Poynting 7-in-1 Antenna)
• Entertainment (Dish Wally, Pathway X2, HDMI over Cat6 4x4 Matrix, Soundbar, Remote Organizer, Consolidation/Cooling)
• Dog Safety (Automatic Generator Start, Camera with Temp Sensor)
• Workstation Desk

[Foretm]

AMP-L-Start:
These mods were done at different times, with the AMP-L-Start and Surge protector being almost immediately since the chassis battery would die within about 5 days regardless of being plugged in or not. I did some research and the Alante/Vision 31V does not charge the chassis battery automatically when on shore power. So, unless you start the coach every few days or so, you end up with a dead chassis battery. The AMP-L-Start will read the voltage on the house and chassis batteries and when necessary, will connect them together so that the converter will charge/maintain the chassis battery. The installation was simple, the product is reasonably priced, and it has worked flawlessly for 2 years.

Progressive Industries Surge Protector (PISP):
Initially I only thought I needed a surge protector to protect me from surges, open neutrals, high voltage, temporary low voltage (brown out), etc… and it does a great job of those things allowing you to bypass it if necessary. It will “trip” and not allow the scenarios above to enter the RV thereby protecting the sensitive electronics and wiring in the coach. However, an unexpected side effect was that the PISP quickly began to inform me that in some cases the voltage was dangerously low (105v) and consistently so, enter the Autoformer. Note: The sewer hose is a brand new spare.

Hughes Autoformer:
The Hughes Autoformer uses a transformer internally to increase the voltage by consuming more amperage. Being a 30A coach, this works great for me as I can use the 50A receptacle and boost my voltage to a safe level without over consuming and tripping the 30A breaker at the pedestal. The unit can boost up to 10% and typically kicks in around 114v or lower to bring the voltage to 120v. I also purchased the internal hardwiring kit to keep the Autoformer out of the weather and built a small holder for it. The wiring goes from the pedestal to the hardwire kit, then the Autoformer, then the surge protector, then the coach. The beauty of this is I can remove the Autoformer easily if not needed, and plug the PISP directly to the hardwire kit, then the PI surge protector has a bypass switch, if needed.

[Foretm]

I think most people are aware of the handling characteristics of the F53 chassis and have done some variation of this mod to suit their specific coach, so I won’t spend a bunch of time here. Suffice it to say these mods made a world of difference in the control and stability of the coach. If I had to rank these in order of greatest improvement to lest, it would be trac bar, steering stabilizer, and CHF, but bear in mind I did these all at the same time, so no experience here, just gut feel. Sorry, no pictures of my setup.

CHF:
Cheap Handling Fix, google or forum search this, but in a nutshell, it is adjusting the existing factory sway bars front and rear on the F53 chassis to different holes in the sway bars. There’s some controversy on this and some say its ok to do, some say don't do. I did the mod, don’t regret it (yet), and it seems to help, your mileage may vary.

SuperSteer Trac bar (rear):
The rear trac bar, also called a panhard bar sometimes, is a chassis device that prevents the rear axle from moving side to side (driver to passenger) under the house. When heavy winds or passing trucks push the coach, the suspension will flex allowing that lateral movement, which can cause sway to be increased and oversteering to occur. To me the best bang for my buck so far and has helped me relax more while driving and passing trucks are a complete non-event.

Safe-T-Plus Steering Stabilizer:
The steering stabilizer is a dampener with a spring attached to the steering arms of the coach. It helps reduce rut-tracking, gives stability in a front axle blowout, and for me had a somewhat unexpected but highly desired result of steering centering after a turn. In a car, when we make a turn, the steering wheel will recenter if you let go, not so on my F53 chassis out of the box. It also stiffened up the steering a bit, so you don’t feel like you’re oversteering and the play seems to be reduced.

[Foretm]

For me stable, reliable internet is an absolute requirement as I work remotely (16yrs) and often work from the road. Being in IT, a lot of research was done for equipment and options and believe me the options are endless. No single setup is the best in every scenario, but I do feel this is a good setup and has served me well. For more information on working on the road, I recommend joining and Mobile Internet Resource Center run by Chris and Cherie.

Pepwave Max Transit Duo:
The Pepwave Max Transit Duo is an enterprise class dual modem router built specifically for vehicle deployments. There are a couple different configurations with dual modems with CAT6 and CAT12 modems. There’s also a single CAT18 modem version to suit your needs. I have the dual CAT12 modem version utilizing Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile SIM cards for flexibility. I decided to install mine in the cabinet above the microwave since the right side of that cabinet is adjacent to the fridge and allows for easy access to the roof and is adjacent to the cabinet where the DVD player and the Dish receiver are located. I later added a heatsink to help dissipate heat from the unit and cemented it on with a thermal conductive cement. I drilled a hole on the left side of the cabinet into the hidden space between the two cabinets where the wiring comes in to allow me to pass ethernet cables from my Dish and DVD player to the router.

Poynting 7-in-1 Antenna
The Poynting 7-in-1 Antenna is a great match for the Max Transit Duo which has 4X4 MIMO LTE, 2X2 MIMO Wi-Fi & GPS connections. The antenna is made by a South African company that specializes in antennas for many different uses. I decided to mount mine on the fridge vent due to its proximity to the cabinet above the microwave. The antenna comes with 6’ cables and is lightweight and does not need a ground plane. I removed the vent and cut a hole in the mesh to route the cable through and then removed the angled board in the cabinet and drilled a hole through to the outside.

[Foretm]

Dish:
We currently have Dish at home so when it came to getting TV in the RV, it was a no-brainer at $5/mo extra for the Wally receiver and then the one-time cost of the equipment. We decided to go with a portable antenna since we stay mainly at State Parks which tend to have more tree cover, we have no need for watching it while in motion, and the Pathway X2 is the only dish I’m aware of that can get both the eastern (61.5, 72, 77) and western (110, 119, 129) arcs giving us flexibility of setup locations. We added a hard drive which allows for DVR capabilities and allows for pausing, rewinding, etc. To set this up, I had to remove the false wall in the cabinet above the TV and find the coax cable from the wet bay and feed it through the hole in the false wall to the Wally. Once the matrix below was in, I ordered a second Dish remote and paired it with the Wally so that I have two functioning remotes and one stays in the outside TV are and works the Wally inside.

HDMI over CAT6 4x4 Matrix:
This device converts the HDMI signal and transmits it over CAT6 ethernet cables to the other TVs. Much to my surprise while working on Pepwave and Antenna mounting, I noticed ethernet cables running in a bundle behind the fridge. When I contacted Jayco for some schematics, I found the one attached and it showed the cables and their locations. I did some research and found that some of the precepts used to come with this piece of hardware, but in recent years it has been omitted, but the wiring is still intact. Tripp Lite makes one almost exactly like the OEM version, which is next to impossible to find anymore. Luckily for me a very kind member of this forum had one and did not need it anymore and sent it to me free of charge and would not accept even shipping reimbursement, thanks again Mike. I highly recommend this mod as it will allow you to send any one of 4 different input signals to any or all the TVs in the coach at the same time. There’s been some recent threads about this.

Sound Bar:
As you know, the volume on the main TV can be a bit low when the ACs are on. We added a Visio soundbar and secured it to the wall using about 6 3M Command strips. I used the fiber optic output from the TV to the soundbar, so that regardless of what source I use for the TV, the sound comes from the sound bar. Programmed the Dish remote to control the soundbar. Not much else to say, simple but well worth it mod.

[Foretm]

Remote Organizer:
If you’re anything like me, you end up with a ton of remotes. I have the Dish remote, TV remote, soundbar remote, and DVD remote, and piling them in the armrest in the theatre seating was a hassle. I also like to browse the internet with my iPad when not at my desk. What I needed was a place to keep it all, enter the bedside organizer. Not its intended purpose, but honestly it works very well for this. It’s mounted to the back of the seat using existing screw holes and with the USB ports in the armrest the iPad stays plugged in all the time.

Consolidation/Cooling:
At this point I have my entertainment and internet pretty much the way I want it, but what I found was I needed to keep the cabinets open to help with cooling the equipment. I must credit my wife as it was her idea, but she asked if I could move the entertainment equipment to the cabinet above the microwave. At first, I was hesitant with all the wiring I would have to redo, but then it dawned on me… now its my cabinet completely. I put a new power strip with 13 power ports and 4 USB ports made by Trond and moved everything over. The power strip is mounted to the left wall as is the Dish HDD and is plugged into the Inverter powered receptacle in the original cabinet. All the wiring is tied up neat, and the equipment placed on the left side of the cabinet. Then I added a cabinet fan system from AC Infinity, with two fans and a controller to manage the temperature in the cabinet. The left fan is blowing cool air in directly over the equipment and at the Pepwave, and the right fan is blowing the hot air outward. I also added an infrared repeater system to allow the DVD player to receive remote commend with the cabinet shut, the DISH is RF so no issues with line of sight. Lastly, I ordered a new cabinet door from Jayco for when I sell the RV, I can put it all back to original if I want.

[Foretm]

We travel with animals, like most RVers, ours is an 11yo Black Lab, Major, we lost the other one this year in January at 16, toy poodle. It always worried me leaving them in the RV and being gone for long periods of time, fearing a power loss and extreme heat. Our worst fear came true one day in St. Augustine, when we returned to the RV and the park was without power. It was well over 100 in the RV, but luckily for us, we did not have the dogs with us at that time. I decided then I would install an Automatic Generator Start (AGS) as this model doesn’t come with one. I installed the Magnum Energy ME-AGS-S putting the main unit in the right side of the cabinet in the bathroom and the switch panel just above the main panel in the hall. All the connections you need for the ME-AGS-S are on the back of the main panel, 12v house batteries, Generator start/stop, Generator sensing, and are labeled in the images below and in the owner’s manual on page 17, figure 2-11, 3-wire maintain control. Hardest part was feeding the wires from the panel in the hall to the hole in the wall inside the cabinet in the bathroom. There’s a vent pipe in that wall which can get in the way. Additionally, we added a Wi-Fi D-Link Baby Camera with temperature sensor, which helps us to know what he’s up to when we’re not there.

[Foretm]

Working remotely for the last 16yrs allows me to be flexible in terms of where I work. Now that the wife sold her business last year, we decided to take the show on the road so to speak. With that came the need for a real place to work. I repurposed the mount and stand for the cocktail table and custom made a desk from edge glued pine board, and 2x2 legs held on with folding brackets. I rounded the corners with a jigsaw and used a router to soften the edge. I then mounted the Sequoia table base to the bottom of the desk, sanded and finished the top with custom stain from Sherwin Williams.

[Alante31V]

I mounted my 4x4 above inside that same cabinet but onto the top ceiling.

My son’s PS3 has that weird rounded design where Wally has to sit on top like teeter totter.

Need to find a small device shelf organizer rack for that area.

Something kinda like this;

YouCopia UpSpace Organizer, 12" x 9", White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0979N4DJR...5GMTGXQZ?psc=1

[Alante31V]

Where you end up placing the IR module? Mine hanging there to the right.

Here is my setup for now.

1-Dish
2-Firestick
3-PS3

works great to TV2. I need to go get some of those star screwdriver attachments to get to TV3 wiring.

[thepaulsri]

Regarding the suspension/handling mods ... I have wondered about these and wondered if there was value to them on my J-Ride. I 'get' why some RVs would value from these but shouldn't the Jayco "J-Ride" do some/all of what these mods do? Opinions?

[Golfnut]

I have a Precept 34g with the J-ride plus and it handles like a dream. I keep hearing about all these mods and I don’t get it. I think that some of these problems are poor set ups right out of the factory. I was lucky and I only need one hand to drive on the interstates.

[Foretm]

Originally Posted by Alante31V

I mounted my 4x4 above inside that same cabinet but onto the top ceiling.

My son’s PS3 has that weird rounded design where Wally has to sit on top like teeter totter.

Need to find a small device shelf organizer rack for that area.

Something kinda like this;

YouCopia UpSpace Organizer, 12" x 9", White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0979N4DJR...5GMTGXQZ?psc=1

I like that mouned to the ceiling, that looks nice!! Don't have a PS3, so not familiar, but yea that would be somewhat annoying. You could get some craft wood, like a 1"x1" or even smaller and that on either side to stabilize it.
The DW is looking for something similar to that to organize the cabinet with as well.

[Foretm]

Originally Posted by Alante31V

Where you end up placing the IR module? Mine hanging there to the right.

Here is my setup for now.

1-Dish
2-Firestick
3-PS3

works great to TV2. I need to go get some of those star screwdriver attachments to get to TV3 wiring.

I put the IR module at the top left of the cabinet above the microwave. It works well even when pointing the remote toward the TV which is the natural direction. I ony needed one for the DVD player as the Dish is RF, and the current chromecast doesn't have a remote, but I got a firestick and its remote is RF as well. Pretty inconspicuous in my opinion, but works well. The DW is not a huge fan of electronics, but tolerates them as long as I keep them neat and tidy.

[Foretm]

Originally Posted by thepaulsri

Regarding the suspension/handling mods ... I have wondered about these and wondered if there was value to them on my J-Ride. I 'get' why some RVs would value from these but shouldn't the Jayco "J-Ride" do some/all of what these mods do? Opinions?

It's been my experience that it depends on the model (Alante vs Precept, etc..) and the floorplan. I can't speak to the 2020+ models and their features, but in 2019 the "JRide" was more marketing than anything else. Balanced driveshaft, jounce bumpers, etc.. do nothing for the safe handling of the rig. My particular model and floorplan required aftermarket items to make it drive safely, and I didn't mind spending the money on it. The cost compared to the change in handling was money well spent. Now if you'd have asked me if these items should come on the chassis fromthe factory, I would 100% agree with you. But since Ford has no idea how they will be loaded, they leave it to the coach manufacturer to deal with.

[Foretm]

Originally Posted by Golfnut

I have a Precept 34g with the J-ride plus and it handles like a dream. I keep hearing about all these mods and I don’t get it. I think that some of these problems are poor set ups right out of the factory. I was lucky and I only need one hand to drive on the interstates.

Completely different chassis between what you have and the Alante 31V. The 31v is on 19.5" wheels, 18K GVWR, and 190" wheelbase. It also has about 10' of RV behind the rear axle making it somewhat prone to sway and being pushed around by passing trucks which the tracbar eliminates. The steering stabilizer is more for safety in the event of a front axle blowout, trust me you'll wish you had one if you ever get a front blowout, but it does help with rut tracking and just stiffens up the steering a bit.


The Precept 34g is on 22.5" wheels, 22K GVWR, 238" wheelbase. I honestly dont know the difference between the J-ride and J-ride+, but you have that going for you as well. Each one rides differently, but i'm sure glad I made the mods I did. When passed by a truck, we've gone off the interstate and onto the shoulder on more than one occasion. Not anymore.

[Alante31V]

Yep, Alante the lil brother with hand me downs.

I have same suspension mods. Tires at 82psi. Read trac bar #1, steering stabilizer #2, sumos #3 for me. Even did Koni’s.

[Alante31V]

Originally Posted by Foretm

I like that mouned to the ceiling, that looks nice!! Don't have a PS3, so not familiar, but yea that would be somewhat annoying. You could get some craft wood, like a 1"x1" or even smaller and that on either side to stabilize it.
The DW is looking for something similar to that to organize the cabinet with as well.

Thanks. I need to do your vent mod, box gets hot up there.

[Foretm]

Originally Posted by Alante31V

Thanks. I need to do your vent mod, box gets hot up there.

AC Infinity does make white fan covers and a white controller if interested. This is the 6" fan kit, so it won't fit in the cabinet door, you need the 4" fans, but if you call them, they might be able to put together a 4" kit for you.


https://www.acinfinity.com/component...system-6-inch/


If you look at the 4" fan kit, there's options to get the white grill and controller cover.


https://www.acinfinity.com/component...system-4-inch/

[Alante31V]

Originally Posted by Foretm

AC Infinity does make white fan covers and a white controller if interested. This is the 6" fan kit, so it won't fit in the cabinet door, you need the 4" fans, but if you call them, they might be able to put together a 4" kit for you.


https://www.acinfinity.com/component...system-6-inch/


If you look at the 4" fan kit, there's options to get the white grill and controller cover.


https://www.acinfinity.com/component...system-4-inch/

Thanks.

One thing I need to do is soundproof this beast, the doghouse and flooring without carpet. I had about 80db in the cab area on trip to TN. Screaming just to hear each other. You do any mods for that?