Doug's 2022 Precept 36C Mods thread

[ependydad]

Inspired by Mark, I thought I'd share a mod's thread for my new 2022 Precept 36C.

Having lived in previous rigs for 5+ years as a family of 4 and planning on extended 6+ month trips in this one, customizing the RV is something that I’m quick to do.

They say the first hole is the hardest and after that, they get easier.

[ependydad]

#1 was supposed to be done at the factory but the dealer ended up having to do it. And that was we ordered the camper with a combo washer/dryer instead of separate units. Blasphemy, I know!

But this gives us the ability to wash and dry clothes, less weight, and we still have the big upper cabinet for storage.



It’s a bit messy at the moment with us still “moving in”. But this cabinet is great for our InstantPot.

(Note: the Berkey is likely going to stay home.)

A later project will be to add shelves in here; likely pull out ones so that we can get to the depths of this. They may be a little tricky as the dealership boxed in the dryer vent in the corner.

[ependydad]

#2 was removing the overlap flaps for the 1/2 bath door. I’m not exactly sure what they were there for.

But at the RV show, they were all bent and mangled and eventually ripped off. Even during our first sneak peak at the camper, we nearly knocked them off by opening the wrong door.

So, out they went!

[ependydad]

#3 - because it’s going to be my son’s bed every night and not an “occasional” thing, we pitched the bunk “mattress” that came on the cab over bunk. The fact that it was a crazy non-standard size made it easy to pitch (actually gave it away, thanks FB Marketplace!).

We picked up an inexpensive foam mattress and now have some room for some small baskets at the end for him to use.



Potentially clothes, toys, and likely just junk will end up in these baskets. ?

We have to turn these baskets the short way and will need a wooden bumper to keep them shifting too far to the right. There’s a valance for the side window shades that this basket caught the first time we put the bed up with the basket there. Fortunately I stopped the bed before damage occurred.

[ependydad]

#4 - speaking of mattresses, life’s too short to endure a stock mattress. We pulled it out as soon as we pulled up at home. We had a RV-king sized Sleep Number waiting in 2 large boxes in the living room.

My typical RV install puts the pump under the bed. But since a portion of the bed base doesn’t slide, this was problematic in the 36C. Fortunately, the side tables were the perfect size for sneaking the pump in. I need to build up a small base so it’s not constantly sitting on the hoses and I’ll likely strap it to the side wall of the cabinet. But it works well and I’ll only have to think about electric sliding with the bed.

I’ve also verified that this outlet is hot with the inverter so it’ll be usable when we’re boondocking and without the generator running as my wife adjusts her side’s pressure a few times while lounging, sleeping, and waking up.



Air hoses through the end table to the top of the bed.

I think they were the first holes drilled in the new RV. They weren't hard to do in the slightest, I barely flinched.

[ependydad]

#5 - my son’s battle station.

He’s running off of a laptop that is folded up + closed to the right of him. The monitor is a 24” widescreen. It, the keyboard, and mouse are set on the pull out tray.

The bed is able to come down fully with the monitor in position. But obviously, it all needs moved for travel.



You may be able to just make out the black laptop on the right. There’s a cabinet above that I’m debating building a gaming PC into it. Ventilate the base to let heat out and mount the components on a piece of plywood. Getting power up there is the only trick.

[ependydad]

#6 - the shower’s water temperature was backwards. It started at hot and went to cold. Which also meant, for hot water, you had crappy water pressure.

First things first, I pulled the fixture from the wall to inspect the water lines. I was surprised to see the hot on the left/correct side.



Which means, the whole fixture was installed upside down. This is done partly due to winterization reasons to make sure water fully empties out of the hose. Being in Florida, I don’t have this worry and I’ll know to disconnect the water hose if I ever do have to winterize.

The water order didn’t match the decal in the center of the knob and the dealer argued with me that it was right because every other Jayco on the lot was the same way. They’re all wrong, IMO.

And I proved it. Flipped the fixture and it’s all fixed. Imma happy camper.

[ependydad]

#7 - Next up isn’t so much a mod, but it’s extra hardware added so I’ll count it. I added Starlink to my repertoire of Internet options (I already carry unlimited data plans with hotspots for Verizon and AT&T).

For now, I’m keeping the Starlink router in the power cord hatch. It has the mouse hole and an existing 120v power outlet.

(Oh Social Knowledge (the site’s owner, not the site team/mods), you really aren’t going to fix that magical rotating pictures issue, are you? Oh well, tip your monitor, I guess.)

[Big1]

Originally Posted by ependydad

#7 - Next up isn’t so much a mod, but it’s extra hardware added so I’ll count it. I added Starlink to my repertoire of Internet options (I already carry unlimited data plans with hotspots for Verizon and AT&T).

For now, I’m keeping the Starlink router in the power cord hatch. It has the mouse hole and an existing 120v power outlet.

(Oh Social Knowledge (the site’s owner, not the site team/mods), you really aren’t going to fix that magical rotating pictures issue, are you? Oh well, tip your monitor, I guess.)

Hey ependydad, how do you like your class A so far, the wife and I went yesterday to look inside the 36C and love it? We are planning on trading in our 5th wheel on this, and also what can you tell me about your likes and dislikes?

We are in the works now on working out a deal with the dealer in Caldwell, ID. What kind of mileage you get and what do you think about the storage etc?

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Big1

Hey ependydad, how do you like your class A so far, the wife and I went yesterday to look inside the 36C and love it? We are planning on trading in our 5th wheel on this, and also what can you tell me about your likes and dislikes?

We are in the works now on working out a deal with the dealer in Caldwell, ID. What kind of mileage you get and what do you think about the storage etc?

We've had it a month now and only just got our on our first trip with it. It's got the litany of shake down stuff going on- towel hook fell off of the wall, one of the bedroom hanging doors are missing a screw, the Wineguard Wifi wiring was backwards and didn't work, and the solar controller is reporting weirdly to the app.

Driving it was WAY WAY WAY different than a truck and fifth wheel. I think you know I came from a dually pulling a 45' fifth wheel. That didn't care what went past me and stayed exactly where I put it in the lane. The Class A is a lot more work, requiring constant corrections and I definitely get pushed by tractor trailers when they go past.

I've been looking at upgrade shocks, tightening the sway bar, and other stabilizer types of fixes.

For storage, I made a couple of changes to the underbelly storage. Most importantly, I modified a portion of a wall that basically knocked out the top portion of a hatch. I found that I could cut it down, cut in knockouts for wires and plumbing to pass through, and ended up with a significantly larger storage box.

The other one is that I was able to remove a couple of panels and got another pass-thru storage. There is some plumbing that we'll have to be careful of, or I might box in with some plywood and furring strips to protect it. But it was a huge change in available storage.

That all reminds me that I need to update this thread with some more mods...

Being in it, we absolutely love it.

[Big1]

Awesome, can you please post some pics of your mods when you get a chance, we pick our up in a few weeks and thank you sir for the update.

[Big1]

Oh, I almost forgot but the DW wanted me to ask did you get yours with a washer and dryer?

[Alante31V]

Starlink support roaming address yet?

[Big1]

From what I’ve been hearing is that you have to set it up using your home address and once you do that you should be able to use it at any camp site but not sure about that.

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by Alante31V

Starlink support roaming address yet?

I believe they are in some areas. I looked at Starlinks site last week and it looks like they are rolling it out. At home, there won’t be any service till 2023 -24.

But, it’s something I can live without for sure. LOL

[craigav]

I purchased the StarLink for RV's which is the same StarLink but a non-guaranteed data rate at any location. As I understand you can purchase that setup now regardless of where you live. I am getting rates up to 150 Mbps but as slow as 10 Mbps and a couple of short durations ~5 Mbps (Saturday early evening for about 10 minutes). Most often I get around 40~50Mbps here at home (an hour or so away from the Dallas Ft Worth metro area) and during the weekday business hours around 100 Mbps average.

I live in an area where there isn't any availability for the regular StarLink service and the StarLink RV service is deprioritized over those who have had their service earlier on and have a dedicated service address in my area. In any case, it works pretty well overall and I am allowed to use it anywhere in North America without needing to call in a change or provide a change of address.

FYI. Current speedtest shows 37Mbps.

~CA

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by craigav

I purchased the StarLink for RV's which is the same StarLink but a non-guaranteed data rate at any location. As I understand you can purchase that setup now regardless of where you live. I am getting rates up to 150 Mbps but as slow as 10 Mbps and a couple of short durations ~5 Mbps (Saturday early evening for about 10 minutes). Most often I get around 40~50Mbps here at home (an hour or so away from the Dallas Ft Worth metro area) and during the weekday business hours around 100 Mbps average.

I live in an area where there isn't any availability for the regular StarLink service and the StarLink RV service is deprioritized over those who have had their service earlier on and have a dedicated service address in my area. In any case, it works pretty well overall and I am allowed to use it anywhere in North America without needing to call in a change or provide a change of address. ~CA

Very cool! I will be looking into the RV service this coming week. Just maybe, it would work at home.

[Big1]

Originally Posted by Yooper906

Very cool! I will be looking into the RV service this coming week. Just maybe, it would work at home.

Great, let us know how it work out, I'm interesting.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Big1

Oh, I almost forgot but the DW wanted me to ask did you get yours with a washer and dryer?

Drat, I missed this one.. yes, we ordered it with a washer/dryer. We actually opted for a combo unit vs the separate washer/dryer. We wanted the extra storage space in the upper cabinet and its less weight, too.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by craigav

I purchased the StarLink for RV's which is the same StarLink but a non-guaranteed data rate at any location. As I understand you can purchase that setup now regardless of where you live. I am getting rates up to 150 Mbps but as slow as 10 Mbps and a couple of short durations ~5 Mbps (Saturday early evening for about 10 minutes). Most often I get around 40~50Mbps here at home (an hour or so away from the Dallas Ft Worth metro area) and during the weekday business hours around 100 Mbps average.

I live in an area where there isn't any availability for the regular StarLink service and the StarLink RV service is deprioritized over those who have had their service earlier on and have a dedicated service address in my area. In any case, it works pretty well overall and I am allowed to use it anywhere in North America without needing to call in a change or provide a change of address.

FYI. Current speedtest shows 37Mbps.

~CA

I agree/confirm everything they said.

We’ve had it a few places and the most I’ve see is 40-50 mb download speeds. Trees are my biggest issue with needing to be on a work VPN but it’s excellent for streaming and web browsing.