2006 29BHS Mod Projects and Repairs

[northwindone]

We were getting tired of having to lay the TV down every time the trailer was going to be moving. I decided to mount the TV on a pivoting arm that would let the TV fold flat against the cabinet and then pull out for viewing. It will also allow the TV to be seen from the rear dinette bench or from the kitchen depending on which way you turn it. When in the normal position it is in the perfect position to be viewed from the couch.

In order to mount the arm to the cabinet I had to re-enforce the backside of the partition wall as it was very thin luan. The plywood I used isn't as nice looking, but it will be hidden behind a cabinet door. The plywood was cut to size and then attached to the cabinet framing with pocket screws around the perimeter. The only thing left to be added is a couple of eyes for hooking a bungee to keep it from swinging out in transit.

[northwindone]

Thanks to this thread:


https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f3...vel-32652.html


I bought this inexpensive monitor on Amazon. As my solar setup is still portable I made this portable as well. I had a spare flat-four trailer wiring kit so I hooked up the shunt and battery on what would normally be the tow vehicle side and wired this monitor on the long end that would normally run to the lights on a trailer.

The hookup now stays in the battery box while the monitor lives in my RV toolbox. When I setup the solar panels I hook this up as well and it allows me to monitor my charge or discharge depending on which way I position the DPDT switch. Eventually I will mount it permanently but this setup worked great over the summer. As obvious by the last picture, I still need to get my battery wiring more organized and install a permanent inverter.

[northwindone]

Didn't want to drill any holes in the roof quite yet, so I picked up a portable 120 watt solar kit. I've noticed a few pros and a few cons to having a portable solar kit.

CONS:

1. Needs to be put away at night or when away from camp to prevent damage or theft.
2. Possible damage from wind.
3. Have to setup every morning and during the winter every minute of sunlight counts!
4. Cords to trip over.
5. Has to be stored somewhere at night and in transit to prevent damage.
6. Cheap charge controller.

PROS:

1. Can be moved to avoid shade.
2. Can be aimed at the sun to increase wattage, very useful for winter camping.
3. Safely inside while trailer is stored.
4. No holes drilled in roof.
5. Inexpensive (low price/watt)

After using it for a while I've decided to permanently mount the panels. The panels are already in standard frames (Just with hinges, latches, and handles) and will be easily mounted. I will also be upgrading the charge controller at that time. I don't' regret buying this kit and I think this kind of kit is great for initial entry into solar and those that may camp in very shady areas.

[Crabman]

Nice mods! One thing about the similar 28BHS I had is the TV viewing angle is just awful. I had to sit it on the dinette table for suitable viewing from the couch.

[northwindone]

This latest mod is still in work. This year of the 29BHS did not have a partition between the pass through and the rest of the under bed area. I am building a partition and then insulating the entire pass through area. I am also fixing the issue where stuff falls under the bed and into the pass through area. Hopefully this will keep out cold drafts during our winter camping trips and keep out warm air during out summer camping.

[Elecchicken]

Originally Posted by northwindone

Doing a lot of dry camping we wanted some more light outside at night without running more wire or using more battery. My wife found these removable solar lights. The bracket is mounted on the wall and then the lights are removed while on the road or between trips.

These look like a great idea. Did you find them online? Could you provide a link?

Sent from my F8131 using Tapatalk

[northwindone]

Originally Posted by Elecchicken

These look like a great idea. Did you find them online? Could you provide a link?

Sent from my F8131 using Tapatalk

Here you go:

https://www.amazon.com/Nekteck-Wirel...17JEST9CRW1Y4C

[northwindone]

Another easy mod, but one of the best IMO, was the installation of an Oxygenic shower head. We do mostly dry camping so conserving water is extremely important. The OEM shower head did an okay job, but was also lacking a cut off in order to take Navy showers. (Though I took longer showers in the Navy then I take while camping ...but I served on a nuclear carrier, so we had plenty of fresh water. When short showers were important was spending my summers as a teenager in the Alaska bush using a shower bag hanging from the ceiling. But that's a story for another time.)

Anyhow, the only thing that bugs me about these, at least the white ones, is the very stiff hose. I bought it in white as it matched our RV better than chrome. The shut off button works great though and I've used it both on hookups and off the water pump and it works great either way.

I don't have a picture of it installed, but it's a shower head and hose, so nothing exciting. I was able to reuse both screws and one of the screw holes from the exiting shower head bracket though. One screw is hidden under the mounting pivot and the other is hidden under a stick on Oxygenic sticker, so the install is very clean looking. Don't use the double sided tape, it will just fall off when your RV gets above 90 inside.

[Cdash]

Originally Posted by northwindone

Didn't want to drill any holes in the roof quite yet, so I picked up a portable 120 watt solar kit. I've noticed a few pros and a few cons to having a portable solar kit.

CONS:

1. Needs to be put away at night or when away from camp to prevent damage or theft.
2. Possible damage from wind.
3. Have to setup every morning and during the winter every minute of sunlight counts!
4. Cords to trip over.
5. Has to be stored somewhere at night and in transit to prevent damage.
6. Cheap charge controller.

PROS:

1. Can be moved to avoid shade.
2. Can be aimed at the sun to increase wattage, very useful for winter camping.
3. Safely inside while trailer is stored.
4. No holes drilled in roof.
5. Inexpensive (low price/watt)

After using it for a while I've decided to permanently mount the panels. The panels are already in standard frames (Just with hinges, latches, and handles) and will be easily mounted. I will also be upgrading the charge controller at that time. I don't' regret buying this kit and I think this kind of kit is great for initial entry into solar and those that may camp in very shady areas.

I did the same thing, although I just used normal panels in a portable fashion. Although I only put them away when we are packing up the trailer to leave. Maybe I'm oblivious, but I can't imagine someone stealing solar panels. I don't think the return and market is there like it would be for a generator.

I think I'm going to mount 200w of panels on the roof and keep my other 200 as portable. This will allow me to reach the sun if I am in the shade.

[northwindone]

Thought I would keep this going while also working on some very time consuming mods and repairs, which I will post here when finished.

Another extremely simple mod. The top drawer in our 29BHS was divided, which is very useful, however the divisions were very large and more suitable for large items and not silverware. Since I wanted silverware to go on top I simply swapped the top two drawers and put a standard silverware tray in the top drawer.



(Excuse the mess, a few items get stored in here while not in use.)