BigJohnD's Mods to 28BHBE - Page 18

need-a-vacation · 06-07-2017, 08:03 PM

John,

When you mentioned the shoe rack I was picturing the entry steps "shoe rack". That why I couldn't picture the coffee pot mod part of it!!! Lol

Nice write up on the a/c gasket!!! TY very much. Something I would never have considered.

BigJohnD · 06-13-2017, 09:42 PM

Anybody interested in a FREE Norcold N811 fridge out of our Jay Flight? These are north of $1000 new. This is the one I pulled from our rig when I did the residential fridge swap out. It does not fall under any recalls. The only issue I had with it, is during the thaw cycle, it'd drip a little water down the back of the fridge. I have run it on occasion in the shop using a converter and 120v supply, and it still works like new. The fridge was new in 2016. The wood door insert panels are gone as I sold those to another forum member looking for an upgraded look on his. Only thing is, I can't and won't ship it. Not cost effective. If anybody wants it, please come and get it. It's eating up real estate in my shop. I'll post pictures if anybody is interested.

lanedawg · 06-18-2017, 10:01 AM

Just a little back ground info. Big John & I met a few months ago on this forum and began a friendship. Since we are both from Louisiana and both of us spent years working in the oil field in the Gulf of Mexico it was a natural connection. I got to meet him & his family this fathers day weekend at an RV park just a few minutes from my home. He told me I was the first forum member to see his rig in person an asked me to be honest on my opinions and criticism. Well folks that is something you have to see for yourself. All the many post and pictures you may have seen on his thread is the " Real Deal ". He gave me the grand tour outside and inside the RV. John has done some very detail work on this
RV. I took time to pick his brain about a lot of things and ended up learning a lot from my OCD friend, I say that with a lot of respect for this man.
The mods he has done are 1st class and done right, and better than factory. I think my favorite mod is the sky light with the fleur de lis mounted on the ceiling with LED lights. We have made plans for me traveling to his home to do some work on a variety of mods. Anyway, thanks for everything John and for putting up with this old Marine and his many questions.

Magnolia Tom · 06-18-2017, 10:32 AM

No doubt his mods are first rate. Never met him but I can tell he has old school work ethic and craftsmanship

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BigJohnD · 06-21-2017, 07:42 PM

Thank you Lane for the review, and thank you Tom for the comment. It was an absolute pleasure to finally meet a Jayco forum member in person, and even better form a friendship. I had hoped for a little criticism as I do take that and use it to do better, but, I'll take the above review and try to continue to improve on things regardless. I definitely accept the OCD comment as a compliment. I've been called that since elementary school.

I am definitely looking forward to working on / modifying Lane's rig whenever a trip to the shop can be arranged. Guess at that point we can start a Lane's modification thread.

I hope in time I can meet more of you. Tom, you're way to close to where we're at, so you can bet I will be paying you a visit at some point. We've got to compare notes and ideas.

BigJohnD · 06-25-2017, 08:18 PM

Made the 5 hour drive to pick this little rig up yesterday for my father in law. I've probably posted it before, but this is the third time I've done negotiating, inspection, towing, and modifications for him. He tells me what he wants, I shop, do the deal, and pretty much purchase it, all before he's ever seen it. Talk about trust. Now of course, I've got another work load to deal with. There's the have to / do right away stuff, then there's the bullet proofing I do which usually takes a week in my shop, and then there's a list of modifications that I suggested.

I love my father in law, and it's obvious. He doesn't have to do anything but hook up and go camp. I do the maintenance and upkeep, fix problems, modify and everything else to his rigs. He is not physically able to do so.

One plus I'm excited to prove on this rig, is the awning pole brackets set up I was trying to sell on here for a while, will work on the LCI awnings. Some have doubted, now I'll prove it finally. The upper portion on the awning where the motor is at and the brackets mount is similar to the Carefree, so take that for what it's worth as well. I'll post pictures of the brackets on another thread.

Magnolia Tom · 06-25-2017, 08:20 PM

You've got one lucky father in law John! Looking forward to seeing his trailer made right at the Vaco customs shop.

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Bookemdanno · 06-25-2017, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

...SNIP He tells me what he wants, I shop, do the deal, and pretty much purchase it, all before he's ever seen it. Talk about trust. Now of course, I've got another work load to deal with. There's the have to / do right away stuff, then there's the bullet proofing I do which usually takes a week in my shop, and then there's a list of modifications that I suggested.

I love my father in law, and it's obvious. He doesn't have to do anything but hook up and go camp. I do the maintenance and upkeep, fix problems, modify and everything else to his rigs. He is not physically able to do so...SNIP

John - I think you've got a lot of trust from a lot of folks! Your a good down to earth, helpful man! Keep up the good work.

BigJohnD · 06-25-2017, 08:45 PM

Thank you Tom and Dan. BTW, it's a Jay Flight SLX 245RLSW. Not as much bling and of course the aluminum sides (Creates even more work for me), but I'll make it work. Traded a Flagstaff Microlite a little smaller. I do bicker behind closed doors as it takes away from me doing work to my own rig, but, the satisfaction and smile on his face makes it worth it.

I have to say, I still like Jayco, but man have they been slipping over the last few years as production has increased. Just the little fit and finish stuff that ticks me off, switching to LCI axles etc. Makes more work for me. It does have the newer GY tires, so we'll see how they play out. I swear the axles look like toothpicks.

First have to mods are black flush done my way, vent cover, skylight black out, TV's, added shelves, and a LOT of removing screws / resealing stuff. Also have to adjust slide about 1/2" back.

If Jayco doesn't improve, I have to say my next rig will probably be from one of those custom (you draw it, we build it) outfits. The ones that take their time to do it right.

jasum · 06-26-2017, 05:12 AM

I agree John with Tom and Dan, your father in law is a lucky guy! You can probably adopt all 3 of us...........

Keep up ALL the great work.

Jack

TWP723 · 06-26-2017, 06:06 AM

One of the best threads on the forum!

TednWV · 07-07-2017, 10:56 PM

John,

I'm interested in the black tank flush mod. I can't seem to find one on this forum?

My black tank flush decided to start leaking on my 2017 28BHBE a couple weeks ago. I told me local dealer (who happens to be my friend also) and he said to bring it in anytime and they'll fix it. I'm going to do that after camping season is over but...if it's not done right, I want to do it the RIGHT way myself.

I saved my Flush King from my old camper so, the black tank is still getting flushed out after each weekend.

Thanks for the help!

BigJohnD · 07-08-2017, 08:38 PM

I never showed it as a mod, but I had made several posts about it. Unless they changed things, there's an access panel in the bottom bunk. Behind that is the back of the shower faucet and the back flow valve. I cut all of that out going up and down the wall, and just spliced it together under the bunk. Just a straight pex fitting and 2 crimps. I can take and post a few pictures if need be.

BigJohnD · 07-08-2017, 08:48 PM

Ok, correcting myself I think. The only access panel goes to the back of the shower faucet. There was no panel to the back flow valve. Honestly I can't remember without going to look. Either way, here's a picture showing the splice. It used to go up in the wall where that cut out is.

TednWV · 07-09-2017, 06:43 PM

Here is what mine looks like. Looks exactly like yours.

So you just basically spliced into the line going to black tank. No back flow valve now? Just a straight shot to black tank.

BigJohnD · 07-09-2017, 07:20 PM

Correct. No back flow valve. Runs straight to the tank. Some run a brass inline one that screws into the inlet. I don't run anything besides what you see. I have a designated hose with an inline valve and quick connect that goes right at the inlet. When I'm done with flushing, I shut my inline valve at the inlet off first, then the water supply, disconnect and bleed off the hose by opening that valve. A little water comes out of the black flush inlet, but not much. Pretty much how I've done all of my rigs.

BigJohnD · 07-09-2017, 07:35 PM

Here's the type of back flow preventer I have in my stash. I had used it before I put the valve in.

TednWV · 07-10-2017, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

Correct. No back flow valve. Runs straight to the tank. Some run a brass inline one that screws into the inlet. I don't run anything besides what you see. I have a designated hose with an inline valve and quick connect that goes right at the inlet. When I'm done with flushing, I shut my inline valve at the inlet off first, then the water supply, disconnect and bleed off the hose by opening that valve. A little water comes out of the black flush inlet, but not much. Pretty much how I've done all of my rigs.

I know I'll have to take the mattress off the bottom bunk, pull up plywood to get in that storage area. But, for the life of me, I can't figure out how I'm going to be able to get in the little hole on the wall to cut the line and splice into it?

I guess I'll be able to tell more about it once I get in there and look around. I'm going to still let my dealer fix it the first time since it's under warranty. If it does it again after warranty runs out, I'll do it your way.

BigJohnD · 07-10-2017, 07:10 AM

Problem with waiting, is the next time you may have a bad flooded camper. The front half of the bottom bunk obviously hinges up. I removed the mattress and propped the hinged opening up. Also pulled the bypass valve access and opened th hatch door for a little more light. Believe it or not I shoed my 225 lb self in there head first. No need to get up in that wall cut out. Make a cut on the pex inlet side and on the soft hose side right there near the inlet. The rest may just fall out.

John1928 · 07-10-2017, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

Believe it or not I shoed my 225 lb self in there head first.

I considered this approach but decided while I was sure I could get in there I wasn't sure I'd be able to get back out, at least without assistance and embarrassing pictures...

Instead, I cut the plywood for the back of the bunk (in line with the support beam at the back of the water heater bypass valve access panel) then added a piano hinge so the back section can flip forward and lay flat. This allowed me to more easily install the EMS in the otherwise wasted space in the corner behind the water heater. This also provided direct access to that plumbing. It only took a few minutes (probably less time that it would have taken me to wiggle in and out of there once)

I did look for a vacuum breaker/backflow preventer on the black tank flush input when I was working back there but I didn't follow the plumbing into the shower section and assumed they may have changed to have that built directly into the hose fitting. I'm going to revisit this. Thank you for the picture and additional detail.

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