BigJohnD's Mods to 28BHBE

[TCNashville]

Nice work as usual John and hope you can get back to camping soon.

[BigJohnD]

Man I appreciate all the comments and compliments. I’ll try to be on here more. Regardless of whether I’m still going camping or posting on here, please feel free to shoot me a message or ask a question. If I can get back camping again I may be asking y’all questions since I’ve been out of the loop for a while.

[Bookemdanno]

Glad to have you back John! Just now seeing your return, as I’m out in the RV on the TX coast right now.

[trashman]

welcome back John, I was very happy to see your post. You have great ideas and I enjoy following your projects. I was thinking the other day about the A/C duct mod into the lower bunk you had as a future modification.
Thank you for posting, Welcome back and good luck.

[BigJohnD]

I've been wanting to do this mod ever since I blacked out, insulated and coated the dome. To me the shower area was always way too dark. So, closed up the roof part just like I did the one in the living room, completely getting rid of the outer dome. Pulled a new 12v wire from the existing overhead light. Framed up and insulated the area. Amazing the lack of insulation in and around the skylight. Installed 10 LED lights on a sealed and painted panel and installed.
Built a new picture frame type outfit, notched out to house a white / frost lens, put opening for switch, sealed and painted. Had to put a switch on the new light / lens frame as the existing overhead light I pulled the wire from is a constant hot with the switch on the light. Once installed, I really like it, and my wife likes it even more.

[BigJohnD]

A few more pictures of the final product.

[Magnolia Tom]

As always John, awesome job!

Nice to see you back doing more mods!

[Cannon]

very nice

[jasum]

Very nice job John!

[BigJohnD]

Much appreciated. My house on Toledo Bend is under contract and we should be out of here by the end of August, maybe earlier. Back to living in the camper again, except at my shop this time. Next mod, ac ducts to the bunks and some aluminum fold down steps on the back to step up to the ladder. My knees / legs don’t bend and raise like they used to. Steps will be made of none other than some repurposed Mack truck cab steps. After that, thinking of ditching the sofa for my own type sofa bed.

[jasum]

Wow that's coming up quick!

[RAurand]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

Much appreciated. My house on Toledo Bend is under contract and we should be out of here by the end of August, maybe earlier. Back to living in the camper again, except at my shop this time. Next mod, ac ducts to the bunks and some aluminum fold down steps on the back to step up to the ladder. My knees / legs don’t bend and raise like they used to. Steps will be made of none other than some repurposed Mack truck cab steps. After that, thinking of ditching the sofa for my own type sofa bed.

Hi John,
Let me know how you run the A/C Ducts to the bunks.
Wondering if possibly tapping into the bathroom A/C Duct and going down the side wall along the bunks?

Wish Jayco would have done that. Kids say it gets hot at times, I installed fans which helps.

[BigJohnD]

House has been on the market since January, I’m taking a big loss on it just to rid of the mortgage since work is not going so well. Still hoping for that self employed in my shop grand idea.

RAurand, not sure how quick it’ll happen,, but you’ll be one of the first to know. It will definitely be tapped into the bathroom duct. I will either make a duct from wood and insulate; wood, fiberglass, and insulate; or make a mold and make the whole thing from fiberglass, insulate and paint to match. Not sure which direction I’ll go. My kids complain about it getting hot in there, so this will probably be one of the first things I take a stab at. I hope to make a box below the existing bathroom duct and run it down the wall. I’ll then add a bathroom vent to that box, then drill through the wall in each bunk adding 2 ducts. At night, I’d just close the bathroom duct forcing air to the bunks. This is all just a thought process at this point. Of course my wife has faith it’s gonna happen and will work.

[njburn]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

Next mod, ac ducts to the bunks

This is what I want to see how you solve. You do great work so I would love to see your solution. My son has been roasting on that bottom bunk in our 28BHBE. I foam insulated along with Reflectix under the bunk to try & prevent heat radiating up from the water heater but it didn't help much.

[BigJohnD]

So here’s an update on what’s been happening. The house sold, we’re moved, we’re living in the jayco in our shop now. I’m on short term disability due to health issues at the moment. Don’t know how long that’ll last. Still trying to figure out what’s wrong with me. Life is a lot different no doubt. In the mean time, I worked on another project. Managed to get a bunch of salvage parts and start on a new shop chair. Seat is from a totaled Mack Pinnacle truck, step boards from another Mack truck, Mack dog from a destroyed side mirror, a little scrap aluminum mildly polished, and pieces from an electric lift recliner my granddad had before he passed. Only thing I had to purchase was the caster wheels. End result, a pretty cool shop chair for $20. I still have a few things to finish up, including some smoke stacks behind the seat and paint the frame. All in all, turned out ok. If things don’t change with my health, I’ll start working from my shop and sell misc items. Ac in bunks in camper coming up soon.

[travelingjw]

I hope it all works out. I love when we view your thread and we say, 'let's do that too.' You are just better at actually getting things done!

[RAurand]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

Ac in bunks in camper coming up soon.

Hi John,
If that Mac seat is from a Mac truck, I would be interested in how you pump air into those air ride seats?
Really looking forward to see how you do this.
I am guessing you will be tapping off the bathroom A/C ducting somehow?

[BigJohnD]

Thank you travelingjw. I love sharing ideas.
RAurand, the seats are for the most part the same whether driver / passenger. The suspension / mount under it is a different story. This particular seat is a passenger jump seat that had a ridged frame and no air. On the drivers side, typically it’s a scissor type suspension with an air bag that allows up and down movement and controls how much up/ down travel. Air controls are usually mounted on the side of the seat or seat frame allowing adjustments of suspension tension and lumbar support. Air is fed via air line from the same system that feeds the brakes, trans etc. On the rough roads I was running, I typically ride with no air in the seat suspension as it can put you in the ceiling like a trampoline.

On the ac duct, I will make a duct out of wood, fiberglass or both going from bath duct, over and down the wall where I’ll put 2 ducts through the wall. I will put the bath louvers on that new duct. So, at night I’ll close off the bath louver directing air to the bunks. I’ll try to sketch you a picture soon to give you a visual. Sometimes it’s hard to describe what’s in my head.

[BigJohnD]

I keep saying AC duct mod is next, but this one was easy and has been bugging me for a long time. The trim piece Jayco puts on this bottom bunk is probably 1/8" luan at best wrapped in fabric. It was broken in the first year of ownership. So here was the fix. Remove old trim. Using paper taped together (I prefer poster board but didn't have any) make a template of the contour of the bunk end. Cut the contour, then trace it onto a suitable piece of wood. In my case this was a 2x6. Cut this contour out, now you have a 2 piece press. For the wood, I took a nice 1/4, cut it to 2" wide, then sliced it into 1/8 thick pieces. I took 3 pieces, put a full layer of glue in between each piece, and put them in the press, then clamped for 24 hours. Once pulled, I ran the edges across the planer / joiner, sanded, then the usual stain, seal, poly etc. Maybe this one will last longer.

[jasum]

Good job as usual John!!