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Old 09-19-2016, 10:46 AM   #1
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Sooo ... we took out a wall.

One of the annoying features of our 28BHBE was the clearance (rather, lack thereof) between the foot of the bed and the little wall that divides up the living area from the bedroom area. My side of the bed is on the street-side, and I'm a restless sleeper, so getting up in the middle of the night several times was arduous at best. There was a cabinet on that wall, and a boot box, and a sliding door, which were all nice, but the constriction of space was just not worth it.

So, DW asked me one night while I was working on the AC ducts whether we could just take part of the wall out. After looking at it and consulting with BigJohnD (another Jayco forum member who has significantly modified the same trailer and many others), we decided to give it a go.

We were careful during "demolition" so that the wall/door could be replaced if we didn't like the result. No need for that, we're happy with the results!

The first pic is after we removed the upper cabinet and the boot box, and took the door down. Sorry, I didn't remember to take pics until after we had already done some work.

As far as "damage" from demolition: there are a few small screw holes in the floor that you can't see unless you're looking for them, there are 2 screw holes in the ceiling (again, not readily visible) and a few scratches on the entertainment center that I'll putty in and cover up with a stain marker. The wall was only anchored to the floor and ceiling through the door track and the boot box. It was stapled to the entertainment center. I thought there were screws there, so I (unnecessarily) removed one of the wall panels from the wall section to get at the screws I thought would be there. Those staples ended up being responsible for most of the "damage" we experienced. There are some scratches on the ceiling, and the staples that attached the wall to the entertainment center caused a few scratches on that space (4th pic).

We intend to mount a curtain in place of the wall and door eventually, to get a little privacy back, but we're in no hurry, my son is 2, so "privacy" is a myth anyway. After a short "test fit", I can EASILY get out of my side of the "bedroom" without touching DW's feet! Or shuffling, or tripping on the dog, or hanging like a half drunk monkey from the door track trying not to tumble into the living room, or fall back into bed!

Just thought I'd share. Any questions, send 'em my way!
Attached Thumbnails
Wall 1.jpg   Wall 2.jpg   Wall 3.jpg   Wall 4.jpg   Wall 5.jpg  

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Old 09-19-2016, 10:50 AM   #2
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Nice modification. Before we decided to get into a fifth wheel the 28 was a floorplan we'd considered, but the bedroom was an issue.
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Old 09-19-2016, 10:56 AM   #3
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Great Job! I may have to consider this - My DW's feet always impede my nighttime exits!!
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Old 09-19-2016, 11:26 AM   #4
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If and when it becomes necessary get an accordion door. It would fit nicely against the outside wall for travel.
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Old 09-19-2016, 12:13 PM   #5
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If and when it becomes necessary get an accordion door. It would fit nicely against the outside wall for travel.
That's a pretty good idea! I would assume it would have to run from the ceiling much like a curtain. Will definitely add that to the list of options. Thanks!
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Old 09-19-2016, 01:26 PM   #6
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After just having spent a week camping in my 28 RBDS which has the exact same bedroom setup, I LOVE this mod! By the end of our trip we were talking about trading it in because we despised the bedroom. This is a great idea. Our only challenge is the controls are mounted to the side of the upper cabinet on the bench thingie as you enter the camper. Maybe we'll ask our dealer about it.
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Old 09-19-2016, 01:56 PM   #7
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After just having spent a week camping in my 28 RBDS which has the exact same bedroom setup, I LOVE this mod! By the end of our trip we were talking about trading it in because we despised the bedroom. This is a great idea. Our only challenge is the controls are mounted to the side of the upper cabinet on the bench thingie as you enter the camper. Maybe we'll ask our dealer about it.
I would say that if your master control panel is mounted in this wall, you're going to be SOL. My wall had absolutely no wiring of any kind in it, and that's one of the only reasons we even attempted it. If I had found wiring in it, I might still have done it, but re-routing the wires would have been difficult and probably would have caused me not to attempt the mod. One or two wires? Probably fine. All the wires that go into the back of a control panel? Whole lotta nope.

I've had my control panel open, and I can tell you, the only rats nest of wires more pronounced than that is behind the fuse/breaker panel.
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Old 09-19-2016, 02:05 PM   #8
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I would say that if your master control panel is mounted in this wall, you're going to be SOL.
That's kind of what I figured but I was still holding out hope! Your description of trying to get out of bed at night made me laugh because that sounds like my DH...... right down to trying not to trip over the dog who lays on his side of the bed!
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Old 09-19-2016, 02:23 PM   #9
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I like this idea a lot, looks just like my camper. At 6'3" I barely fit on this bed anyway. I'll sacrifice a little bit of 'privacy' (whatever that is) to feel a little less coffin like. Thanks for the pics. Probably took a few pounds off your tongue weight as well.

Only dilema I have is I really do like that 'boot box' that you had to remove. Mine is packed to the top with a tool kit, and other random stuff.
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Old 09-19-2016, 02:44 PM   #10
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I like this idea a lot, looks just like my camper. At 6'3" I barely fit on this bed anyway. I'll sacrifice a little bit of 'privacy' (whatever that is) to feel a little less coffin like. Thanks for the pics. Probably took a few pounds off your tongue weight as well.

Only dilema I have is I really do like that 'boot box' that you had to remove. Mine is packed to the top with a tool kit, and other random stuff.
The weight savings is minimal. Maybe like 100 lbs? And that's being generous. This stuff really doesn't weigh much.

When I talked to John (BigJohnD) about this mod, he felt the same way about the boot box and cabinet. Though he could see the merit of such an endeavor, he just needs the extra storage. But then he lives in his trailer full-time with his family; I totally get it. We were using the upper cabinet for beach towels, and the lower one for a pair of flip-flops and a pair of Crocs. So no big loss on storage; we have TONS of storage throughout the trailer. So much that we forget where stuff is or that we even have it! And I haven't even gotten creative with how we use it yet (we are very inefficient because we have so much storage, we don't need to be efficient).

That little bench is also where we would put our 5-gal drinking water tote with Dolphin pump, so we'll have to relocate that. Looks like it's going back over by the bunk ladder where it started when we first got it.

Privacy? Like I said, with a 2YO, we don't have that any more! LOL!! Maybe later we'll put up a curtain or whatever so he doesn't get "grossed out" seeing mom & dad in bed together! Or maybe we won't!!
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Old 09-19-2016, 03:02 PM   #11
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Nice mod for sure. I always brush past my wife's feet as well as making a lot of noise dragging along the walls/foot of the bed. I would consider that mod too except that is counter space on the other side of the wall in our 281BHS.

Next trailer will definitely have that considered. I like the two sided access in the 267
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Old 09-19-2016, 03:07 PM   #12
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Nice mod for sure. I always brush past my wife's feet as well as making a lot of noise dragging along the walls/foot of the bed. I would consider that mod too except that is counter space on the other side of the wall in our 281BHS.

Next trailer will definitely have that considered. I like the two sided access in the 267
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That's exactly how I wish this trailer was set up, and I constantly found myself asking why it wasn't. For the floorplan as it is, it could stand to be about 6" or a foot longer with all of that length going right there between the foot of the bed and the entertainment center.

A small part of me wonders if I could successfully take out or change the "nightstand" on the street side of the camper and make the bed into a King! DW says "no" to that one ... for now ...
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Old 09-26-2016, 01:32 PM   #13
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Update:

We took the trailer out for a short vacation last week (4 nights) and we still LOVE the mod. Two unexpected benefits: 1) Better air flow. We thought that might happen, and we're glad it did. We can actually feel a difference; the area doesn't feel nearly as stuffy as it did before. 2) Better space with the slide in. One of the things we like about this trailer is that it is usable and accessible with the slide in. We can use/access the entire kitchen, the bathroom, and all primary sleeping areas while the slide is in. This will be great for when we're "Wal-Mart-ing" on multi-day trips. Well, with the wall removed, it's even more usable with the slide in.

It really does make a big difference to the "feel" of the trailer, and we're totally happy with the results. DW hung up some Command hooks and some pictures, so it looks much more "natural" to us now.
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Old 09-27-2016, 06:27 PM   #14
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I'm truly impressed with your mod. There are so many true craftsmen (and women) on this forum.
This is coming from the guy who gets the shakes when thinking about making a hole to hang a picture.
Keep up the good times!
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Old 09-27-2016, 08:08 PM   #15
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Wow, nice mod. I was nervous as hell when I drilled a 1 7/8" hole in the back of our camper to install an auxiliary 20 amp power source. To remove a wall, now that takes some kahoneys. Nice job.
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Old 09-28-2016, 06:50 AM   #16
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I was wondering if the remaining wall could be moved to the center of the bed? then both sides could exit the bed without disturbing either party.

And,in addition, a 80 inch standard size queen mattress could be used.
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Old 09-28-2016, 09:08 AM   #17
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I was wondering if the remaining wall could be moved to the center of the bed? then both sides could exit the bed without disturbing either party.

And,in addition, a 80 inch standard size queen mattress could be used.
I have had the same thought numerous times, but I just don't think I could do it. There are A LOT of wires coming into that little space: COAX, speaker wire, power wires, AC wires. It's probably the 3rd most wired spot in the trailer (behind the breaker panel and the "control center"). That alone would give me serious pause on a project like that. And I think the "damage" would be much more significant, thus requiring MUCH more repair work.

There are probably guys out there who could do it, but I'm certainly not one of them!

Thanks for all the kudos! I'm really no craftsman at all. I looked VERY closely at all of what was involved before I attempted this, and got some guidance and encouragement from a guy (here on this forum) I would consider a "master craftsman". Really, once you kind of know how these things are put together, you can figure this stuff out. I was also prepared to abandon the project at any time if I came across something I couldn't reconcile. Once I was prepared for that, I just grabbed my screw gun and started backing out screws and figuring things out as I went. The only surprise was that the wall was stapled into the entertainment center; I would have used screws there (but the staples actually made it easier to remove even if they caused a couple unintended scratches).

Bottom line: the trailer is mine, and it's no longer under warranty, so the risk was minimal, and to our mind it was worth it to try. Also, I was VERY careful to remove the wall in such a manner that it could be replaced if we didn't like the results. I used the proper bit to remove all the screws (so they didn't get stripped out) and used a very gentle hand when removing stapled pieces. Once I got into it, I knew I could put it back if I needed to, and better than it was installed originally. Jayco used staples where I would have used screws in many places. In fact, all told, I think we stripped out one screw head on removal, and that was because DW wasn't familiar with how my impact driver worked.

Assuming I keep all the parts (for now they're in a pile in my garage), I could put it back together with my screw gun and a pneumatic finish nailer in short order if I ever wanted to.
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