Just got my 195RB, what mods do you recommend?

[Pops184]

Originally Posted by HappyKayaker

Wife and I just bought a 2019 195RB and will be picking it up on March 19th. Her pinterest is full of modifications for us to do but we feel as if we need to use it a few times first. One of the big modifications we are looking at is removing the table/booth setup and replacing it.

Does anyone have pictures of some of the mod's you have made or TV mount positions. Would love to everyones setups! We were looking at installing the TV on an arm opposite of where the antenna is. In other words, the side with the door. The idea being it could act as a second monitor when working while sitting at new table.

We'll post as we "she" decorates!

Steve & Heather

I bought a swing away bracket from Amazon that clamps to the end of our small kitchen counter in our 184BS. I slide the TV on when camping and off when traveling. Factory Pre-installed Inputs are on wall over the counter. You can also mount to end of dinette table or elsewhere. I originally was going to mount a bracket to hang down from the overhead kitchen cabinets, but this works much better.
https://www.amazon.com/MOUNTPRO-Sing...s%2C205&sr=8-5

[Demann]

Anyone built some shelving in the bathroom of their 195RB? Looking for ideas.

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by Demann

Anyone built some shelving in the bathroom of their 195RB? Looking for ideas.

We installed towel rings on the wall opposite the tub. And bolted an over the door shoe organizer to the inside of the bathroom door. The hooks did not hold the organizer securely . We like how the shoe organizer holds a quantity of small items and also big shampoo and soap bottles securely.
This is similar. Ours has mesh pockets not vinyl ones
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...598&poc=239918

[RogerR]

Originally Posted by PoulsboJohnny

These are all great ideas. Keep em coming!

Another fix I'm going to implement is to take the screw in panel that covers the water tank and heater and turn it into a drop in style like on a boat. Having to get in there to access the heater bypass will be annoying enough without having to deal with screws...

I added hidden self closing hinges to the panel. Then I cut off the screws so they didn't go through and glued them into the holes.

Looks like the panel is screwed into place but you just pull on one side and it opens. If I open it to 90 degrees it stays open but when closed it will not come open unless you pull it open.

So much easier than those stupid screws that will not hold after a few on/offs.

[Demann]

Originally Posted by RogerR

I added hidden self closing hinges to the panel. Then I cut off the screws so they didn't go through and glued them into the holes.

Looks like the panel is screwed into place but you just pull on one side and it opens. If I open it to 90 degrees it stays open but when closed it will not come open unless you pull it open.

So much easier than those stupid screws that will not hold after a few on/offs.

I put in a three (2 on the top and 1 on the bottom) rare earth magnets to hold on the door. Then did the same thing with the screw heads.

[BobBoohah]

Lots of good ideas in here so thank you for that.

I'm going to look at a 2016 Jay Flight SLX 195BH Baja Edition tomorrow which if it is in good shape I'll definitely be purchasing. Pricing lately on resale units in Florida has been crazy so finding someone that has theirs priced right has been hard.

I'll will be getting a new mattress which I am sure will be heavier so I'll be putting some pistons on it to help lifting. Does this take a standard size queen or is it slightly different size?

One thing that worries me about this unit is the smaller black water tank. Do most of you have a portable tank to empty into or do you just hook up and drive over to the dump station.

I am new to all this so any help is appreciated, we will be traveling probably 6-8 weeks this summer so I guess I'll have time to learn a few tricks to make things easier.

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by BobBoohah

Lots of good ideas in here so thank you for that.

I'm going to look at a 2016 Jay Flight SLX 195BH Baja Edition tomorrow which if it is in good shape I'll definitely be purchasing. Pricing lately on resale units in Florida has been crazy so finding someone that has theirs priced right has been hard.

I'll will be getting a new mattress which I am sure will be heavier so I'll be putting some pistons on it to help lifting. Does this take a standard size queen or is it slightly different size?

One thing that worries me about this unit is the smaller black water tank. Do most of you have a portable tank to empty into or do you just hook up and drive over to the dump station.

I am new to all this so any help is appreciated, we will be traveling probably 6-8 weeks this summer so I guess I'll have time to learn a few tricks to make things easier.

We had a 2015 195RB Baja. The mattress is an RV short queen which is 60" x 74". I did add some lift struts to help as we had added a 3" memory foam topper to deal with the uncomfortable mattress.

I think in 2016 the black tank size increased to ~19 gallons over the 9 gallon that our 2015 had. We carried a Barker 32 gallon portable tank that had pneumatic wheels on it which made the tug down to the dump station a lot nicer than the hard plastic wheels. As the gray tank was only 15 gallons on our model we could dump both into the Barker and only have to make one trip to the dump station. If you camp a lot without hookups and where there is a dump station within the campground the portable tank is ideal. Tearing down and hooking up every time you need to dump gets old very quickly.

[BobBoohah]

Originally Posted by ttavasc

We had a 2015 195RB Baja. The mattress is an RV short queen which is 60" x 74". I did add some lift struts to help as we had added a 3" memory foam topper to deal with the uncomfortable mattress.

I think in 2016 the black tank size increased to ~19 gallons over the 9 gallon that our 2015 had. We carried a Barker 32 gallon portable tank that had pneumatic wheels on it which made the tug down to the dump station a lot nicer than the hard plastic wheels. As the gray tank was only 15 gallons on our model we could dump both into the Barker and only have to make one trip to the dump station. If you camp a lot without hookups and where there is a dump station within the campground the portable tank is ideal. Tearing down and hooking up every time you need to dump gets old very quickly.

Appreciate the reply. Guess I'll just need to make sure my head is all the way at the top of the mattress so I am not hanging over the end.

Good to know about the tank if it was increased. I was going off the NADA site and even the Jayco site doesn't give much info on the Baja edition so wasn't sure if it was the 9 gallon or not. I did find another site that referenced the Western Edition as having the 19.9 gallon but not sure if Western edition is just another name for the Baja edition. The 19.9 would work for us I think but I'll probably get the portable tank anyway.

Thanks again.

[Kim Gass]

We had a 2016 195 but was not the Baja (western ) edition. So it had the 9 gal blackwater tank
We never stayed more than four days in a spot so it never filled totally.
Grey water tank was 20 gal IIRC and that filled in two days... That one is going to be more of your problem child if you are prohibited from dumping gray water.

[BobBoohah]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

We had a 2016 195 but was not the Baja (western ) edition. So it had the 9 gal blackwater tank
We never stayed more than four days in a spot so it never filled totally.
Grey water tank was 20 gal IIRC and that filled in two days... That one is going to be more of your problem child if you are prohibited from dumping gray water.

I think for the most part we won't stay more than 3-4 days in any spot so good to know. After reading up on it we'll most probably be getting a portable tank.

I have a bunch to learn about all this. Last road trip was easy, 21 states, 12000 miles but stayed in hotels. The trade off will be worth the work though, I'll be able to stay in the National Parks overnight and get more hiking and picture taking in.

Thank you for your reply

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by ttavasc

Here is a link to the Honeywell Digital thermostat that we installed in our '15 195RB Baja. It is a direct wire for wire replacement and fits perfectly the narrow strip between the bathroom door and ward:

Honeywell TH1100DV1000 Thermostat

Originally Posted by MrKABC

Thanks to @ttavasc I got the same thermostat. It's stupidly easy to install! Black is original, white is identical to above. 2 wires, two screws, and five minutes.

I have to ask you both: Have you experienced any issues with the display on this particular thermostat going blank and needing a tap to get it to come back on? I purchased one (and then a replacement) and that occurs occasionally with both.

The thermostat display is on even when it's not connected to the wires since it's powered by an internal battery, so I'm not inclined to believe that it's a wiring problem. It seems odd that I would get 2 faulty ones back to back.

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by BobBoohah

I think for the most part we won't stay more than 3-4 days in any spot so good to know. After reading up on it we'll most probably be getting a portable tank.

I have the 9 gallon black tank in my 2015 185RB Baja. It lasts the two of us for a week or more pretty easily. When you think about it, 9 gallons (if one uses a reasonable amount of flush water) is a lot of...ahem...output from two adults. Recommend you camp with it for a bit to see how long it takes you to fill it up before buying a porta-tote.

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by Bob K

I have the 9 gallon black tank in my 2015 185RB Baja. It lasts the two of us for a week or more pretty easily. When you think about it, 9 gallons (if one uses a reasonable amount of flush water) is a lot of...ahem...output from two adults. Recommend you camp with it for a bit to see how long it takes you to fill it up before buying a porta-tote.

The other issue is traveling with the porta tote. We have never needed one and put some 120,000 miles in the 195 dry camping four days at a time. One less thing I am glad we did not get..what a pita to deal with on the road.

[MrKABC]

Originally Posted by Bob K

I have to ask you both: Have you experienced any issues with the display on this particular thermostat going blank and needing a tap to get it to come back on? I purchased one (and then a replacement) and that occurs occasionally with both.

The thermostat display is on even when it's not connected to the wires since it's powered by an internal battery, so I'm not inclined to believe that it's a wiring problem. It seems odd that I would get 2 faulty ones back to back.

So far, so good for me, mine still works. That being said, it *did* go blank on me once, I thought it was the battery and as soon as I went to snap the cover off to get at the battery the display came back on and has been on ever since.

No issues with functionality either, although right now there is little call for a heater.

[MontanaRick]

Originally Posted by MrKABC

So far, so good for me, mine still works. That being said, it *did* go blank on me once, I thought it was the battery and as soon as I went to snap the cover off to get at the battery the display came back on and has been on ever since.

No issues with functionality either, although right now there is little call for a heater.

Mine did this. The problem seems to be that the batteries are held tight on the sides and the contacts barely make contact with the batteries, so a little movement and contact is broken and the batteries are held in place tightly. Most battery holders are looser, so the springlike contacts keep the batteries all touching. My solution was to bend the contacts out a touch more, now I rarely have an issue.