The first modification we did was to insulate the cooler. Not all models come with this option but ours did. Right beside the main door is a pull out drawer. Open the lid and inside is a plastic bin with drain hole. It is great for keeping drinks cool on ice or if you're a fisherman - your catch. We found however that a bag of ice doesn't last the day so we fixed that problem.
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| Fully Insulated and Duct Taped |
We went to our local hardware store, bought a sheet of thick styrofoam insulation, cut it to fit the sides and bottom of the "cooler", glued them in place (Leaving a hole for the drain plug) and then wrapped Duct tape around it all to protect from the elements. We now find that one block and two bags of ice will keep things cold for 2 to 4 days depending on the temperature and how many opening and closings of the drawer there are.
Modification #2 - was to the rear bed. In our model the very large rear storage compartment opens up into the back bed and the bed can fold up to accommodate large items such as a bike or set of golf clubs. Unfortunately, there is a metal bar on that side to give it strength and even with a mattress topper it is very uncomfortable on that side of the bed (which happens to be mine!).
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| The new mattresses over the platform with storage underneath. |
Modification#3 - One thing we did realize on our trip was the fact that it would be nice if the front seats would rotate to make extra seating. The newer models come with this but ours didn't. As soon as we got back I researched this online and found quite a bit of information on it. I found a few places that sold adapter plates and also what problems etc. people had with each one over another, on the installation but we settled on ones from Discount Van & Truck (part #114022) which we ordered online. We did have a little bit of adjusting to do on one of the bolt holes (needed drilling out slightly) but they went in and look great.
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| New Swivel Adapter Base |
Another problem people had with them is when they rotate they catch on the base and people were cutting the plastic "cover" on the seat to make it swivel properly. I realized all you had to do was pump the seat up to the top before swivelling - maybe they didn't realize the seats are adjustable. No cutting needed at all! There were also comments on how they wouldn't swivel on the drivers side because of the hand brake being in the way - we fixed that by releasing the handbrake, swivelling the seat and then reapplying the handbrake! You also have to put the seats all the way forward, swivel around halfway and then push the seat back again. Even easier - open the doors, swivel around with no problem and then close the doors again! SIMPLE!
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| The Swivel Seats make it comfier to chat with friends Allison and Tony |
We ordered the passenger one first because of the comments about the hand brake and when we ordered them they happened to be on sale ($169. from $199.US.) Once we had it installed and realized how to overcome the hand brake problem, we ordered another one a few months later. Unfortunately, they weren't on sale and they wouldn't match the previous price for us.
Modification #4 - We had found it uncomfortable watching the main TV from the dinette and since we spend a lot of our time eating outdoors we were on the lookout for a sofa/bed couch of some sort to make it comfier. We found one that fit the bill on one of our Southern travels at Camping World in San Martin, CA. It pulls forward and then the back drops to form the bed and the whole underneath is storage - we wouldn't have the loss of storage we had with the dinette. It was on sale from $900. to $499. While waiting for them to bring one in from the warehouse out back we learned they didn't have any more but we could have the floor model and I bargained another $100. off (and no tax as we were heading to Oregon and could buy one there tax free) - added bonus! We had to dismantle the dinette and store it under the bed and behind the new sofa until we got home. We then advertised it on Craigslist and got $350. for it. We now had the floorpan that we had originally liked and it only cost $50. - lucky us! We eventually had a table made at a local cabinet place - It was a piece he had leftover from a job so he rounded the corners and added edging along each end and told us - "No charge - bring me a case of beer when you come back this afternoon to pick it up!"
Modification #4 - We had found it uncomfortable watching the main TV from the dinette and since we spend a lot of our time eating outdoors we were on the lookout for a sofa/bed couch of some sort to make it comfier. We found one that fit the bill on one of our Southern travels at Camping World in San Martin, CA. It pulls forward and then the back drops to form the bed and the whole underneath is storage - we wouldn't have the loss of storage we had with the dinette. It was on sale from $900. to $499. While waiting for them to bring one in from the warehouse out back we learned they didn't have any more but we could have the floor model and I bargained another $100. off (and no tax as we were heading to Oregon and could buy one there tax free) - added bonus! We had to dismantle the dinette and store it under the bed and behind the new sofa until we got home. We then advertised it on Craigslist and got $350. for it. We now had the floorpan that we had originally liked and it only cost $50. - lucky us! We eventually had a table made at a local cabinet place - It was a piece he had leftover from a job so he rounded the corners and added edging along each end and told us - "No charge - bring me a case of beer when you come back this afternoon to pick it up!"
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The new sofa - just lift the strap 1/2 way for storage access and all the way up and it flips into a bed. Below is the table with two lock-in, flush mount legs - we originally had only one but it wobbled too much - especially with "little bodies" leaning on it to colour or play games! |
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