MODS

“Mods” is RV speak for modifications.  No matter how “right” your RV seems you will likely find that there a few things you would like to change.  This is especially true if you intend to live in your RV full-time. Let’s face it your RV was not made to live in all the time. So if that is your plan there will almost certainly be some “mods” you will need to make. In this post we will list the mods we have done and some we are planning. Some of the mods were quite simple, a few were pretty involved.

Pete came with 1” mini blinds. They were difficult to operate and a bit road weary. We replaced the blinds with roller shades throughout the RV. In the bedroom we installed blackout shades. Throughout the rest of the RV we used room darkening shades.

Pete’s door is positioned toward the rear of the RV. When you entered the RV there was a “couch” which doubled as a jackknife “bed.” If you were a child or a little person you could have used it as a bed. However, you would not have been very comfortable. Nor was it comfortable masquerading as a couch. So it had to go! The down side of this mod is that we did lose some storage space. The “couch” was mounted on a box type structure which provided some storage accessible from the outside. We removed the box and installed some paneling as wainscot to cover the hatch openings and replaced the couch with two recliners and a small side table which sits between the recliners.

We replaced the vent with the dinky little exhaust fan in the bathroom with a Maxxair 00-05100K Ventilation Fan. We chose this fan because it came with a built in rain cover and it was cheaper than the other popular model and rated just as well. Thanks to my friend Dan who helped install the fan doing the roof work.  I don’t do roofs.

We replaced the flooring in the main area of the RV with vinyl wood finished planking. This was not too difficult and too terribly expensive. We have a slide out which includes the dinette. This summer we will replace the carpet in it with the same vinyl planking. We will also replace the carpet in the hall going to the bathroom and bedroom with the same material.

One of the biggest and most expensive mods has been the electrical upgrade.  We want to be able to boondock for long periods of time. For electricity while doing so we have installed a 12-volt solar system in Pete. We began by upgrading our battery. That’s right Pete came with a single deep cycle flooded cell 12V battery from Wal-Mart.  We replaced it with three 155-amp hour AGM batteries from VMAX Tank. These are great batteries which promise a long lifespan if properly cared for. I installed a 2000-watt Power TechOn PS1003 Pure SINE Wave Inverter. I ordered a solar system from BHA Solar. We installed four 175-watt solar panels on the roof for a total of 700 watts of solar. The system came with a Morningstar 45-watt TriStar MPPT solar controller. Thanks to Joe for mounting the panels to the roof. I don’t do roofs.

We have also upgraded the mattress on our queen size bed. We have installed a SureCall Fusion2Go RV Cell Phone Signal Booster. We also installed a wireless back backup camera from Tadi Brothers. Finally we have installed a TST tire pressure monitor system from Techno RV on the RV.

This summer we are planning to convert the dinning area to a more useful space. We are still considering how best to do this. If you have any ideas please leave a  comment.

This all seems like a lot and it is. But this is going to be our full-time home for a number of years so we see it all as an investment in our future. We believe the mods will enhance the adventures which await us in the near future.