2018 Solitude 310GK Under Cabinet Switch Relocation

[TerryZechman]

I love my new Solitude, but... The one thing that I really hate is that they placed a bunch of switches under the hutch in the kitchen.



I don't mind the light switches so much, but the awning (on the living/dining room slide) and the MaxAir fan are a real PITA!!



So, there's already a labeled blank spot on the main control panel, so I thought I'd move the awning switch there.



The awning actually has 2 switches, an On/Off and a Retract/Extend.



Continued...

[TerryZechman]

I considered just bypassing the On/Off switch so that the awning control would always be On. I've had a number of powered awnings in RV's over the years and none have had an On/Off switch, and the main awning doesn't have an On/Off switch. I decided to leave it as is, as maybe a safety. And, I didn't want to have to relocate both switches. Now, I have to figure out how to get these three wires over to the main control panel.



I pulled the main control panel off to see what was lurking behind it.



Oh my, there's a lot of wires.



There's some room behind the hutch wall.



Continued...

[TerryZechman]

I pulled the light switch closest to the wall under the control panel.



Looks like I can drill through the wall behind without hitting any wires or pipes. I drilled a pilot hole, no worries. Went to enlarge it a little and the battery on my cordless drill died. Life sucks when your in the storage lot without power (and it was 106 degrees and humid in Phoenix today ) The hole was just big enough to get my wires though.



I was just able to fit my arm down the hole in the wall behind the control panel to reach the new wires and pull them through. I think the copious amounts of sweat was acting as a lubricant. I freaked out a bit when my arm got stuck and my body was at a weird angle, thoughts of that 127 Hours movie started playing in my mind...

Stopped my the local RV supply store to pick up the switch to fit in the control panel. They didn't have exactly what I needed, but this was close enough. Switch all wired up and in place.




Continued..

[TerryZechman]

Not sure why it wasn't here from the factory.



Looks good!



I'll have to add that getting the wires from light switch over to the awning switch was more work than I was expecting. There's a whole bunch of wires stuffed into the tiny space.

Next job will be relocating the MaxAir fan switch to the pantry side of the hutch. I have a plan, and the cable with telephone style connector will reach without needing to be extended +++. Unfortunately, I'll need to wait until the next trip as the slide needs to be out to give me enough room to work.

[TFB176602]

Is that a Dometic switch? I thought the same thing when I got my 310 about a month ago. Here they have a slot on the board for the awning switch yet they do not use it. Thanks for the work and I should make this same mod. Will continue to follow for the MaxxAir move as well.

[TerryZechman]

Finally got around to moving the MaxAir control to the left side of the hutch. I positioned the control location and screw locations such that the screws would be hidden. Also the hole for the control cable goes straight into the cable space on the bottom of the hutch.



I had to modify the base plate to relocate the hole and provide some space behind the plate for the telephone type cable. At least a 1/2 inch diameter hole is required to fish the connector through.



Removing the slide awning control plate gives you just enough room to get your fingers up there to push through the fan control cable.



And the finished product! The Dear Wife is very happy!

[warsw1]

This is great stuff. Thanks for posting.

[Aridon]

Great pics, nice work

[Rob Hudson]

But what did you do with holes from the original switch locations?

[George1011]

Wow, exactly what I need to do! Thx for the great posts. We r 310 owners as of Friday and in PHX as well.