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  1. #31
    Setting Up Camp Riverrunner's Avatar
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    Thanks and wow. Good info here and things to look out for.
    2022 F350 DRW - Lariat, LBCC, 4x4, 7.3L, 4.30 gears
    2018 Imagine 2150RB (SOLD)
    2005 Four Wheel Camper, Grandby (Slide-in Popup)
    2020 Reflection 337RLS (SOLD)

  2. #32
    Rolling Along RV Sailor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TripleG View Post
    Hello to all Imagine and Grand Design owners, We have had our 2018 2150RB camper for over 5 years now. We have 20,321 Miles on her and 321 nights in it. She has taken us to 8 different states, and yes, we still are very much in love with her and she is our forever “Girl”. I tow with a F150 with the 5.0 coyote and 1800 lbs payload capacity. We roll with 20 gallons of fresh water and at a loadout of 992 pounds of cargo including the water. I know this, because I metacoulsy weigh everything that goes into her and round it up to the nearest ¼ pound. Everything gets entered into a master spreadsheet. It is never ending work, as equipment constantly gets removed or installed. I am always on the hunt to reduce weight and always thinking of upgrading to something lighter and better etc. But that is just what makes me tick, lol when you only have 1171 pounds of cargo capacity you have to get a bit creative. Recently I was overjoyed that we replaced the Shark vacuum that weighed 10.5lbs with a cordless Dyson that comes in 4 pounds lighter! As a small side note I have always thought that 2150RB owners got the shaft from Grand Design based on its cargo carrying capacity. It has two 3500 pound axles and 800 pounds of weight is carried on the tongue of the truck, but somehow the max GVWR is 6695??? I could never figure out how Grand Design even came close to that number. I get the safety factor and all, but it just seems overly conservative. Either way I live within the sticker which is always a challenge, especially when a full water loadout is required.
    The camper itself, well she has been a good girl, not perfect, but pretty darn good. We thankfully have never had a breakdown or any of the mechanical systems break. Not to be confused with, that we have never had an issue, because we have had our share. I have not been active in a long time on the forum, but I have used it many times as a resource for information and Troubleshooting. Since I now have some spare time in my newly retired life, I just wanted to share some of my mods/repairs and other info with the rest of the community. I hope it helps someone out or maybe inspires someone to do a mod. I know I have been inspired by others on this forum so it is just my way of paying it back.

    27 Mods:

    Exterior & Storage Bay:
    1)20A Breaker to Electric Jack, this mod was done due to some jacks self-extending on their own while people were driving, GD replaced the jack under recall,but I kept the mod and I always travel with the breaker open. I know you can pull the fuse, but this is so much more convenient.
    2) Replaced the lead acid battery with (2) 120AH ea LiFePO4 batteries and moved them to the storage compartment. The original battery box was replaced with a “double” battery box mounted to ½” marine grade plywood. This now serves as storage for bricks, wood blocks, sewer ends and gloves.
    3) 600 watts solar installed, 2 strings of 3-100 watt glass Weize panels. Weighs 74.5lbs with mounting hardware and is well worth the weight sacrificed. I only have 1171 pounds of cargo capacity and just the panels alone eat over 6% of that. But it really is worth it if you are spending any time off grid. Originally I had installed 2-100 watt flexible solar panels that I built an aluminum track for and mounted with white coroplast under the panels. Even with three layers of coroplast I still had panel damage from the heat. Flexible solar is attractive for the weight but in my limited experience it just doesn’t seem to hold up. I should have listened to Will Prowse, lol. For those who don’t know him, he has a big solar youtube channel and he advises never to use flexible solar for a permanent install. I do have a single 100 watt flexible panel for the ground that is barely used.
    4) 2000 watt inverter with remote on/off button that I mounted above the microwave. The inverter backfeeds the WFCO load center. My system can power the inverter which is now used to run the fridge (after going to 600 watts). The two MaxAir Vent fans can also run on high and I still have a few amps left over to keep the batteries full. I never liked to travel with the propane on, I also never cared for the idea of food poisoning, this solves that dilemma.
    5)AiLi battery shunt meter and display. I originally installed a Victron Smart Shunt. I had nothing but problems with it and Victron ended up replacing it. Then after a few months I had nothing but problems with the replacement unit and junked it out. Victron is a terrible company to do warranty repair with. I love my AiLi, it's so simple and so accurate.
    6) Replacement of the WFCO Load center that supports LiFePO4 batteries. I literally saved 2 lbs of weight from the excess sloppy cables behind the converter. There is a thing called proper slack and then there is a rat's nest. Yes, you guessed correctly, I started with a complete mess. Sorry that I don’t have a before picture, but it was just sad, yes everything worked but no professionalism on the factory wire job.
    7) BougeRV 40 Amp MPPT solar controller with app. I just recently upgraded from a Victron that could only handle 20 Amps. So far this thing is a beast and I have yet to limit it out at 40 amps, it comes close at 38 amps in peak perfect sun. Just a fyi that the Victron solar controller never let me down, but between the constant app updates and firmware updates and very very limited bluetooth range and also my experience of dealing with Victron on the failed Smart Shunt(s) I really wanted an alternative to sending Victron any more of my cash!
    8)Stainless steel wind latch installed. It should have come with one. A very serious safety hazard when the door has slammed shut on windy days. Once the wind overcomes the magnet, look out! I hope no kids have been hurt by such a poor design from Grand Design.
    9)Blink doorbell camera and a Blink outdoor camera that is mounted inside that provides temperature warning texts to the phone to keep the pooch safe. If the power goes out or worse yet, an AC malfunction you will know, plus it is nice to check the live feed and see what is going on. You need a wifi connection, but we travel with a hotspot like most do these days. Most of these hotspots have some battery capability and will keep working long enough to send you a notification on a power loss. I like to set mine to 78 degrees. That gives me a small window to get back to the camper, thankfully I haven’t needed this as of yet. The Blink mini is quite a bit cheaper and just for indoors but it does not provide temperature notifications.
    10)Observation camera: a safety must in my opinion. This is my 2nd one. The technology just keeps getting better with the price decreasing every passing year. You can get a good wireless system for just a tad over $100 bucks these days. Full 1080p and bright 7” screen, even while wearing sunglasses. When I first got my camper the $800 furrion with a 4” screen in 480p was all the rage, lol.
    11)Storage Bay 12V white LED strip lighting.
    12) Underframe 12V blue LED strip lighting mounted on camp side. I did this because Grand Designs white awning light attracts every insect within ⅛ mile.
    13) Wet bay inspection window and a 12V LED inspection light, plus a water intrusion detector installed in a catch tub (tupperware). I did this because I had MAJOR water damage to my storage compartment, More on this later.
    14) 7ft Gorilla Ladder, mounted to top of the storage bay.
    15) Broom & dustpan holder, mounted to top of the storage bay.
    16) Morryde heavy duty shackles and wet bolts. I just recently installed them. The OEM nylon bushings were absolute junk at this point. Almost all were completely worn through. 20k miles and well look at the photo, these things wear out fast!
    17) Goodyear Endurance tires, one of the best upgrades I did, no comparison to the Westlake China Bombs that Grand Design was using. My trailer sway on windy days has decreased tremendously. Later I upgraded my truck tires to Michelin LTX truck tires and now I very rarely experience any sway.

    Interior Mods:
    18) Added 3 LED puck lights to the bathroom, Happy Wife, Happy Life!
    19) Installed a 12V relay and ran a new DC circuit from the load center to eliminate water pump light flickering on some of the LEDs. a really bad wiring design by Grand Design which doesn't live up to their namesake. Just crazy to allow the pump to be powered via a lighting circuit.
    20) Installed a power strip in the under bed storage. This is used to keep the Dyson charged.
    21) Removed a dead space panel and built a small storage cubby next to the oven. It really doesn't offer much space, but I will take every bit that I can get and this mod clocked in under ¾ of a pound.
    22) Installed a Dish Wally receiver and external hard drive for DVR behind the TV.
    23) Replaced the TCL with a 32” Samsung 1080p smart TV. I wish I could upgrade to a larger set but that would require some serious gutting of the Pantry/Entertainment center. The 1080p helps as the picture is excellent for a smaller screen due to the close spacing of the pixels.
    24)Installed water intrusion detectors under the kitchen sink, bathroom sink and shower pan.
    25)Swapped bedroom CO monitor to the kitchen smoke detector, so that morning toast stops setting off the smoke alarm every day! Installed a new combo CO and smoke detector in the bedroom.
    26) Replaced the cheap squeaky plastic faucet in the bathroom with a real faucet. 27)Screen Door handle, such a simple thing and such a big overall improvement.

    3 major repairs:
    1)The fresh water tank stopped venting and every time I filled my tank, water would rain down from the underbelly. I suspected either a broken vent or a crack in the tank near the top. Thankfully it was just the cheap pex 90 that had broken, this is right on top of the tank. Dropping that tank is not easy, besides removing the underbelly, you have to remove bolted structural steel, and disconnect quite a bit of equipment that is in the way. This included the fresh water fill from inside the camper and dropping some propane lines that were in the way. It took me a while to figure out how to drop it. I was happy to get it done and replaced with a brass shark bite.
    2)Front end cap replacement at the factory. When I first picked up the unit I did what most people do and got a coat of wax on her that first week. I noticed some small spider cracking in the fiberglass. Thankfully I called Grand Design and had them open a case, a few years passed and the cracks were now quite visible. Thankfully they repaired it under warranty.
    3)Storage compartment water damage: Seriously, I have days of labor into this repair, so please heed my warning and do an inspection. All this occurred because some dim bulb at Grand Design used a pex fitting on the rubber hose that is located behind the wet bay faceplate located in the storage compartment, this supplies your quick connect faucets. So as best as I can figure out, this started leaking on my last camping trip in 2019. The water went under the wet bay front and ran under the plastic tray and then out through the hole the hatch is located in. When Grand Design cuts through the OSB to install the plastic tray and hatch which is like a 3 ½” hole they don't seal it with anything! 5 cents worth of silicone or paint could have prevented this, or just using a hose clamp instead of a pex clamp. Please inspect your cutout hole, it only has 8 screws, super easy to remove the plastic tray and hatch. You may also have to cut some caulk, But that 20 minutes you spend could save you tons of time and money down the road!
    So picture my hot water line to the outside faucet hookup leaking silently behind the faceplate and running out through the hole. I was parked on grass at the time and must have been oriented just right, so that the water kept running out without soaking everything in the storage compartment. I honestly think I would have noticed if something was wet. Needless to say that naked OSB drank up that hot water like a drunken sailor! When we got home, I went ahead and winterized the camper and put a few things away in the storage compartment and all appeared normal as she went into her long nap. In the spring of 2020 Covid struck, and we never used the camper that year. I never went into the storage compartment at all in 2020, my bad for sure. Fast forward to spring of 2021, imagine my shock of unloading the storage bay in preparation of an upcoming trip and finding out my storage floor was completely rotted. I ended up doing some makeshift repairs and loading most of the gear in the truck bed for that trip. Later I would do proper repairs which included removing all the vinyl, cutting out all the rotted wood out at a 45 degree angle. Replacing with ¾” Plywood, installing ½” marine grade plywood underneath and marrying it with construction adhesive and self tapping screws through the frame. More than a few days of labor and $150 in materials and She is as solid as the day She was made. Some ⅛” underlayment and new vinyl as well as a complete silicone edge seal, completed that job. And yes the new hole is primed and sealed with silicone. It is just amazing how a failure when everything aligns against you can cause such major damage.



    Other Failures:
    1) Bad propane regulator that was leaking, happened to smell gas one day at home walking by the camper. Some soap bubbles confirmed and Grand Design sent me a new regulator.
    2) I Noticed at the end of 2nd year that one of the Westlake tires wasn’t wearing right. It was my first bearing repack time and I got started. It turned out to be a bad casting on that brake hub assembly. The outer race was not sitting in the cast hole correctly. The hole it was supposed to be in was slightly elongated. I replaced it with a new hub and new bearings. I repacked the rest of my bearings and the three other hubs were all fine and still rolling to this day. I should have called Grand Design but I didn’t want to get into a finger pointing match with them and Lippert. Cost me $35 dollars but the problem was fixed. I have since repacked my bearings multiple times and I closely inspect everything, just not the race and bearing condition. Look at your spindles, hub, brakes a little time invested will pay back a nice dividend. The one blessing in disguise was it got me out of those junk Westlake’s and honestly they are sooo bad. The Goodyear is such a heavier tire and the flex in the sidewall between the two brands when laying on the floor is just something that had me shaking my head. Seriously do yourself and your family a huge favor and junk those Westlake’s as soon as you can afford too. It is not a sexy mod but the handling and safety is so much improved. I haven't been on Grand Design’s website in sometime and maybe they are now coming with a better tire? To have shipped them out with Westlakes was almost negligence.

    Well in closing that is most of the story, few new mods have popped in my mind and no it is not the oxygenics shower head, lol. Maybe down the road I will post some more. Safe travels and good health to all! If anyone has any questions or needs any part information just post a reply. Thanks all.
    Sorry you had issues with your Victron but it is a great company in my experience and many others. There is a reason worldwide long distance cruisers in sailboats opt for Victron especially for remote areas. They are reliable, robust, and can handle a marine environment, certainly an RV trailer doesn’t experience those conditions.

    I have Victron on our 35 foot sailboat and all Victron in our Rv. 3000 Multiplex inverter charge electrifies all our outlets, shunt, solar controller, battery monitor all controlled and monitored with blue tooth.

    Any time I’ve called Victron I’ve gotten impeccable service advice. Maybe you got a bad batch.

    Victron is certainly a step up from the normal Rv electrical manufacturers add on parts. It is also considered an standard or an upgrade on many top class A builders like Newmar and Tiffin.

  3. #33
    Seasoned Camper
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    Quote Originally Posted by RV Sailor View Post
    Sorry you had issues with your Victron but it is a great company in my experience and many others. There is a reason worldwide long distance cruisers in sailboats opt for Victron especially for remote areas. They are reliable, robust, and can handle a marine environment, certainly an RV trailer doesn’t experience those conditions.

    I have Victron on our 35 foot sailboat and all Victron in our Rv. 3000 Multiplex inverter charge electrifies all our outlets, shunt, solar controller, battery monitor all controlled and monitored with blue tooth.

    Any time I’ve called Victron I’ve gotten impeccable service advice. Maybe you got a bad batch.

    Victron is certainly a step up from the normal Rv electrical manufacturers add on parts. It is also considered an standard or an upgrade on many top class A builders like Newmar and Tiffin.
    Victron themselves are a leader in RV electrics and 100% agree that they make tons of good stuff. The problem I had with them was in the warranty and the way they treated me. I ordered through Amazon but Victron made me go through a rep (a non Victron employee) and since I didn't make the original purchase through him, it was an extremely slow process. It actually took about a month with multiple emails and pictures exchanged etc. and was just a bit frustrating when he didn't seem to believe me on what the shunt was reading. Both my Smart Shunts (original and warranty unit, failed after about 6 months time) They both went and started reporting 220VDC on a 14V system. I had to send screen shots/pictures of my batteries, Victron app. I had to send pictures of multimeter hooked up showing 14.2 VDC and I have built in Daly BMS in the batteries so that also showed the batteries were also sitting at 14.2 VDC. I also think the Smart Shunt itself is just not a very good product, even though they make tons of other good products. My Bluetooth range was 2 to 4ft inside the camper. Literally I had to kneel by the bed to get connectivity to the Smart Shunt behind 1/2" plywood. I also did not care much for their upgrade/firmware process that forces you to do the upgrade before you can get live data on a system that is already commissioned and operational. I am all for updates, just when I choose to do them. I had it happen to me in a limited signal area and it was just a bit maddening that I had to update (multiple fails due to poor signal) when I just wanted a quick peek at the SOC and amps going in. And like I said the Victron solar controller never let me down even though it conforms to Victron's must be updated at all cost before use is permitted policy. The Victron Multiplus looks to be a fantastic product, but it should be for what they charge. Maybe perhaps that is why you got some good service dealing with them? For me, it was enough to want to shop for alternatives.

  4. #34
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    Here is a screen shot from the original fail, Lol, 294VDC, can u imagine, just refreshed my bad memory of dealing with them over 16 emails exchanged and it was exactly one month. They did honor the warranty but it certainly was not hassle free.Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by TripleG View Post
    As owners of a 2019 Imagine 2150RB, we were so intrigued and impressed with your mods! When can you come over to help us out? haha

    I'd like to ask if you could share the make/model of your bathroom faucet replacement (Mod 26)? It looks great!

    Thanks again for sharing your ideas!

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by bencarol View Post
    As owners of a 2019 Imagine 2150RB, we were so intrigued and impressed with your mods! When can you come over to help us out? haha

    I'd like to ask if you could share the make/model of your bathroom faucet replacement (Mod 26)? It looks great!

    Thanks again for sharing your ideas!
    Sorry I don't have the records on that one, but it was purchased from Home Depot and I am 90% that it was from Glacier Bay.

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