Upgrades or Changes

[marmidor]

I'm interested to see what upgrades or changes you guys are going once you get your rigs home. We will eventually upgrade the sound system in there. I'm looking for neat ideas. I want to "pimp my ride".

 

[2hams]

We have added a bracket at the top of the ladder on our Reflection to hold a 2M amateur radio antenna. Once we go on our first long trip (to Florida) we will add brackets on the ladder to hold a fiberglass pole that holds a wire antenna. After we sit in the unit a bit and figure out where we will mount a 2M radio and the other radio the husband will then drill a hole somewhere from the outside to feed coax into the rig (see me cringe).

Other than perhaps adding a baby lock on the drawer under the TV, have not yet found much in the way of upgrades or changes.

 

[Renee]

I added an InterVac central vacuum. I put it inside the coat closet by the stairs.

 

[Tl1000r]

Definitely need to add/upgrade to a blue ray player . And a tv in the bedroom .

Will also have slide room toppers put on before it comes home


Will replace vent fan in the bathroom with a vortex .

And most important a 6 fishing rod holder in the front compartment

 

[Cruisin Camper]

[quote author=marmidor link=topic=253.msg1573#msg1573 date=1389586193]
I'm interested to see what upgrades or changes you guys are going once you get your rigs home. We will eventually upgrade the sound system in there. I'm looking for neat ideas. I want to "pimp my ride".
[/quote]

We will also be replacing the sound system ... We already added the blu ray.

 

[Gsport]

We added a washer/dryer combo to our solitude about 3 weeks ago. Haven't had it out yet to try it though..

 

[dchrist1733]

I am looking to upgrade my air conditioner to an air conditioner/heat pump system. I camp most of the year and this would be very helpful in saving propane. Temperatures are above 30 here most of the time except this winter. I have this type of system at home and it works great. Talking to the dealer now to get an idea of price and what has to be done to make the upgrade.

 

[thompsons 369rl]

dchrist1733
when you get the info on your upgrade, could you share it with the rest of us? I would be interested in how much an upgrade from std A/C to HP/AC would cost. I hear that if it were done from the factory when the rig is ordered, it would be a couple hundred bucks. I'm guessing it will be a bit more than that to do it after the fact.

Thanks

 

[dchrist1733]

I got the model No. and other info from Grand Design. I have called the dealer in fact a couple of them and waiting for them to get back to me which could be a little while. They are not the greatest about getting back to you in this area. I will let you know as soon as I have some info. Have to exchange the entire unit, so it will probably be fairly expensive, but I think it will be worth it for the money you save in propane. Most of the places I camp are 30 degrees or above. sometimes it goes below that but not to often.

 

[Dave and Monica]

What about the addition of a heat strip...I think they're 5600BTU's and inexpensive to buy. Unless you have the 12v heating pads on the tanks, you still have to heat the underbelly. I'm going to look into running the furnace fan on manual (without the burner on) to circulate heat into the underbelly. We plan on using the fireplace and portable heaters for warmth as the electricity is paid for with the site fee.

Dave

 

[2hams]

Debby,

When I was shopping, I couldn't get the dealer down the road from you to even return my phone calls. Needless to say, we bought from the dealer another 20 miles down the road. I have heard good things about them, but our only experience so far was the purchase.

 

[dchrist1733]

A heat pump is only good to about 32 degrees anyway. I have not had any problems with pipes freezing, if it gets below freezing would have to use the regular heat anyway. Usually in this area we do not have a lot of freezing temperatures except this year. I am just in the decision making stage right now. I do know some people that have the heat pump and really like it. A heat pump is more for days when its in the 40's and such. In colder temps I fill the fresh tank and use that, use the fireplace and turn the furnace on to about 55 just to keep the pipes heated. I do not have heat tapes on my Solitude but they only protect the tanks not the pipes and water lines. I have heard about heat strips, but have talked to a few other RV owners who did not like them very well. Right now just weighing all the odds and seeing what my best option is.

 

[dchrist1733]

Finally got some calls back about upgrading to the heat pump in the Solitude. They are estimating between $1100 and $1200 for the unit and to have it installed. This is a lot more expensive than if we would have been offered this as an option from the dealer. I looked up the unit we need online and it is about $800 itself then you have to pay shipping on it. This is a lot of money but I think it would be a very useful and money saving upgrade. WEll just thought I would share what I found out with you. Got more than one estimate, they are all about the same. I am still in the process of deciding but if I do get it, I will let you know how it works. This estimate would be replacing it with Dometic 459186, the model the factory recommends for this unit.

 

[TucsonJim]

As soon as we receive our Reflection, we'll be adding solar charging, and amateur radio connections.

 

[Dave and Monica]

[quote author=TucsonJim link=topic=253.msg3305#msg3305 date=1393943153]
As soon as we receive our Reflection, we'll be adding solar charging, and amateur radio connections.
[/quote]

Along with the solar charging, are you switching to 2 or 4 - 6V batteries? I assume you camp with hook-ups?

Dave

 

[TucsonJim]

[quote author=Happy Camper link=topic=253.msg3306#msg3306 date=1393944174]
[quote author=TucsonJim link=topic=253.msg3305#msg3305 date=1393943153]
As soon as we receive our Reflection, we'll be adding solar charging, and amateur radio connections.
[/quote]

Along with the solar charging, are you switching to 2 or 4 - 6V batteries? I assume you camp with hook-ups?

Dave
[/quote]

Dave - The dealer is planning on installing two 6V batteries in the rig. Sometimes we use hookups, but quite often, we "dry" camp. It's nice to have solar charging so I don't have to run the generator so long to have fresh batteries.