Modifying a commercial TTT...

[GPW]

Ladies and Gentlemen , Two years ago I built my first TD trailer... and for a whole year it was deemed to be an acceptable camping /evacuation device...Then it was dismissed as not having the amenities desired by "She who must be Comfortable" namely a suitable potty and shower... So , out she goes and purchases a Jayco feather sport trailer... somewhat large for my tastes and equipped with all the wrong stuff for our needs..After much thought and considering that we'll be paying for this for a long time , I started thinking I could change all the little things I didn't like about this thing ... The list is extensive so please bear with me ...
1. convert Propane water heater to AC, or even Solar or both ...
2. get rid of the large propane/electric refrigerator...in favor of a good Igloo and a small TC cooler ...
3. remove the propane oven and stove top in favor of my small electric hotplate , and solar cooker, built in microwave will stay...
4. Add a small windowshaker AC unit , as the top mounted RV AC has no automatic on off, and runs continuously...noisy and a ridiculous product, perhaps even removing this unit entirely..
5.Remove the Propane furnace...In the deep south , that's the last thing you need....
We figure not only will this save the great weight of the components , but add much needed space for other more important items .... also eliminate entirely the propane system we dislike so intensely...removal of the top mounted AC would eliminate the large Drag on the tow ,and eliminate a unit that you have to have an RV dealer work on ...
The warranty is up now , we've just HAD IT with RV dealers ,and plan NOT to frequent these places as much as possible ...(we had an insurance repair to our factory thin roof , where the RVD charged the insurance Co. 5000 USD to fix a few holes in the roof... )
The easy thing to do would be sell the trailer (good luck) and just get or build one with what I want, but that's just not gonna'' happen with you know who...So modifying is my only recourse.. We have specific camping /evac needs and I've thought out the necessary changes thoroughly, just don't know how to go about it having no "commercial " trailer experience...???
Any ideas or opinions of a constructive nature would be GREATLY APPRECIATED...!!!! Thanks !!!

[packerz4]

I was wondering why you are so against the propane systems? I know you don't need the heater, but the stove, and fridge are nice. Especially if power or ice is hard to come by? 1 or 2 propane tanks could last a LONG time, no?

I understand the drag the A/C causes but for the amount of times you use the trailer wouldn't it be nicer to leave it than to have to patch a big hole?

just wondering. all the best to you.

tk

[BPFox]

My hat is off to the salesman who sold you that trailer in the first place. Talk about selling ice cubes to Eskimos. That guy is wasting his time working for an RV dealer.

[GPW]

the wife bought the trailer, not me ... I was convinced the one I made would do ... She has the Power job , I'm retired, so guess who writes the checks ... I'm just the Pool boy!!! and Mr.Fix-it!!

Never did like propane ...Just one of those things... Ice and electricity was always available , or we'd just move on ...Our particular type of evac /camping is very different from FUN social/sightseeing type of excursions, same rules do not apply...... Plus WE have a nice PV panel/battery/regulator to generate electricity with ...
Our plan is to camp out in a friends driveway ,away from those Perfect storms we seem to have now and then...Think of this as more or less a Deluxe privacy "sleeper" with all our favorite stuff(considering that anything we left might not be there when we get back due to the storm effects or "looters"from the Parasite class)...and a place for our pets... The idea is to NOT have to live IN your friends home...Sooner or later ,I rub everybody the wrong way....familiarity breeds contempt ... "After 3 days , guests, like fish, begin to stink"....outside in the driveway is OK... All parties have privacy and a place to escape too, should the partying become too much...

[mikeschn]

Let me think about this question overnight...

I know what my suggestion is right now, but that's not in line with your circumstances... hence the reason for the delay.

Mike...

[QuietOutdoorsman]

I'm looking at the Jayco website....2008 model of the Feather Sport 165. Not sure how close that is to the one you have, but it is the smallest, lightest model.

The roof is a single piece, rubberized roofing skin on top of 1/8" plywood. The rooftop AC unit penetrations would have to be sealed somehow, and on a flat roof that isn't going to be easy due to no drainage. Going to a window AC unit, the best place would be in the forward wall of the trailer. The construction being fiberglass over 1/8" plywood with aluminum tubular framing, so you would need to reinforce and create a flat mounting surface. You would probably reduce some weight and will reduce some air drag, but it's going to take some effort.

The hot water heater, you're talking a whole new tank. It may be as easy as pulling the old and dropping in an electric tank. Or you might be chopping a lot to do this. I wouldn't know without getting my eyes on it. To be honest, this is the one propane unit I would leave in the trailer. Given the energy efficiency of propane burner vs. electric rod or coil heating elements, propane wins. The stove/oven/furnace part, if you're just talking about pulling that out it should not be a big deal as long as you properly cap off the propane feed system if you don't pull it all out.

In the online floorplan, there is a bunkbed. If it's just the two of you, I'd pull that and the framing for it.

All told, you're looking at a good amount of work to save on the order of 200 lbs, maybe more depending on the weight of the appliances removed. Given the stock trailer is I think 8' wide x 18' long x near 9' high and has a listed dry, empty weight of 2875 lbs (online specs), I'm not sure how you significantly reduce weight with a box that big.

Dirk

[GPW]

It must be that after hanging around with "youze guys" so long , I've just gotten extremely picky, having seen some remarkable TTTs and TD s here ...That and the fact that going through Katrina made us all a little CRAZY... everyone displaying their PTSD in the hurricane season..
I really appreciate your opinions , maybe you can talk some sense into me ... if I had my druthers' ,I'd just start on building a big generic ET like Mike is working on ...That would be Fun and I could make it like I wanted...

PS..The Jayco roof in reality is nothing more than what amounts to a cheap vinyl table cloth (thin) over some cheap 1/8" luan...about the strength of Pasta...small (under 1" dia")tree limbs easily penetrate it and thank goodness I wasn't in it at the time or I might not be here... Doesn't make one feel secure...might as well be in a tent...

[mikeschn]

Makes you want to build something with a more substantial roof, eh?

How about 3/4" plywood!

Mike...

[Miriam C.]

GPW, I looked at some on demand hot water heaters and they are kinda of neat. I am not real fond of flame in a trailer of any kind so I get you wanting to remove it. Just they are so darn efficient. But a flame is a flame.

Some of the new convection ovens might do to replace the stove. Just add a couple of electric hot plates and you are good to go.

[GPW]

Thanks Aunti M, Glad somebody understands my Flame Phobia... plus also goes against my "Greenness".. would be nice to remove the Propane entirely ...The on demand HWH seems to be the right thing , or a solar tank on the roof or side ... a small hotplate, the existing microwave and my solar coolers would be more than sufficient for an "older" couple like us..and a coffee maker... a 'hibachi' would be good for outdoor cooking when we don't want to stink up the trailer..plus our solar panels/built in charger would keep the 12V system topped off...shore power always being available ...
The cargo weight capacity of the FS is 900lbs extra, so saving a couple hundred pounds of useless stuff(for me) would let us carry more stuff that is dear to us...
I see with Dolly , the season has started.already..

[GPW]

Starting with that refrigerator, that must be 24"x24"x5' tall One of those dual power (so they say ) RV refrigerators... actually the power is used to operate the Propane type unit, and not a compressor unit as in most common refrigerators, sucks gas and electricity(the RV dealer warned us of it)... on top of this is nothing , dead air ... If the whole unit was removed , we'd have a space for a 24"x24"x6'8" storage closet , or something useful...perhaps some shelves for TV, etc.The refrigerator is bigger than those dorm units and probably as heavy...A nice big unit , unused , I just don't like /need it...for my purposes...Now , how do I get it out ???without damaging the trailer...

[GPW]

After making a few critical measurements , we discovered we can replace the inefficient Propane/DC RV Refrigerator with a "Dorm unit" (110v) Ref. AND an AC unit , the RV refer' vent serving as the outside vent for the AC unit , with no changes...The Cheaper (easily replacable)AC unit having an auto on-off unlike the expensive RV AC which just runs and runs , and is noisy too...like trying to sleep in a factory , or a bus station...What were they thinking???

[GPW]

Last night , I took the wife out to the trailer , turned on the air conditioner and after a couple Bloody Marys , I explained my intentions about modding the trailer... in detail... (The Pitch)
Surprisingly it made sense to her . She really doesn't like propane either and was willing to let me eliminate all traces on the BOV... Her question was (here it comes ) ...how much was all this going to cost???
I rationalized with her that we'd be removing totally unused RV equiptment, and therefore someone else (RVr) might purchase it as a replacement for older or broken eqpt. All standard RV stuff, so there should be a market...possibly on Craig's list or Flea Bay...
Then I presented her a price list of the conversion parts , and she was surprised how cost effective the changes would be...
I finally got approval to make the mods, but with one condition... I had to leave the stock roof A/C in place as a backup to the new unit...She does not want to be without her A/C...a small concession and easy to agree to ...
So it looks like we'll be removing the huge RV refrigerator, water heater , stove burners and oven, and furnace ...Best part is I won't have to change any of the existing cabinetry, just add a shelf to one for the AC unit and a counter top and perhaps some more drawers to the other...I'll just plug the propane lines and leave them in case someone else gets it down the line...
Got all the eqpt. manuals , so we'll just reverse install all these parts ...If I can't build my ultimate trailer, at least I can convert this one ...Ironic thing is I hope to never actually have to use it...other than for Fun stuff...

[GPW]

Well, we checked in at an RV forum , posted our ideas , and they essentially told me that I was crazy...I guessed after spending all that money on huge RVs, that going against RV dogma was a mistake , because they only knew one way of doing it... as the manufacturers had dictated...and weren't prepared to think out of the RV box...
I'm now searching for the power consumption of energy efficient appliances, like small dorm refrigerators, small ac units (like we use in TDs) ...Odd that the store or manufacturers do not list power consumption...So far , I'll have to go to a store selling these and check the name/model plates on the back for the necessary info ...We're trying to develop an "energy budget" so we'll be able to use these with common 15-30A services...Anybody know of /have experience with some super efficient appliances that will be usable on our project...?

[Elumia]

...Ironic thing is I hope to never actually have to use it...other than for Fun stuff...


Then why not take the cost of replacement items, your time and labor into building your dream trailer? Use this one to bug out if you have to in the mean time. Once you have your dream built, I bet you can sell this one box stock at a better price than the sum of the parts you took out and the "modded" trailer that many traditional Rv'ers will view as just "hacked up". I believe you are going to put time effort and money into a project that ultimately will have less value than if you did nothing (not to mention your time).

Just my 3 cents.

Mark