"Mr. Grumpy's" Cheerful Companion (InTech Pursue Flyer Mods)

[G-Mac]

Ok, time for a little update:

I've started my mods. My main concern with this trailer was water. I know, there are lots of opinions, but I want water. Nothing elaborate, just some convenience and a sink that drains. So, I moved the refrigerator. In my plans, I saw plenty of room at the foot of the bed for it and I was right. It's a perfect fit. I have a 110 VAC outlet there and ran the wires for the 12VDC outlet today. Tie-downs are done and it is very convenient to open the back door to grab something. I also added tie-downs for some storage containers that I have used for years. I'm not sure what will go in them all (one is for setup gear) but I'm sure they will be used.



Once the refrigerator was moved, I took measurements and made a cardboard mock-up for the shelf that will hold the sink. The galley already sits a little high, so the lowered sink counter will work better for my wife and I'll still be able to use the stock storage location for the front food-prep area. I should have room for a small pump-style faucet on the top and a 5 gallon water jug underneath. My sink will be a stainless-steel salad bowl... either 8" or 10". I'll drill the bottom, put a drain in it and a hose connection to drain into a grey bucket, or onto the ground in the bushes. The jug will be easily refilled and lightweight. Tongue weight should be about the same with the movement of the refrigerator to the rear.



I also mounted up both of the FoxWing awnings. They are a perfect fit and will get photos as soon as we setup this weekend. The right awning swings to the front and covers the door and galley. The left awning swings to the rear and covers the "business side" (think shower and toilet) and the rear doors. With this setup I have almost 360 degrees of coverage. Once that was done, I peeled the white graphics. I have red graphics on the way (matching the Jeep) and am going to try to get red "branding" graphics from the manufacturer. I peeled the white off my Jeep... no reason to leave them on my TD.





Finally, I ordered it without a mattress and put in my own lightweight memory foam. It's about 8" thick and I still have plenty of headroom when I sit up. I plan to sleep well... we'll see in a couple days.



A few other little things like bubble levels, some greasing of jacks and little tweaks here and there. I have parts arriving over the next couple days for the sink and plan to work on my solar shower and storage tube to mount up top tomorrow. I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to make the sink shelf out of. Maybe I can find a scrap of countertop while I'm out.

Oh, I found one small disappointment: I opened the battery box to see what they gave me. I was disappointed to see that even though the box was fully enclosed and vented properly, it did not have a tie-down. I have installed one, as I expect there to be some bouncing in its life. This may not be a manufacturer issue as much as an installer issue. They do not come with a battery from the manufacturer, but I would have expected a tie-down to be built-in to the box.

[S. Heisley]

It looks awesome on the outside and cozy on the inside! Thanks for sharing!
Congratulations on a very well thought-out purchase!

[G-Mac]

Ok, time for another update:

We took it out on a "maiden voyage"! We didn't go far, just about an hour away and it was only for a night. But, it's amazing how many little things you discover when you cut the cord and live out of the camper.

First, I'm ABSOLUTELY THRILLED with how the awnings worked. I put two FoxWing awnings on it to give "almost" full coverage (due to the kitchen being in front and the doors opening at the rear). I also plan to have a solar shower/port-a-poti area on the driver's side. So, I set them up, tied down the poles and centers (due to the wind) and stood back to admire the outcome...





[img]http://photos.g-mac.net/img/s1/v22/p2220429108-4.jpg[img]



We fired up the stove and cooked dinner...



Coffee...



And breakfast...



...without any issues. We slept GREAT, except for the temps dropping more than we expected. Once we grabbed the extra blanket, we were warm again. There's nothing like sleeping on a memory foam mattress when you are camping.

Cooking was made much easier by the addition of the new counter/sink setup. The MAX Flyer comes with an electric refrigerator (cooler style) that sat next to the stove. I moved that to the rear and built a counter/sink setup. Using my stainless steel salad bowl, along with several rv-specific parts and I had water and a drain in the galley.









We did discover that the radio is too bright to leave on all night. Why would we do that? well, the USB outlet and the radio are wired to a master switch, so that they can be turned completely off and not drain the battery. However, we wanted to use the charging outlet and decided to just turn down the radio... but the light was too bright and we had to rig a cover for the night. The next day, I discovered there was an app for the radio and the app has a power switch that turns it off electronically and kills the light. That way we can have the master switch on and continue to use the USB outlets to charge devices at night.

My wife also put in a request for an additional handle. She sleeps next to the door and the reach from the sitting position (with feet inside) is a bit far for her. I'll be installing a handle under the window, in the middle of the door for her to use to pull the door from the open position. (Note: The MAX Flyer doors all come with "lift" cylinders that push the doors open and hold them there as soon as you unlatch them. So, it takes a little bit of pull to close the side door and it will not "rest" in a partially closed position.)

My new graphics turned out awesome and the Jeep will soon match. All I need now is to get red decals from the manufacturer to complete the look.









All-in-all, not a bad first trip!

[aggie79]

Fantastic trailer and great mods! The graphics look super!

[kudzu]

Looks great. Really like the sink solution.

[G-Mac]

Thanks guys. I'm happy with the way it turned out. I can put a bucket underneath to catch grey water or hook a hose and drain it elsewhere. I may upgrade it at some point to an electric pump, but that is not a big deal right now.

Today, I assembled and leak-tested the solar shower. I also built a matching storage tube for the awning poles. After pressurizing the shower to 20 psi, I found a leak, fixed it a re-checked. No more leaks. They will both come back off in the future to be painted, but I wanted to give them a try before going through the effort of painting.





The PVC is 4" ID and the shower holds about 4 gallons, considering it's almost impossible to get it completely full. My Schraeder valve is on the front, so that it is closer to my Jeep and I can use my on-board air to pressurize. For those wondering about the angled "fill" valve, I have kept everything below the roof rack for clearance purposes. Also, I used cleanout caps on each end in case I need to clean it out in the future.

It's a fun project. I have a laundry-list of little things that will go on in the next couple days (handle on the door, additional small cargo nets, stuffed-toy hammock for nighttime storage, USB chargers, dedicated charging cables, etc.) and then we'll give it a little longer test.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[S. Heisley]

It's looking really good. The new awnings are perfect for your teardrop. Thanks for sharing.

[kudzu]

Forgot to ask this. About how long does it take you to fully deploy & pack up the two Foxwings? In the videos those have always looked like a bit more than lazy me wants to deal with. Of course, it's staking out all the guylines that I object to. To get that much coverage may well be worth it.

[G-Mac]

Forgot to ask this. About how long does it take you to fully deploy & pack up the two Foxwings? In the videos those have always looked like a bit more than lazy me wants to deal with. Of course, it's staking out all the guylines that I object to. To get that much coverage may well be worth it.

I'll give you two-and-a-half answers:

1. One person can setup one awning with poles in about a minute (Not rushing). Adding the guy lines depends on how stubborn your ground is, but another 2 minutes minutes to pound stakes and run ALL the guy lines (ALL guy lines are not ALWAYS needed).

2. Two people can cut about a third of that time away, when they both know what they are doing and have a system.

2.5 If it is windy, double that time with two people and triple it with one. You really have to be careful if the wind is blowing so that you don't get a sail.

I had the awning setup in about 5 minutes my first time and I was alone. Once I added loops to the guy ropes and had a better idea what I was doing, I was able to improve that significantly. Also (as mentioned above) you don't need ALL the guy lines, just the ones on the poles. You could even skip those if you are confident there won't be any wind. The guy lines that go in between the poles are for stability in wind. I had a pretty decent breeze with some gusting last weekend and had the added guy lines on the leading edges and it was solid as a rock.

They aren't cheap, but they aren't "cheap" either. They are solidly build, have thick storage covers and good hardware. They even include a couple of replacement pivots which become the "weak point" if your awning gets flipped into the air. They are simple to replace and save the rest of the system from major damage. Overall, a very well thought out design.

Finally, I know I'll be setting up the passenger side awning more than the driver's side. For short stays or questionable weather, I'll just set up one for ease of teardown.

[G-Mac]

Another great weekend with the new TD. After completing my laundry-list of little mods from last weekend, we spent 2 nights in Williamsburg KOA. We had a "Maiden Voyage" pass and decided to check it out. It was VERY nice and just what you would expect from KOA... even in March! Our weather was clear and dry, but the temps were just below freezing at night and never broke 60 during the day. Thankfully we had enough clothing and plenty of wood for the fire.

There are still things left to do. We are adding an extension/wall to the FoxWing. This will provide a movable wall that can be placed wherever it is needed. Wind made cooking a chore at times and we could have used the windbreak ourselves! We also need some lights outside. Although there is a light over the rear doors, there is no "porch light" and the galley needs a light as well. On the positive side, I set up the awnings in the dark and they were no trouble. I set up the awnings myself while my wife cooked dinner... which was DELICIOUS... a headlamp works wonders in the dark.

We are still VERY pleased and look forward to even more adventures! Have I mentioned how nicely it tows... even behind my lifted Wrangler?!? It tracks like it is on rails!

[G-Mac]

Time again for another quick update:

The TD is in the garage on stands (and stabilizers/tongue jack). I'm waiting for my lift kit to arrive, so I can get it up a little closer to the Wrangler's height. I'm running a 7" drop hitch at the moment, so raising the TD by 3" will let me gain back some of that "hitch drag" and put me back in a standard draw-bar, rather than an adjustable. It's not an issue driving down the road, but trails can be a lot more unforgiving.

I finally painted the solar shower. You have to love Plasti-Dip. The stuff will paint and stick to anything... and peel off if you don't like it!





While I was at it, I built a second 4" storage tube, painted it and my original one and mounted them back on the opposite side of the solar shower. They are 84" long and have caps on BOTH ends. That way I can get to everything that gets stored in them.





The end result isn't too bad!



Clean-out caps can be a pain to unscrew, so I grabbed a cheap wrench at the local hardware store. It's lighter than a Crescent and can adjust large enough for the caps, but go small enough for the fill cap on the solar shower.



Last thing I did was add a light over the galley. It was pretty dark when we setup after sunset our second trip out and had to use a headlamp. I'm going to add one more as a "porch light" and I'll post a photo up when it is done. I'll also be able to get it outside after the lift is installed and get a few more shots in the sunlight... assuming we don't get hammered with snow first!

[G-Mac]

More progress!

After a week of waiting (why did I pay for expedited shipping?) I finally got my lift. It was a peice of cake to install. InTech's trailers use a Dexter torsion axle and they are designed to take a simple lift. They sell the kit for about $60. If I had the tools, I would have made the lift myself.

Anyway, it arrived and I had it installed an hour later. (It takes less time than that, but I am slow and methodical and did a couple other little things while the tires were off.

As you can see, the brackets are simple. Just unbolt the axle and insert the bracket and use the included hardware to bolt it back up. The lift is advertised as 2" to 3", depending on the website you buy it from. Dexter advertises it as a 2.65" lift... which is the exact thickness of the brackets and exactly what it nets you in elevation.



The lift was quite noticeable when I put the tires back on and let it down. Definitely more space above the tire to the fender.



The lift certainly helped with my attachment to the Wrangler. I was using my 8" drop-hitch at it's lowest position and now I can get a 5" drop and regain some ground clearance. I don't want to go any higher, I love the fact that it still fits in the garage!

[G-Mac]

Ok, I'm nearing the end of the "rush" of mods and settling into the "use it a while and see what it needs" phase.

Thursday, the new propane tank bracket went on. Friday evening the tank itself showed up, so I filled it Saturday after a quick test-fit and installed it. It looks good and dropped about 25 lbs from my tongue. (Less at the hitch, but every bit helps.)









My second "porch light" showed up with the bracket, so I installed it as well. Although both lights were angled down (one for the galley and one for the door), I added a strip of tape to block light from hitting me directly in the eyes. I had some red tape, so why not match my color theme? The added benefit is that some light still shines through the red without being harsh on the eyes. The black tape would have blocked it completely.





I think it's time to use all the new goodies and see how we like it. I still need to use the solar shower too. It's pressure tested, but the temps have been too cold to put any water in it for fear of freezing at some point. I just don't want to bother with "winteringing" it when spring is this close.

I really appreciate all the comments and the information/assistance with my questions. Thank you!!!

[G-Mac]

Enjoying the build...

https://youtu.be/56Zg8RPJSZI

[Dirtclod]

Absolutely LOVE the dual Fox Wing canopies and with the extension "walls" that is really nice.

I may steal the truck bed boxes on the sides. Great Idea.

I have really enjoyed seeing the mods you have done. Great Job