We love TC. She can be self contained and will allow us to take the dog and go anywhere we want. But, as with any camper, there are things that you want to change. Some of what we have changed below were NEEDED, some were comfort items. There will definitely be more MODS to come, but here are the one's to date. I will add links to parts used in case you want to leverage some of our Mod ideas.
We have a done a ton of wiring, rerouting, clean up, and adding snake skin to prevent shorts from rubbing. Too much to list honestly, so we will skip all of that and just look at the bigger projects.
1. A little hinge goes a long way.
It's great that we have storage under the dinette / bed, but lifted those loose panels are a pain int he butt. To counter that we installed simple door hinges. We also changed the direction that the panel opens and added a finger catch. This way instead of opening toward the side wall it opens toward the back.
2. NO ONE wants to smell that...
One of the other problems we found was there was no where to store the Black Tank drain hose. We heard too many horror stories about the smells after leaving a hose in the inside storage. 6" PVC from Lowe's and some plumbers hanger was the fixed needed. With the clearance of the camper, this will stay well out of the way.
3. More power!!!
If we are going to boondock, or hit the Blue Ridge Parkway, we need more wattage capacity, and because the radio is always on (WHY??) we needed a way to disconnect from the camper to prevent drain while it was in storage.
The batteries are temporary until we get our lithium batteries and solar, and get them moved inside the camper (Coming Project). This is a pair of 12v 50Ah lead batteries, wired in parallel.
The disconnect breaks the line in the hot wire between the battery and the camper ensuring nothing can feed off the power long term.
Here is the switch we used:
GOGONFLY Battery Switch 12-48V Battery Power Cut Master Switch Disconnect Isolator Cut Off Switch for Marine Boat Car Truck Camper RV Trailer Vehicles: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0981PHXLK/
4. Doubling down on the gas.
Because we want to do some boondocking we wanted to double our propane. We have a lot running on gas; stove, furnace, hot water heater. And since the fridge is a 3 way (120v, 12v, and gas) we can conserve precious 12v power by running the fridge on propane.
Parts Used:
Flame King Dual RV Propane Tank Cylinder Rack for RVs and Trailers for 20lb Tanks - KT20MNT (Tanks not Included): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IZCNOVC/
5. This tire keeps getting the way...
The other problem we have had is with our TV (Tow Vehicle). I love my Jeep, but they are not designed to tow a lot of weight (3500 for my JLU Model), and the spare tire placement has been a pain. Two issues, (a) because of where it was originally, it was almost impossible to mount / dismount the camper. To overcome that we ordered and installed a plate that raised the tire mount 3 inches. Now there is no problem getting on to the ball hitch. (b) The other problem is because how far the tires sticks out, the hand crank was hitting the tire, or IMPOSSIBLE to crank if there was any angle between the Jeep and the Camper. So, yeah, I cut the crank handle off. For the record it cranks up and down just fine, even in the incline of our driveway.
Parts Used:
Rough Country Spare Tire Relocation Bracket for 18-2021 Jeep Wrangler JL - 10529: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PVQL4XD/
6. Can you see me now?
Our last MOD (So far) was a safety one. The brake lights on the camper are really low, and not placed well. So we ordered a tailgate light strip that is adhesive, and installed this at a height where we could ensure it was seen.
Parts used:
Nilight 60" Truck Tailgate Light Bar 108 LED Single Row Tailgate Light Strip with Red Running Brake Lights Turn Signal White Reverse Light: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F1PWDP2/
Floor Cord Cover by X-Protector – 5’ Overfloor Cord Protector – Self-Adhesive Power Cable Protector – Silicone White Cord Protector: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B081B1VL54/
That's all for now but check back as we will update this as we go!
Next up to bat:
Installation of two Lithium batteries inside the camper
Setting up our solar kit