Although interesting mods, many of us haven't had a chance to understand some mods made by our Casita Compatriot in Japan, Mr. Aki. I noted with interest that space is at a premium where he lives and therefore, presents an interesting challenge to store, manage and maneuver the Casita. I ommitted some for the sake of saving time.

I'll try my luck at translating these mods now...:) (Mind you that machine translation is still in it's infancy so its just going to be sort of show and tell). I used a conversion rate of 100 yen to the dollar.

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Oil-filled Panel heater (works at 100v) bought from local home center in his neighborhood. 100V and 350 watts for both. About $30 for the first one, $40.00 for the second



Another oil-filled electric radiator (Bill's note: these are made and sold by DeLonghi Inc. in the US).



Indicator for OUTSIDE/INSIDE Temperature. Works on 12V. $27.00 about



Small UK-made Fire extinguisher installed next to the A/C indoors. $18.00



Ten inch Funai Brand Combo VCR/TV. $128.00. 5 Kgs or 11 Ibs



Handy way to pack silverware. Came in a package like this. $8.00



Over-priced Barometer/Hygrometer bought from the Tokyu Chain of stores. His words not mine.$78.00



Lever-Implement found, larger wheels swapped. He calls it a monocycle wheel -- to maneuver the hitch tongue by leverage. $23.00 for the wheels .







50ft. Hosereel from Campingworld.com in the USA ($39.98) and also a quickconnect ($6.95) for the waterhose (Japanese hose connections are different from the USA.)





Interesting way to draw up the Casita onto an inclined driveway using a winch on the bumper and an anchor on the driveway. Winch model T1500 bought from Northerntools.com in the USA $129.00 plus $30.00 shipping to Japan. Winch secured to bumper using a 3mm rubber pad and bolts.







The concrete bolts were driven in using a HILTI (borrowed from work).



The flooring was changed from carpeting to Wood flooring and a heated carpet runner was laid loosely on top of it. Brand is National (of panasonic fame) (100V/200watts). Nice and warm to walk on. $168.00 about.





Last but not least, a quicktime (QTVR) virtual reality show of the whole interior.

http://www.papapaddler.com/trailer/quickti...timecasita.html


Bill's note: When inputting text for the post I noticed weird things happen when you put ! or ? right after a ). This site has some quirks which I'm still trying to figure out. :)

Can anyone (including Akihito-san) explain a bit more about where to find/modify the Lever maneuvering device and winch?

Here's the page for the winch.

Hi Bill
You did a good job for Aki.Thanks.:wave

Trailer dolly.
Had one for years and yes i bring it with me camping . Keep an eye out it goes on sale a couple of times a year i think i paid 40 dollars about 5 years ago.

Mary, Thanks for changing the link. I just realized people don't like links looking like gobbledegook :). I'll be more careful next time.

Chester, you're very welcome. Took me a couple of hours but I felt that our almost only overseas Casita needed a little exposure.

Al, Thanks for the link-page.

Wouldn't it be fascinating if we could get pictures of people boondocking with their Casitas in the jungles of Costa Rica, Borneo or the Mongolian steppes/Australian outback ?

I got my RV inspiration from watching the cartoon "Wild Thornberries" with my five year old. She wanted to go RV-ing with me :)

Bill, It wasn't so much the gobbledegook. When a url is too long it stretches every message horizontally, in the whole entire thread. (Same thing happens when posted photos are more than 500 pixels wide.)

I tidy 'em up (urls and pics) when I find them and when I'm not in a hurry. It's not a big deal. Makes me feel useful. :laugh

Thanks for your participation here!!

:sunny

Bill, check the threads for one called moving it around, there's pics and links to a few sites and styles

Harbor Freight lists them for $59.95, but routinely puts them on sale for around $36.

That is the best price I have ever seen.

Harbor Freight's Tow Dolly

Guys -- Thanks for the tips and Links.

Suz, I'm a confirmed Harbor Freight junkie and there's three of the stores within a ten mile radius where I am (including the original one on Harbor Blvd. in Garden Grove, CA). I'll be sure to watch for it. V. good pricing on that one.

They used to be a lot cheaper before though -- pity.