Bonair Oxygen Upgrades

[Vann in NS]

Hi,
About a year ago I became the owner of a beautiful little Oxygen trailer. If anyone is thinking of rebuilding/upgrading perhaps I can help with advice or suggestion on the following improvements.

1) Restoring the axle and frame/ off body.
2) Adding a wet shower to the toilet area.
3) Adding a proper grey/black water holding tank.
4) Modifying the dinette to make the floor layout more functional with more storage for two people

There were only a small number of these units built and the interest in upgrading may not warrant spending a lot of time on posting but will do if the interest is there.

Rob Vann

[norman and jean mulloy]

Yes please post. I assume our frame is ok. But all the other topics interest me. My brother added a shower for us. What did you do? We need more storage, the table is annoying as all heck. Our lower cabinets are pulling away from the floor and wall. My husband has just found little wheels so he can roll it into our garage to work for the next month. Bid trip planned fror spring.
thanks

[Vann in NS]

Hi. nice to hear from another owner.
The unit I have was built in November of 2000 and the black/grey water tank was essentially a 40" piece of 3" ABS pipe..so no tank. As such the toilet setup was not very functional and a shower out of the question. A plumbing redo as well as a new tank was required. I started looking for something off the self. I wanted the largest tank possible with a maximum height of under 6" to stay level with the bottom of the axle and a shape which kept the weight forward as much as possible. Also the outlets needed to be where they would work. The largest tank I could find was 8 gal which from experience is too small for a combined tank. I ended up fabricating one out of fibreglass estimated size of 15" wide X 6" high by 48" long, approx 13 gal. With a combined tank you have to be careful to prevent backflow of sewer water into the shower so the drain has a push/pop up drain plug which is closed any time we move. There is also a p-trap below the shower to prevent odours from coming up the drain..

The tap for the shower is located below the level of the bed so the water lines are hidden in the locker. Hot and cold water lines are plumbed into the existing near the h/w tank and the pump.

I redid the frame only because of surface rust and I wanted to make sure the brakes were ok and hopefully provide another ten years before the next maintenance work. I also sprayed rustproofing into the frame openings.

I will take some pictures of the bed/table mod over the weekend. There are only two of us so my thoughts were to get rid of the very heavy and awkward table. Reduce the table size and weight. Add space for a small microwave, coffee brewer and toaster. Add three small storage compartments. I also wanted to make sure there would still be easy access thru the four access hatches in the seats. The table itself also hinges up and out of the way. When the table is up there is surprisingly more floor space.

By lower cabinets do you mean in the kitchen?

Cheers..rob

[Eddie Longest]

Rob
You might want to check out a Hepvo valve for your shower drain. A lot of people with Casitas have changed out their shower P traps for this valve. Solves most all your shower drain issues. You can read about them at the Hepvo website. Most Casita owners get theirs from Lil house Customs.
Eddie
http://www.hepvo.com/
http://littlehousecustoms.com/store

[Vann in NS]

Thanks .this valve replace the pop up drain and p-trap. What I used was a std pop up drain http://kitchenbathroomfixtures.com/w...ain-bronze.jpg
for a vessel type sinks ..so no overflown holes in the drain.. It works fine step on it once it closes, step on it again it opens.

[Eddie Longest]

You can keep your pop up drain. (as a second failsafe) The Hepvo valve replaces your P trap. It takes less room, no need to worry about gas from a dry trap and prevents back flow.
Eddie

[Carol H]

Rob why not post some pictures of what you have done so it is here for both the present and future Oxygen owners to admire.

[Vann in NS]

Ok here are some pics of the table setup.
The table has 4 small angle brackets which secures the microwave to the table surface. When travelling we use a bungee cord to strap the coffee pot and the toaster to the microwave. I added a receptacle outlet under the left seat and ran an extension cord up through a hole behind the microwave. The space also hides the appliance cords. The size was based on the need for eating for two but it also works in a pinch for four adults.



This is with the table up..note some bracing under the table is to reduce weight as the actual top is 1/4"ply covered with plastic laminate. We usually keep the table up when travelling. I used a nifty little hinged bracket from Lee Valley which locks the leg in the vertical and horizontal position. The fridge door is missing in the pic. .I discovered the panel slides out and decided to substitute .080" clear acrylic and put something bright and colourful behind it. Working on it at the moment.



These are the three storage compartments below the table. The unit is far enough forward so that about 1/3 of the seat access hatch is covered by the unit. I still use the original hatch cover as the ends slide in the recess under the unit.



Hope it helps.. If you need more info please let me know.
Rob

[norman and jean mulloy]

Thanks Rob, Modifications look nice. Can the table still be used for a bed? Lest we develop an issue crawling up into the bed, I don't want to eliminate the table conversion. Our old trailer had a double C overlapping bracket we could consider if we could find. Norm would like a pedestal table, but it isn't self storing.
Is the shelf self-supporting or is it attached to the trailer wall in some manner?
jean

[Vann in NS]

1) Can the table still be used for a bed? No
2) The cabinet with the three storage spaces is bolted to the existing seat with two 1/4" carriage bolts and the top of the unit where the microwave sits is fitted to the fiberglas shell. A small fillet of white latex is applied to the joint. The table lifts up and down via a piano hinge. For two of us having a permanent table and a separate bed seems to work.

Rob

[jeremy817086]

Love the ideas of adding a wet shower and modifying the dinette – I bet the latter can really make a big difference.

I’m actually planning on purchasing a caravan from Explorex and am already thinking of the potential customisations I could add as well.

[norman and jean mulloy]

NOrm stripped our floor out as it was lifting. Water had got underneath. Now putting in-floor heating. I want blue flooring to match our car. Is yours blue? I can't find blue here. Well actually looking for remnants without success.

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Vann in NS

There were only a small number of these units built and the interest in upgrading may not warrant spending a lot of time on posting but will do if the interest is there. Rob Vann

You might be amazed at what interests some of us. Please post anything you care to share. Even if we do not have the particular brand of trailer it might give us ideas for ours!

[jen b]

That's neat! More photos please! Oxygens are my second-favorite FG trailers after my Burro.

[Vann in NS]

Originally Posted by norman and jean mulloy

NOrm stripped our floor out as it was lifting. Water had got underneath. Now putting in-floor heating. I want blue flooring to match our car. Is yours blue? I can't find blue here. Well actually looking for remnants without success.

The floor is a dark grey slate look vinyl tile.. the original floor was in perfect condition but I needed to secure the black water tank below the floor..tricky to do as the floor is sandwiched FG with a honeycomb core. I tried taking the old vinyl out by ironing to soften the adhesive but it didn't work well enough to give a descent pattern..I did eventually get it out but it took some doing. I would have used new sheet vinyl but we liked the tile and it was a little easier to fit than making a full size pattern for the sheet vinyl.

I've looked at some other options for a floor finish but found most added too much weight to the trailer. If it were possible to strip all of the adhesive, using one of the speckled epoxy floor finishes ie. those used for concrete would give a durable floor, no worry about floods and very little weight.

In floor heating sounds like an excellent idea considering how small the floor is.. please post some details pics of the installation..

To anyone attempting to bolt fasten through the floor, best fill the honeycomb in the area of the bolt with resin to spread the load.

[Vann in NS]

Hi Jean,
To give some idea of the size and location of the tank here are some pics underneath. Sorry for the pathetic quality. In addition to the 6 S/S bolts I added some S/S pan head screws at 4" spacings.

[Datkinson]

Rob - The table configuration looks interesting and very functional (great for only two people - we are three so we need the table bed). Share any other modifications. Sounds like you have the shower finished - if not, let me know - a shower is already in our Oxygen. We also added an exterior awning. My wish list would be an exterior storage unit added somehow....

[Vann in NS]

Mine came with an awning although it is one of those which slides into a track.. It's a pain to set up so we seldom use it when we travel. I've thought about a storage box located in front of the LP tanks and placing the battery inside. The downside is the added weight to the tongue. One of the nice things about the Oxygen is the tongue is light enough to move by hand if required so I'm reluctant to add more weight there. I have thought about adding some small waterproof marine hatches..(I think they refer to them as inspection covers) below the bed and accessible from the outside. This is what I had in mind http://www.beckson.com/hatches.html
The mattress was upgraded to 6" thick and although I had it split down the length and recovered, it's still too awkward to easily get into the space below so most of the time this space is not used.

The only new modification I made in the early part of the winter was the addition of a 100w roof mounted solar panel and charge controller which is nicely tending the battery at the moment.

[Rhea and Kirby Coolen]

Darlene,
how did you add the awning?

[Rhea and Kirby Coolen]

Saw this configuration on an Oxygen while travelling through Quebec last July.