Hi
Based on the very helpful tips from forum members here are the small mods we've done so far to our Trill (Outback):
- I bridged the zero speed position on the fantastic fan with two in-series 4.7 ohm resistors (effectively 9.4 ohms). The mfg said this is perfectly ok to do. We found one was still too fast/noisy but two was perfect. I luckily brought a soldering iron with me on our trip making this possible. Beware of overheating the thermal fuse if you solder. It was tempting to bypass it as this would have been an easier operation however I decided to do it correctly by turning up the very tip of the fuse lead and soldering onto that. We use the In-Off-Out switch for turning the fan on/off. This way, we have Low, 1,2 and 3 where 1,2 and 3 are as they were and Low (zero) is quiet low speed for nighttime venting.
- We installed one MaxxAir window vent (with the
awning does not permit room for a second). Maybe it is just me but that was a few hours of hard work (in the hot sun!) It sure feels like a hack - things certainly didn't just pop into place. I used some silicone where the spacers press against the aluminum frame and above where the wiper meets the rubber gasket. Time will tell if this keeps the rain out and the fresh air flowing.
- We decided to put together some form of grey water tote. This will certainly be a step up from our current lidless dollar store bucket!
- We removed the metal pins from the bunk bed safety rail. I already cut my head open on one. The rail holds just fine as a friction fit and we always remove it during travel so it won't jiggle out. Later I will add a more "skull-friendly" pin.
Future (post-trip):
- I will add a vent to the side of the interior cabinet, near the top, just to allow for more
fridge heat ventilation. Joe (Trill Outback) says as-is is fine but IMO more cooling can never hurt and saves on power in the hot summer.
- I will add a 12 socket and possibly one more 110 V outlet on the opposite side of the cabinet. This is mainly for laptop power near the table (instead of running the cord over the stove and sink - yikes. We already accidentally melted the cord on a small fan).
- We will sand down the underside edge of the table top. Too many scraped knees.
Undecided:
- We still have not settled on some form of rack on the wall above the sink below the top cabinets. While I know we can drill into the plywood backed wall, I like the flexibility of suction cups or those 3M wall hooks. If we can hang a small rack this way I might feel like we've inflicted less pain on our new Trill (Outback). :-)
- Our sink drawer is hard to open. If I can find a solution to this I will do it.
And, of course, we will have the door window + screen installed as per the originally purchased option, once
windows become available from the mfg and we are back in BC.
Thank you for all the tips!
PS: We will also get a proportional brake controller. Time delay just doesn't make sense to me.