Current little mods and future

[BCPaul]

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.

[Curtis F.]

While I know we can drill into the plywood backed wall,

The backing I found in mine was chip board not plywood. Also the piece of chip board fell down onto the back of the refrigerator. I was able to push it back up and think I have it secured with a couple screws.

[Ron Humerickhouse]

I got 2 Max Air vents over my crank vents & have had no problems with leaks & leave the crank vents open most of the time,,,even driving down the road in a rain storm ??? Ron

[Joy A]

Ron, he was talking Window Maxx that install over a portion of the window.

Paul, I added to Window Maxx's years ago and love them. The first one did take longer than I expected to install. Once that was done the second went on a little faster but not much.

[Ron Humerickhouse]

Sorry OK,,,my bad ?? Ron

[theresa p]

hi paul....being another outback owner, i feel your pain at not wanting to drill holes into the interior fiberglass. on our wall above the sink, we, too, have used both the 3-m stickums as well as some suction cups. i am loathe to do anything more permanent than that. we, too, found problems opening up the drawer. after numerous times of it completely being stuck, dennis took it all apart and found that the bracket that the track slides into (at the back of the drawer) was cracked/broken and he needed to replace it from a hardware store---he needed to build the area up---it wasn't running square and that's why the drawer jammed all the time.
we don't have any issues with the underside of our table, mainly because it stays permanently down as a bed. and we, as well, will eventually install another 110v outlet nearer the closet, for expressly what you have stated----to power up the laptop and stop the necessity of stringing an extension cord across the back of the counter...and under the bedfoam...
one more thing---we also purchased the maxx air window vent---again, as you stated, only one is able to be fitted due to the placement of the awning----and it has made the world of difference to our ability to leave a window open while it rains. we are lucky enough to have the window in the door, plus dennis built a screen door which has proven invaluable during the rain--allowing the exterior door to remain open under the awning.

[BCPaul]

Hi Theresa

Thank you for the reply. I plan to use a "Rockwell" tool to cut an interior vent hole for the fridge, an electrical outlet and possibly small drawer (I think that's the tool name, don't know what they are called generically - they cut through vibration). For an exterior vent I would use a professional installer, if I get it done.

Right now we are looking at two more critical issues (approx 6000km into our trip!): water was found soaked into the front wall covering under the front window after a day of towing in the rain and our Elixir EXL-25 power converter seems to be having grief, possibly with the fan control circuit - it squeaks only when the fan is on (and sometimes the fan is pulsing in a sad attempt to turn, causing a squeak squeak squeak like a cricket) We have to disconnect shore power to sleep at night. It's not a mechanical squeak because I forced the fan to not turn with a pen inserted temporarily as a test and it still emitted the squeaking. And it doesn't seem to be an alarm beep (not a clean piezo tone, more like a dirty high frequency buzz) Same with battery connected and disconnected, loaded and unloaded. Otherwise the converter appears to be still working. I emailed Joe Friday night and I'm hoping for a reply Monday. So far he has been quick with replies before and very helpful considering how busy he is.

PS: We mounted a small Walmart 110 fan above the counter, hung from 2 of those 3M removable hooks. Using two hooks is only for safety - one alone could hold it. Works great en lieu of a/c.

[RogerDat]

On that sticking drawer you might try finding where it binds and rubbing some candle wax or bar soap on that spot. Bees wax is even better but all three will act as a lubricant to reduce the binding.