This is a long post but it has been a long while since I update this thread so I thought it was long overdue. We have camped year round (not full time - not yet anyway) in all four seasons with and without hookups and in the following states: GA, TN, NC, SC, AL, FL, MS. While we overall like our original custom design in hindsight we both agree we should have camped in it first before gutting it.
The bathroom with cassette toilet and hot shower has gotten good use (every camping trip). It is nice to be able to get out of the shower in the
Boler and hop into bed. The custom shelves behind the toilet are very handy for our towels, toiletries, laundry detergent for extended camping trips, extra Coleman
propane tanks, etc, etc.
The original Seaflo 1.2 gpm 35 PSI (cut out pressure) water pump worked and provided adequate water pressure but it could be better. It doesn't provide enough water volume to kick on the
propane tankless water heater unless you reduce the water volume adjustment on the water heater down to approximately 25% or less. On city water the water heater worked flawlessly at any setting with ample water pressure. The Seaflo pump was very noisy but the low volume rating helped to conserve tank water. Adjusting the water heater when using the Seaflow pump was more challenging than on city water due to reduce flow settings.
After much debate and researching various pumps I decided to upgrade to the Seaflo 42 series. It delivers 3.0 gpm and has a higher cutout pressure and its adjustable. It also has a variable flow feature that allows water to circulate in the pump so you can use just a trickle of water at the faucet. I re-plumped all the lines to the pump as it required larger diameter hoses for the new pump and I secured all my CPVC lines and the hoses to reduce vibration noises as well as added some foam pipe insulation to the hoses. I am happy to report that the new pump is MUCH quieter and delivers enough volume for full control of our tankless water heater. One con is the pump will empty the tank in about 12 minutes as opposed to about 15 with the old pump so we have to manage the water usage a little more carefully with regard to navy showers and no hookups.
Another thing was the sink faucet with pullout sprayer for a shower head was not ideal so we switched it out to an RV vanity faucet with shower diverter. That one didn't work well either, the diverter would
fall down due to gravity/not enough water pressure. So I added T's to both cold and hot water CPVC lines and installed a dedicated shower fixture. The shower now works MUCH BETTER
and I swapped the vanity faucet for a taller style bar sink faucet. Much easier to wash a dish or pot in the sink now. Also, I will be repurposing the old water pump to server as pump for refilling the 16 gallon tank from our portable 7 gallon fresh water containers (those things get heavy trying to pour them.
I also modified the under bench/bed a/c to provide better air flow for the condensor and to reduce some exhaust air escaping under the back of the bunk. I had previously lowered our bed and our sons bunk to give me more head room from the upper cabinets when sitting on either and that created an obstruction of the a/c cold air exhaust so I will be futher modifying his bunk to remove the 2x4 support that is obstructing the free air flow.
I also have decided we DO NEED a table more than a permanent bed due to pesky noseeums, bitter cold, extreme heat, rain and storms at meal time plus the desire to play a board game or similar tasks. So I will be modifying our bed to convert to a "U" shaped dinette with a 24" round table top. This should turn out nice. It will also allow for easier access to storage under the bed on the curb side and far rear area.
I will also be engineering a hinged folding counter top above our sons bed for meal prep and cooking area during inclement weather. This will be a COOL feature
.
I also cleaned up some of the spaghetti wiring mess from where I made some mods and added a
battery monitor with shunt. Another small mod I am working on is putting in a new style twist lock shore line. It requires fiberglass patching of the existing power cord hole and re-drilling a slightly smaller one.
Then was our
fridge issue. Our original dorm
fridge work well but it was just to small (1.2 cubic foot) so I got a bigger one (used) but it didn't cool properly in the same space. So we bought a new one and it is not cooling well either. Not sure what I am going to do here yet but I am consider a 12v compressor style chest freezer/refrigerator or putting the original one back in. And I will have to remake the face frame for the cabinet which I cut to accommodate the larger one.
And finally, the door. I have never been happy with the door's fit even after rebuilding it I can't get a good seal (either too tight or gaps). So I will be making a completely new fiberglass door from scratch.
Once I get all these issue complete we plan on making some longer trips including my bucket list the Grand Canyon.
I will take some picture of these modes and post them later today or tomorrow.