Saturday, May 25, 2013

Preventing Accidental Activation of the Fridge Mode Selector Button

The Dometic fridge that came with the RV has selectors buttons mounted on the front plastic cover housing making it susceptible to accidental activation by simply leaning against it. The energy selection button (Mode) is the one that really concerns me. It happened to us once during dry camping; the fridge was running on propane and was accidentally switched to 12 volt, if I have not caught it early before we left the RV for a long hike, it could have easily depleted the house batteries.

To prevent accidental activation of the fridge “Mode” selector button, I covered it with a plastic switch guard pictured below. The switch guard was purchased at our local hardware store; it comes in tan and white color. I spray painted mine black to match the fridge cover. The mounting holes were cut off (optional) for an OEM look. It is then mounted over the “Mode” selector button using a double sided tape.
Plastic switch guard spray painted black.
Switch guard covering the fridge "Mode" selector button.

Compact Camping Propane Lantern

A good bright reliable camping light is essential for camping safety and comfort. For general camp lighting, an LED lanterns are good choice because of their low power consumption. The brightest LED lantern I can find is the 580 lumen Coleman Twin High Power LED Lantern, but it is too big for storage in an small RV where space is a premium. A compact/ smaller LED lantern like the 300 lumen Rayovac Sportsman LED lantern is another good option. For brightness, it is hard to beat the twin mantle propane lanterns, but again they are bulky and heavy.

For the above reasons, I really like the Primus EasyLight Lantern it is bright enough (max. 490 lumen's as per manufacturer) and packed really small into the included plastic internally padded storage case. We've been using one for couple of years without any problem. Amazon link/ reviews here: Primus EasyLight Lantern. The lantern is very fuel efficient for the amount of light it gives off, an 8oz. fuel canister should last about 12 hours on maximum brightness to 24 hours on lowest setting. The lantern also has an attached wire for easy hanging on trees or poles.

Primus EasyLight Lantern with an 8oz. Isobutane/Propane cartridge.

Plastic storage case. Size is about 3.3" x 3.3" x 5"


Monday, May 20, 2013

Adding a Slide-out Pantry

Added a full extension slide-out pantry to one of the lower cabinets located below the microwave. The cabinets here are placed so low to the floor that sometimes it's a pain in the back to get stuff out. I decided to add just one slide-out pantry for now. The slide-out draw is made using 1/2 inch birch plywood with simple butt joints. It is then sanded, stained, and added 3 coats of wipe-on polyurethane matte finish with light sanding in between coats. Also added 1/2 inch, 1/20 in. thick aluminum angle bar for accent (see pictures below). I used an 18-inch long full extension slides with soft-close feature that were purchased from our local hardware store. The outer extension slides were riveted to (6) zinc plated corner braces (3 on each side) which are then secured to the floor using wood screws. The cabinet door hinges were removed, and then it is mounted in front of the slide-out using 4 wood screws.

Update: The self closing mechanism of the slider is not enough to hold the pantry shelve from inadvertently opening while driving especially if filled with heavy items. I decided to reinstall the plastic push latch on the door panel, which is my original plan after all.

With slide-out fully extended.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Modifying the Small Vertical Pull-Out Pantry to a Waste Bin


Our small rectangular trash can tucked behind the driver seat has worked great for us, until I started using that space for the hinged front mattress. There is no alternate placement for the old trash can, for that, I decided to modify the small pull-out pantry as a waste bin with some extra space for storage. The size/shape of the modified waste bin is really dictated by the location of the sink drain and electrical outlet box for the microwave, which mostly occupies the back of the pantry space. After double/triple checking the shape/ dimension, and design of the waste bin, I started cutting pieces of ½ inch birch plywood. Pieces are then butt joined using a nail gun and lots of wood glue. It is then sanded smooth, stained, and coated 3x with wipe-on polyurethane matte finish with light sanding in-between coats. Pieces of 1/2 inch, 1/20 in. thick aluminum angle bar cut to lengths are then glued around the opening of the trash receptacle for accent.
  
Finished project pictured below.
 Noticed the right outer panel is only secured with wood screws for easy removal if it needed thorough cleaning inside the container.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

DIY Sprinter Window Insulation


Our Roadtrek is surrounded with single pane glass windows, although tinted, they don't do much to reflect/ block suns radiant heat. The AC struggles to cool the inside of the RV during summer, and there is a lot of heat loss through the glass windows during winter camping. Insulated window coverings should help.

I made the window covers using Reflectix insulation (available at your local Lowe's home improvement store) backed with an ironing board cover with special aluminized coating and padding (available at Joann Craft Store). I used newspapers to make window templates. The template is then laid into the Reflectix and traced the edges with a marker; I then cut about 1-cm. allowance outside the line to compensate for the Reflectix sagging overtime. The layers were fused together using spray adhesive, then a grey color seam bindings were sewn around the edges. The rear window covers just slips into the frame around the windows and they stay put real well. The covers make a huge difference in interior temps, both in the summer and winter.

For the front window covers, super strong neo-magnets were used to hold them in place. A more rigid reflective insulation was used for the windshield. I found a cheap ready-made windshield sunshade for trucks/RV's at Campingwold. It is thin and rigid and perfect for the sprinter, just needed some trimming to fit. But with the addition of the aluminized backing, the windshield cover becomes heavy enough that collapses on its own weight when installed. To prevent the windshield cover from buckling, I placed plastic ribbings in-between the reflective front and the backing for rigidity. The plastic ribbings were salvaged from a broken beach umbrella. The windshield cover is just held in place by the sun-visors.

If you decided that the DIY solution is not for you, Amazon has wide variety of window/ windshield sunshades from the fancy Remis privacy blinds to the pre-cut custom fit reflective sunshades- check them out first: Covercraft UVS100 and Coverking Custom Sunshade for Select Sprinters are available on Amazon.

Tap pictures to enlarge.