r-pod Nation Homepage R-Pod Travel Trailers At Jeff Couchs RV Nation
Forum Home Forum Home > Forest River r-pod > Modifications
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - A couple of pictures
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

A couple of pictures

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>
Author
Message
Ratdog View Drop Down
Moderator Group
Moderator Group
Avatar

Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Location: Central Florida
Status: Offline
Points: 1175
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ratdog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: A couple of pictures
    Posted: 23 May 2010 at 9:15pm
Podders,
 
Here's a couple of things I've done on my circus wagon so far:
1. I bought the battery cutoff with the key but didn't like the idea of water getting into it. So I bought this battery cutoff. It's sometimes called a "green switch" or a "green knob". Lots of folks over on the Corvette forum use them and like them. To disconnect, you just turn the knob a couple of turns (you don't have to unscrew it all the way). You do have to remove the lid from the battery case to connect/disconnect but that's not a big deal because I replaced the buckle and strap with a bungee cord. This is a lot easier to install than the black switch with the red key, too, because there's no drilling. You don't have to purchase the short 3rd cable. The switch is available at lots of places. I paid $6.99 plus shipping at Amazon.
 
 
2. The following is an upside down 6' Rubbermaid shelf. I got the idea of putting the shelf upside down from someone else on the forum awhile back but I don't remember who it was. Whoever you are, thanks for the idea. It works great for keeping things from falling off the front. Since the shelf is 72" and the width of the trailer is 74", each end of the shelf stops 1" short of each wall, which allows just enough clearance for the end of the blinds. The shelf overhangs the benches by 12" but there's just the two of us so there's still plenty of room for us to sit. Had to make minor modifications to the wall mounting hardware since it's designed to work with thicker sheetrock walls. Also had to modify the angle braces because they aren't designed to work on an upside down shelf. The 1st picture makes it look like the shelf is twisted or not level. Must be caused by the camera because the shelf is straight. Heck, it looks like the white moulding separating the ceiling from the wall is bent too. I hope it's the camera causing this <LOL>.
 
The 177 has the "entertainment center" at the opposite end of the trailer over the bed and it's too small to see from the "dining room" so I added a 2nd TV. I put a coax splitter on the outside where the cable connects to the pod and have a cable that runs along the outside of the trailer to the left rear window where it attaches to one of 8" flat coax cables to bring it through the window and into the trailer. Then I attached a coax cable to the inside connection of flat coax and ran it behind the seating to the TV. I'm using a 3-way splitter at the outside connection so I can have another cable that runs under the pod for watching the TV out in the R-dome.
 
The canine posing for her picture is Paige, the rat terrier.
 
 
 
-- Steve

Steve, Anne, and Paige the Rat Terrier
2013 Lexus RX 450h Hybrid AWD
2011 RP-177 (aka: The Circus Wagon)
Back to Top
PodPatrol View Drop Down
Moderator Group
Moderator Group
Avatar

Joined: 24 Sep 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 22287
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PodPatrol Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 May 2010 at 11:37pm
Mods R Great !!! But the doggie is very Cute !!!!
Back to Top
rpoders2 View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 13 Sep 2009
Location: Delafield, WI
Status: Offline
Points: 330
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rpoders2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2010 at 11:01am
Really great mods...thanks for sharing...and I agree with PodPatrol, Paige is awesome!
Ellen, Dick (2 legs)
Mo Chara (the camping cat) Dudley (the world's best camping dog)
RPod 173
'07 Honda Pilot
Back to Top
dogipod View Drop Down
Groupie
Groupie
Avatar

Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Location: Piermont, NY
Status: Offline
Points: 46
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dogipod Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2010 at 11:45pm
Those are great mods, incredibly useful shelf space!  Did it feel pretty secure anchoring into the wall material?  We were wondering about that..  Paige seems to have made herself at home (..away from home).  She is a real cutie! 
Back to Top
Ratdog View Drop Down
Moderator Group
Moderator Group
Avatar

Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Location: Central Florida
Status: Offline
Points: 1175
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ratdog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2010 at 8:20am
Originally posted by dogipod dogipod wrote:

Those are great mods, incredibly useful shelf space!  Did it feel pretty secure anchoring into the wall material?  We were wondering about that..  Paige seems to have made herself at home (..away from home).  She is a real cutie! 
 
I've had a a couple of people send me private messages asking about how to mount the shelf. So I'm just going to cut and paste below what I've already written to someone else. The shelf is secure to the wall but I wouldn't want to put a couple of hundred pounds on it and then go driving with it on a bumpy road Tongue 
 
You can't use the wall mounts the way the come in the package with the shelf. You have to do a bit of modification. Here's what I did:
 
======================================
I used RubberMaid shelving that I got at Menard's (also available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc). I had to modify the fastners that attach the back of the shelf to the wall. The fasteners come with the wall anchors already attached as a 1-piece unit but the wall anchor part isn't designed to work on the thin 1/4" pod walls. So I cut the wall anchors off the backs of the fasterners with an X-acto knife and used standard plastic wall anchors (1" long) and screws (#10, I think) for the 1/4" holes I drilled in the wall. Be sure to get plastic anchors that have a full length "split" so they will work with the 1/4" wall thickness.
 
The angled support brackets won't work in the normal way they were designed to work when used on the upside down shelf. But, when mounted on the wall the way they were intended to work, the front edge of the shelf rests in a notch at the end of the bracket. I used small nylon zip ties to secure the shelf on the end of the supports. To fasten the angled support brackets to the wall, I used the same 1/4" plastic wall anchors and screws I used for mounting the back edge of the shelf.
 
Keep in mind that I used RubberMaid parts. ClosetMaid makes a similar system but I don't know how their parts are designed. It may be that their system works better for upside down mounting but I don't know for sure. Might be worth comparing, though.
 
Also note that the plastic anchors should fit tightly in the hole you drill so they don't "spin around" when you're driving the screws into them. I used a 1/4" hole and had to press very hard to get them all the way in. But they are holding tight. I think you could also use small toggle bolts instead of the plastic anchors and they might even be better. In retrospect, if I were going to do this over, I think I'd use the toggle bolts but I'm going to leave things as they are for now because everything seems very secure at this point. Should I have a problem in the future, it's not a big deal to drill the holes larger and use the toggles.
 
What worked out really nicely is the shelf is 72" long and the interior width of my circus wagon is 74". That 1" of space on each end of the shelf gives the blinds enough clearance to operate without the ends of the shelf interfering.
 
========================================
 
-- Steve

Steve, Anne, and Paige the Rat Terrier
2013 Lexus RX 450h Hybrid AWD
2011 RP-177 (aka: The Circus Wagon)
Back to Top
joe&carol View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 22 Apr 2009
Location: Golden, CO
Status: Offline
Points: 126
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote joe&carol Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2010 at 8:54am
[QUOTE=Ratdog]
Podders,
 
Here's a couple of things I've done on my circus wagon so far:
1. I bought the battery cutoff with the key but didn't like the idea of water getting into it. So I bought this battery cutoff. It's sometimes called a "green switch" or a "green knob". Lots of folks over on the Corvette forum use them and like them. To disconnect, you just turn the knob a couple of turns (you don't have to unscrew it all the way).
 
 
Ratdong, I tried one of the "green switchs" that you refer to - - - -  However, because it is underneath the air vent on the battery cover, it still collected water in the center depression.  In the cold weather it made a nice ice cube but otherwise proved unsatisfactory as the water in the depression still acted as a carrier for the electric current.  In the end, I just gave up on it and disconnect the battery the old fashion way.  Joe
Back to Top
Butterfly_Lee View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Location: Corpus Christi
Status: Offline
Points: 1131
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Butterfly_Lee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2010 at 9:37am
Great MOD I do believe it will be on my list for this next year. 
 
The GREATEST MOD is that your R-pod is 20" wider then other r-pods, do you have a WIDE LOAD sign on yours and extra lights for your Circus Wagon.  My Podterfly is only 74 inches wide. 
 
 
LeeClap
 
I know it's a typo..just couldn't help myself.LOL
Still a work in progress, lots of pictures.
http://podterfly.blogspot.com/
Back to Top
Ratdog View Drop Down
Moderator Group
Moderator Group
Avatar

Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Location: Central Florida
Status: Offline
Points: 1175
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ratdog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2010 at 9:54am
Originally posted by Butterfly_Lee Butterfly_Lee wrote:

Great MOD I do believe it will be on my list for this next year. 
 
The GREATEST MOD is that your R-pod is 20" wider then other r-pods, do you have a WIDE LOAD sign on yours and extra lights for your Circus Wagon.  My Podterfly is only 74 inches wide. 
 
 
LeeClap
 
I know it's a typo..just couldn't help myself.LOL
 
LOL - Yes, that was a very difficult mod, indeed. Took me quite a while to pull that one off. I guess I had 96" on my mind because that's the total width of the pod. Anyway, I fixed my post.
It should have been 74" wide for the pod and 76" wide for the shelf, of course.
 
Thanks for catching that!!!
 
-- Steve

Steve, Anne, and Paige the Rat Terrier
2013 Lexus RX 450h Hybrid AWD
2011 RP-177 (aka: The Circus Wagon)
Back to Top
Ratdog View Drop Down
Moderator Group
Moderator Group
Avatar

Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Location: Central Florida
Status: Offline
Points: 1175
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ratdog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2010 at 10:04am
Originally posted by joe&carol joe&carol wrote:

[QUOTE=Ratdog] 
 
Ratdong, I tried one of the "green switchs" that you refer to - - - -  However, because it is underneath the air vent on the battery cover, it still collected water in the center depression.  In the cold weather it made a nice ice cube but otherwise proved unsatisfactory as the water in the depression still acted as a carrier for the electric current.  In the end, I just gave up on it and disconnect the battery the old fashion way.  Joe
 
Joe,
 
I see I've been given a name change, ROFLOL!! I don't think I like it as much as RatDog but I'm certainly open to comments from others LOL
 
Thanks for the green switch info. That's a bummer about the switch. What do you think about:
 
1. Putting some kind of cover (maybe a Baggie) over the switch?
 
2. Closing up that small vent? Seems like the battery gets plenty of ventilation elsewhere.
 
3. Fabricating a cap for the top of the knob? I'm thinking maybe a plastic cap from a film canister.
 
As far as the ice cube formation. That will be a problem here in MN . . . not so much when we move to FL.
 
-- Steve

Steve, Anne, and Paige the Rat Terrier
2013 Lexus RX 450h Hybrid AWD
2011 RP-177 (aka: The Circus Wagon)
Back to Top
Kenn View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 15 Jan 2010
Location: Fort Drum, NY
Status: Offline
Points: 612
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kenn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2010 at 4:05pm
Originally posted by Ratdog Ratdog wrote:

I see I've been given a name change, ROFLOL!! I don't think I like it as much as RatDog but I'm certainly open to comments from others LOL
 
Censored LOL!
 
Thanks! That made me laugh so hard, that I now have a smile from a long day at work.
 
 

2010 RPOD 176 (Silly-POD), 2011 Forest River Stealth 2612, and 2014 Forest River XLR 380AMP
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 11.0
Copyright ©2001-2014 Web Wiz Ltd.