We had some extra shelves added in several cupboards in our motorhome, but they just had a bare wood surface. To make them a little nicer, and not quite so slippery, I added some self-adhesive velvet flocking liner to them:
Simple and easy.
modifications
Enhancements and repairs to our coach.
Replacing pump connections with Wago lever nuts
Our water pump was randomly cutting out. I determined that the power connections were loose, so decided to replace the wire nuts with Wago ones, which are easier to use, and hopefully more reliable.
The pump, with boring wire nuts:
Replaced with Wago wire nuts:
Dumping waste tanks into house septic system
While staying at our Washington home in previous years, we were careful to avoid filling our gray and black waste tanks, since we didn’t have a way to empty them until after we left; we used a bathroom in the house instead of in our coach.
This time, we were staying longer, but we also had new tools available: we had purchased a waste tote tank, and a macerator pump. I used both while staying this time.
The house has a septic system in the backyard, with inspection/cleanout ports:
I initially drained the waste tanks into my tote:
I then pulled the tote around the back using the handle (not too difficult with the steerable front wheels), and drained it into the septic system:
Using the other port to drain the last liquid out of the tote:
That was pretty easy. But then I tried a different approach. I bought two 100 foot hoses (that will only be used for this purpose, left in our shed), and used my macerator to mash up and pump the waste through the hoses directly into the septic system:
I plugged the power cord into the electrical outlet in the wet bay, via a plug-in switch:
A power supply, to convert the 110V to a 12V car-style connector (there is a switch after the power supply, but the power supply has a fan that runs as long it has power, hence my plug-in switch):
(Hmm, there is 12V power for a light in the wet bay, so I could hook up a connector to that… nah, probably not worth it for this occasional use.)
A closer look at the macerator, connected to my sewer hose closure and the hose:
200 feet of hose going around the house:
The end of the hose into the septic system:
Taking a peek; it isn’t a high flow, so takes longer than usual, but is much easier than using the tote:
I removed the hose and re-sealed the inspection plate when done each time, to avoid smells getting out or animals getting into the septic system. If we were to ever do this longer-term, we could no doubt devise some sort of gasket or port to let the hose remain hooked up in a sealed way, though it really wasn’t a huge hassle.
With the 50 amp electrical hookup, a water hookup, and these waste solutions, we are able to stay home as long as we like.
Shed
As mentioned, we bought a shed for our Washington home, to store stuff we want to keep for the future, but not carry around the country with us (storage space even in a 40 foot motorhome is limited!).
We got the shed from Home Depot, a 10 x 8 foot wooden shed with shingles on the roof. The purchase included delivery and installation, since we would not be home at the time; we wanted to have it ready for when we arrived.
Here’s the shed as installed, unpainted:
With the doors open:
Inside:
I caulked the joints:
Then Jenn and I painted it, starting with the main color:
And the trim:
Nice.
You should vacuum out under the fridge occasionally
Under the fridge in our coach is a vent and some radiator fins. We hadn’t previously cleaned it out, and noticed our fridge making weird noises, so I removed the cover and investigated (a couple of screws and some clips). The fins were chock full of dust and cat fur. Oops! I’ve added a recurring reminder to vacuum that out in the future.
Using a filter canister to help sanitize the coach water systems
Since we drink the water in our fresh water tank, it is important to keep it clean. In addition to five filters, that we replace every three months, every six months we use bleach to sanitize the tank and pipes in our coach. This involves diluting 12 ounces of bleach in the water tank (about half full), running it through the pipes until we can smell the bleach, then filling the water tank and leaving it overnight, and finally flushing it out with a couple of dump/fill cycles.
Previously, we tried adding the bleach via a small inline container hooked to the hose, but it was too small for the amount of bleach required. We also tried mixing the bleach in a bucket and pouring it in the gravity fill for our tank, but that wasn’t ideal either.
But I came up with another idea: I purchased a filter system with a clear canister, and put the bleach in that, without the filter itself, and connected it to my hoses (with quick connectors, naturally). It’s bigger than needed, but better too big than too small. And is much easier to add the bleach without risking spilling any:
That was much easier!
Shower shelf bar
A handy tweak: to be able to leave bottles on the upper shelf in our shower, even when traveling, we added a self-adhesive shower shelf bar (Amazon link):
A closer look:
It works really well. One less thing to have to worry about on travel days!
RV headlight polishing
The headlights on our coach were getting rather foggy, which reduces their effectiveness and just looks ugly:
So while in Red Bay we got them polished:
Much nicer!
Third anniversary of buying our motorhome
Today marks the three year anniversary of purchasing our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP motorhome!
Check out the one year anniversary post for a tour of what the coach was like when we bought it, and the two year anniversary post for some more exterior photos.
To mark this anniversary, here’s an updated tour of the interior; much has changed since we bought it. Check out the links to related blog posts.
Entry steps, with a “Home Sweet Home” sign, internet devices, dash cover, and carpet:
The driver area, with a table over the steering wheel, potted plants, a barrier cushion underneath, and a new GPS:
Cat tower, litter box and waste receptacle, cat carrier, and boxes for Paladin to sleep in (even with many other options, sometimes one can’t beat an Amazon carton with crinkly paper!):
Custom desk with a pull-out surface and monitor on a televator:
Theater seating and custom side tables:
Dining table and chairs, and Paladin with his food and water fountain, and another nest:
Kitchen / galley area, with convection microwave, double sinks, automatic paper towel dispenser, coffee stuff, drawer dishwasher, pull-out countertop, etc:
Another view, showing the induction cooktop:
Fridge/freezer and wooden map with stickers and pins:
Half bath, with hanging broom and mop:
Bed, Spyder panel, and photographic artwork:
TV, air cleaner, and yes, another cat bed:
Bathroom sink; I replaced the faucets in both bathrooms, and all three soap dispensers, too:
Shower, with liquid dispensers etc, replaced rain head, towel rail outside the shower, and toilet:
Washer and dryer:
Looking from the back to the front (with the upgraded Spyder control panel and thermostat visible):
Looking from the front to the back:
An overview of the living area:
I hope you enjoyed this tour of our home. It’s compact, but spacious for an RV that travels around the country. Follow along on our travels!
RV tank cleaning
An RV maintenance item that is good to do every year or so: getting the black and gray waste tanks professionally cleaned out. They pump high pressure water into the tanks, manipulating the sprayer to blast off all of the surfaces within the tanks. That reduces smells, and makes the level sensors work better. We did this in while in Red Bay.
