modifications

Enhancements and repairs to our coach.

Truck canopy, slide tray, lift kit

We had a tonneau cover for our truck:

Truck with tonneau cover

Enabling us to securely store our folding bikes and a bunch of other stuff in our truck bed:

Truck bed

But to be able to store the bikes vertically for easier access, and better access to other stuff, we wanted to get a canopy, aka truck cap. We saved for it, and ordered one several months ahead from a Portland company. When back in Portland, we emptied out the truck bed, took the tonneau cover to our storage unit (we’ll probably sell it eventually), and cleaned out the bed as best we could:

Truck

Truck

Then we headed to Northwest Auto & Truck Accessories to get it installed:

Northwest Auto Accessories

Northwest Auto Accessories

Northwest Auto Accessories

Northwest Auto Accessories

They had a decent waiting area, where we spent the day, working on our laptops:

Northwest Auto Accessories

We also got them to install a lift kit to raise up the front by a couple of inches, to make it level with the rear, and give a little more clearance for dirt roads:

Lift kit

Here’s the installed canopy, the ARE MX, paint-matched to our truck:

Canopy

More pics of it at our campsite:

Canopy

Canopy

Canopy

Canopy

Canopy

Canopy

Canopy

We also got a CargoGlide CG1000 slide tray from them, to make it easier to access stuff at the back:

Slide tray

Slide tray

Slide tray

Slide tray

The window at the back of the bed:

Window

It folds down for cleaning:

Window

The canopy is attached via four of these clamps:

Clamp

We also got some 50-gallon totes for our folding bikes:

Totes

Totes

Totes

The bikes in the totes:

Bikes in totes

Less-frequently accessed stuff in the back of the bed:

Stuff in back of bed

The telescoping ladder is strapped to the side, so it doesn’t interfere with the slide tray:

Ladder

Fully loaded for a travel day; we sometimes remove the mats and folding chairs while at a campsite, or they can be shoved to the sides to provide a rearview mirror visibility tunnel:

Fully loaded

Fully loaded

We added Grand Teton and Yellowstone stickers to the back (with our coach’s Magne Shade reflected in the window):

Grand Teton and Yellowstone stickers

Grand Teton and Yellowstone stickers

Grand Teton and Yellowstone stickers

Truck with canopy

Truck with canopy

Some very useful additions.

15 amp to 50 amp power adapter

While staying at our Washington home base, we “moochdocked”, plugging our coach in to the house power.

15 amp power from a house isn’t enough to run air conditioners or multiple heavy-draw gadgets like the microwave, but is enough to keep our fridge going, power computers, and keep the batteries charged for the 12 volt lights and such.

To do this, I previously used a 15-to-30 amp adapter and a 30-to-50 amp adapter (“dogbone”). But this time I bought an adapter that goes straight from the 15 amps to 50 amps plugs, along with a surge protector:

15-to-50 amp adapter

15-to-50 amp adapter

I also bought a heavy-duty 30-foot, 50-amp extension cord to reach from inside the house to our coach (in addition to the cord on the reel built in to the coach):

Extension cord

I plugged the power cord from our coach into my Power Watchdog smart surge protector, as usual, then connected that to the extension cord, which went through a window into the house:

Cable through window

And into the adapter, which was plugged in to an outlet in the house:

Plugged in to house

(We did try plugging in to an outside outlet, but it popped the breaker, as that was on the same circuit as a freezer in the garage.)

We had to be careful not to use too much power at a time. The Power Watchdog was useful in monitoring this, since it has an app that connects via Bluetooth that shows the current power usage. But we managed.

Staying at campgrounds, we won’t need this adapter and extension cable, but useful to have when moochdocking.

Flagpole for Starlink dish

The Starlink service is a great option when we don’t have cellular service (or when we only have a network with limited data). But not so great when there are trees or other obstacles that block the signal.

RVs with a ladder will often use a FlagPole Buddy kit, that enables mounting a flagpole on the ladder. But our coach doesn’t have a ladder, so I needed a different solution.

Inspired by a post by Rick in my Tiffin Allegro Bus 2016-2018 Owners community on Facebook, I purchased a 20 foot telescoping flagpole and accessories to mount it on our coach, so we can raise the dish above our coach, giving it a better chance of a clear signal.

Another nice benefit of this system is that I can position the pole and dish anywhere around the coach, to have the most clear view of the satellites.

I bought the items Rick suggested:

Flag pole, adapter, velcro, suction cups

Dish

To attach the adapter to the flagpole, I removed the two screws that hold the top of the flagpole on, then the adapter simply slips in. I used the same screws to attach the adapter, only screwing one of them in partway, to avoid intruding into the tube space:

Bushing adapter

The Starlink dish simply slides into the adapter and clicks in place on the pole:

Dish on the pole

On this occasion, I put the Starlink modem in the wet bay, running the cord through the hose space:

Modem in wet bay

The cable and the flagpole sitting on the ground:

Cable

Suction cups and velcro straps holding the flagpole:

Suction cups and velcro straps holding flag pole

The dish has a nice clear view of the sky:

Dish

The dish on the flagpole:

Pole and dish

Later, the flagpole with the Starlink dish and a Mariners flag, mounted at the front of the coach:

Flagpole with Starlink dish and Mariners flag

Flagpole with Starlink dish and Mariners flag

With a US flag:

Flagpole with Starlink dish and US flag

Flagpole with Starlink dish and US flag

At another campground, mounted lower without a flag (more stable that way):

Starlink on flagpole

Dryer vent padding

Our coach includes a washer and dryer, which is very convenient when we’re living in it full-time. But in strong winds at certain angles, the flap that covers the dryer vent would bang in the wind. It is sheltered with a hood, but that doesn’t always help:

Dryer vent

The flap under the hood, that covers the vent outlet:

Dryer vent

To avoid that annoying banging, which would disturb us at night, I added some strips of self-adhesive felt around the flap, to muffle the sound:

Dryer vent

Dryer vent

That solved that little annoyance quite satisfactorily.

Tire covers

Back when we purchased the Magne Shades for our windshield and other front windows, we also purchased mirror covers and tire covers.

We used the mirror covers for a while, but don’t bother anymore. And we’d never used the tire covers, since we typically travel every week or so. But while staying at a sunny location for a couple of weeks a while back, we decided to use them, and have been using them regularly since then.

The idea of the tire covers is to protect the tires from harmful UV rays, that can degrade the rubber. We use 303 Protectant on the tires, which also provides UV protection, but more is better.

These EZ Fold Tire Shades are quite nice; they fold up compactly into a handy bag:

Tire covers

And are unobtrusive when in place, only covering the tire itself, not the rims, so you wouldn’t notice them without looking closely:

Tire cover

They are held on by straps that go over the top of the tire, and on either side.

Replaced chassis batteries and more at Oregon Motorcoach Center

We had a service appointment at Oregon Motorcoach Center in Eugene, Oregon:

Oregon Motorcoach Center

Several other Tiffins being serviced, which (along with our previous experience here) helps gives us confidence that they know what they’re doing:

Several other Tiffins

Waiting room:

Waiting room

Waiting room

We had them replace our engine air filter, an important annual maintenance item. Plus got them to fix a noise with our driver-side bedroom slide-out.

Lastly, we got them to replace our chassis batteries, as they weren’t holding their charge well. Our original batteries:

Original chassis batteries

New batteries (and nicely cleaned out):

New chassis batteries

Once done, they moved our coach so we could hook up our truck:

Moving our coach

Preparing to toad up

A nice easy half-day service visit.

Open Roads Freedom Pass toll transponders

As we travel around the country, we occasionally encounter toll roads. But different parts of the country have different systems:

Tolls

Our diesel fuel discount program also has a solution to that problem, called Freedom Pass. It is a set of transponders that support toll systems around much of the country:

Freedom Pass coverage map

The transponders come as a package with self-adhesive that can be mounted to the windshield:

Toll transponders

Toll transponders

We have it mounted in the top-center of the windshield, behind the TV (shown here with our Magne-Shade on):

Toll transponders

It works well. The toll charges go on the same account as our fuel purchases. Very convenient.

Fresh tank flush

Every six months we sanitize the pipes and fresh water tank in our coach using diluted bleach.

As part of that process, we run the water though the taps, down the drains, then flush them out with fresh water.

But to get the last of the bleachy water out of the fresh tank, I open the fresh tank drain. But I don’t want to just dump that water on the ground, so I rigged up a temporary pipe and quick-connect to hook up to the sewer pipe via the hose sewer rinse cap:

Fresh tank drain

Fresh tank drain

Plumbing

A bubble level helps us check when leveling our coach

Our coach has built-in hydraulic and air leveling systems, with a display that shows the level:

Leveling control panel

Leveling control panel

We pretty much always use hydraulic leveling, as it is more stable. In theory we just use Auto mode and it works… but sometimes on a rather unlevel site we have to switch to Manual to convince it to actually be level:

Leveling control panel

A useful addition to help check how level it is is a bubble level that shows two dimensions at once:

Bubble level

Bubble level

Bubble level

We put it on the floor to help see how level the coach is, and guide adjustments to get it level.