Engine compartment insulation

The insulation above the engine in our motorhome came loose. Apparently this is a fairly common issue, but not ideal:

Engine insulation

Engine insulation

I used some aluminum tape to temporarily repair it:

Engine insulation

But while in Red Bay we got one of the after-hours vendors, Mark Tedford (662-706-0692), to properly fix it for us.

There is an access panel to the engine compartment in our rear bathroom (yes, the engine is at the back, commonly called a “diesel pusher”):

Engine compartment

He removed that to enhance its insulation:

Engine compartment

The first time I’ve seen inside that compartment on our coach, looking down on our Cummins ISL 450 diesel engine:

Engine compartment

The default engine hatch insulation:

Engine insulation

His enhanced insulation:

Engine insulation

His improved insulation from the back:

Engine insulation

 

Engine insulation

Engine insulation

Much nicer. The bathroom floor used to get quite warm after a drive, but it is now much cooler. And now we shouldn’t need to worry about it falling apart.

Roof AC inspection

Another thing we did in Red Bay was get a couple of our roof AC units looked at, as the rear and mid ones were not performing well. The units were apparently fine, but they cleared out some debris from the ducting, which solved the issue; they’re working much better now.

We did this at Bunkhouse Conversion:

Bunkhouse Conversion

They had an excellent way to get onto the roof; no dealing with ladders, they used a cherry picker truck as an elevator:

Cherry picker

Cherry picker

Cherry picker

A quick and easy appointment, but well worthwhile.

Fixing TV lift

One big issue that we got Davidson RV to investigate was that our main TV lift wasn’t going down reliably; it would often stop partway, requiring pressing the down button several times. They investigated, and determined that the lift controller was bad:

TV lift controller

Here’s the TV laying on our bed while they investigated:

TV

They couldn’t get a replacement in time, so as a temporary workaround, they installed a switch to bypass the controller:

TV lift switch

I contacted the manufacturer, Venset in Denmark, and they referred me to their US distributor, Wood Technology.

I emailed Wood Technology, and Mike Fisher replied. We exchanged several very helpful emails, photos, and documents, discussing the issue and solutions. He provided me with a replacement controller:

New controller

The new controller, installed:

New controller

It was super easy to sync our existing remote control to the new controller, then I was able to successfully raise and lower the TV:

Remote

Here’s a peek of the lift mechanism:

Lift mechanism

Another potential issue that Mike discussed was that the curly cord could get tangled, preventing the lift from raising. So he recommended either cutting it out, or detaching the lower portion and rerouting the wire:

Wire

I did the latter, bundling the curly cord with the other wires coming from the TV:

Wire

That should avoid that issue. And we’re very glad that the lift mechanism is working properly again. Much appreciation to Mike at Wood Technology!

Tweaks at Davidson RV

We got Davidson RV to help us with a few other issues.

One was to replace our water pump, as the old one wasn’t performing well:

Water pump

Another issue with fortunate timing was the entry step didn’t fully retract; they lubricated it, and it’s been fine since (I have been lubricating it with silicone lube, but have since purchased some better lube):

Entry step

Finally, the USB ports on my side of the bed had stopped working, so they replaced them:

USB ports

I could have done all three of those things myself, but easier to get them to do so while we were there.

Cockpit carpet

Another little project while at Davidson RV was to add some custom-fit carpeting in the cockpit area:

Cockpit carpet

Cockpit carpet

Much better. That helps catch dirt coming into the coach, and is more comfortable, instead of walking on cold tile on cold mornings; the heated tile doesn’t extend into the cockpit area.

Replacing window valances

Our coach came with fabric valances above the windows, which we didn’t like… and Paladin liked scratching. So while in Red Bay, another project we got Davidson RV to do was to replace the fabric portions with wood.

Here’s an example of the old valance, in the bedroom:

Window valance

They removed the whole window surround:

Window valance removed

Then they replaced the fabric portion with wood, stained to a similar color:

Window valances

The improved version re-installed:

Window valance

Another example, the window above the TV lift:

Window valance

Much nicer.

Extra shelving

While in Red Bay we spent several days at Davidson RV, getting them to do several projects. One of those was to add extra shelves to many of our cupboards.

Some cupboards above our couch, before adding shelves:

Cupboards before adding shelves

After adding shelves:

Cupboards after adding shelves

Cupboards after adding shelves

We also got some organizers for ziploc baggies, lids, and measuring cups:

Cupboards after adding shelves

We got them to raise this new shelf up a bit, so our rice maker would fit:

Cupboards after adding shelves

Partially populated; it’s normally packed full of food:

Cupboards after adding shelves

Much tidier plate and bowl cupboard:

Cupboards after adding shelves

We also got them to add dividers to Jenn’s clothing drawers:

Drawer dividers

And an extra shelf in my bathroom cupboard:

Bathroom cupboard

Nice improvements that really help us organize our storage!

Replacing cover on light under sink

Under the kitchen sink is a cupboard with a big slide-out drawer, where we keep garbage and recycling bins, plus dish cleaning supplies and more.

At the top of this cupboard is an LED, and a switch that turns on the light when the cupboard is opened.

However, in our coach the cover of the light was missing. I’m not sure if it’s always been missing, or it was knocked off without our noticing early in our ownership. I only discovered the loss when something knocked the bulb out into the garbage. Fortunately, I noticed that and fished it out before taking out the garbage:

Light

Anyway, to avoid that happening again, I wanted to order a replacement cover for the light. I found the light in the online Tiffin parts store, part number 5032143, “LIGHT WARDROBE BROWN LED”. Of course, they don’t sell just the cover, but the whole unit was pretty cheap:

Light

Light

Light

I didn’t need to replace the light, so I just pried off the cover, and kept the remainder as a spare part:

Light

The old light with the new cover:

Light

Much better!