Jenn’s movable height-adjustable desk

Last week I wrote about my lap desk. This week, Jenn’s solution.

When we first bought our coach, our first signficant modification was to remove the existing couches. And not long after, we added a desk for Jenn, along with adjustable arms for a laptop and monitor.

She used that for several months, but ultimately decided she didn’t need the big second screen, and didn’t like the desk situation (in particular the slope of the slide-out carpet with the chair), so we replaced the desk with some storage cabinets.

Nowadays, she works at the dining table, using an adjustable standing desk riser, which lets her either stand or sit on a stool. And as with my setup, she also has a SideTrak Swivel 12.5” display that can be attached magnetically, giving her more screen space.

Here’s her setup in sitting position; with her laptop on a riser stand on top of the adjustable desk, in turn on the dining table, with a stool:

Jenn's desk

And with a quick toggle, the desk can be raised up to standing height, with a standing mat:

Jenn's desk

A closer look at siting height:

Jenn's desk

And standing height:

Jenn's desk

A peek underneath, showing the simple spring-based raising mechanism:

Jenn's desk

There is room behind the desk for us to eat lunch at the table, and at the end of the day, she can easily move the desk off the dining table to give more room for dinner.

This setup isn’t perfect, but it works well enough for her at present. Who knows, we might make further adjustments in the future.

David’s lap desk

Living full-time in a 40-foot motorhome while continuing to work poses some challenges. One is simply where to work.

For those who don’t know, I am self-employed as a macOS and iOS app developer. My company is Dejal; I am the developer of Time Out for Mac, a popular break reminder tool, and Simon for Mac, a pro tool to monitor websites and servers for changes or failures, plus a couple of iOS apps. I also do macOS and iOS consulting, helping other people create great apps — currently SheetPlanner for Mac (and soon iPad), a powerful spreadsheet/planning tool, and NewsBlur for iPhone and iPad, a popular RSS reader.

When we were considering what kind of RV to buy, we considered toy-hauler fifth-wheel trailers, so we could convert the garage area into an office. Or a fiver or motorhome with bunks, that could be removed and converted into a tiny office; I quite liked the look of the Fleetwood Discovery LXE 44B, with the bunks at the rear.

Ultimately a dedicated office wasn’t deemed an essential feature. When we decided on a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, one point in its favor was a pull-out keyboard tray at one of the dining seats.

But after we actually bought our coach, it turned out that the most convenient desk for me was a simple lap tray. (And we eventually removed that keyboard tray as part of making a liquor cupboard.)

I already had a lap desk that I had used for TV dinners in the homestead, and it works very well for a laptop, too. I can sit on our couch and work comfortably, or take it outside. I’m writing this sitting on a swing seat on a nice sunny day (in the shade of our awning):

David and lap desk

More often I use it while sitting on the couch, sometimes with Paladin’s assistance:

David and Paladin

To make it more portable, I have velcroed my MacBook Pro to the lap desk, using self-adhesive velcro dots. So it can be removed, but typically remains attached. It’s secure enough that I routinely carry the tray around by its handle, with the laptop hanging in space.

I also velcroed a portable solid state drive to the tray; it is my backup drive. And the tray has a slot where I can temporarily put my iPhone or another drive.

SSD

I find the built in keyboard, trackpad, and display of my laptop to be perfectly adequate for my needs. But when I want a little more screen space, I can attach a SideTrak Swivel 12.5” display, giving me plenty more room for reference material or an app I’m debugging.

SideTrak screen

The display is magnetically attached to a plate on the lid of the laptop:

SideTrak screen

So when not needed, it can be simply unplugged and pulled off:

SideTrak screen

This setup works really well for me, giving me the flexibility to work inside or out as the mood (and weather!) dictates.

Water filter bag

We have a three-stage external water filter to ensure clean water for our coach, but it was getting a little scuffed up. So I decided to get a custom-fit bag to protect it:

Filter and bag

The bag includes a convenient handle, making it easier to move, and ports for the connections:

Filter in bag

Much nicer:

Filter in bag

Improved tow bar pins

One of the essential components of towing our truck behind our motorhome is the air-powered brake controller, which presses on the brake pedal in the truck when the brake is applied in the coach, using its air braking system. The brake controller is secured to the truck via a D-pin, seen on the right of this picture:

Brake controller

When hooking up for a recent travel day, I noticed that the pin was missing; it must have not been secured and dropped out somewhere. I made do with a zip tie for that trip, and ordered a replacement from the manufacturer. While there, I saw that they had improved pins for the tow bar, too, so I also ordered that:

Tow bar pins and brake controller pins

So now I have a spare brake controller pin, in case I lose it again. And the new tow bar pins are much easier to use. Here’s one of the pins that came with the tow bar; it just has a metal ring that has the locking linchpin attached; it can be difficult to pull out the tow bar pin when disconnecting, if the truck is at an angle:

Old tow bar pin

In use:

Truck connection

Compare to the new tow bar pin; it has the same tethered linchpin, but the big red handle makes it much easier to pull out:

New tow bar pin

In use:

New tow bar pin

A huge improvement, highly recommended.

Micro-Air EasyTouchRV smart thermostats

Our motorhome was produced in 2017, during a time when Tiffin was slowly updating the technology. So it has a mixture of analog switches for some things (like cockpit shades), smart network-based controls using the Spyder multiplex wiring system, and non-integrated controls like the power management and heating/cooling.

Our coach has three rooftop AC units, plus AquaHot hydronic heating. More modern coaches integrate these into the Spyder touch panels, but in this vintage they are independently controlled via three thermostats like this one in the bedroom:

Old thermostat

(Note that that Spyder touch panel at the bottom isn’t original; I upgraded it from a much inferior panel that came with the coach.)

While these thermostats were fine, they weren’t as convenient as they could be. (Shock, having to get off our butts to adjust them!)

I’ve been wanting to upgrade them, like I did with the Spyder panel, and I recently got around to that. I purchased one Micro-Air EasyTouchRV thermostat panel, the model compatible with our ACs (352C):

EasyTouchRV

Here’s the old thermostat:

Old thermostat

I pulled off the cover to unmount it via the two screws:

Removed cover

Pulling it away from the wall, I reached the three connectors for the wires:

Wires

The new panel comes with mount points that are screwed into the wall:

Mount points

Hooking up the new unit was simply a matter of unplugging the old one and plugging in the new one (being careful to not let the wires drop inside the wall; there wasn’t a lot of slack).

Here’s the new unit mounted:

New unit

Much nicer:

New unit

Not only does it have a nicer display, it can be controlled remotely via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth via an app:

App

When using both cool and heat, one can set it to Away mode to have upper and lower limits, to keep the temperature within that range:

App

The upper and lower limits on the display:

New unit

I was satisfied with that experience, so I ordered two more units for the other thermostats:

More new units

The front and middle AC units are controlled by thermostats in a cupboard above the passenger chair (they have remote room sensors towards the front and middle on the ceiling, so being enclosed in a cupboard doesn’t affect their performance):

Front and mid thermostats

A closer look at the old front and middle thermostats:

Front and mid thermostats

With the covers removed:

Front and mid thermostats

Like with the bedroom one, easy enough to swap the plugs:

Wires

The new unit:

New unit

Here’s a look at the mount points for the new unit; they come with a spacer that is broken off once screwed into place:

Mount points

The mount points before breaking the connector:

Mount points

The wood is thick enough to hold the screw, but I still used the cap on the other side, to avoid wires rubbing on the protruding screw:

Cap

The new units installed:

New units

So much nicer! Highly recommended.

New mattress

Our Tiffin motorhome came with a fairly nice king-sized mattress on the bed, but it was a little uncomfortable.

As a Christmas present to ourselves, we purchased a new mattress. We purchased it online from MattressInsider.com; we got the “Luxury Gel Foam RV Mattress with Organic Cotton”.

Our old mattress was 72” wide by 75” long — what’s commonly called an “RV Short King”, being a bit narrower and shorter than a residential king (which is 76 x 80”). But the bed frame could support a 80” length; we used to use yoga blocks at the foot to keep it from sliding down. And I’m 6’1” tall, so a longer bed is better for me. So we ordered a 72 x 80” mattress aka a “RV King” size, 11.5” high.

Here’s a handy list of US mattress sizes (width x length), for reference:

California King: 72″ x 84″
RV California King: 72” x 84”
King: 76″ x 80″
RV King: 72” x 80”
RV Short King: 72” x 75”
Queen: 60″ x 80″
RV Short Queen: 60” x 75″
Full: 54″ x 75″
RV Three-Quarter: 48” x 75″
Twin XL: 38″ x 80″
Twin: 38″ x 75″

(There are other variations, too.)

Here’s our old mattress, with a topper in an attempt to make it a bit more comfortable:

Old mattress with topper

We had the new mattress shipped to Corpus Christi KOA. Unfortunately it arrived a week before we did, but they were very accommodating in storing it for us. Which was much appreciated, especially since their office was upstairs. When we checked in, a KOA maintenance guy helped cart it down to our coach:

KOA guy helping

Using the ADA wheelchair lift to get it downstairs:

ADA lift

Our old mattress; it was subsequently picked up by a local junk removal company, that said they’d donate it to a local charity:

Old mattress

The bed base has a split, as it can tilt the head upwards. The whole bed slides out from the wall at a press of a button, too, which makes it much easier to make the bed:

Bed base

If you peek in the gap, you can see a bunch of wires below the bed:

Gap

Wires

We also got a Hypervent Aire-Flow moisture barrier from MattressInsider, to put below the mattress; it is supposed to provide better air flow to help protect the mattress; probably not needed in our situation, but can’t hurt:

Moisture vent material

The new mattress box:

Mattress box

Mattress

Preparing to unwrap the mattress:

Mattress

Once released from the multi-layer plastic wrap, it very quickly expanded to its full size:

Mattress

Finally, we also got a zippered mattress protector to enclose the mattress:

Mattress protector

We are enjoying the increased comfort of this new mattress.

Upgraded TST TPMS display

One of the first accessories I purchased for our coach was a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS).

Recently an RV technology site called TechnoRV announced an upgraded display unit, that is compatible with the older system. The new one has a larger display, and uses a touchscreen instead of buttons next to the display.

Here’s the old unit:

Old unit

And the new unit:

New unit

I also got a weighted base, that attaches magnetically to the unit:

Base and unit

The unit on the base:

Unit on base

The new unit’s menu:

New unit

The old and new units next to each over; you can see how much larger and more clear the new unit is:

Old and new units

Wash Wax All waterless cleaner

Like any vehicle, a motorhome can get dirty over time from road grime, dust, rain, etc. In the past year or so of owning our coach, we have paid to get it professionally cleaned by a team of people three times — at the Xscapers Bash in January 2022, at NIRVC in March, and at the Tiffin Rally in July. In between those times (and often within days of paying hundreds for a wash & wax), it has been somewhat dirty, which didn’t make us entirely happy.

It’s tricky to get a large RV cleaned — one can pay a lot of money to get a team to come to it and clean it onsite, or one can take it to a truck wash (and worry that they might ruin the paint and/or protective coat), or wash by hand in a campground. But most campgrounds don’t allow washing of RVs, due to the massive amount of water needed.

Also, while carwashes for our truck are easier to find, they can sometimes be tricky, too, when in out-of-the-way places. With our fondness of exploring dirt roads, it can be a mud-ball for a while, too.

I’ve heard for a while of another option, that doesn’t use water, so can be done in any campsite. That system is called Wash Wax All from Aero Cosmetics, and I finally purchased their kit.

It really does work very well; it’s amazing how much better it looks with relatively little effort — a few hours to clean the coach and truck. So from now on, we’ll keep our coach and truck much more clean.

The kit comes in a couple of boxes, including a long box for the mop handle:

Wash Wax Mop Kit

The Wash Wax All kit comes with a bag of goodies, including the wash liquid, spray bottle, heavy-duty cleaner, mop pole and double-sided head, scrub brush, and multiple microfiber mop pads and microfiber towels:

Wash Wax All kit

The mop is a clever design, with a heavy-duty extendable pole and a double-sided head that angles flexibly. The system works by spraying the liquid onto one side of the mop, wiping it onto a small section of the coach (a few feet at a time), then flipping the mop over and wiping it off before it dries — no water needed:

Mop

For lower areas like below the slides, and fiddly areas, I spray directly on, and use two microfiber towels to wipe on and off:

Spray

The wet towel gets pretty dirty, but they can be easily tossed in the washing machine and dryer (without fabric softener) to restore them to like new:

Microfiber towels