Modifications to Eggscape

[cpaharley2008]

I find if you cut a 2 litre soda bottle in half you can use it as a make shift funnel....

[Eggscape]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

However I assume this line would drain itself into the fresh tank when you open the white drain to drain the fresh tank.

My white tap was open for 2 months and I even drove around with it open while I was resetting my brakes and it did not drain. However I am sure simply turning on a tap would have sucked it dry.

[Eggscape]

Originally Posted by gwvwadc

We are picking our 21' up in three weeks. We really like the way you installed the microwave. When you have time, could you provide a written summary of how you did that? Thanks!

I will do that next then.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

My white tap was open for 2 months and I even drove around with it open while I was resetting my brakes and it did not drain. However I am sure simply turning on a tap would have sucked it dry.

In other words there was a vacuum that if you opened a faucet or press the fresh water relief valve, it would have released this captive water to drain back into the tank.

[Eggscape]

Originally Posted by Ian and Sue

Wow nice install but WHY!

As I was laying on my back looking at the situation I was thinking the same thing. Why not just add the antifreeze to the tank? If I had not bought the tee valve already, that is what I would be doing.
Since this is an option offered by ETI and having seen installs by others on the forum, I purchased the kit without giving it more thought.
I am looking forward in using the tee valve as an external water pickup so there is some value in the install for us.
I liked your timely write up for us in Canada in how to prepare your trailer for winter.

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

As I was laying on my back looking at the situation I was thinking the same thing. Why not just add the antifreeze to the tank? If I had not bought the tee valve already, that is what I would be doing.
Since this is an option offered by ETI and having seen installs by others on the forum, I purchased the kit without giving it more thought.
I am looking forward in using the tee valve as an external water pickup so there is some value in the install for us.
I liked your timely write up for us in Canada in how to prepare your trailer for winter.

Thanks! 24 degrees F here in Vermont this morning, too late if you did not already winterize. I am using the camper this weekend and will add water to the antifreeze to flush toilet and bring a small jug of tap water to drink. Then drain and redo the antifreeze before putting it to bed for the winter. Re:getting water...I have a 30 gal plastic tank in my truck hooked up to an rv pump, old battery and plumbed with a spigot. I just go get water and pump it into the trailer or in a pinch hook a hose to the city water inlet and leave the pump in the truck on. It works great in conjunction with my shower tent and outside shower...no full grey tanks!

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

In other words there was a vacuum that if you opened a faucet or press the fresh water relief valve, it would have released this captive water to drain back into the tank.

I agree that there is a vacuum, but doing what you describe above will not release it because of the integral check valve on the pump. You need to empty your fresh water tank and then run the pump with a faucet open to clear the water out of the suction line between the pump and the fresh tank and the pump itself. This is described in the directions for winterizing with compressed air. If you are winterizing with antifreeze and drawing in on the suction side of the pump with the T-valve then this is obviously not required. By opening the T-valve you should be breaking any vacuum and antifreeze is then going in anyway. Running the pump to clear water would still be required if you manually pump antifreeze in through the city water inlet.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

If you are winterizing with antifreeze and drawing in on the suction side of the pump with the T-valve then this is obviously not required. By opening the T-valve you should be breaking any vacuum and antifreeze is then going in anyway.

Switching the winterizing T-valve from normal (draw from tank) to winterizing (draw from hose) takes care of the line upstream of the valve, but not between the valve and the tank - that line would just be dead-ended (isolated), and may not drain. Eggscape's positioning of the T-valve reduces the dead-ended volume to nearly zero.

[cpaharley2008]

Since I always get the foam option, I'll need to remember to run the pump with the fresh tank empty before starting my "E-z Winterizing" winterization, that should eliminate the liquid staying in the line pre-pump location. Then proceed accordingly with the winterization via the on board pump.

[Eggscape]

THE SHORT STORY...We ordered our 19 without a microwave so that we could install a stainless steel look unit flush with the wall and use the surplus cabinet door on the end of the seat bench.

THE DETAILS...When we toured the 19 at ETI, the microwave did not really appeal to us. I did not like the visible side brackets they use, how the microwave sticks out at eye level from the wall and that it was black and did not match the stainless steel sink and stove. I also wanted the stock cabinet door to mount elsewhere.

(A bit about me...I get great pleasure out of doing modifications to our trailer and more so if I can design it so that anyone can accomplish the same out come. It is not always about saving money and l am not saying what ETI has to offer is overpriced. Have said that, I think that we have saved well over $1,000 on all of our modifications and I have enjoyed the challenge...so for me it is a win win.)

If you order the microwave option it is $110. The door option at the end of the seat bench is $85 for a total of $195. We found a Hamilton Beach stainless steel look microwave in Walmart for $60.

It was the right dimensions so that it fit flush with the wall when mounted. I used some perforated metal strip that can be purchased at any hardware store to secure it to the cabinet. The strips are attached on the underside of the microwave where the two front feet were. I had to remove the microwave cover to property secure the straps to where the feet were. Please make sure that the microwave is unplugged if you remove the cover and that you don’t touch any internal parts as they could still be holding a deadly charge. If you are uncomfortable with removing the top I am sure you can attach the metal strap to the underside with very long strips of double sided foam tape. Just make sure you wipe any oil film off the microwave and strip. I also added some pool noodle blocks on the top at the rear to keep it from bouncing should it decide to do so. The pool noodle inside the microwave keeps the dish secure in transit...a borrowed idea.

I used the surplus cabinet door at the end of the passenger side front bench. The door is much larger than the optional $85 unit offered by ETI and takes up the entire wall. Just what you need to get maximum two level storage for your shoes. You will have to move the fire extinguisher to the other side of the entrance door but don’t worry it fits perfectly.

[gbaglo]

If I were going to do a mod like this, I would start with a higher end microwave so I don't have to reconstruct it all when the appliance dies. A $60 microwave doesn't inspire confidence, nor does Hamilton Beach.

[Eggscape]

The Short Story...I used two white magnetic tipped doorstops together to make an automatic barrier to protect the awning window.

The Details...As soon as we received our trailer I was worried that someone was going to lean on our open door and crunch our front passenger awning window if it was open. There was no way that we were going to hook up and unhook one of thoses metal or plastic bars most commonly found on RVs. I had to find some other product to stop the door and what better place than this forum.

I noticed that a few people here were using one of them to secure the door open from the wind. However, for my needs, one door stop was not enough to protect the window unless it was installed very close to the hinge. The leverage and stress on the fibreglass in that mounting location could be extreme if someone was to lean on the door. But two door stops that butt head to head could be mounted further away from the hinge and there would be a lot less leverage.

I purchased mine from Home Depot in Canada with the item number pictured below. I did not use the backing/attachment plate provided that requires more holes than I wanted to drill. I used one threaded screw to mount each one. This may be a problem if you live in the US as I don’t know if you can get metric screws at your local hardware store. I think some have used double sided tape on the provided backing plate with some success. Just make sure that you rotate the stops so that their magnetic fields line up and not repell. I selected white, so as to not draw attention to them, but they do come in many different finishes.

[Eggscape]

The short story...I did not like the function of the factory table legs, so I designed a much steadier and easier alternative that anyone can build.

The details...Introducing the Cheapfield model 40...a tenth of the cost and foot print of a Springfield...which anyone can assemble while standing in the line to pay for the parts!

This modification is for those who are not pleased with the function of the factory table legs and would like a reasonably priced alternative they can make themselves. I thought for many months on how I could design something better, that anyone could build. It is not that I can’t afford a Springfield base and I think it is a great design...but I am not spending that kind of money on a table leg for the amount of camping we do. Thus, the Cheapfield was born. The model number 40 comes from $40 Cnd, which is the high limit for the cost of the leg. The steal parts cost me $26 Cnd, the extra will pay for tax, bolts and spray paint.

I made mine out of 2 pieces of pre made (cut and threaded) 1 inch diameter, black iron pipe, 12 inches long. (May also be called a nipple) They attach to the table and floor with two 1 inch thread flanges. The key to the whole project is the machined center joint called a black iron union fitting. This is used in the natural gas industry to attach something that may have to be removed from the gas line. It is machined on both surfaces to seal and keep the pressurized gas inside the pipe. It is made up of three parts...top, bottom and a ring style nut. Once the two pipes are positioned together, the ring nut is tighten and feels like one piece.

I bolted the bottom section through our raised floor and over a plate I made to cover the old mounting plate screw holes. You can see the footprint is very small. That is useful when many feet are sitting at a U shaped dinette. The optional removable stick in the pipe helps locate the top section when attaching. I used a textured paint the same dark grey as the big nut so that any wrench marks would be less noticeable. I figure an upside down paint can lid would make for an inexpensive bottom plate to cover any factory screw holes. Or you can order your table not installed on new Escapes.

Once the table is placed over the stick and sitting on top, you can hand spin on and tighten the big nut. I originally thought I was going to have to use this style of wrench each time to tighten the nut. After installing the table a few times I found that if I installed it a little off alignment, then held the nut with my hand, I could twist the table and the leverage of the twisting table tightens the nut. Very simple and quick. However, if you are installing two legs, as on the factory table, you will have to give each a simple twist with a wrench. Since my table uses one leg, I decided on 1 inch diameter pipe and it works well. If you were doing two legs to replace the factory ones, 3/4 diameter pipe could work fine. It is a little cheaper and $50 should cover both legs.

In the sleeping mode the table is offset so the upper and lower post miss each other.

The final product in my pictures has an optional lower cover tube and cap over the ring nut. The lower cover tube is pvc pipe used in household central vacuum systems. The cover over the nut is simply a spray can lid with a hole cut into it.

There has been much written on the wobbly leg situation and I hope that some of you find this modification to your liking. For about $30 in parts you can give it a try. If you don’t like it you can revert back to the wobble.

Parts list from Home Hardware:

Two - 1 inch dia by 12 inch long nipples (pipe) $5.69 each part number 3238954
Two - 1 inch threaded floor flanges $4.99 each part number 3238231

Part list from Home Depot:

One - 1 inch black iron union fitting

Plus bolts and textured paint.

[Greg A]

Awesome, concept - Great execution.

[Eggscape]

I forgot to mentioned that I used a thread locker (loctite) on 3 of the joints so that when using a wrench everything was secure. I wanted to be able to replace the nut cover cap (spray paint lid) should it break. This requires the top of the Union nut to be able to be removed from the pipe. So no thread locker in that area.
Here are some better pictures of the black pipe union nut...the key to the project.

[Oldtimer]

Ahhhhh creative engineering at it finest very nice Egg

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

Ahhhhh creative engineering at it finest very nice Egg

Yes. Nice job!

[stratos175]

Eggscape I really like this table mod, Bravo! One thing for sure I'm not wild about on the 21' we just bought is the table, to big and bulky for most use. I was going to just make a top big enough to fit on the back post only and then the front area just by a small foot ottoman.
Can I ask some questions please? First the 5" floor riser how did you do that exactly and you say shoe storage so does it have pull out drawer as well?. Any reason it was 5" and not another height?

Also might have some more questions on the table part but the floor will be a good start.

BIG THANKS for the info.

Safe and fun travels,

Steve

[Eggscape]

I raised the floor 5 inches so a line of 6 high top shoes can be placed under the front edge. About 12 inches towards the front there is a floor cross support that runs side to side that keeps the row of shoes from sliding forward.

Also 5 inches is the maximum to allow the bathroom door to open fully over the floor. It also allows my old style green Colman stove to just slide in under the floor from an outside hatch.

If you look closely in the first picture in post 1 you can see the frontal area where the shoes slide in.

You can also see the dual post table legs which was my first try at making a stable top. Yes you could pound the table so it was reasonably stable but it was then a bear to get out.

This floor project is a big write up and not for the average person so I am doing modifications which everyone can do first. Our table write up will be next.

[h2owmn]

Wow. Brilliant!