Regrets configuring your 21C?

[wr9r]

(1) We have 3 hatches and use them all. Very convenient for items used during set up - one electrical, one water, one misc.
(2) I cannot imagine not having the electrical jack.
(4) Bed/bath wall reinforcement might have been useful.


If we had to do it over again we would not get the oven.



Be sure to get full height cabinet at drawer stack w/ counter extension. That was the best decision we made for our 21C -- see photo for Elfa shelving w/clothes bar still accessible.


Getting the U-shaped dinette was the second best decision for us.



Add an extra cabinet door under bed on diagonal. see photo for easy access ideas. Lifting the mattress would be a pain.


Inverter w/all outlets was essential.



High lift axle was a good addition.


Minor stuff but useful -- foot flush toilet, sand pads.
Like you, we thought we ordered most everything.

[wr9r]

Messed up posting the photos, hope they are here now.

[Iowa Dave]

We bought both the 19 and the 21 as second owners. We added solar to both, an EMS to the 19, the 21 came with and have been extremely satisfied with how both were outfitted and optioned. On the 21 we built roll out storage for laundry under the bed. Otherwise the 21 is pretty much as it came from the factory. We have discussed a Lagun table mount and may yet do that but we basically have no regrets in how the 21 is outfitted including the previous owner provided Casper mattress. As has been stated everybody camps a little differently and essentials for some would go unused by others.

I’m more intent on catching up “nights in the camper” in the next few years that were lost in the Covid Pandemic than spending time modifying the 21. I’m reminded of the old Country/ Rock and Rolls crossover song “Let’s think about living, let’s think about life”. I like how he drives the delivery and the girl singer background. But that’s probably just me.
Bob Luman

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P3tmn75qL4A

Iowa Dave

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by wr9r

If we had to do it over again we would not get the oven.

Add an extra cabinet door under bed on diagonal. see photo for easy access ideas.

The cabinet door on the diagonal is great! Is that a factory option now? Our extra door is over by the bath door. I use an old broom stick with a small metal hook in the end to retrieve items that are packed further away from the cabinet doors. It's cheap and lightweight, but not nearly so elegant as the long sliding drawers.

We are among the people that use the oven quite a bit, especially during the chilly wet winters here in the Pacific Northwest. It makes for cozy evenings when we relax while cooking dinner.

People who post on the oven option seem to either really like them, or they hardly use them at all. I don't seem to hear a lot of middle ground on that option.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

The cabinet door on the diagonal is great! Is that a factory option now? Our extra door is over by the bath door. .

I don't know about that. We find the door by the bathroom is a great location to store shoes and it's accessible if you're reaching in by the door. The 4 crate storage drawer forms a back wall.

I found that the diagonal was a great location for an electric heater.

Ron

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

We bought both the 19 and the 21 as second owners. We added solar to both, an EMS to the 19, the 21 came with and have been extremely satisfied with how both were outfitted and optioned. On the 21 we built roll out storage for laundry under the bed. Otherwise the 21 is pretty much as it came from the factory. We have discussed a Lagun table mount and may yet do that but we basically have no regrets in how the 21 is outfitted including the previous owner provided Casper mattress. As has been stated everybody camps a little differently and essentials for some would go unused by others.

I’m more intent on catching up “nights in the camper” in the next few years that were lost in the Covid Pandemic than spending time modifying the 21. I’m reminded of the old Country/ Rock and Rolls crossover song “Let’s think about living, let’s think about life”. I like how he drives the delivery and the girl singer background. But that’s probably just me.
Bob Luman
Iowa Dave

Don't think I've heard that song in 60 years!

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

I don't know about that. We find the door by the bathroom is a great location to store shoes and it's accessible if you're reaching in by the door. The 4 crate storage drawer forms a back wall.

I found that the diagonal was a great location for an electric heater.

Ron

Better watch letting that bedding hang down on that heater!

[Jake930]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

I don't know about that. We find the door by the bathroom is a great location to store shoes and it's accessible if you're reaching in by the door. The 4 crate storage drawer forms a back wall.

I found that the diagonal was a great location for an electric heater.

Ron

Ditto on the electric heater and door by the bathroom.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

Better watch letting that bedding hang down on that heater!

Originally Posted by Jake930

Attachment 65833
Ditto on the electric heater and door by the bathroom.

I actually found a wire guard that slips under the mattress because that was a concern. Used the heater a couple of times and that concern is a non-issue.

Great minds etc.

Ron

[SteveSgt]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

I found that the diagonal was a great location for an electric heater.

We thought of that. We're getting an 120Vac outlet on that panel.

What are the dimensions of that panel?

[Linlie]

We picked up our 21NE F2 in September and so haven't had much time to use it. However, we were interested in keeping it light and so made some different choices.

Anyway, here's what we chose.
1) Yes to all of the hatches - moving all of the cushions around to get underneath the benches would be frustrating.
2) No to the electric jack - at ages 76 and 65 we have no problem manually turning the jack.
3) Again, because we wanted it as light as possible - no reinforced walls. I've read that you can still hang things as long as you search for the 'studs'. In any case, I'm not a big decorator so there won't be too many decorative things on the walls and definitely no television or permanent sound system. We did get one set of hooks.
4) Yes, to the number lock! After having my keyless Honda Ridgeline for a few years, I don't always have my keys handy. They're buried in the bottom of my purse or pack, so being able to access the trailer without having to find my keys is perfect.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by SteveSgt

We thought of that. We're getting an 120Vac outlet on that panel.

What are the dimensions of that panel?

The measurements of the panel, inside of the trim, are 15 3/4" wide and 16" high.

I ran a dedicated 110V line to the heater.

Ron

[AnJ]

Originally Posted by SteveSgt

We're getting close to completing configuration of our 21C. We're down to just a couple of things we're not sure we need. I'd appreciate any insights from you on these items: Especially regrets if you didn't order them.

1. Extra rear Exterior Access Hatches. So far, I'm only getting the front one under the bed.
2. Power Tongue Jack. I've rented several trailers without one. It didn't seem like a problem.
3. Number Pad Door Lock. I'm used to keys everywhere else, and the keypad lock has a battery that could die when we're counting on it to work.
4. Additional reinforced walls? We're only reinforcing the wall between the stove and the dinette.

I kinda feel like we're getting almost everything else they offer.

You have lots of good input here already- if you are looking to minimize the costs of these extra add ons...
Rear access hatches- the 21C has plenty of storage and if it is just for 1-2 people regularly using it, accessing the water pump and maybe batteries there is not a problem from the inside. If you have more people or children that will be using the rear dinette as a bed, then you may need to use that space for storage and having the rear access hatches is a good choice.
Power tongue jack- if you like spending 1-2 nights in a place (and like detaching the tow vehicle to head out to eat or explore) then this would be a good option.... but power can mean one more thing to go wrong. We have a manual jack and just consider it extra exercise.
Number pad door lock can always be added later, as others mentioned- people do this all the time. The simplicity of a key works for us.
Reinforced walls- if you have a smaller tow vehicle, consider that this does add weight... would you rather have extra wall strength or ? when packing.

[zoolie]

I am just doing a build sheet for the 21C and the configuration specialist said that if I wanted a cabinet door on the diagonal that I would have to do it myself.

I was pretty certain that I had saw quite a few people have this done from factory. I really like that sliding shelf!

[SteveSgt]

Originally Posted by AnJ

You have lots of good input here already...

Yeah, I'm just starting to sift through it.

From the feedback here I'm leaning toward these decisions:

1. Rear hatches: I think I'll get the street side, because there's still quite a bit of usable storage space in that area. Not so much on the curb side.
2. Power tongue jack: I haven't seen any strongly convincing arguments which might sell me on that.
3. Numb er pad door lock: It does look easy and cheap enough to add later.
4. Additional reinforced walls: This is the toughest decision. It's also one of the core things I can't make up for later. I need to fire my imagination a little more on why I might need them.

Thank you everyone for your comments so far!

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by SteveSgt

Yeah, I'm just starting to sift through it.

From the feedback here I'm leaning toward these decisions:

1. Rear hatches: I think I'll get the street side, because there's still quite a bit of usable storage space in that area. Not so much on the curb side.
2. Power tongue jack: I haven't seen any strongly convincing arguments which might sell me on that.
3. Numb er pad door lock: It does look easy and cheap enough to add later.
4. Additional reinforced walls: This is the toughest decision. It's also one of the core things I can't make up for later. I need to fire my imagination a little more on why I might need them.

Thank you everyone for your comments so far!

1-I like my things separated so as to better organize. The curbside small space could come in handy for something, bike tools, who knows.

2-there’s enough to do when unhooking and hooking up.

3-why not let them do it, it’s then off your todo list.

4-I modified my cabinet shelves, came in handy. What’s the upside in not having them, as you say you get one shot on this one.
I don’t hang anything in a house unless I hit stud, drywall anchors cause too many future problems.
My truck is big enough I’m not concerned about the extra weight.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by SteveSgt

Power tongue jack: I haven't seen any strongly convincing arguments which might sell me on that.

I highly recommend if you will be using a weight distribution hitch. You need to lift the trailer tongue and the back of the vehicle up to get the bars on. A power jack makes this much easier. Without a WDH I would say it's a toss-up.

[Mary F]

This summer, while we were traveling, we had to replace our water pump. Being able to access through the street side hatch was very helpful. (We did also open the compartment from inside, by removing the dinette cushions).

We do sometimes wish we had the rear curbside hatch, but not enough to pursue adding one.

We replaced our manual jack with an electric. Not a difficult retrofit. YMMV

We didn't get any extra walls reinforced, because we didn't want to add extra weight. If we need to hang anything, we can locate the already reinforced areas by looking at our build photos. So far we haven't wanted to hang anything on a wall. Again, YMMV

[SteveSgt]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

I highly recommend if you will be using a weight distribution hitch. You need to lift the trailer tongue and the back of the vehicle up to get the bars on. A power jack makes this much easier. Without a WDH I would say it's a toss-up.

Thanks!

I'm 80% certain we're getting the Andersen WDH. I've seen it in use by others, and it doesn't look so cumbersome.

[Bob in Bend]

If you plan to ever leave a campground early in the morning, please get a manual jack. Your neighbors will much appreciate it.