Modifications to Eggscape

[gbaglo]

I thought the owners of Little House Customs recently retired. Somebody take it over?

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I thought the owners of Little House Customs recently retired. Somebody take it over?

Little House Customs still has their online store. They've only retired from service/modification work. That's now being handled by:
Little Home On The Road – We know Casitas.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Little House Customs still has their online store. They've only retired from service/modification work. That's now being handled by:
Little Home On The Road – We know Casitas.

Little Home On The Road appears to be the Orbital Machine Works crew expanding their services from manufacturing to also include installation.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Ok Dave I guess I misunderstood , sorry . I believe Oliver besides being a small company is family owned . No offense taken then .Pat

No worries Pat. I don’t always convey things clearly either. I’m an engineer who probably needed more than just one writing class in college.

[Eggscape]

The short story... The tan buttons have their place to secure the cabinets to the walls but there are some others that are easy to remove.

The details...In my opinion the 2 tan buttons that hold each valance on serve no purpose other than to attract undue attention to them as being the wrong colour and plastic. My trailer has 14 of them. I know many of you have changed some out for different colours but I would rather just not see them at all.

This is something you can do on a rainy day camping as long as you have your trusty Robertson screw driver and a black marker. Simply pop the tan cap off, remove the screw, remove the cup and flat washers, make the screw head black and reinstall the screw without the other stuff.

You can see in the picture with the stock fabric the screw heads almost disappear if you are looking directly up at them. If you are just walking by or sitting at the dinette...they’re gone.

As for the tan buttons on the backsplash, I have mentioned before that they also can be removed and the holes filled with clear sealer. Knowing that I was going to replace the backsplash I removed the screws a few days after getting the trailer in April. It is still solid to the wall and unless you are looking super close you don’t even notice the holes. I expect filling them with a clear sealer will make them almost disappear. What is the worst that can happen?...you have to put the screws back in.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

No worries Pat. I don’t always convey things clearly either. I’m an engineer who probably needed more than just one writing class in college.

[Eggscape]

The short story...I wanted a place to secure my MP3 player without carving holes in the cabinets...final photos next post.

The details...I wanted to be able to turn on and adjust the radio/music from the bed. It is also a great place to sit your glasses and cellphone for the night if you are the designated rear sleeper. This stereo unit also has a remote control so it can be controlled from the front of the trailer as well...more on that in a later post.

I made a fitted shelf for each rear corner that extended the look of the valances. The shelf is under the valance end blocks and by using longer screws they continue up through the blocks and into the cabinet support structure. The shelf is covered in matching fabric with a matching curved spacer in the rear to finish off the continuous wrap around look.

First you will want to check that all the valances have been installed correctly by running a straight edge up the side of the window frame. Then look at the vertical vinyl corner boards to see they are indeed vertical. These boards can be shifted side to side pivoting on their single center screw. Once everything is aligned properly you can start making a cardboard template. The longest straight edge will be the front of the shelf. This makes for a good reference point for everything to be measured from. Once the template is done you should in theory be able to turn it over and it will fit the other side...but don’t count on it. The template shown in the picture fit my trailer so make yours a bit bigger and trim from there.

Once the outline of the template is transferred to the plywood, with the thickness of your choice, it can be cut out and further fitted to the trailer. I did not pad the shelf because I wanted a flat surface for the contact point to the valance and not have the screws on the underside pull through the fabric. I used some excellent 3M spray glue to attach the fabric to the plywood. I attached the fabric to the bottom then wrapped it over the front edge and stuck it to the top all in one piece. Then I wrapped the bottom fabric up the side and rear edges.

When I did a test fit I noticed that it did not have the look I wanted as I could see through the shelf to the whitish vinyl. This did not allow for the wrap around look I wanted. I was able to find 2 unused plastic slats from a blind that I could bend to make a smooth rear wall. Using spray glue l covered the slat in thin foam to take up any imperfections along the bottom of the cabinet and covered that in material. Any plastic from a bucket or even hardboard could have been used. This new curved back wall also serves as a spacer so that a rear screw can be added and tighten up providing more support.

Final pictures in the next post...

[Eggscape]

These pictures have been taken with the spots light on the shelfs which is not the normal lighting.

[TallyHo]

Love those shelves! A project for our 19' for sure! Thank you

[MyronL]

Simple, clean, amazingly neat idea.

[Eggscape]

Thanks...

With the trailer covered for winter it is hard to get good natural lighting. It looks better in real life when you see the full wrap around effect.

These shelves could also be made for the front as long as there are no spot/captain lights in the way.

Because of the radio design, I need a flush front to the shelf. You may want to glue and nail a 1 inch thin strip of wood to the front plywood edge that would form a vertical lip protruding on top. This would keep round stuff from rolling out when camping and I think would add to the look. Just wrap the plywood and lip all in one piece of fabric. (Covers a lot of sins for the novice woodworker)

There is not much that would stay in these shelves while in transport unless it was screwed down like my radio. It is just a nice place to stick stuff to clear the table for dinner or bed to sleep.

I hope anybody that does one of the modifications found in this thread posts their final install and interpretation.

Good luck

[Eggscape]

The short story...Like many others, I also built a U Shaped dinette, but it doesn’t touch the wall or take up any more foot space than stock.

The details...Both my wife and I really like the look of a U Shaped dinette and want to lounge against the front wall.

The factory dinette space in the front of the 19 has just enough room for 4 people, that being 2 people sitting on each side. Adding a permanent U shaped dinette does not increase the space allowing you to sit more people. In fact it would be tight to fit for 3 people...4 people would make it a foot fest in the available floor space. You have to want to do it because you like the look and there will only be a couple of adults and maybe two kids.

These are the 5 main design features of this modification:

The whole project is completely reversible back to the factory look if the next buyer does not approve.
The back does not touch the front wall allowing for ventilation.
The back is sloped for lounging comfort.
The back cushion does not fall down.
The removable seat is both the cushion and the bed filler board all in one.

The back is made of 3/8 plywood with 1 inch high density foam spray glued to it, then covered with batting and upholstered. It is supported by two vertical 5/8 plywood supports that taper 3 inches and are bolted to the bed rails with two bolts on each side. There are also tapered horizontal supports at the bottom and top all of which have holes to lighten the units weight. The entire back is self supporting via the bolts and does not apply any pressure on the wall. It is also completely removable should that be required.

The removable seat is 12 inches wide and when flipped over provides support for the bed. It can be stowed in the passenger side bench or slide on the rails to optimize the seating area. Pulling it towards the rear of the trailer gives access to our magazine rack and makes for across trailer lounging. Sliding it fully towards the front puts it well under the seat back providing lots of foot room. Our granddaughter really likes that she has her own adjustable seat.

The 4 inch seat foam is spray glued to a thin but strong panel with 6 star nuts to secure it to the main painted bed support board during final construction. When building, it’s advisable to place the panel on top of the filler board then drill the six holes so they all align. The new dinette back also may require you to change how the bench seat lids open.

There are a few more pictures in my next post.

[Eggscape]

A few more pictures.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

A few more pictures.

Nice work you are giving me idea's . Pat

[dfandrews]

This has turned into one of the best ever threads. Thanks, Ed.

[TZBrown]

I really enjoy all of the modification threads, always getting ideas.
Thanks for showing the "improvements"

[Eggscape]

I am glad to see that not just 19 owners are enjoying this thread because my next modification is for most models. I think to many people it will be like opening a gift that Santa has left under the tree. I sure hope it has not been done before, if so, it will be my take on how to make the fix.

I know it is not the right time of year but one of the pictures in the Poor Mans U Shaped dinette series has an Easter Egg of this next modification. The hint for the correct Easter Egg that I am referring to is that it lies on the inside of the trailer and above what would be the belly band/mid level. It is not the radio on top of the dinette back and does not have anything to do with the lights. It’s small but can have a big impact...literally!

For those of you who do not know what an Easter Egg is, here is a definition:
In computer software and media, an Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message or image, or secret feature of a work. The name is used to evoke the idea of a traditional Easter egg hunt.

Happy Hunting

[TZBrown]

I think I see it, but don't know what it is

[Eggscape]

Originally Posted by TZBrown

I think I see it, but don't know what it is

If you can see...it, then that is probably not it.

Another clue would be...it is what you can’t see.

[Eggscape]

Well I won’t “string” you along much longer and if you can’t strike a “cord” with those clues, my next post will be the answer.