Tools: Straight Edge Level, Measuring Tape, Pencil

1) Get some boat ID letters. "Stiffie" brand seems to have an endless variety of fonts and colors.

2) Pick the height you want. Too high, and the roof might slope making the text hard to read. Too low and it might get blocked if you have the bike rack on etc. Make a small mark with pencil.

3) Find the center of the pod with a measuring tape. Mark with pencil.

4) If pod is already level, you can use a level to make a faint line with the pencil. If not you can measure up from the bottom of the pod to make a parallel line.

5) Make sure area is clean.

6) Cut out the letters you need first, and lay them on a table. So you can get a rough idea of spacing, and which letter you want to be in the center - so you can place that one first and work out from there to get an even look.

7) Apply the labels carefully as to not overstretch them, and not to create air bubbles.

8) Carefully "burnish" the labels to set them, applying moderate force while smoothing them with your fingers.

9) Wife says thumbs up!

Privacy Curtain Mod

Tools: Measuring Tape, Pencil, Scissors.

Materials: Curtain Panel, Tension Rod, Command Hook, Command Strips, Velcro “One Wrap”.

Skill: Novice

Time: 1-2 hours

1) Pick a height for the rod. I recommend at least 3” higher than the tallest person, YMMV. Mark the height on both sides of the hallway, making sure to mark the corners of the wall - as this is the strongest point, see Fig1.

2) Cut command strips to approx size of the rod end caps. Place on wall at height marks, making sure to only place them on the corner…see Fig1 again!

3) Expand tension rod to width of hallway at height marked in step 1, and make a pencil mark at the rod joint. Now make another mark by extendeding the rod ½” longer, align and hold the joint in place and tighten screw. See Fig2.

4) Peel off paper off the mounted command strips.

5) Slide Curtain onto rod.

6) Compress rod and carefully install it so the ends contact the command strips. Note: this will take good hand and upper body strength, to get it placed correct the first time.

7) Pick a spot for the command hook.  I put it fairly high so I don’t catch it with my shoulder, but I think this would definitely come down to personal choice. See Fig3.

8) Cut Velcro “one wrap” strips to length, to secure curtain as desired. An important thing to keep in mind, when deciding on the location of the wraps, is not to block the thermostat with the curtain - otherwise it will not sense the actual cabin temp. Three strips seemed to be a good compromise, and allows it to be pulled away from the thermostat. see Fig4.

9) Yay!… see Fig 5.

L

Tools: Drill & Bits, Screwdriver, Pencil.

2) Carefully lift the speaker out of the hole.

3) Write down which wire goes to the "+" terminal, it should be the striped wire. Remove wires.

4) Use the template included with the speaker to mark the holes. Be careful to make sure to center the template around the old cutout, so none of the new marks are too close to the edge.

5) Drill a hole a with a bit the same diameter as the screws included with the speaker.

6) Attach the clips included with the speaker, making sure it is centered over the drilled hole.

7) Attach speakers, making sure each screw engages with the hole/clip.

The sound was a night & day difference! Even the wife noticed the huge improvement.

The ball assy rattling around inside the receiver was making me crazy, my Tahoe is otherwise very quiet. I happened to be at wallyworld, and saw the stabilizing pin for $13. It took me all of 5 minutes to install. It totally stopped any movement horizontally, and I had to use all of my weight to move it vertically. I'll know for sure tonight, I have about 80 miles of driving to do later on so it will get quite a workout - we only have two seasons in MA "Winter, and Roadwork".

dupe

It isn't about stealing the pin, it is about stealing the expensive WDH hitch the pin is in....

So I am painting the kitchenette wall for the wife. Right now I am applying several coats of special primer. This primer will create "functionality" after the real paint is on. What do you think the primer is? The winner gets the awful stock 6" speakers I swapped out the other day...

Close enough! The primer is magnetic.

The Dometic thermostat frustrates me, because it does not have a way of displaying the actual cabin temperature. And of course it is always nice to know the outside temp. This is a quick and easy upgrade, I got the thermometer at Lowe's for ~$16.

Materials: Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer (with wireless sensor), Command Strips, Zip Ties.

1) Affix temp display unit to wall, with command strips. The thermometers all seem to have the interior temp located at the bottom. It worked out perfectly, the Dometic thermostat is mounted to low for me, I wanted to mount the new display directly above the Dometic thermostat anyhow. I highly recommend using some for of velcro type command hooks, so you can re-positioning the display if needed. I was able to trim the strips to the length of the battery cover, and I can swap them out just by firmly lifting the display up.

2) Use the command strips to mount the sensor on top of the pod's hitch frame that runs under the rear of the pod, this will allow it to be shielded from the sun and give a more accurate temp reading. It is very Important to mount it on top of the frame, to protect it from water and road debris splashing up. On my unit the battery cover came off a little to easy for my liking, so I used a small zip tie to hold the cover in place until the next time it needs batteries.

Yes. The standard size is actually called 6.5" which is a very common automotive size. You should have no problems unless your speakers are ceiling mounted.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/56931970807/permalink/10153156787425808/?hc_location=ufi

http://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Articulating-Monitor-Extension-ML12BCE5/dp/B003O1UYHG?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00 - http://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Articulating-Monitor-Extension-ML12BCE5/dp/B003O1UYHG?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

1) Remove everything, including cables. But do not cut off the special screw mount zip ties.

2) Observe existing bolt pattern on walls. When locating the new mount, stay within the bolt pattern boundary so that you know the screws will be going into the stud behind the paneling.

3) Mark new holes. I was able to move the axis of the new mount approx 1.5" to the right, and more importantly 1" lower...the TV in my 171 is mounted way too high IMHO.

4) The screws that come with the mount are far too large, and the old screws are too small because the new mount only allows two screws. I got two medium sized screws that I happened to find in my random hardware junk box. I strongly advise getting some new screws for this project.

5) Pre-drill holes for the screws.

6) Attach new mount to the wall. Make sure the bracket is plumb when tightening.

7) Attach TV to mount.

8) Re-attach cables to TV, and "arm" of the mount. Note how I secured the cable conduit to the underside of the arm so it doesn't get jammed between the arm and wall - letting it sit as flat as possible. You could alternatively mount it to the top side of the arm.

9) Re-attach the screw zip-ties to the wall. Re-attach all cables to the wall outlets.

The mod worked perfectly and took about 90 minutes. Between the downward angle range of the new mount, and the fact I was able to move the mount 1" lower, it was absolutely perfect for viewing the TV form the Lava Lounge (aka the dinette we leave permanently as a bed). My "reward" for my hard work, was getting to test the A/V system by watching The Notebook...yay? Bonus points for knowing what I also mounted, on the upper right side of the wall.

   

I'm not going into detail on this one, to do this mod right you need to be able to locate structural members behind the wall. The top mount catches the corner stud as well as the horizontal member that supports the shelf in back. The bottom mount only catches the corner stud. The other three holes I used expanding wall anchors. I was surprised at how solid it came out, no wiggle and no creaking, I put quite a bit of side-side and up-down stress on it to test it out. This is going to be a lifesaver in the dark when I don't have my glasses on!

We ended up getting a 2010 171 Escape Pod in excellent shape...getting "necessary stuff"...trying to spray wax between rainstorms...going to do the water purifying when I can (even tho dealer said it was all set)  charging the new battery up (the case had a good 3-4 inches of rain in bottom- should I drill some holes to drain?  Brought home last week and found I need to get risers so just got them from forest river for $150 plus tax and shipping.  Now waiting to hear from my local car mechanic to see if he'll put them on.  The directions were horrible but I found a great step by step on this site!  I wish I could do it myself but no level yard or driveway at home.

We're babysitting grandson til schools out then looking forward to a maiden voyage.

Don't know how to tag yet

Lar & Nan

2010 RP-171 "Escape Pod"

2012 Ram 1500 Quad 5.7L  

Congratulations! 

Best of luck with the 171. Once you get used to the small hallway, then it doesn't really feel as cramped as one might think. That being said, I am definitely going to try to reclaim and/or re-purpose areas to maximize storage. I think you will like the simplicity, it is a good way to start. Bon Voyage!  

I ended up drilling 4 corner bottom 1/4" holes in bottom of case to avoid the floods.

1) Remove leg mechanism from table top, by removing the wood screws.

2) Add a few long screws to the two boards that support the table, by screwing them into the stud inside the bench.

3) Use at least one bracket on each side, to keep the table top from sliding back and forth.

4) Add mattress and bedding of choice.

5) "The Lava Lounge" is fully operational!