Upgrading the RV

Here I'll be logging the upgrades I've made to the Lazy Daze and my impression of whether they are successful for my purposes. I'll also keep a list of ideas and pending upgrades here. And perhaps some references to how others have improved their rigs.

Electrical System Upgrades

As I'm slowly coming to understand how the electrical system in the Lazy Daze works I realize the generator doesn't adequately charge the house batteries as I had expected it would. It turns out they get charged through the inadequate simple 3 amp trickle charger built into the now obsolete Parallax/Magnetek Series 6300 converter. This is leading me to evaluate and consider extensive electrical system upgrades and I've decided to devote a separate page to them at: Electrical System Upgrades

Internet on the road

I'm beginning to research how I'm going to access the internet while traveling. There are several options available to consider and I need to find the best compromise for my purposes. The major options seem to be using WiFi hotspots, subscribing to a high speed cell phone data plan, and a couple Satelite access plans.

I'll probably get a copy of Rich Charpentier's Digital RV when the second edition comes out any day now (July 07?). Rich has been traveling the past year in his Airstrean trailer and the second edition should reflect his first hand experiences.

Window valances vs curtains

After much hesitation about keeping the LD original vs modifying it to suit my personal needs and taste I finally got up the nerve to remove the dinette window valance. Wow! I'm convinced they'll all go now. Let the mods begin! Curtains it will be. Now here's where I get creative. So far I've designed and tested a simple 1/4 stainless steel rod suspended from simple leather hanger strips as my curtain rods. I've yet to decide whether the final rods will be stainless or brass. brass might give a warmer feel to the interior. As a test I hung some simple unbleached muslin curtains. They work well but I'm concerned about their flammability. Wool might be a better choice if I'm to stay with natural fabrics. As luck would have it, a visit to Salvation Army one day with my friend Doug turened up a whole bolt of a nice checked wool in an olive and black that might work very nicely.

New wardrobe door pulls

Lazy Daze has long used square plastic pulls or, on later models, rectangular ones glued on the mirrored doors of the wardrobe. At least in the Mid Bath models those doors are in a relatively narrow hallway and the pulls can be quite annoying. Check out Leather Wardrobe Pulls.

Tags: RV Information