FordmanNJ's Build /mod thread

[FordmanNJ]

Hello!

Official Hello to the GDOF and our story of how we became an GD family


Project/ Wish list

Furrion Rear Camera system- Done
Max Air Fan, Bathroom-Done
Max Air fan, Bedroom-Done
Max Air fan, Bunkhouse-Done
Vent covers-Done
Bike Rack- Done
Progressive Dynamics Surge EMS device- Done
Slide Topper-Done
Solar capability
Magnetic board for magents-Done
Coat rack-Done
Bathroom sink faucet replacement- Done

more to come....

[FordmanNJ]

Hello and here we go!!!

I am finally off to getting my punch/ project/ wish list completed. My wife became fixated on replacing the bathroom sink. She did not find there was enough room to wash hands and perform other aspects the sink handles. On Saturday, we took a right over to Lowes but we saw a few different options but nothing that came out to us and said "Buy Me!" Today, I took the ride to Home Depot and found something that was going to work for us as whole.

Glacier-Bay-Mandouri-4-in-Centerset-2-Handle-LED-Bathroom-Faucet-in-Brushed-Nickel-67513W-6B04/300687494

The faucet is a 1.2 GPM (4.2LPM for the Canadian folks) with LED that runs off the water flow coming out of the spout. I figure the LED would be good for the night time bathroom calls with the little one or even the big ones. It closely matches the sink as well. It also feels better than the plastic one installed from factory.



That's the box it comes in. So I already did most of your searching and leg work if this is the route you want to go. Here comes the part that is on you as the RV owner! It's freaking easy. Like wow that was not difficult at all. It took all of about 3 minutes to change the faucet out in the bathroom. The faucet has 1/2 inch connections. The lines going to the faucet have 1/2 inch connections. Chances are you are not going to be cutting or modifying anything for this project.

Here is the picture from underneath.




The black locking collars come with the new faucet. They work perfectly fine with the counter of the sink. The new faucet drops right into place. Secure the faucet with the locking collars and spin down to a firm but tight feel. No need to get ape on it. Solid hand tight should work. Same with the Cold and Hot lines. Just connect without cross threading the collar. Turn down until firm but tight.


Here is the finished installation.




Same faucet just from another angle.




I didn't have any water connection to test the work but I have a feeling there will not be a problem when the time comes. Becareful though as there could still be some water in the lines, handles or spout especially if you are doing this at the campsite. I would suggest to make sure you don't have anything under the sink that you don't want to get wet.

Enjoy!

[FordmanNJ]

Hello Again!

I didn't have many pictures of this as it was just as quick as the faucet. 4 #2 square head screws are removed from the prewired mounting bracket. I wound up using the housing that came with the camera. It would require a #1 US Phillips screwdriver to remove 4 screws for the camera itself. There is a 1/8 inch audio style jack that connects the camera to the wiring of the trailer. The camera is you guessed it a 1/8 inch audio style plug. Simply put it took longer to retrieve the ladder at the storage yard than to install and check the connections to the truck.

This is the Furrion High Speed Observation Camera Item # FOS48TAPK-BL




Here is the camera installed on the trailer.




I do not have pictures of the display inside the truck. I was trying to get my projects completed as I had other stuff I needed to do at home.

Enjoy!

[Paul & Deb]

Good job(s)!

[Canyonlight]

FordmanNJ - looks to be many more posts and pictures coming over the weeks.......look forward to seeing/reading.

Dan

[Country Campers]

Great job's, A little tip on the camera it looks like it is pointing down. I had to adjust mine a couple times to get it where I like it.
Glad to have you here looking forward to your other mods. Like the bathroom spigot as well.

Brian

[FordmanNJ]

Country Camper, yup I was playing with the angle. Actually I shot that more level to the trailer. I didn't want to have the picture staring directly into the sun. I want to get the bike rack on when we get it so I can check the angle again. When I installed the camera, it was facing at a near 90 degree angle horizontal.

Anyway, we have a nice pile of goodies coming hopefully by Friday. We have some newly found money in the form of gift cards. My wife and I were able to cash out some of the point rewards from various credit cards to purchase some goodies without dipping into our pockets too deeply. Hoping to get most of it by this weekend as it looks like it's going to be a nice one. Let's see what happens.

[FordmanNJ]

I wish I was home today. The UPS man would have been rewarded well. The second batch of Amazon came in. Looks like we got some Maxair ventilation fans with a few covers. Do I see a PDI EMS somewhere in that pile? Did the wife purchase a few more command hooks and other assorted trailer accessories? The bike rack is down stairs since I was playing with the mounting on the truck. So much fun not enough time til now and the next weekend. I have to work tomorrow and have a family functions the next 2 weekends plus a camping trip. My wife suggested I could do some of work during down time while camping. Humm.....






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[FordmanNJ]

Hello GD OF,

Today was another day to work on another fun project on the trailer. This time the EMS was being installed. I learned a few things and the project is hopefully going to be completed on the next trip up to the trailer. Things I learned today.

-The trailer's 2 pole 50 Amp breaker was not not correctly wired. The red load line was practically disconnected from the connection on the breaker itself. The screw was so far in that it didn't want to be removed so it was a trip to the home improvement store for a replacement breaker. FWIW, The panel breaker was a Siemens retro fit from the Murray breaker found in the trailer.

- The wiring from the outside junction to the power distribution panel or PDP was nicked on the Neutral leg. There slice in the Red hot leg but it didn't make it to the conductor. Needless to say this wiring was being cleaned up.

-1 1/4 wire clamps (or Romex) provided on the EMS-HW50C is way too big for the 6/3 NB wiring from the connection point on the side of the trailer as well as the pigtail to the PDP. I wound up purchasing some 1 1/4 to 1 inch reducers and 1 inch wire clamps. You could probably get away with 3/4 inch for even a tighter fit.

-I cut the Pigtail from the EMS to PDP about 10 inches too short. At least I had more wire to work with. I wound up making it about 30 inches long the second time instead of 20 which should more than plenty for the reinstall of the PDP and wire up of the new breaker.

-When the drawers come out, installing everything is much easier. I wish I had noticed this earlier while starting the project. I wound up having to stop as the wife ran out of things to do with the trailer and we needed to get home anyway. So I brought the EMS and the wiring home and did it on the bench in the shop. If I had the time to drive back up to the trailer, I would have worked on it again. Maybe another day.

That's the progress report for now.

[FordmanNJ]

Somehow I managed to get a little extra time today in which I went to the trailer to work on it some more. On Sunday, I was trying to install the EMS in line to the PDP. I quick E mail to folks at PDI to determine which sensor to which line. Turns out they forgot to mark the sensor but the tech said it was pretty simple to make sure which sensor was for which leg. The top wires coming off the orange plug is the for T-1 The bottom 2 wires if for T-3. Anyway, I finalized the installation of the EMS. Best part it works I know this is a picture crowd so grab your popcorn.

Before and After



This is the space behind the panel on the 285 BHTS . There looks like a decent amount of space to work within. I wound up bringing the EMS home on Sunday evening. I wired in a 30 inch pigtail from the output side to the PDP to make installing easier. It was easier but not by much. Having the drawers out helped.



This is the after shot of the install. I mounted the unit in as best I could with the time I had to work with. Driving home, I was thinking about trying to clean up the wiring for the EMS a little bit. Don't know though. However, I brought the generator up and there were no problem with power up and everything was working correctly. Since my generator is an inverter style, I made a ground neutral plug and no error codes on the panel. Speaking of the remote interface.


The remote interface was mounted inside the closet. I drilled a 3/8 inch hole and used some split loom to clean up the wire. I had a couple of cable clamps in the tool box and attached the wiring to the wall. If were to get a different power converter for the trailer, I could use the same split loom case for any wiring coming up the closet like the pendant on a PDI 9200 series converter.






Other matters that I attended to were making sure the hot legs going to the 50 Amp breaker in the PDP were installed correctly. GD did respond to my inquiry with a Thanks for bringing this matter to our attention we will pass along the observation to our Production and PDI teams. We will see if they [Teams] get the message. However, everything was wired clean like it should have been in the beginning. However, I always expect bugs to be worked out over time with a new rig. I also installed a Max Air cover on my kitchen power fan. Now I can let the air in. I am going to try to get the fans installed before going away for summer trip but who knows how far I will get with that project. We will see.