MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS - *O* is Oil Changes and Oxygenic Shower

I am going to start off the new year with posting some of our motorhome modifications, a few at a time. I will post repairs, modifications, or neato things we have found for RVing.  I have lots of pics in my files so I will do them in alphabetical order.

Underneath that stuff, I will post my regular daily stuff..... kinda sorta fun, eh?

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT 

I HAVE NO LETTER *N* MODICATIONS???

So here it goes, we are up to the letter O now!

MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS 

STARTING WITH THE LETTER O

Oil Change on 3126 Cat engine for our motorhome:

In October, Steve found a GREAT deal on the diesel oil for a motorhome oil change.  It was on sale at Fleet Farm for $64.99 a FIVE gallon bucket and then a rebate of $35 from Mobil and a 10% rebate from Fleet Farm in the form of a gift card.... plus on top of that if we use our American Express, we get 6% cash back at the end of the month.  It was such a good deal, he bought a second bucket to save for next year. It's sealed up and will stay good.  

Of course with 5 gallon buckets, that isn't enough for our rig, we need 32 quarts for our size oil pan.  Steve adds to the volume with one more gallon of oil (also on sale) and a gallon of Lucas Oil Additive Stabilizer. That is enough to bring it all back up to operating level with some of the old left in the oilpan after draining.

He found that removing the flex-hose adaptor from a funnel, he could screw the flex hose right on the bucket fitting!  It fit perfectly! He could reach the oil fill tube opening in the back of the rig's access door, and pour it all in carefully from the big bucket.

Here are from my notes of our Maintenance Log:

oct 2017  
oil change mobil del vac super 1300 heavy duty 5gal bucket 15w40
$64.99 rebate of $35 for the 5 gal bucket
$10.99 for one more gallon of oil
$29.99 for Lucas oil additive stabilizer

fleet farm 10% off rebate gave us an extra $10.60 back
filter was bought elsewhere wix 51791 $17.99

total cost $78.36 plus tax
2099 engine hours
74330 miles


Oil Change on 6.3K Onan propane generator:
He also changed the oil and filter in our Onan propane generator:

Oct 2017
 onan generator oil change
$14.99 filter mobil m1-209
3.5 quarts of non detergent 30W  $2.44 each quart
480 hours
total cost $24.75 plus tax

All of our drain oil is brought out to a guy who burns it in a drip system to heat his repair shop. Recycling at it's finest!


Oxygenics shower head replacement:
We have a large walk-through bath, with plenty of closets and drawers. (even a washer/dryer!)  We sure like having a full tub and large shower.  Our last motorhome only had a small telephone booth size shower and it was not comfortable.  The travel trailer before that (a Sierra) had a nice big bath and garden tub/shower combo that we liked. So when we saw the Safari with the same set-up, it was greatly appreciated. 

With a cute little blow up bath pillow, I can relax in the tub (with my legs bent up a bit) and read a book or soak an aching back.  It takes 2 cycle times of the 10 gallon water heater on the hottest hot, mixed with enough cold to fill it comfortably to take a bath.  It takes about 15 minutes between cycles to get full hot again. We only do that if we are in a park with an unlimited water hookup. 

It's great for washing up grubby grandkids, even muddy wet dogs.  You shut them inside the glass enclosure and even if they splash or shake, the mess is contained.  I even coerce the grandkids to scrub and wipe down the glass from the inside before they get out! LOL!

Now... why am I talking about our tub/shower combo? 

We added an Oxygenics shower head which is GREAT!   It gives a frothy foamy full shower without wasting as much water that regular showerheads do.  

Now this modification is DEFINITELY a MUST DO!   We replaced the original shower head with this white Oxygenics one.   Got it from CampingWorld on sale for about $25. They also have them in silver and bronze, neither which would match the gold tone of the faucets and trim in our bathroom.  So white it was.   

I LOVE LOVE LOVE  this thing.  It uses less water, but has a frothy foamy spray that rinses my long hair well, and sprays wide enough that you get your whole body wet, instead of single small spray …  It can be lifted off the hook to use down low on the dogs or rinsing shampoo out of the grandkids hair without a squabble or getting it in their eyes. 

The hose and bracket are from our original shower device, but on the Oxygenics there is a small knurled section that does turn it "almost" off with a safety trickle.  I guess folks who buy them in California don't even get the shut-off in their packages, something about a plumbing code, or so I have read.    

When opening the big blister pack the Oxygenics comes in, the shut off knurled section is hidden way in the back, it does not come pre-assembled on the wand handle.  Steveio threw away the package without reading any instructions, of course! 

So imagine my dismay when I tried it and there was no shut-off.   Soooo I rescued the package from the trash and found the little knurled shutoff section!   Now it works great.  

I guess the folks in California have gone to Home Depot and found a shutoff that works and add it to their Oxygenics. Something like this:

One other problem we had in our tub, was the way Safari designed how the hose comes up from under the tub and through a hole into the shower/tub area. Some dimwit designed that there is a big gap around it!  It allows water to run down the length of the hose and down into the wooden floor space under the tub. CRAZY?????   So I came up with using a rubber flange from a toilet flapper that we slid over on the hose and siliconed into place.

~~~~~~~

Our Saturday was warm and sunny, with about a high of 42 degrees.  It melted a lot of the snow, but never fear, we are due for 4-6 more inches this upcoming week.  We did some household tasks in the morning, and caught up on some housework. 

In the afternoon, our doggies were chomping at the bit to get outside.  We donned their little harness vests and leashes.  It was so sunny, but the winds were biting on the open stretches. We took a break at the little town center park by the closed up water fountain. The bench in the sunshine was cozy, with trees blocking the wind. 

Sunday is now going to be a bit cooler, and cloudier as well. And quite a bit windier. Steve carried all of the couch cushions up to my sewing room. I got the second piece of fabric from the other store via Fed Ex while we were on our walk yesterday.  Now I can finish figuring, cutting, piecing and sewing up the cushions for the couch! 

Some of the mods we made to our motorhome – O thru S

Back again.. this the fifth installment of my alphabetical listing of our mods from my photo files.  I have been sick lately and pretty much bed-ridden, so this is keeping me occupied.  LOL

OLD FUEL FILTER SYSTEM:
 
Our 3126 Cat engine has a fuel filter system that is accessible through a side bay door.  The winn 200/200 filters have been discontinued.  So instead of doing the very expensive upgrade to the new systems like other folks have been doing….  (the new filters are in the $30-40 range)    Steveio did something a little different.   He found out what filters the semi truck drivers are using for this same engine.  Fleetgard filters at about $8 each.  Cheaper if you buy em by the six pack!     We bought the *head* piece for $14 from a local truck place, and Steve made a little bracket to hold it into place.  Works great and is a cheap modification to a complex problem!

OVER THE OLD TELEPHONE OUTLET:
We stuck the other part of the thermometer (the outdoor temp sensor)  first out under the front bumper.  We lost it one day and found it when walking through the campground.. .all mushed.  So we bought another one and put it out in the fridge access compartment stuck into place with velcro!

OVEN:
This is my favorite mod that directly affects me and my baking.  I know that I have mentioned it before in previous blogs, but we don’t have an LP oven in our rig.  Short of sacrificing 3 of my big kitchen drawers to install one, and cutting our Corian countertop.
We are usually boondocking or camping without hookups in the National Forest Campgrounds.   If we want to bake something in the micro/convection oven, we have to fire up the generator to do so.  Not nice in the early morning hours for muffins, or droning hours on end for lasagna, stews, or roasts….  even brownies take a long time to bake.  So we found this:
 
(technically it’s called the Coleman Instastart Oven, and runs about $80-90)
Steveio nicknamed it my Easy Bake Oven!   How cute is that?
Got it from Camping World.  We stow it in a basement compartment when not in use.  It’s great to keep the heat outta the rig if you want to bake some dinner rolls on a hot day, and also nice for toast for the whole crew at once for breakfast.   Bakes an 11x13 pan nicely.


OXYGENICS SHOWER HEAD:
Now this mod is DEFINITELY  a MUST DO!   We replaced the original shower head with this white Oxygenics one.   Got it from CampingWorld on sale for about $25. They also have them in silver and bronze, neither which would match a gold tone like our bathroom.  So white it was.   I LOVE LOVE LOVE  this thing and we are going to buy some for in the house now too.  You use less water, but its a frothy foamy spray that rinses my long hair well, and sprays wide that you get your whole body wet, instead of single small spray …..

The hose and bracket are from my original shower, but on the Oxygenics there is a small knurled section that does turn it *almost* off.  I guess folks who buy them in California don't even get the shut-off in their packages, something about a plumbing code I have read. 

When opening the big blister pack the Oxygenics comes in, the shut off knurled section is hidden way in the back, it does not come pre-assembled on the wand handle.  Steveio threw away the package without reading any instructions, of course!   So imagine my dismay when I tried it and there was no shut-off.   Soooo I rescued the package from the trash and found the little shutoff section!   Works great. 

I guess the folks in California have gone to Home Depot and found a shutoff that works too and adds them to their Oxygenics.



PARTY GRILL: 
  This is such a nice little propane grill.  We have a larger Road Trip grill too, but this one is just perfect for when there are only the two of us.  The legs come off and it stores in a cute vinyl bag.  There is a *drip tray* underneath that you fill with water while grilling for catching the grease.  Washes up really fast.  Only drawback is that there is no lid for putting over the top of the food while cooking.  Ya know, to enclose it and keep the heat in?   There is a big plastic lid that snaps over the whole thing after it’s cool .  I found that if I invert that lid on the picnic table and fill with soapy water, the cooking grid sets right in it to soak off baked on food, till it’s time to do dishes.  Nifty!  It was about $30 at Gander Mountain, but I have seen them at Walmart too.


PASSENGER SEAT STEP STOOL:

He is such a good project-making guy!   I also use this stool for reaching the top shelves in the cabinets, or reaching way up in the front video compartments.  And if I am weaving, I sometimes set my coffee mug on this little stool as a side table!   It’s great to have items that are multi-use in the small space of an RV.


PUCK LIGHT REPLACEMENT:
Some people may think we are crazy to take OUT these modern looking puck lights and replace them all with the cheapie looking fake brass gold swivel lights that are all too common in RV’s today. 
But……..   these puck lights would get VERY hot, the plastic rim pieces  would let loose and the hot glass lens would fall down into your lap!   One time a lens fell down and burned the leg of a little girl visitor to our rig.  That was it, OUT they went! 
I found these little aim-able brass lights on ebay for about $3 or 4 each.  We bought enough to replace all the puck lights in our entire rig.
One by one we are going to replace each bulb too with the new LED bulb devices, something we would not be able to do with the halogen puck lights.   






SCOOTER RACK:
  We take our Honda Helix scooter all over on the back of our motrohome.  It rides 2 up, gets 70mpg and can reach speeds of 70 mph,  which of course we don’t go.  LOL  
The rack is removable, and mounts into two hitch receivers for stability.  The little ramp sets into place, and he can roll the scooter down easily.  To put it back on, he has the engine running and squeezed the throttle to walk it right back up the ramp.  It’s locked into place with two padlocks and two straps on the tires.
 

SCREEN DOOR LATCH:
This is another *favorite* of mine… probably because I thunk it up, bought the pieces when we were in Florida, and it worked out JUST as planned!  LOL
Sometimes we like to lay down and rest in the middle of the day, and just flipping this little wing tab around to the frame makes it less likely our doggers would pop the door open with their naughty noses if they saw something outside they could not resist… (squirrel, chipmunk,  some cute doggie, or a grandma bringing over treats)   By the time we could get up, they would be halfway across the campground!  

Ok.. that is enough for tonight… we will continue with the S’ … there are some special things that the photo file names all start with Steveio’s  this.. or that….