Mods to my 2008 189FBR

[PaintyLiz]

Thought I would post a list of the mods I've made on my camper. I have put pictures of almost all of them on my blog Wacky Pup There are even a few tutorials and process photos. Let me know if you use any of the ideas!!

General:.
Raised handles on all lower cabinets!! Yay! I just did this and it is such an improvement!.
Removed or raised blinds & headers that were covering part of the windows..
Replaced the white panel on the screen door with a clear one - what a difference!.
Added hooks everywhere .
Made vinyl overlay for screen door so that we can have the door open when it's hot or cold. It's held on with velcro.
Put chalkboard contact paper on all doors for contents & notes (love this!!) use upside down cup handle to hold chalk.
Made sayings to stick all over the outside of the camper like: Camping is cheaper than therapy

Dining.
Opened both ends and middle of storage cabinet - used lifts & handles from removed bunk. <---- great photo on blog
Removed dinette & built couch with storage boxes that uses the dinette bottom seat cushions.
Back & arms of couch are spare bed pillows for reading in bed & body pillow for night.
Built removable tables that fit into bracket in front of couch.
Built rolling trolley for space between couch & bed.
Built swing up snack table.
Made dog cover for bed & couch so dogs can sleep on couch at night and bed while we are out..
Made removable chalkboard for over sink so that list or notes can be taken out of the camper.
Modified boxes so legs of table can slide under couch.
Replaced clock with clock with indoor outdoor thermometer.
(Before I removed the dinette, I added access doors & lights).
Insulated the wheel wells.

Bedroom.
Installed ikea led reading lights on each side of bed - unfortunately they are not 12v so can't wire them in.
Made hinged access door for pump & tank drain valve - YAY!!
Removed bunk door panel and built shelving, covered by curtains.
Replaced mattress with memory foam mattress.
Installed wire shelf over foot of bed - holds laptops & box of wine lol.
Made wall pocket by bed for clock, kleenex, sleep mask etc.
Hung wire racks over head of bed for books, magazines and movies.

Bath.
Rebuilt medicine cabinet into corner cabinet. <-- check this out
Installed 2 sets of towel hooks plus single hooks by bathroom sink to hold washcloths.
Installed stick up hooks in shower area.
Put loops & names on all towels, buttonholes in all washcloths so everything can go on a hook.

Electrical.
Added outlet at head of bed (orignally under dinette).
Added outlet under the front (side?) of the bed (kitchen/hallway lol) I need to box this in and recess it because you can't have something plugged in when you pull out the rolling trolly.
Added shelving to large found storage area under head of bed.
Made USB charging area on end of cabinets holds multiple tablets, phones & gps.

Kitchen.
Installed new faucet!!! Just did this, can't wait to use it!
Added magnetic knife rack.
Added pull out basket allows use of area under the sink.
Built dog food & water area under refrigerator <-- that was fun and now I don't trip over the dog food all the time and the water can't be spilled!!
Dog food storage in wardrobe.
Made fruit & vegetable net over foot of bed.
Made new wooden cover for stove & sink. <--- safety issue - I need to post about this.
Replaced furnace thermostat - haven't used it yet.
Made tea & spice holder on side of range fan.
Hung utensil rack next to sink.
Added wine glass rack over sink - dollar tree socks protect them while traveling.
Made wrap & bag holder.
Enlarged the holes for the drawers so more stuff would fit.

Wardrobe.
Net bags screwed to wardrobe & clothing doors.
Permanently mounted dog waste bags by door.
Raised wardrobe bar to gain almost 2". (just remove bottom screws and swing it up - put screws (now top) in new location - easy peasy
Shoe rack on bottom of wardrobe.
Sterlite drawers above wardrobe.

Maintenance -
Removed & reseated front window and one side window that were really badly installed and leaked

Planning.
Cutting board to fit sink.
Insulate front window.
__________________

[Eagle]

Man ~ that is a ton of mods.

Nice !!

[PaintyLiz]

Thanks! Funny thing is, until last year I treated the camper like it wasn't really mine. Like I had to keep it in original condition in case I was going to sell it or something. I just added a little storage here and there. Then last year I thought "Hey! It's MY camper! I'm going to make it the way I like it!" And that's when I tore out the dinette and did the majority of the mods. I wouldn't get much for an almost ten year old camper anyway lol. And now it's MUCH more comfortable. Hubby, two dogs and I have stayed in it for over two months at a time.

[PaintyLiz]

P. S. I put pictures on my blog, make sure you look some are pretty good.

[Eagle]

I've made some alterations too but not as extensive ~ then again my unit is 30' long so space not as constrictive.

Just added some shelves in the bath closet, a 32" smart TV in the front and moved the little 12" to the rear garage/bedroom, put captains rail on top of the kitchen cabinets and bath medicine cabinet to give a little luxury look, changed out the clothes rod & added 2nd fire extinguisher in garage area, ditched the factory front bed queen mattress for a regular Serta queen mattress, added a 2nd duplex outlet under the dining table, ditched the Jensen TV antenna and put in a digital Jack antenna, made a cover for the 2 burner stove top, put 'childproof latches' on the kitchen drawers so they don't slide out when traveling, added a vent hood over the fantastic fan, put vanity lights over the bath medicine cabinet (wife liked that), and put a wall mounted, remote controlled fan on the foot end of the bed plus the window covers to keep night light out and a built in water pressure regulator. Oh, an a inside door to access the under bed storage area that was only accessible from the outside.
Happy with the changes we've made too.

[PaintyLiz]

Thanks! I like to putter around. I did most of them in the past year. You've got to see the shower track mod I just did - I'm still kind of amazed by it doesn't seem like it would work, but wow! Wacky Pup

Liz

[Eagle]

Very nice alteration to gain shower elbow room. A change in the bends makes quite a difference. Good going.

[John_C]

Originally Posted by PaintyLiz

Thanks! I like to putter around. I did most of them in the past year. You've got to see the shower track mod I just did - I'm still kind of amazed by it doesn't seem like it would work, but wow! Wacky Pup

Liz

Nice going Liz,
BTW, what did you put on the bottom of the curtain to keep it tucked in the shower pan... You keep this redesigning up, you may get captured by the trailer mfg...

[PaintyLiz]

Testing it, the shower curtain seems to have plenty of overlap of the shower pan. But don't know for sure yet. I've decided to replace the shower walls with the stuff that Ed Venture used, but can't get that for a week, so I'll update the design and comments then.

Liz

[guybmoto]

Looks great. I sold my 189FBR after six laps of the country with it, and you solved many of the things I would have changed on it.

Now I get to tweak my new trailer.

[PaintyLiz]

UPDATE on the shower remodel - WORKS GREAT!!! I love it!! The shower curtain actually stays in the pan BETTER than it originally did because you don't bump it all the time while you're in there. There is actually enough room to shower without running into the shower curtain!

[runner421]

I remember reading the mod(s) and checking out your page.

Thanks for the feedback.

Happy camping/RVing.

[Diverlady]

Wow! Great mods!

Weren't you concerned about screwing into the walls? I'm afraid I'm going to damage something.

Diverlady

[PaintyLiz]

Hi Diverlady,

I was very concerned about that also, until I started taking out the dinette. It was held to the wall with screws so long you would have thought they would poke through the outside of camper. The majority of the things I have screwed to the wall are held on with half inch screws. I have used some longer screws but they were in pretty much the same area where there had already been longer screws to start with. I think this camper is made from a shell of fiberglass, a lining of very thin plywood and in between is styrofoam.

A half inch collared screw works really well to hold most things. Since the plywood walls are less than a quarter inch thick, it doesn't do a lot of good to put a much longer screw in anyway.

Hope this is helpful.

[profdant139]

It also helps if you install small spiral plastic drywall anchors for your screws. You predrill a small and short pilot hole, screw in the anchors with a phillips head, and then sink your screws. The spiral anchor spreads the load over a larger area and compresses the foam behind the lauan paneling.

[Diverlady]

Good idea.
Thanks for the tip!