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07-16-2018, 01:56 PM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Calgary
Posts: 57
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Moving the Black Power Inverter box backwards?
We have a 18.5 ft Shadow Cruiser and storage space is a challenge. We think there is an empty wasted space behind the power inverter, that can be better utilized as it takes up prime real estate currently.
My hubbie is very handy and technically very good and we are thinking to move the power converter backwards. And then to use the area in front to store shoes or the dishes of our dog. I also dont like to look at that big black box. LOL
Has anyone done this successfully perhaps and what should we be on the look out for, any pitfalls, please ?
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__________________
2011 Shadow Cruiser S185FBS
2017 Ford F -150
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07-16-2018, 02:11 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Southern California
Posts: 2,142
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My only concerns would be adequate air flow and access to the fuse panel. But those are not deal-killers -- just factors to be considered.
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07-16-2018, 11:39 PM
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#3
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Calgary
Posts: 57
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Thank you profdant, I appreciate your insight. We have had our new to us ShadowCruiser now 10 days and plan to do a lot of mods to it and might look in every nook and cranny for extra space.
I am wondering how much wasted space is behind the inverter box ? It is worth our while to even look in there?
Anyone has removed that black box and had a good look at it perhaps ?
Mods so far we have completely removed the bunk bed and did LED lights everywhere. The previous owners used a generator which came with the trailer and the sale also included a new battery and a new awning.
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2011 Shadow Cruiser S185FBS
2017 Ford F -150
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07-17-2018, 12:19 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Fort Saskatchewan Alberta
Posts: 243
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Like mentioned air flow, access and the maze of wires are your main concerns. Look for an easier area first would be my first choice. I added storage under my kitchen sink, bathroom sink and under the fridge in our 2015 210uds. I took the wood panels off and attached magnets and glued the metal strikers to the panels for a nice clean look and easy removal. This year I removed the built in Microwave and made it into storage with shelves. Much more useful for our purposes. Good luck. Silverado
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2015 FunFinder 210uds, 2014 Silverado LTZ-Z71 Regular Cab Short Box, 5.3l with towing package
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07-18-2018, 05:13 PM
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#5
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Calgary
Posts: 57
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Thank you for all the replies, I appreciate.
We plan on doing a lot of Mods to our ShadowCruiser 18.5 and will eventually look behind almost all the cupboards for wasted space.
Another mod we are thinking of, is to lift our bed up a few inches, that will free up more space in the cargo area underneath, so we can fit our BBQ a bit better in there. We are also going to rebuild the kitchen area to make the counter higher and add more drawers, currently only have 1 drawer.
We might need to repaint all the wood cupboards inside after all the reno's as it will be hard to match the light coloured wood finish we have now. I do like the white cupboards in some of the Funfinders, it makes the space, look a lot bigger and brighter. We love to work on a trailer and make it more practical for us.
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2011 Shadow Cruiser S185FBS
2017 Ford F -150
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07-19-2018, 12:30 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Kalamazoo, MI & Leesburg, FL
Posts: 737
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Yep, Cruiser really screwed up with the wiring of the break away switch.
Why they would wire a safety device so it could be turned off is down right dangerous. One of the first things I did was rewired the break-away switch so it is powered directly from the battery. The only inline switch in the circuit is the break-away as it is with other trailer manufactures.
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07-22-2018, 08:54 PM
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#7
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Auburn, CA USA
Posts: 9
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We also have a 185FBS Shadow Cruiser and cabinet space really sucks - especially since some cabinets are marked "don't use this for storage" due to plumbing and stuff - What The Hell ?!? Our partial solution was (my wife did this - she is pretty handy) to find order online wire slide racks that fit each cabinet sizes and bolt them to the cabinet shelves. We also put some blocker boards at backs of cabinets to avoid stuff falling behind (that was the hard part). Happy trails...
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07-22-2018, 09:23 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Southern California
Posts: 2,142
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Ignore those signs! Just make sure that whatever you do, don't crimp the plumbing lines. We tore apart all of our cabinets to maximize every cubic inch of storage -- I built custom shelves and partitions using baltic birch ply, a quarter inch thick. Sort of expensive, but worth it -- the woodwork is strong and thin.
We took out the clock and the radio -- put storage in there. Cleared out the area under the dinette benches -- more storage. Removed the vanity and put in custom cabinets.
Let me know if you have any questions about how I did this. It is not rocket science -- just careful measuring and workmanship.
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07-22-2018, 09:55 PM
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#9
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Calgary
Posts: 57
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I like the way you guys think ! We also looked at the lovely "do not use" space next to the furnace and hubby said he is going to put a thin metal partion wall up there, to create a barrier between the furnace and that storage area. We used our furnace last weekend in the Rocky mountains, on our very 1st trip, it gets really cold at night in the middle of summer.
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2011 Shadow Cruiser S185FBS
2017 Ford F -150
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07-22-2018, 11:21 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Southern California
Posts: 2,142
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With the area next to the furnace, run it a while and put your hand next to it -- ours does not get very hot. But your mileage may vary, so play it safe!
We also opened up the area UNDER the furnace -- there was a space there big enough for a plastic tray that holds about 20 soda cans. Again, run the furnace and make sure it does not get too hot under there -- the cans could explode.
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07-23-2018, 11:37 AM
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#11
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Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 3
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ShadowKolla, I don't know about your rig, but behind my charger is storage for the power cord. My unit easily is removed by four screws and carefully lifting it forward to peek behind. You don't want to make it more difficult to store your cord than it already is.
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07-23-2018, 12:02 PM
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#12
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Calgary
Posts: 57
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Good to know Dave, we have the 18.5 ft ShadowCruiser and the power converter is between the bathroom and the door on the bottom of the big closet, so prime storage space its taking up . We are going to see f what we can do with it, and how much space we can gain there. I will update here with pics, as we go with our mods.
__________________
2011 Shadow Cruiser S185FBS
2017 Ford F -150
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07-26-2018, 07:41 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Texas
Posts: 498
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Oh p.s. I never thought of moving the inverter back. I'm not sure I would because I like to be able to access it when there's an issue. However there is a big blank area to the left of mine which I opened up and made into a dog food and water area. It was fun because I had to cut around a drain pipe and make a very oddly shaped box to fit in the hole.
https://wackypup.blogspot.com/2016/1...-easy-and.html
Liz
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2008 189FBR & 2014 FORD F150 Now Full-Time
Tons of Inexpensive Camper Mods WackyPup.com
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07-27-2018, 05:16 PM
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#15
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Calgary
Posts: 57
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Thank you PaintyLiz, for all your pictures and detailed info on all your lovely mods. I got the idea to raise the kitchen counter from one of your previous posts ! I did not even think that the counter is lower than a standard kitchen counter and after reading through all your detailed posts, I realised the lower kitchen counter. In the ShadowCruiser we only have 1 drawer, we just came from a trailer with 3 drawers ! Thank you for all the info you have posted here. its inspirational forsure. If I may ask, the pic of the many small shelves, in what cupboard, did you find the wasted space please ?
__________________
2011 Shadow Cruiser S185FBS
2017 Ford F -150
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07-28-2018, 03:09 AM
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#16
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 86
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I’m converting the space for the tv with a pre- bought 4- tray organizer for junk drawers. I’m going to use that removable picture and hook hanging sticky stuff with Velcro so I can remove if necessary. (made by 3-M. Name escapes me right now). Then put the tv on the ceiling with a flip down tilt/ swivel thing and those sticky mini wire holders to run the wiring across the ceiling. I’m short so I won’t mind losing a couple of inches on the ceiling and most people don’t bother looking up. Lol
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2006 FF Cruiser-X 18'9" FBR
Honda Pilot Touring Edition
"You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take"
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07-28-2018, 12:45 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Texas
Posts: 498
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Quote:
Originally Posted by profdant139
We also opened up the area UNDER the furnace -- there was a space there big enough for a plastic tray that holds about 20 soda cans. Again, run the furnace and make sure it does not get too hot under there -- the cans could explode.
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Great idea! I have it open right now because I had a mouse due to my own stupid error and I was thinking I should store something under there. We don't drink Soda but beer would fit LOL
Liz
__________________
2008 189FBR & 2014 FORD F150 Now Full-Time
Tons of Inexpensive Camper Mods WackyPup.com
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07-28-2018, 12:49 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Texas
Posts: 498
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadowKolla
Thank you for all the info you have posted here. its inspirational forsure. If I may ask, the pic of the many small shelves, in what cupboard, did you find the wasted space please ?
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I have a fun finder X 189fbr. The wall I opened up was between the bathroom and the Wardrobe / TV area. Yours maybe in a different place. Basically it's the wall that the vent pipes from the holding tanks run up through. That makes it a much thicker wall. I think it's about 3 in thick and if you add a lip on the Shelf you get it a good 4 inch shelf which will hold quite a bit of things. If you check out that page it has more information on how I built the shelves Etc. I'm glad that you have found the pictures and stuff helpful. I have learned so much from people on the internet I want to pay it forward and post all the things that I figured out how to do and maybe help someone else. https://wackypup.blogspot.com/2016/1...amper-and.html
Liz
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2008 189FBR & 2014 FORD F150 Now Full-Time
Tons of Inexpensive Camper Mods WackyPup.com
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08-05-2018, 11:51 AM
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#19
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Calgary
Posts: 57
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We have opened the clothes hanging closet walls completely and have exposed the power inverter box. After close inspection, it will be easy to move it backwards and we can gain more than 10 inches, of usable space on the front. We will mod it to be accessible for future maintenance.
While we have it all exposed, we did see lots of dust and an open hole where a mouse might have came in from, complete with mouse poop. Plan is to move the inverter to the back wall and seal with spray foam the hole in the floor for better insulation and to keep mouse, dust and cold air out.
While this is all open, we have decided to give the electrical panel on the kitchen cabinet wall an upgrade as well. We tested all the wires to see which wire works on which lights etc. Plan is to add 2 or 3 switches on the cupboard wall near the door for all lights. We dont like the panel to get a light switch to work.
We have a 5 day road trip coming up, in a few days, this week and we wanted to add shelves in the 2 cupboards near the front door and in the process have stripped open the cupboard walls. Working on the electrical and the inverter box today. I will update as we make progress.
__________________
2011 Shadow Cruiser S185FBS
2017 Ford F -150
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08-05-2018, 03:32 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Texas
Posts: 498
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One thought about putting storage in front of the inverter, make sure it has a lot of ventilation. If it overheats, the breakers will trip and may shorten the life of your unit.
Liz
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__________________
2008 189FBR & 2014 FORD F150 Now Full-Time
Tons of Inexpensive Camper Mods WackyPup.com
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