I spent a bit of time on the outside of the x189fds over the christmas season.
I installed a curt 13703 rv hitch onto the rear of the unit so we can attach our bike rack. It took a bit of doing, but did go the way I expected it to. It is attached with four 1/2" bolts through the I-beam frame on each side and runs across rear of the unit just under the body. I modified the brackets that came with the hitch so that each is just a piece of 1/4" flat steel 12" long and 5" high with the 2"x2" holes for the crossbar toward one side. I had to cut slots in the rear crosspiece that the stabilizers are attached to to bring the flat steel through, but a bit of time with a dremel and a few cutoff wheels managed that ok. Then I just market the 4 holes on the I-beams, drilled them out and bolted it on. Gave everything a coat of tremclad rust paint and it should hold on without issue. Sorry no pictures yet, but will update when I do get them.
http://www.realtruck.com/product/10...i_13703_2-x-2-receiver-black-powder-coat.html
I also added some mud guards behind the rear wheels. Mainly to keep rocks from kicking up on the holding tanks and drain pipes that are right behind there.
I added a strap on each of the grey and black water tanks to help keep them supported if I need to drive with them full or partially full on rougher roads.
I took the liberty of providing some bracing to the fresh water tank as well. There are a two aluminum rectangular tubes (2"x3") going front to back 1/3 and 2/3s across the tanks width. They are held in place with pallet strapping that slings up and around the top of the tank. I has already flattened the bottom of the tank and should keep it from bowing out when full.
that's it for the outside.
In the inside I ran some 6 gauge welding wires from the converter, around the rear of the inside(inside the conduit that is installed by the factory), under the shower and then to a spot under the kitchen sink. My AGM batteries are going to be installed there in a custom rack. ran an electrical line along with a switch wire line up behind the microwave for the inverter power and remote switch so we can use the micro with just battery power. I have a 3500w/7000w peak pure sine inverter for that task, although not quite sure where I can install it yet. Hopefully under the kitchen sink area beside the batteries, but it'll be tight. I have some 2gauge welding wire to get the 100 or so amps from the batteries to the inverter, but hope to keep it as short as possible. everything electrical is interconnected using anderson quick connects. 50 amps for the interior and 175 amps for the inverter. Makes winterizing a lot easier.
http://www.andersonpower.com/products/multipole-sb.html
Still to go:
-change the furnace to a ducted model
-replace light switches with double throw models so we can turn on one or two bulbs in each fixture
-replace converter with my 55amp iota smart unit
-add storage shelf (plastic tupperware kind) to the shower which never gets used anyway. We rarely camp anywhere with hookups.
-um...actually camp in it, come spring
I installed a curt 13703 rv hitch onto the rear of the unit so we can attach our bike rack. It took a bit of doing, but did go the way I expected it to. It is attached with four 1/2" bolts through the I-beam frame on each side and runs across rear of the unit just under the body. I modified the brackets that came with the hitch so that each is just a piece of 1/4" flat steel 12" long and 5" high with the 2"x2" holes for the crossbar toward one side. I had to cut slots in the rear crosspiece that the stabilizers are attached to to bring the flat steel through, but a bit of time with a dremel and a few cutoff wheels managed that ok. Then I just market the 4 holes on the I-beams, drilled them out and bolted it on. Gave everything a coat of tremclad rust paint and it should hold on without issue. Sorry no pictures yet, but will update when I do get them.
http://www.realtruck.com/product/10...i_13703_2-x-2-receiver-black-powder-coat.html
I also added some mud guards behind the rear wheels. Mainly to keep rocks from kicking up on the holding tanks and drain pipes that are right behind there.
I added a strap on each of the grey and black water tanks to help keep them supported if I need to drive with them full or partially full on rougher roads.
I took the liberty of providing some bracing to the fresh water tank as well. There are a two aluminum rectangular tubes (2"x3") going front to back 1/3 and 2/3s across the tanks width. They are held in place with pallet strapping that slings up and around the top of the tank. I has already flattened the bottom of the tank and should keep it from bowing out when full.
that's it for the outside.
In the inside I ran some 6 gauge welding wires from the converter, around the rear of the inside(inside the conduit that is installed by the factory), under the shower and then to a spot under the kitchen sink. My AGM batteries are going to be installed there in a custom rack. ran an electrical line along with a switch wire line up behind the microwave for the inverter power and remote switch so we can use the micro with just battery power. I have a 3500w/7000w peak pure sine inverter for that task, although not quite sure where I can install it yet. Hopefully under the kitchen sink area beside the batteries, but it'll be tight. I have some 2gauge welding wire to get the 100 or so amps from the batteries to the inverter, but hope to keep it as short as possible. everything electrical is interconnected using anderson quick connects. 50 amps for the interior and 175 amps for the inverter. Makes winterizing a lot easier.
http://www.andersonpower.com/products/multipole-sb.html
Still to go:
-change the furnace to a ducted model
-replace light switches with double throw models so we can turn on one or two bulbs in each fixture
-replace converter with my 55amp iota smart unit
-add storage shelf (plastic tupperware kind) to the shower which never gets used anyway. We rarely camp anywhere with hookups.
-um...actually camp in it, come spring
