ZanderMan
Weekender RV’er
Needs monitoring
Posts: 63
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Post by ZanderMan on Jul 27, 2020 8:05:12 GMT -5
First (major) project: Water pump plumbing Decided I couldn't stand the shoddy organization of the water pump plumbing under the bed, plus it was taking up more room than necessary and the divider wall was falling over... Start:  I shortened the line pulling from the fresh water tank, straightened the connection from the pump outlet to the camper water system (blue line), and made a loop retainer for the suction line since it's not used very often. I'll rebuild the box around the pump with the original divider just to protect it from items sliding around under the bed.  I also need to re-seal the hole in the floor since I had to pull away some of the foam to move the lines a bit. I don't need a backdoor for bugs into the camper. I had already plugged some holes with leftover expanding foam (orange blobs) but used up the last of it so will have to make one more trip to the hardware store. I invested in a fairly cheap water line crimping tool that accommodates the water line size in the camper, so I'm ready for other mods / repairs if needed.  "The first cut is the deepest..." I'll continue to "tune up" sloppy assembly work on this this trailer... just a fact of life when you purchase an inexpensive camper. I also moved the propane line coming off the tank so that it didn't pass through the battery tray, and swapped the slide/awning switches so that they made sense (slide on left, awning on right).  What are your cleanup projects? |
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woodsman54
Newbie RV’er
New Sonic X, Long time RVer
Posts: 17
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Post by woodsman54 on Aug 20, 2020 11:21:59 GMT -5
We have a new Sonic X and I also found sloppy work. Our fresh water fill line from the outside inlet to the tank was longer than was required so if I poured solution into the inlet it came back out. I had to zip tie the hose down so a slope was created and I could fill without back splash.
But I have a question on the suction line. What is it used for? Ours is under the kitchen sink and behind the drawer stack. Not easy to get too. There is nothing in the manual.
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ZanderMan
Weekender RV’er
Needs monitoring
Posts: 63
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Post by ZanderMan on Aug 20, 2020 15:17:54 GMT -5
We have a new Sonic X and I also found sloppy work. Our fresh water fill line from the outside inlet to the tank was longer than was required so if I poured solution into the inlet it came back out. I had to zip tie the hose down so a slope was created and I could fill without back splash. But I have a question on the suction line. What is it used for? Ours is under the kitchen sink and behind the drawer stack. Not easy to get too. There is nothing in the manual. It's used for winterization, primarily. If you want to fill your water lines with antifreeze (minus the water heater), you mix up your antifreeze solution in a jug or 5 gal bucket, reverse your valves so the pump pulls from the short suction line instead of the fresh water tank, and insert the hose in your jug/bucket of antifreeze. Then turn the pump on and go to each of your faucets until you get antifreeze. Others hook an air tank fitting up to their city water connection and use compressed air to blow water completely (or nearly) out of your internal plumbing so that it's mostly air vs water and won't cause damage if it goes below freezing. Also need to open your low point drains and remove your water heater anode to insure all water is out of your plumbing.  Personally, I wouldn't want antifreeze sitting in my water lines, but I haven't gone through a winter yet. I'll probably blow the lines out. |
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woodsman54
Newbie RV’er
New Sonic X, Long time RVer
Posts: 17
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Post by woodsman54 on Aug 20, 2020 21:07:27 GMT -5
Got it. Past rigs I did the antifreeze, but now I live in the PNW and it does not get that cold here. Last year I used my compressor to blow out my lines but still added some antifreeze to the drain traps to insure water in the traps did not freeze. I'll probably not use the suction line but was wondering what it was. Thanks for responding.
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ZanderMan
Weekender RV’er
Needs monitoring
Posts: 63
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Post by ZanderMan on Aug 21, 2020 9:24:49 GMT -5
Got it. Past rigs I did the antifreeze, but now I live in the PNW and it does not get that cold here. Last year I used my compressor to blow out my lines but still added some antifreeze to the drain traps to insure water in the traps did not freeze. I'll probably not use the suction line but was wondering what it was. Thanks for responding. Antifreeze in the traps is a great idea! |
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Post by gabebillings on Sept 2, 2020 13:29:14 GMT -5
I took my Stratus out this weekend for my first trip. I spent some time poking around with the owners manual, opening things up and looking at them. My main complaint is the amount of sawdust and crap they left lying around. So many places where they cut holes no one bothered to just spend 5 seconds with a shop vac. We had a little dustbuster we brought with us and I sucked up sawdust around the pump, the water heater, the top rail of the shower....
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ZanderMan
Weekender RV’er
Needs monitoring
Posts: 63
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Post by ZanderMan on Sept 4, 2020 11:57:08 GMT -5
I took my Stratus out this weekend for my first trip. I spent some time poking around with the owners manual, opening things up and looking at them. My main complaint is the amount of sawdust and crap they left lying around. So many places where they cut holes no one bothered to just spend 5 seconds with a shop vac. We had a little dustbuster we brought with us and I sucked up sawdust around the pump, the water heater, the top rail of the shower.... Haha yep... I opened up a few panels just so I knew what was behind them and did the same thing. You’ll be cleaning up sawdust for the next year, lol. |
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Post by greenhorn on Mar 31, 2021 18:51:18 GMT -5
Not only cleaning up sawdust but also the wood left behind from the hole saw!!
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Post by WrkrBee on Mar 31, 2021 21:47:38 GMT -5
I'll probably not use the suction line but was wondering what it was. Thanks for responding. I use the suction line to blow out the water pump water out the low point drain. Wife runs the pump for about 5 - 10 seconds and I apply air to the antifreeze suction line. |
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Post by earlelaine on Jun 7, 2022 11:02:21 GMT -5
Where did you buy the crimping tool?
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Post by WrkrBee on Jun 7, 2022 15:49:34 GMT -5
Where did you buy the crimping tool? Any big box store or Amazon has the PEX crimp tool. I also purchased a Klien tool bag to store the tool and the crimp rings together. |
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Post by spiderbobr on Jul 20, 2022 12:20:39 GMT -5
I'll continue to "tune up" sloppy assembly work on this this trailer... just a fact of life when you purchase an inexpensive camper. ZnaderMan: I read the part above and thought about how a fact of life it really is, but..... you say when you purchase an inexpensive camper, not true. We bought a Dolphin Class A custom 16 years ago, I had all the sloppy work to clean up in that too, then we had a fifth wheel, also quite expensive, guess what, I spend weeks cleaning up all the sloppy work in that too (got pictures) my wife and I just bought, last week, a Sonic 169, we love it, best one ever, but I look forward to cleaning up all the sloppy work in it as well. yes, it is a "fact of life" in every trailer (and RV) you come in contact with.  . But I really enjoy doing it too. |
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Post by earlelaine on Jul 21, 2022 7:09:44 GMT -5
A lot of loose parts are cut to the same size to be used on different models. The factory does want to have a 10 different size hoses so they take the longest one and make them all that size to fit all models. Factory's want to keep their real estate down so if they can cut their inventory space by 30% it's worth it to them.
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Post by WrkrBee on Jul 22, 2022 7:59:56 GMT -5
A lot of loose parts are cut to the same size to be used on different models. The factory does want to have a 10 different size hoses so they take the longest one and make them all that size to fit all models. Factory's want to keep their real estate down so if they can cut their inventory space by 30% it's worth it to them. That doesn't justify them leaving the offcuts rolling around under the cabinets. |
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Post by earlelaine on Jul 22, 2022 8:25:15 GMT -5
If you drive around Elkhart Indiana you will see "Hiring " signs at every trailer factory plus all the other non-RV business. They are so short staff the rv personal hold career days at the high schools begging for help. They try and still employees from the marine industry. As a employee at an RV factory every month you hear about another factory paying and extra $1 hour to jump ship and come to them. There's a big turn over of employees constantly. Some of these trailer are on a moving product line and Johnny has exactly 50 seconds to jump in and do his task and sometimes his misses connecting the audio cables or the that extra couple staples in the trim. Some of these employees are paid by each trailer they complete. If the factory is producing 10 trailers a day Johnny gets to go home as soon as he complete 10 trailers and that could be done in 4 hours. It's a whole different world in the RV industry. I personally worked at Jayco when the 1st started in the late 60's. My father was a general manage of Cobra industries which no longer exist due to mergers and buy outs. They daily word was if you screw up caulk it and move on.
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. But I really enjoy doing it too.