Been awhile since I've posted anything or even done something to the trailer other than use it.
The biggest news if you haven't heard (where have you been?) is that the 88 is towpig no more... It's been retired from those duties and actually is off the road entirely at the moment. I've picked up quite the replacement towpig...
It's a 1998 Chevy Silverado K3500, 454 NV4500. I bought it with 135k on the clock and a bad transmission for a good price. It was 100% stock when I got it, obviously I've blacked a few things out, re-did the lighting and made it a GMC.
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Here she is on the last outing with the trailer and all 3 quads.
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Now, back to what we are here for: Trailer mods.
Seeing as it's winter and I'm going to be out camping in the cold, I finally decided it was time to upgrade the heating system. The original forced air furnace worked ok, but once temps dipped under 30 outside it really struggled to keep it toasty inside. Combine that with the fact that is forced air, the fan runs the batteries down enough by mid day 2 that they need a charge.
Time for a catalytic heater. I picked up a Camco Wave 8 on amazon. A friend of mine has the 3 model and loves it in his camper. Since my trailer is larger and is less airtight than newer stuff, I decided go big or go home.
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The purchase was the easy part. Finding a place to mount it in a trailer that has tons of cabinets and windows is the hard part... It is 15"x21" and needs 4" on sides and bottom plus 18" on top of clearance. That's a big footprint.
I decided that the only fixed window in the trailer was pretty much useless anyway. It's meant to me a fire escape style window, but really it just lets heat out and can't really be used for ventilation. If there were ever a fire in this thing or some emergency, the likelihood of me not being able to get out is minimal. Worst case I'll break through one of the jalousie windows, since could easily be ripped out. Plus the hot water heater is under the couch so there is propane available nearby.
Removed all the trim and curtains, installed some blocking and rigid insulation, then paneled over the opening.
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Odd not having a window there anymore, but honestly this trailer has more windows than it needs. The entire front wall, opposite side of the couch, dinette, kitchen, entrance door and bathroom, plus 2 skylight vents. Really I'm not loosing any natural light.
Then to get the heater mounted, and run the propane line.
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Unfortunately the hamper door is right in the way of running the line straight down, but this works. If the window & frame weren't part of the wall I'd have bought the recess kit and sunk it in the wall and ran the lines inside. Oh well. This heater will be removed when I sell the trailer and change to a slide in camper. At that time the blockout panel will be removed and everything will go back to normal.
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Man it cranks out the heat. Unlike the forced air furnace this consumes interior oxygen, so I need to crack a window and vent. No big deal there. Now that I have it all situated I'll have to get the blockout panel painted up and blend it into the wall, but that will come at a later date.
