Aliner Mods - 2004 Classic

Chandelier When we told a relative about all the amenities in our new Aliner, she laughingly said all it lacked was a crystal chandelier. Soon after, I saw a very small chandelier at Lowe's - with a price equaling my birthday money. Taking that as a sign, I brought it home and rewired it for the camper. I took off most of the chain and put a small s-hook in the last link, which I hung from a picture-hanger eye in the peak of the roof. Velcro clips on the cord stuck to velcro squares along the peak and down the side by the door, where I had an inline switch. Then the cord ran along the shelf over the A/C and down to the outlet. Although it was just for fun, our chandelier really did provide good overall light with a single 40-watt bulb. It traveled suspended in a bucket stored on the wheel-well cover under the sink.  Better 110v Access When we left the rear bed made up, the 110v outlet located under the bed was very inconvenient. I fastened a power-strip extension cord to t...

When I set out to add a hot water heater and new faucet to our Aliner, I knew almost nothing about plumbing. Ignorance worked to my advantage, though, because I tried all sorts of things before I was successful. I did buy a plumbing reference book, but trial and error taught more. Maybe some of the things I learned will help others who are also starting from scratch. First, I had to consider what I wanted to connect, where the pipe/hose would or could run, and what kind of water it had to carry - potable (drinking), hot or cold, under pressure or not, inside or outside. All of that made a difference. I had 3 basic options - metal pipe, plastic pipe, and hose. Metal Pipe I didn't even attempt metal pipe, but I did use lots of brass fittings. They come in all kinds of sizes and shapes. Male ends (threads on the outside) and female ends (threads on the inside) are usually "pipe threads" - slightly tapered. As you tighten the joint with a wrench, the threads wedge to...

Quick Connects for Hoses After many scraped knuckles from trying to screw the water hose onto the camper inlet in a tight space, we gave up and opted for the same kind of "quick connects" we use on our garden hoses. We tried several different models before we found ones that fit inside the water access door, and had to remove the handy-dandy grippers on the connectors, but the results were well worth it. We used Teflon plumbing tape for leak-proof joints. Both ends of our water and utility hoses, as well as the spigot "Y", were then easy and quick to connect. New Faucet and Sink Drain The factory-supplied faucet was awful. It was either full-on or off and splashed like crazy. I replaced it with a Shurflo folding faucet . I knew nothing about plumbing when I started the project, but the more I learned, the easier it became. The final plan was a lot simpler than my first conception.).  First, I corrected the sink drain. I loosened the sink, which ...

The camper did not come with a water heater, and while it was easy to heat water on the stove or in an electric pot, it would be more convenient to have hot water available from the faucet. Convenient, yes ... but a real challenge to figure out! Prepping the WH A 2.5 gal "point-of-use" water heater from Home Depot was just right - about the same size as a 20# propane tank. It had a drain, an adjustable thermostat, and an electrical plug. The water inlet and outlet were female pipe threads in the top of the WH; I put a 1/2" male pipe (MIP) x female pipe (FIP) elbow in each one. On the inlet side, I added a 1/2" MIP x 3/8" compression adapter, and on the outlet side I added a 1/2" MIP x male garden hose adapter. That was the hardest part of the whole project - getting those connections watertight! I worked in the basement and used our washer hoses to test the connections. It took 3-4 turns of Teflon tape on the male ends (wrapped in the direction of t...

Overhead Poles The single best improvement I made was to hang poles across the camper. They reinforce the side walls and provide great storage. My first attempts to support the poles - relying on tension and velcro - didn't work. The side walls are also too thin to support screws without drilling all the way through, something I didn't want to do. The beauty of the solution described below is that the weight of the poles and shelves hangs from the top of a horizontal surface, so it is quite strong. Supplies (2) adjustable aluminum painter's extension poles (2) pair white plastic hangers for drop-in closet rods (u-end and o-end) (4) white rubber chair tips (2 each of 2 sizes) to fit both ends of the aluminum poles (4) small white rubber bumpers with recessed screw hole (4) 6-32 stop nuts (4) 6-32 acorn nuts (4) 6-32x1/2 machine screws, pan head (4) 6-32x3/8 machine screws, pan head (2) 1-1/8 x .54 x 1/8 flat nylon washers (8) 8x1/2 self-tapping metal screw...