RE: Mattress Replacement
When we had the trailer, we tried 6 (!) different sleeping combinations, hoping for the best. I slept, but woke up with painful hips. When we bought the Bounder last July, the first thing we did was drive it right to the big box mattress store and have them measure and tell us what would fit. Then, we tried all of them and picked one. We just got back from a 3 day trip and our friends had to pound on the sides to wake us up! I can use regular sheets and am now looking for many more weekend rving opportunities. Cost was $419.00 or something really close to that. I figure that was $2000.00 less than the failed trailer experiments.
RE: Cover for rear window
We bought a roll of silver quilted insulation at Home Depot. I think it was 20-22' long. Then we cut it to size, put velcro tabs on the corners and we were good to go. The rolls came in a lot of sizes, so you should be able to find what you need. We put it on all of our windows to be able to sleep in longer, keep out the sun during the day, and keep the heat in at night. When I don't want them up, I just take them down, roll them up and stash.
RE: Cool Mods
We bought our 21' Rockwood used. After the floor threatened to collapse after 3 months due to extensive water damage, unknown at time of purchase, we had to take most of the interior out and remove the flooring down to the studs. We then dried everything, replaced the insulation and put in laminate flooring throughout. Once that had been done, we thought, well....so:
1: Custom made a medicine cabinet by cutting into the bathroom closet, affixed a balsa wood box with shelves and covered with a cabinet door that matched.
2. Installed a custom shower rod that makes it much more roomy when using the shower. Changed the faucets from plastic to more attractive chromed look plastic. changed to oxygenics shower head.
3. Removed one dinette seat and replaced the table with a moveable table with two chairs. Now we can take the table and chairs outside. Recovered the remaining bench seat.
4. Removed all of the window valences and blinds. Replaced with cafe curtains so they can be laundered easily. A necessity in the desert.
5. Installed lcd tv/dvd player combo. DH moved the speakers from the sound system that with the TT over our heads into the cabinet above the beds. Now we can listen without having to turn it up too loudly.
6: Removed the queen bed and replaced with twin bunks with large storage containers underneath. We now have room for a nice looking plastic 3 drawer storage unit that holds LOTS of things and provides a resting place for drinks. glasses etc. Also made a straight path to the bathroom, so night trips are much easier.
7: Added plexi glass removable panels to the door so that we don't lose the view when using the a/c or the heat.
The main theme is beach. We have restrained ourselves slightly, but the grass skirts around the beds give it away!
We are always thinking about what is next. We have as much storage as much larger units, and it is fully customized for us.
