Show off your Mods

[donzinger]

Nope, just pushed the wire thru from the outside. It's actually a pretty short run

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[sundancer 87]

Originally Posted by donzinger

Installed fridge fan today. Didn't really have any cooling issues but figured since I had it

While running power thru the drain,

Figured I would put a digital temperature gage in as well. I find myself opening the door too often to monitor temperature. This will cure that.

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So, the wire nuts are just temporary, right?

[07dmax360]

bedroom awening installed today, borrowed scaffolding from work, I couldn't imagine doing this job on a ladder. Only did the one slide, these things are expensive!!! Carefree of Colorado, model SOK III

[donzinger]

Originally Posted by sundancer 87

So, the wire nuts are just temporary, right?

Yes. Now that I verified all worked, I have heat shrink crimp on connectors.


C'mon now, I'm not Dutchmen - LOL!

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[sundancer 87]

Originally Posted by donzinger

Yes. Now that I verified all worked, I have heat shrink crimp on connectors.


C'mon now, I'm not Dutchmen - LOL!

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I was 'damn man, with all the crap we have to fix from what Dutchman does now you wanna use wire nuts'? That was close

[Old Goat]

Thanks. Actually got it last year on either Amazon or eBay. Just never got around to installing it. Once fridge is loaded, no sense emptying it. Will try to get you a link for it

Don,
How did you run wiring from the meter on the refer door? Love the looksof it!

[donzinger]

Right behind the trim piece I mounted the meter in

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[Old Goat]

I see that you ran all the wires into the refer. Where did you pick up the power?

[wildwest450]

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

Don,

Are those 12v computer cooling fans?

Did you tap into the main power on the fridge?

Cale

I got mine off of ebay, good seller(full directions), it most definitely speeds up the cooling of the fridge when you first start it up, it also helps with frost build up on the fins.

Dometic Refrig Fan w on Off Switch Increases Cooling Standard Model | eBay

[donzinger]

Originally Posted by Old Goat

I see that you ran all the wires into the refer. Where did you pick up the power?

Ran wire up thru drain

Connected to switched source on outside

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[Rob C]

Kinda tired of worrying about making adjustments during the middle of a road trip and wondering how much life is left on the shoes, magnets, drums etc. Also, just never been happy with the stopping power and more importantly "consistent" stopping power of the drums.
Upgrading to separate hubs and rotors with electric over hydraulic disc brakes.
100861 Kodiak Slip On Stainless/Dac Disc Brake Kit 8 Lug 7k Axles w/ Hubs
HBA 16 HydraStar Electric Over Hydraulic Actuator for Disc Brakes - 1,600 psi
Most of the parts came in today so the easy part is over....Some assembly required now

[Helidriver]

Originally Posted by Rob C

Kinda tired of worrying about making adjustments during the middle of a road trip and wondering how much life is left on the shoes, magnets, drums etc. Also, just never been happy with the stopping power and more importantly "consistent" stopping power of the drums.
Upgrading to separate hubs and rotors with electric over hydraulic disc brakes.
100861 Kodiak Slip On Stainless/Dac Disc Brake Kit 8 Lug 7k Axles w/ Hubs
HBA 16 HydraStar Electric Over Hydraulic Actuator for Disc Brakes - 1,600 psi
Most of the parts came in today so the easy part is over....Some assembly required now

Would love to do this upgrade - where did you source the parts from ?

[Rob C]

Originally Posted by Helidriver

Would love to do this upgrade - where did you source the parts from ?

etrailer.com carries everything necessary but I picked up the hydraulic controller from them and the brake parts from boattrailerparts.com. I'm not sure etrailer offered the separate hub configuration and I had some difficulty navigating their web site. I wanted the separate hub/rotor to simplify future maintenance. It's more expensive but I think it's worth the future convenience.

[hddecker]

Originally Posted by Rob C

etrailer.com carries everything necessary but I picked up the hydraulic controller from them and the brake parts from boattrailerparts.com. I'm not sure etrailer offered the separate hub configuration and I had some difficulty navigating their web site. I wanted the separate hub/rotor to simplify future maintenance. It's more expensive but I think it's worth the future convenience.

WARNING:

Turn your brake controlers boost back down before test driving. Ensure passengers are wearing seatbelts.

I also upgraded my axles and did a wet bolt kit at the same time. You will be very happy with the stopping power, I know I was, my wife not so much. You can see the indentations in the dashboard where see grabbed the dash.

etrailer had the best prices of them all and the free shipping helped. By the time I did the currency exchange and paid the taxes, etrailer saved my over $1000 C. If we were to buy a new camper, it would go no farther than from the dealers lot to my drive way, until it had the conversion.

[donzinger]

Originally Posted by Rob C

Kinda tired of worrying about making adjustments during the middle of a road trip and wondering how much life is left on the shoes, magnets, drums etc. Also, just never been happy with the stopping power and more importantly "consistent" stopping power of the drums.
Upgrading to separate hubs and rotors with electric over hydraulic disc brakes.
100861 Kodiak Slip On Stainless/Dac Disc Brake Kit 8 Lug 7k Axles w/ Hubs
HBA 16 HydraStar Electric Over Hydraulic Actuator for Disc Brakes - 1,600 psi
Most of the parts came in today so the easy part is over....Some assembly required now

Please keep us posted on this project. I would like to do this one!

[1BadDiesel]

Stainless very nice ,do you have the lippert 7k axles? Where did you order your kit from , I would like to do this upgrade also. Good luck keep the pics coming.

[Rob C]

Yes! The other information is quoted in my 2nd post on this string. I'll post pictures along the way.

[Rob C]

Well I finally had a couple of hours to get the brake project underway today. Still pondering the location of the actuator. I had initially planned in the front compartment between the generator and battery box. It’s a perfect location but also the longest run for the brake line. The garage or even a hidden space behind the pantry are two more options. Much shorter run on the brake line but of course longer on the electrical run. I’m pretty sure I’ll opt for the longer electric run and use 10-gauge wire.
So the first order of business was to clean up the spindles (already removed and gifted the old brakes to Craig’s list). The spindles that had not been over greased were easy to clean up but one axle had been substantially over greased and there was dried hardened grease bonded behind the spindle seal. I don’t care for the Zerk fitting situation used to lube the axle cavity. It gives a false sense of security about the lubrication of the axle bearings while most of what is added simply fills the cavity in the hub between the bearings if you are lucky enough to get it in that far. I posted a video to show the location of the lube points for those who may not be familiar with it. This setup is far more effective at providing lubrication for your drum brake shoes than your axle bearings! For those who think giving them a squirt every time you take a long drive, you are building yourself a problem!!
I’m going to power pack my bearings before I install them and call it good until next year when I inspect them again. Also, I just might go for a wet bath so I can keep an eye on the lube level! At this point it’s only a few dollars more for the see through cap and double lip seal… More to come on that one.
So more about the installation…If you are going to spend much time under these triple axle units, you may want to take a couple extra minutes to tape some padding around the sharp pointy fender well trim. Ouch! They really hurt that bald spot on the back of my head!
My Lippert axles had studs installed to retain the backing plates for the drum brakes. I wanted to stay with the grade 5 stainless bolts provided by Kodiak for the new discs. The axle studs were very easy to remove with a medium ballpeen hammer and the new stainless bolts fit perfect.
Most of my time today was spent chasing down 28 wet bolts, all new shackle brackets and all new bronze bushings to replace the cheesy plastic ones that come preinstalled in the springs made in China. So far I have only disassembled the starboard side of the rig and most of the plastic bushings were shot as well as ALL of the shackle brackets were egg shaped to some degee. Some of the shackle brackets were egg shaped and spun on the knurl side of the shackle bolt, so they were frozen up in the middle causing the knurl to rotate (see pictures). FYI, I can only estimate since I am the 3rd owner of a 2013 model 3905. But I think it only has about 10K miles on it. Of course sand mountain and Pismo beach definitely take a toll on these parts. Regardless, the kind of wear I’m finding on the non lubricated pivot points is unacceptable! It is very sad that our penny pinching shopping habits pretty much force the manufacturers to also pinch pennies on these very critical parts to get the sale!
Changing out the plastic bushings is pretty straight forward. Just use a thin screwdriver and drive it along the outer edge, collapse it on itself and pry it out. I used and old shackle bolt, cleaned up and oiled to press the new bronze bushings fully home and then used and impact gun to spin the bolt free and remove it for the next press.
Still working on it but planning to replace all 13 dry bolts on each side with wet bolts and changing out the one and only wet bolt with a new one just for good measure.

[Rob C]

I was thinking the standard hubs would work for oil bath...Not! Looks like i'm sticking with grease!

Originally Posted by Rob C

Well I finally had a couple of hours to get the brake project underway today. Still pondering the location of the actuator. I had initially planned in the front compartment between the generator and battery box. It’s a perfect location but also the longest run for the brake line. The garage or even a hidden space behind the pantry are two more options. Much shorter run on the brake line but of course longer on the electrical run. I’m pretty sure I’ll opt for the longer electric run and use 10-gauge wire.
So the first order of business was to clean up the spindles (already removed and gifted the old brakes to Craig’s list). The spindles that had not been over greased were easy to clean up but one axle had been substantially over greased and there was dried hardened grease bonded behind the spindle seal. I don’t care for the Zerk fitting situation used to lube the axle cavity. It gives a false sense of security about the lubrication of the axle bearings while most of what is added simply fills the cavity in the hub between the bearings if you are lucky enough to get it in that far. I posted a video to show the location of the lube points for those who may not be familiar with it. This setup is far more effective at providing lubrication for your drum brake shoes than your axle bearings! For those who think giving them a squirt every time you take a long drive, you are building yourself a problem!!
I’m going to power pack my bearings before I install them and call it good until next year when I inspect them again. Also, I just might go for a wet bath so I can keep an eye on the lube level! At this point it’s only a few dollars more for the see through cap and double lip seal… More to come on that one.
So more about the installation…If you are going to spend much time under these triple axle units, you may want to take a couple extra minutes to tape some padding around the sharp pointy fender well trim. Ouch! They really hurt that bald spot on the back of my head!
My Lippert axles had studs installed to retain the backing plates for the drum brakes. I wanted to stay with the grade 5 stainless bolts provided by Kodiak for the new discs. The axle studs were very easy to remove with a medium ballpeen hammer and the new stainless bolts fit perfect.
Most of my time today was spent chasing down 28 wet bolts, all new shackle brackets and all new bronze bushings to replace the cheesy plastic ones that come preinstalled in the springs made in China. So far I have only disassembled the starboard side of the rig and most of the plastic bushings were shot as well as ALL of the shackle brackets were egg shaped to some degee. Some of the shackle brackets were egg shaped and spun on the knurl side of the shackle bolt, so they were frozen up in the middle causing the knurl to rotate (see pictures). FYI, I can only estimate since I am the 3rd owner of a 2013 model 3905. But I think it only has about 10K miles on it. Of course sand mountain and Pismo beach definitely take a toll on these parts. Regardless, the kind of wear I’m finding on the non lubricated pivot points is unacceptable! It is very sad that our penny pinching shopping habits pretty much force the manufacturers to also pinch pennies on these very critical parts to get the sale!
Changing out the plastic bushings is pretty straight forward. Just use a thin screwdriver and drive it along the outer edge, collapse it on itself and pry it out. I used and old shackle bolt, cleaned up and oiled to press the new bronze bushings fully home and then used and impact gun to spin the bolt free and remove it for the next press.
Still working on it but planning to replace all 13 dry bolts on each side with wet bolts and changing out the one and only wet bolt with a new one just for good measure.

[hddecker]

Rob,

If you have a spindle that has grease that's hardened up, I'll bet them bearings have never been cleaned and inspected in their service life. Like everything there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. The EZ-lube hubs work fine when they are used correctly, but that does not mean that the need for a regular clean/inspect/repack is eliminated.

We are more travellers, than campers, so we do between 10-15K a year. That means 3-5 drum brake adjustments (when we had drum brakes) on the road. Now this is were the EZ-lube can by used as intended. The wheel has to be off the ground and rotated, as you add the grease. A typical road maintenance day on the trailer for me, would be adjust the brakes, check the bearing end play and a shot of grease into the hub as the tire is rotating.

Now the wrong way seen lots of them, guy gets up in the morning, pumps grease into the hub until it lubes the brakes.

Oh, dilemma! No more brake adjustments, not what.