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so I have owned my trailer 2 months now, its been at the dealer for 90% of the time, making repairs and waiting on parts and such

I got it back today!

i planned on installing the lift kit, my LED porch light, the new fan controls, and a voltmeter/ usb charging station

 

well I got the trailer all jacked up, took the tires off, dropped the axle and found out Forest River sent me the Alco spacer kit, not the dexter kit.

The Alco is about 2 inches short, and the holes for the mounting are 1 inch too narrow..... called FR and vented, new kit is on the way hopefully it will be here next week

 

so put the axle back on, put the wheels on and on to the inside stuff!

 

first I have a new Fantasitc fan control, the stock one was 3 speed, that's it.... the new one is 3 speed, forward/ reverse switch, t-stat switch, and then I added an extra switch by the crank...

Edit- I should add that i had to modify the new switch cover as it had square corners and my original one has indentations at each corner, i got the dremel out and made the new cover match the original one. would have been 15-20 min faster if it fit like the original, but hey everything fits and it looks stock and that was my intention

10422120_10101174442050845_3347242317288

Then is was time to cover up the wire....

11873487_10101174442015915_4433378096037

and then install the out door unit, its small, only 10 inches, but its got 24 LED's and puts out 350+ lumens

11903724_10101174442080785_8598375137552

and now to test the switch

11903803_10101174442035875_1977100117827

with it this low on the roof, the Bag awning clears it when its rolled up, so it can be used with the awing open or closed.

 

then on the inside, next to the stereo i installed one of these

61nkh9Jt4vL._SL1500_.jpg

 

I put it on a switch, and wired it into the radio power wire as its always hot for the radio to store station memory.

we replaced the fuse for the radio and went up by 5 amps as that's the max draw of the usb ports.

now with the roof down I can see the battery voltage, make sure that my TV is charging the house battery and know that i am good to go!

 

more mods to come as money/weather allows

no rain today but it was 96 with a heat index of 113, glad i was working on the 12 v as I could pull fuses and work in ac around 78 vs the out door heat

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Unfortunately the only picture I can see is the USB/ DC Voltmeter and it looks interesting  What is the make and model of the USB/ DC Volt meter?  I need to ad a DC meter and extra USB ports are always useful.

that's odd, anyone else having that issue? I use FB as my photo storage so if your on a work computer that may block FB then you wont see the photos

the part was from amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L9PUAGY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

XYZ marine supplies

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I can see all of your photos.

That's an impressive list of mods that you got done in one session.

TCD

I am 32, and have access to an ase master mechanic( dad certified for 35 years) and $125,000+ in tools

When you have those on your side everything goes fast and smooth

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that's odd, anyone else having that issue? I use FB as my photo storage so if your on a work computer that may block FB then you wont see the photos

the part was from amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L9PUAGY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

XYZ marine supplies

 

I have been looking to put in an voltmeter and like the idea of the USB ports for charging. It sure beats tying up outlets with wall warts. I think you've just given me my next project along with a rack to hold the devices being charged.

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You link photos on FaceBook to here?

yea I use FB  every few hours, its easy to take a pic and put it in a hidden album on FB.

then i can link pic's from that album to here as needed.

no one on FB can see the photos, as far as i know, as they are only view able by me due to the privacy settings on that album, However if you get to the pic, you can copy the URL and paste it here and you all can see

Its a win win for me, I dont need another photo service

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I have been looking to put in an voltmeter and like the idea of the USB ports for charging. It sure beats tying up outlets with wall warts. I think you've just given me my next project along with a rack to hold the devices being charged.

ohh I never thought of a rack.... darn you!  off to the wood shop at the neighbors house....

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Unfortunately the only picture I can see is the USB/ DC Voltmeter and it looks interesting  What is the make and model of the USB/ DC Volt meter?  I need to ad a DC meter and extra USB ports are always useful.

that's odd, anyone else having that issue? I use FB as my photo storage so if your on a work computer that may block FB then you wont see the photos

the part was from amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L9PUAGY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

XYZ marine supplies

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

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yea I use FB  every few hours, its easy to take a pic and put it in a hidden album on FB.

then i can link pic's from that album to here as needed.

no one on FB can see the photos, as far as i know, as they are only view able by me due to the privacy settings on that album, However if you get to the pic, you can copy the URL and paste it here and you all can see

Its a win win for me, I dont need another photo service

Cool, I'll have to look into that. I'm peoed at Photobucket

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just an update, its been almost 2 weeks Since I contacted Forest River about being sent the wrong parts, and still have no Tracking information on the replacement parts.

and this whole ordeal about the spacer/ axle issue started in July.

 

as a result I have now ordered the parts from the internet that i need, the ones that should have been sent over a month ago

I should have them on Thursday and I plan to install them on Saturday so i can close this issue out and start using the unit.

 

My advice is never buy a forest river product, they cant support it properly should a problem arise, and this is not a dealer issue, it came from the factory like this

I do plan on writing a Formal Letter to the NHTSA pertaining to the safety concern, and i have alerted the rep at forest river to this development, and i know i am not the only one, there are a few others on the FROG forum who have the same issue and are now doing as i do and are installing the spacer.

For those of you that don't know, the left side tire under the slide, has .75 inches of clearance and that's not acceptable, especially when the axle manufacture states you need 3 inches.

the spacer will raise the trailer 3 inches and provide the correct distance between the tire and wheel well for safe travel. 

 

thanks for listening to my rant, I am better now....

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My advice is never buy a forest river product, they cant support it properly should a problem arise, and this is not a dealer issue, it came from the factory like this

I do plan on writing a Formal Letter to the NHTSA pertaining to the safety concern, and i have alerted the rep at forest river to this development, and i know i am not the only one, there are a few others on the FROG forum who have the same issue and are now doing as i do and are installing the spacer.

For those of you that don't know, the left side tire under the slide, has .75 inches of clearance and that's not acceptable, especially when the axle manufacture states you need 3 inches.

the spacer will raise the trailer 3 inches and provide the correct distance between the tire and wheel well for safe travel. 

 

thanks for listening to my rant, I am better now....

I don't blame you for ranting.  A friend of mine bought a brand new Rockwood travel trailer a few years ago and had numerous problems with it, including a water leak in the bedroom that the dealer couldn't/wouldn't repair.  At least you can do this repair yourself so you'll know it was done correctly.

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We have a Forest River product with very good customer support, I do believe some brands are better at it then others. It is actually at the factory now getting work done and it is 5 year old. So out of warranty but fixed for at no cost to us.

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