94 grandby mods awning(s), vent, antenna and shore cable

[cerve137]

Hey all, fairly new to the forum and picked up my 94 grandby in late august. It currently rides on a '01 tundra reg cab long box v8, but I plan to get a 2nd gen tundra over the winter or in the spring. I'm planning a few mods over the winter and would really appreciate any feedback or tips you may be willing to share. I plan on installing ARB awnings on both sides of the camper. They will both be the 2000mm length or 6 feet roughly. The driver's side will use the 3 wall system from ARB and will serve as the restroom/shower or mtn bike garage. The passenger side will use the screen room option if necessary or the wind break accessory. Using the 6 foot awning, I will have to relocate the rear roof latches to the back corner or around the corner on the back wall. I'm wondering if I simply remove the rear latches and seal up the holes and re-mount with new screws and sealant or is there more to it than that. I'm also thinking of mounting bikes to the back wall with a fork mount style rack, so the rear wall latch may not be the best idea for me. If anyone has nice pics of their bike racks on FWC's, I would surely appreciate it. For the rear awning, I thought I would just go with a 6 foot standard bag awning with the awning rail attached to the roof. That way I thought if I was going in and out of the camper without the roof popped up, I could just flop the bag over on the roof and it wouldn't interfere with the opening of the door. Any thoughts on this would be great.

The second big project I plan on doing is adding a second maxx fan above the bed. This fall I had the non-powered vent swapped to a maxx fan with ceiling fan mode at my local rv shop. It seemed easy enough and research tells me there is already power in the roof even in the front vent location in my '94. So I will chop in to the roof to add the second vent. Any further tips on cutting a new vent hole would be great. I have read the post on here concerning the project and have a good idea, but any more feedback is always welcomed.

Another thing I would like to do is add a shore cable outlet on the driver's side for when we are at bigger campgrounds. I am also adding a digital tv antenna to the roof for when we are primitive camping just for news and killing time during a storm. The shore cable will just be routed to the side of the fridge where the power outlet is and can be hooked up to when necessary. Has anyone done anything similar to this?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Welcome to the group! Sounds like you're going to have fun. When you put the second fan in, talk to FWC (Shaw) to get measurements for where to chop into the roof.

I believe there are a couple of members using back wall bike mounts. Lighthawk may be one of the people with that set up. We use a receiver mount for our bikes.

 

[longhorn1]

Cerve137,

Welcome. You are in for the time of your life. I will comment on the awning only. When we ordered our 2014 Grandby, we ordered the 8' side awning and the rear awning. We have found over the past 2 seasons of camping that we usually move to different campgrounds every 2-3 days. We also tend to drop the top and head out sightseeing for the day. For that reason the rear awning has been used only a few times, and on our last trips stayed in the bag on the floor of the truck. The side awning doesn't take much to open or close, but we didn't use it much this year. We bought a tailgating awning from our son, which we used over the picnic table for 4 days in Michigan and the first 2 days in Vermont. Since we were only staying in a campground for 2 nights each and there was no rain we opted not to use it for the rest of the trip. I'm considering buying a screened in tent without floor that can be set-up over the picnic table and left when we head out for the day. I believe if we were staying in one place for 4 or more days and not driving all over the place we would set up the rear awning. If it is raining the rear awning is great for keep the rain out with the door open, but we found with the door open and latched the rear window curtain and inside of the door are exposed to the rain. For $250 - $400 you can buy a screen tent shelter and another small tent to store your bikes. If we knew what we know now, I might not have ordered either awning. At the same time I have them so I'm sure there will be a time and place for their used. We have a trip scheduled for late next year through Wyoming and Montana and most nights will be a campgrounds or dispersed camping for 1 night each. Good Luck. jd

 

[billharr]

Comments on the front vent. You can feel the 1 inch alum supports from the inside where the vent will go. Carefully cut back the liner and drill small holes at each corner the the sq where the fan will go and cut out. You should also see the wiring after you cut back the liner.

I did add a power plug to my camper when I did my shell build out. You should attach the plug to a frame member, just the siding will not give you enough support. If you have a cabinet in you camper you can use a sharp ice pick to fine the frame supports. If you do not have a cabinet you can unscrew the side panel and see the supports. Might have to build a small frame to pop rivet into the frame.

Frame I build for my water fill. Where frame went.

 

[cerve137]

Thanks for the replies. Really helps to hear from other people. I figured the go from the inside and find the corners of the vent would be the best bet. I also think it's wise to brace any outlet up against a frame member although I didn't even think about it. I also really appreciate the first hand experience with awnings and also the tips on bike racks. This forum has been a great resource so far and I hope to contribute to the pile of knowledge.

 

[bb5qyt]

I carry my mountain bike on the rear wall using a Kuat 15mm fork mount. I drilled through the wall and mounted it with 4 carriage bolts. I sandwiched the camper with aluminum sheet on both sides. It's plenty sturdy and I can still open the door with a bike mounted.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Wander The West mobile app

 

[cerve137]

Those are exactly the pics I was looking for. I didn't initially think the plate on both sides would be necessary, but after seeing your pics, I think it's wise. Do you hold the rear wheel with just a d-ring and bungee?

 

[Happyjax]

Welcome to the coolest forum on the net! If you help with a camper this is the place. Good luck with your camper

 

[bb5qyt]

Yep, d ring and bungee for rear wheel.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Wander The West mobile app