Having been in the RV industry all my life, and building my own cabinets during my van shop days, I love to sit and look at the Walnut cabinets in our coach. Just amazes me the quality and craftsmanship, which you, as the owner of one know about.
But whenever I sit and stare at the cabinets, I zero in on stuff that looks old school. One of which is the vent control in the kitchen. Not only is it old looking, it just looks out of place where they mounted it..
I was going to change it out with a Max Air, with a Maxi Air outside vent cover, but then I thought, well it works fine.We rarely use the vent to start with, don't really care about the thermostat in it. So I chucked the control, used a 2 way switch I had on hand, and hid it in the cabinet. I have putty on hand, that is dead nuts.
Many of you probably know this, but I was told that Ray Fore always took the 1st prototype of a new coach, and used it for a while, to find things like switch location etc. before the coach went into production.
To be honest, every coach I have owned, I always came home with a list of things to change after a trip. But not with our Foretravel.
Chris
Chris,
Excellent modification in my opinion. I plan to copy.
Richard
Thank you, my wife says she never noticed it. I guess I overthink stuff. Probably from having my dealer license, always looking for the stuff people might notice.
Cheers
Good move. I've always thought they were ugly and ill placed. I always paint them a cleaner off white but I like your idea better. Think I'll knock it off.
jor
I seriously thought about painting it brown or something. I think I have an illness though!
Was going to do a blank brown plate, if I did the vent. BTW, all you have to do, it drill a about 1" hole with a hole saw, pull the wires through. Don't have to take anything apart.
But you know what? It's like restoring a nice old car, and these coaches are worth it.
Chris
Hmmm- ours is on the touchpad with the lights that is labeled ventilation
Guessing you have the Intellitec lighting option, then.
Is there a bunch of electrical stuff located in the cabinets below the refrigerator? (that's usually where the Intellitec control unit is located)
Chris,
I followed your lead and got rid of the big thermostatically controlled vent controller. My controller had a three position rocker switch at the bottom which was for low, off, and high fan speed. I salvaged that switch and now use it to control the fan.
I had a scrap piece of aluminum left over from when I removed the VRT monitor in the dash. So I fabricated a plate to hold the switch. I had to add the half inch piece of walnut because there was not enough space behind the switch without it.
All in all I am pleased with the outcome. Thank you for the inspiration.
Richard
Agree - stupid place to mount those controls, for several reasons (cosmetic and functional).
Our coach had the fan controller and the front propane heater thermostat mounted up in that spot above the cook top and microwave. I moved both of them to another location down to the wall next to the sink, where the PowerWatch panel is located. See the thread linked below if you care about the details.
Atwood Hydro Flame Thermostat Relocation (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=29819)
Now that is a crazy place for a therstate, right next to the stove!
Nice job Richard. I feel so much better now, that I am not alone in my thinking.
Cheers
Chris