Travel Trailer Mods 1-5

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Mod #1

We brought home our new Aerolite 21QS in July and I have been itching to get started on some Mods.  The pantry is 23" deep so you could hardly get to items in the back and everything bounced around a lot with every trip so I built some slide out shelves to fix the problems. I used some scrap wood I had around so my only cost was the $15 each for the full extension drawer slides from Home Depot.
 

Mod #2

In my continuing effort to optimize storage, I have added a drawer where there used to be a cupboard door leading to the wide open space under the front bunks. Anything put in there could end up as much as 6 feet away after bouncing around during travel so the new drawer will help to keep things in order. Dim. are 18" x 18" x 14" deep.  My cost was $13 for the drawer slides and about $3.25 worth the 1/2 plywood from a 4x8 sheet I bought to do several mods. The rest was a little bit of scrap wood I had laying around.
 

Mod #3

It seemed there was space missing under my front bunk so I removed the panel and found another 3 square feet of storage space I could make use of.  I just used scrap wood to make a surround wall for the hot water heater and bam I have space for the kids RC toys or nerf rockets.  My cost, $0.00

Mod #4

I added a diamond plate "tool" box to the A frame hitch for storage of more the dirty hitching and campsite items.  I also replaced the 1-12 volt with 2-6 volt batteries while I was at it.   My cost was $148 for the box and $.21 for the washers to mount it.  Also the 2 batteries cost $122 at Sam's and the wiring to connect them was $6.

The toolbox on the frame took the place of the battery holder that was there before so I just used the same holes and the larger machine bolts/screws that were there.  The only thing I added was some washers inside the box so the heads could not pull through.  I put some bolts in the existing holes, lined up the box where I wanted it and hit the bottom of the box with a hammer in the inside near where I figured the bolts would be. Where ever there was a bump, I knew where to drill.  The box is a "slim" version (12") for small trucks and just barely fits to leave room to raise the weight dist. hitch arms.

Inside the box I lined the part where the batteries are with some 1/2" plastic dense foam I had from some packing material so the batteries would not rub. I also cut a 3/4" board to the exact width of the box and drilled and screwed it into place to hold the batteries in place.

Mod #5

Under the couch seemed like a big area with only the small heater there.  The couch was bolted down and the area was sealed from access.  I popped off the couch and opened up the area to see at least another 3 sq. feet of storage area available.  I moved the heating vent and put in a couple of enclosing walls so nothing would be to close to the furnace. I recycled the smaller cupboard door that used to be at the end of one of the dinette benches (more about this soon) and was able to make space to store shoes or dirty clothes or something.   Once again I used scrap wood so my cost was $0.00