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Messages - billandmissy

#1
My wife and I recently took a two week trip to Glacier NP in our 8.1.  It's a long drive from IN, but we love that park so much.  When we got back, I decided to go ahead and make a few upgrades...

First, I took off the counter top with the sink and stove.  It came off very easily, just lifted it right off the screws.  Ours is a 2013 that we bought in 2017, I think.  We had never used the micro sink (it pretty much served as our "junk drawer") and the stove maybe once.  We always cook and clean-up outside the camper and I don't see that changing.  I replaced it with a simple pine project board cut to size, which provides a much more useful flat surface.  We used ebony stain and spar urethane to seal.

Second, I replaced the carpet, which the previous owners put over the aluminum floor, with luxury vinyl planks.  Facebook Marketplace provided 100 ft2 of someone's leftovers for $70 - msrp was $7/ft2, so it is quite a bit nicer than what I would have gotten had a gone to a box store.  It was super easy to install and makes the interior look much, much better.  Plus it will be easier to keep clean than the carpet.  This added 50-60 lbs to the weight of the camper.

Since it's generally just the two of us, we had already taken out the benches and table and replaced them with two Lifetime folding chairs and card table.  We only occasionally use them.  The space is much more usable without the benches.  We keep all our gear in bins, which travel on the floor and get moved up to the single bed when we set up.

We also purchased an ARB fridge/freezer several years ago, and we love it.  It was pricy and it's heavy, but so nice to not have to mess with ice and a soggy cooler.

Next on the list is to repaint and re-caulk the top (the underside of the beds when set up).  Has anybody done this?  The original paint looks bad and is very sticky.  Any suggestions on how to best do this?  I'm assuming I need to remove the existing paint.  And I'm not sure what kind of paint to use.  I've used paint from grizzlygrip.com before, so I might look into that.  Also, most of the original caulk has already peeled off.

Our tent is in OK shape - it has 4 or 5 small holes patched and a lot of black marks from (I assume) oxidation on the poles.  We have the awning, but have seldom used it.  We bought a cover from Popup Gizmos a few years ago for a trip to Texas and New Orleans and found that it works really well.  We slept pretty comfortably in 90+ degrees.  If we camp in that heat again, I'd like to find a way to reroute the air flow from the a/c to over the bed.

Other ideas we've thought about, but haven't acted upon:
- upgrading the battery and adding a portable solar charger (pricy and haven't really needed it)
- purchasing a portable cassette toilet (so far that doesn't seem that it's worth the hassle and space)
- upgrading to radial tires (we will do this when the current tires need replacing)

So what upgrades have you thought about or actually done?
#2
That makes sense - thanks!
#3
Hello - we have a 2013 Quicksilver 8.1 that we bought used 4 or 5 years ago.  We love it!  Driving back to Indiana from Glacier NP last week, I decided to replace the well-worn-but-not-quite-yet-dangerous tires.  It was easy enough to find a place in Rapid City to get that done.  However, I had forgotten that ours did not come with a spare tire.  I can see the housing on the underside where one would go, but am not sure what hardware is needed.  Could someone with a spare tire take a picture of your spare tire in place so that I can get an idea of what I need to attach one to our camper?  Thanks!
#4
About how much was the price quoted to you by Top Stitch?  We have a used 2013 8.1 and haven't experienced the problems you've mentioned with snaps or tightness (we've had it out 3 weeks this summer and travelled 6k miles), but I've also wondered why vinyl was chosen over other materials that would be better looking and longer lasting, and not that much more expensive.
#5
When we first got our used 8.1, the cover was in really bad shape.  You could feel new cracks being created when you'd roll it up.  I called a local marine shop and they gave a very reasonable quote, something like $250, for what they described as much better material, plus they'd put on the snaps.  I wonder if several owners got together and placed one order for multiple covers, if an even better deal couldn't be worked out.

What I didn't know when I made that contact was that the previous owner had already purchased a new cover from LL and it was in a box inside the trailer.  All I had to do was put on the snaps.  I still think the material is cruddy - but it will be garage kept, so hopefully we're good for a few years.
#6
Hello all,

We have a 2013 QS8.1 that we bought used earlier this year.  In a few weeks, we're taking on it's first long trip (probably 3500 miles).  I saw somewhere in the old forum that someone suggested traveling with a bearing kit in case you run into trouble.  Sounds like good advice.  I sent a copy of the label on the axle to Dexter and they kindly sent me a few spec sheets with the part numbers of all the hub components.  I'm guessing that what I have is probably the same for the entire QS line over the years.  Anyway, thought I'd pass along what I got from them.  I'll attach a pic of the label and the spec sheets.  Here's the bearing kit from etrailer:  https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer_Bearings_Races_Seals/TruRyde/BK1-150.html.  The kits are $10 each, so $20 is not bad for a little peace of mind.

#7
One of the first things we did when we got our used 8.1 in January was to take the table and benches out.  Since it will generally just be my wife and I using it, we can make better use of the space with a folding table, folding chairs, and bins for storage.  However, I did notice that it didn't take much weight for the table to bend a bit and slide off the lip of the benches.  The table seemed pretty flimsy to me.
#8
That's a good idea.  After posting last night, I went out and moved and shook the bimini poles around a bit, probably worse than they'd be moved by wind, and nothing came loose.  The cord doesn't move along the poles very easily, so it seems like they'll stay in place.  If not, attaching a few zip ties is a great idea.  My goal was to make this shelf in such a way that it can be easily removed and anything that is left up (just the 2 cords) won't cause any harm when the tent is folded down for traveling or storage.
#9
This looks pretty neat!

I'd love to try this, but wonder how much we'd use the galley sink (or stove, for that matter).  We're new to the QS (or any camper) world, having done tons of tent camping.  We've only taken the camper out once, but did all our cooking and dishwashing outside.  It looks like you've upgraded the galley surface, so maybe your sink is deeper and more usable.  I'm actually thinking of removing the faucet and covering the sink altogether.

Would it be possible to add an inline heater so you'd have hot water to wash dishes?
#10
So, we purchased a used 8.1 around Christmas and I made a few quick changes right away. I upgraded the mattress on the queen bed, removed the table and bench seats and replaced them with a folding card table and chairs, and bought all the kitchen stuff we'll ever need. 

We recently spent our first few nights in the camper over spring break and realized there is a lack of horizontal surfaces to set things.  So I bought a one by six pine shelf, a short length of 3/4" PVC pipe, and some tee nuts.  The basic idea is to attach short lengths of PVC pipe to the back of the shelf that will grab onto the biminis above the back window. The front of the shelf will be held up by a short lengths of cord tied to the biminis on the ceiling of the tent.



I cut the PVC pipe into two 6-inch lengths and then cut them along the length at 12 o'clock and 7 o'clock. If you remove less than that, it will be hard to attach the pipe to the Biminis.  If you remove more, they won't attach at all. 

I installed the tee nuts to the back of the shelf at the two points where the shelf meets the biminis just above the back window. I drilled a hole near the end of each of the PVC pieces for the screw that will hold the PVC to the shelf at the tee nuts. On the front side of the shelf, I sawed two corresponding slits for the cord that will hold the front up.  I cut two lengths of 3 mm cord and tied one end of each to the top part of the biminis and then tied a knot in each at the place that would hold the shelf level.

To hang the shelf, hold it in place and pull the two cords into the two slits on the front of the shelf. Then you simply snap the PVC into the bars at the back of the shelf.  I tested it with 40 pounds of weight, which is much more than I think I will ever put up there, and everything stayed in place.  Hopefully this will give us a little bit of convenient horizontal space without encroaching into our head room very much. 

Here are a few more pictures:



My only concern is how this set-up will behave if we are in strong wind that moves the tent and the biminis a little bit. 


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