Making Modifications Prior to 1st Outing

legolas · 05-03-2018, 08:47 AM

We picked up our new (to us it had 9,500 miles on it) 2017 Minnie Winnie 31KP in March 2018. I knew there were things I wanted to do to the unit. I had traded in my 2013 rear living TT which I had modified to fit our needs. SO I knew I wanted more storage, a place for the sewer hose, an inverter, extensions for the air valves on the wheels - especially the rear duallies and of course a TPMS. I had a TPMS on the TT which I was happy with and so only needed to get 2 more sending units and then reprogram, and replacing the couch with two recliners.

I am in process now, the inverter has been installed, a local cabinet company is fabricating cabinets, drawers and shelving, valve stem extensions are scheduled for next week, sewer hose storage is completed, still tinkering with the storage config in the "trunk" .

The hardest part is turning out to be finding recliner to replace the couch. The difficulty is sizing the recliners to fit the space.....the height of the back is turning out to be the sticking point. IF anyone has a good line on a recliner which has a height of the back of 33' please let me know. I have been looking at a number of websites including GLASTOP, ETRAILER and SHOP4SEATS.

I am taking pictures and will be posting before / after when all is done.

I would greatly appreciate advice from any one on the couch issue.

oldmainah · 05-06-2018, 04:47 PM

We wanted to replace the jack knife sofa in our 03 Minnie 31C with recliners but couldn't find any that would fit in the 67" wide space. We ended up getting a RecPro recliner/loveseat. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Here are pictures of the new and the old. This unit is 39" high though, and you said you were restricted to 33". What is driving that limitation?

BobC · 05-07-2018, 01:56 PM

I don't have the measurements of our's and my motorhome is in storage but we found some nice, leather, powered recliners at Macy's that fit. The only issue is the front feet overhang the edge of the slide out an inch or so, which is easily remedied. Take your critical measurements, and check out your local furniture stores. We found that there were many more style options at the furniture stores (and sale prices) than you would find by just looking at RV recliners.

Is it the actual height of the back or how far back it goes when reclined? If it's the reclined measurement there are recliners that are designed to not require a lot of clearance to the wall. They're called wall-hugger recliners.

legolas · 07-01-2018, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmainah

We wanted to replace the jack knife sofa in our 03 Minnie 31C with recliners but couldn't find any that would fit in the 67" wide space. We ended up getting a RecPro recliner/loveseat. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Here are pictures of the new and the old. This unit is 39" high though, and you said you were restricted to 33". What is driving that limitation?

Just the window shades and side valances although it's really the valances and they could easily be removed . The real issue is the lateral space off just 60 inches. We have decided to forego the recliners as the wife has decided she likes stretching out on the couch in the evening to watch TV, cant do thayt with recliners.

oldmainah · 07-03-2018, 04:39 PM

I had to mount the love seat a little away from the wall to clear the side valances and the top of the seat backs do brush the valances when reclining. the front of the loveseat overhangs the front of the slide platform by about 6 inches. I got around that by attaching a piece of 1/2 in plywood over the slide platform but overhanging by 6 inches to give a base to support the front of the love seat. At some point I plan to add several metal angle brackets under the plywood overhang for addional support.

legolas · 07-21-2018, 01:41 PM

So all the mods save one, outside TV mount, are done. Although I must confess not all done before first outing. I made the following mods.:
Storage was increased by adding Shelves in the bedroom closets (4 shelves in tall closet and 3 shelves in short closet), an additional Cabinet in the bathroom and two Drawers under the dinette. The Shelves and Drawers were fabricated by a local wood shop and they provided hardware necessary for installation. The Cabinet an exact match for the one already there was ordered from Winnebago . Under sink storage came from Home Depot.

I can only upload 10 photos at a time so I'll do 2 or 3 posts.

legolas · 07-21-2018, 01:52 PM

I added storage for the sewer hose underneath the MH. I decided against the “fence post” method due to the area under the MH where I wanted to locate it would not allow for a “flat” installation. I chose a wanted to mount pre-manufactured holder by Valterra and purchased from Camping World. The Valterra is expandable and came with mounting brackets and has a door on each end. I chose to mount somewhat forward of the rear bumper just to be certain to avoid an issues with tail dragging. I drilled holes in the rear storage compartment of the MH which is made from some form of injection molded plastic. I used metal brackets from Home Depot as spacers and support on the inside of the compartment just to reduce the possibility that the bolts might pull through although the holder weighs very little < 5lbs and the hose weight is negligible

I wanted to be able to feed the satellite signal directly into the coach and thence into the satellite receiver and then the TV. Thanks goes to Motts461 for turning me on to the Diplexer and info on how to wire it. So I got the diplexer rewired the MH cable guts. I drilled a new hole in the MH cable plate for the satellite feed and put it all back together…yes it works.

The inverter was installed by the local Winnebago RV dealer, General RV, within the first week we had the coach. Now all outlets in the coach and the one outside are connected to the inverter. I wanted the inverter because there were times in my TT when I could not reasonably camp where I wanted to because I didn’t have the power; one place was at the Grand Canyon Nort Rim ccampground which did not have electrical hookups. Now I can make coffee, use the toaster, watch TV etc. Not to mention that if I pull in to a campground in the pouring rain I can wait it out.

Satellite radio; the pioneer Radio was “satellite capable” but did not have the necessary tuner. My local Auto radio shop installed one and now we have XM Sirius.

All the labor was straight forward. The most time was spent on the drawers. I thought to use my sabre saw to cut the openings but it wouldn’t fit into the space. So I drilled holes and then used a hacksaw blade and finished squaring up the openings with a utility knife.
After 3 trips we decided that the couch would stay. The lady of the house likes to curl up in the evening to watch TV and recliners would not allow that. So the recliner idea is history.

I could not figure out how to get the verbiage aligned with the pictures perhaps one of you with more experience can help me out.