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A Look At the Rig While Waiting Out Winter

OK, yes… it’s been a while since my last post in here.
The trouble is simple; it’s hard to envision a lot of what I need to do to prepare for next season with the poor trailer sitting in storage, 60 miles south of us. Thereby, I didn’t have all that much to write about. Long on dreams, short on specifics.

One of the things I had wanted to do was to add a couple of twelve volt taps outside of the rig. Already got the wiring. One tap for the awning lights. Another for the picnic table… light, computer, TV whatever. Other than that, and a spare tire kit, I’ve not come up with a whole bunch of stuff I’d need.

So, here’s a few pics I managed to steal off the net from a dealer somewhere of another 21 C, to give you an idea of what we’re looking at with this rig.

First, I suppose the floorplan for this rig would be a good place to start: (Drill each pic to get larger)

[1]

Pics are in no particular order:

[2]The inside of the trailer back where the bunk beds would go if this option was installed.  Obviously it wasn’t.  As it is, this can make a second table, or a small bed for our 10 year old. This is directly across from the bathroom.

[3]
The Bathroom, Toilet side.  That’s the lightswitch under the sink.
[4]
The Bathroom again, looking up a bit, over the toilet, and to the rear or the trailer.  Notice the towel bar, and the largish storage area, between the ceiling and the top of the wall. And of course, the skylight has a 12v fan. I’ve got a shroud over this so I don’t have to close the skylight when it rains. That’s a REAL plus on warm days when we go out; We can leave it open to vent and it’s not so warm in the rig when we get back.
[5]

Starting to look the other way, toward the tub. Note the heat duct running under the tub floor.
[6]
Here’s the rest of that storage area that runs behind the toilet. You’re looking at the rear sleeping area, or where it would be if it was deployed. The curatains add a bit of privacy when closed; a nice touch. That white thing on the wall to the right is a stereo speaker.
[7]
Here, you’re looking at the forward sleeping area, standing about amidships. That long line of cushions is the dining area, or when set up like it is now, makes a nice sleeping area with some re-arrangement of cushions.  The thing in the middle, at the moment without cushions, is the dining table, which doubles as a sleeping platform. Turning to the left and looking up, we find…
[8]
The cabinets over the galley area. Note the exhaust fan, and the Stereo. AM-FM-Tape plus an aux input for the CD or MP3 player. It also gets NOAA weather broadcasts, which is really great.. I used to carry a scanner for that purpose. Never be without such a radio when camping, folks.  It handles an extra set of speakers, and allows switching between them, so I’m considering added a set of remotes for outside the trailer on the awning side. They’ll stow in the storage areas to the front and rear of the passenger/awning side. THe radio portion has an antenna mounted on the roof that does quite well.
[9]
Looking down at the galley, we see a three burner stove, a microwave oven, and a two-cell sink. The sink is fed by either the 30 gallon onboard tank, or the shore connection, plus the ~6gallons of water heater. The unit comes with a cutting board that fits over one of the two sinks, which of course gives you a cutting surface, but doubles as added galley work space.  This is the saving grace of the whole unit, and the real cost saver. With smaller rigs, you’re more inclined to go out to eat. It’s a pain to create meals. With this rig, you simply bring your food with you… and store it in the massive storage area, or in the large fridge and freezer, just behind the galley. IN our case, we have a decent fridge mounted in the van, already, so we’re in good shape for food storage.
[10]

…and as a result, for our family, the savings ends up being over $100/day on food alone.  Now, over the fridge, goes the TV. You don’t see it ,but there’s a directional TV/FM antenna crank over the fridge.

Look off to the left there, and you’ll see the 12v power tap for your entertainment systems, plus a preamplified control on the Antenna. Works wonders on the weak signals you’ll get in the boonies.

[11]
Here’s a closer view of the storage area wall which is just to your left, and rearward, of where you enter the rig.  Thta’s the open main hatchway to your left. Across the top you have AC power, DC power and the preamplifier control. Also, the inside and outside lightswitches, plus the control center for the tanks (Fresh/Grey/Black) and the battery monitor. This location for the 12v tap means I can’t have 12v supplied cleanly outside the rig with the door closed… a pain in the behind. This is why I want a couple taps mounted outside. Except for the Microwave the whole rig runs off 12v, anyway.

[12]
The business end of the tank drain. This is the trailer lowpoint, and it gets awfully low to the road at times. I’ve not hit the thing yet, but it’s a concern… and one I’ve seen noted in reviews of the 21c.
[13]
Outside, driver’s side rear.Next to the taillight along the left wall, we see the sewer hose storage area. The round thing in front of that is the 30 amp shore power cable storage. The length of the feed cable is amazing by comparison to what I’ve seen before.
[14]
Some of the internal plumbing as viewed through of the five storage portals from outside. Note that these storage areas run all the way through the unit. Those longish things on the right, are the bunk end poles.
[15]From the front, minus LP tanks, and battery.

[16]
Passenger side rear. Note the awning strut hinge. You don’t see it here, but our rig has a storage area that run all along the lower rear of the unit.

The one thing our rig doesn’t have is a spare tire kit; I plan to add that right away.

Well, that’s a quick look. Only a couple months now, until we bring it back home….