Mods to Our Rig
We have done a number of modifications to our rig to make it more suitable for full time living and travel. These include:
- Replacement of troublesome Norcold refrigerator with a Samsung residential unit. This is the best modification we have done.
- Installation of 30 inch Samsung residential range.
- Installation of a combination washer/dryer.
- Installation of a Maytag residential dishwasher.
- Replacement of the original king-size mattress with a high quality queen-size eurotop mattress. This required a modification of the bed platform, and allows much more room for walking around the bed.
- Replacement of the borderline GoodYear Marathon tires with 16-ply 17.5 inch commercial tires and wheels.
- Installation of a Mor/Ryde wet bolt kit on the suspension pivots allows lubrication. This eliminates all of the creaking and banging of the original unlubricated suspension bushings.
- Installation of shock absorbers. This eliminates a lot of the bouncing and swaying on a bumpy road.
- Installation of a Mor/Ryde X-Factor crossmember to reinforce the frame at the highly stressed area between the spring hangers.
- Installation of a SteadyFast rig stabilizing system. This eliminates almost all of the shaking, and feels almost like a house on a foundation.
- Addition of an accumulator tank to the onboard water system. This reduces cycling of the water pump when away from a pressure water hookup.
- A 3400 watt inverter generator in the truck bed, with a 10 gallon gasoline tank, makes dry camping and rest stops much more enjoyable.
- Rebuilding of the troublesome transfer switch using quality electrical contactors.
- Addition of a 30 amp electrical hookup at the pinbox, to allow connection of the generator.
- Addition of digital meters to display electrical voltage and amperage.
- Hardening of the onboard water system to withstand temperatures down to 0 deg.F (-18C).
- Addition of an auxiliary diesel tank in the truck bed to increase our towing range to 800 miles.
- Installation of air bags to the rear suspension of the truck, to better control the almost 4000 lb pin weight.
Have a question about your shock upgrade. Was it the MORryde kit, and is it 1 per side, or 2 per side ?
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't the Mor-Ryde kit, just a generic one from a trailer parts supplier. The shocks I got with the kit were cheap and didn't last, so I replaced them after one year with Monroe gas shocks. There are two shocks per side, one per axle.
DeleteThe upper brackets were already welded to the frame on our Pinnacle, and the lower mounts replaced the leaf spring clamping plates under the U-bolts. It was an easy install.