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techntrek View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Salem-mod
    Posted: 23 Sep 2014 at 9:17am
I tried Salemod at first, but that reads as "Sale.  Mod."  Fail.  So Salem-mod it is.  Doesn't quite have the same ring as podmod, though.
 
Like David and Danette with their Vibe, I've started doing mods to my Salem.  I bought LED replacements for every light fixture, 28 bulbs total (29 after I add an additional work light outside).  With all of those lights on at one time that is a heck of a load when dry camping - probably around 35 amps with all of them on!  We were dry camping when we did a test camp a week ago and you could see the lights dim more and more as each new light was turned on.  Obviously I never would turn all the lights on when dry camping, but I would like to be able to turn on more than 2 or 3.  Now with all the lights converted to LEDs even with all lights on, the load should only be around 3.5 amps.  BIG difference.  While I haven't done actual amperage measurements, I could hear the difference in the big 55 amp converter.  With just a quarter of the old lights on the temperature-controlled fan in the converter would cycle on and off every minute or two, and with all the lights on the fan would stay on.  Now with all the LED lights on the fan doesn't cycle on at all.
 
I'm pleased with the results.  I made a minor mistake when I ordered.  While I made sure to order "warm white" lights (I did not want "cool white") they ended up being 4000k in color and not the 3000k that you normally associate with incandescent lights.  So they are a bit whiter than the old lights, but not as stark white as the "cool white" of 6000-7000k that you can get with some CFLs.  I actually like the change so I'll chalk the mistake up as a happy ending.  The lights appear to have the same brightness as before, although I know human eyes are easily fooled over wide ranges of brightness.  Still, in a side-by-side comparison it "felt" the same to me.  Good enough for me.  The replacement for the outside light also appears to be about the same brightness, I checked after dark.  I didn't do a side-by-side there.
 
The replacement 921 lights (overhead lights on the older pods and most campers) came as mini ping-pong paddle looking things.  They were tricky to get seated in the sockets since you could only press on the base and not the "paddle" part or it would snap off.  Then there are several 1141 bulbs in the outside lights (I believe the same outside light used on the pods), and those came as large flat panels that need to be set in place with double-sided foam tape (that they come with).  They have a pigtail to plug into the original socket.  For those I bent the original socket out of the way so it didn't block as much light.   Finally I have one wall lamp with a shade which uses another type of bulb (1076?), so I had to find LED replacements that emitted light all the way around and had the same basic shape as the original bulb.  Those haven't come in yet.
 
I have pics on my phone of the installation of 2 of the types of bulbs I replaced so far, but that will have to wait until tonight.
 
I have extras that will fit the 921 bulb, and the 1141 bulb.  If anyone is interested I'll offer them up here for their unit cost plus shipping cost, no profit for me.  I'll test each one before I ship.  I think I have 6 of the 921s and 2 of the 1141s.  I'm not going to keep any "spares" since if they work properly they'll never burn out - going 24/7 for 5+ years.  As much as I'd like to, I won't get to camp that much.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Sep 2014 at 9:25am
yuh the little ping pong paddle lights are a pain, hard to wiggle around into the socket on some of them!  i was afraid i was going to snap a few of mine as well.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Sep 2014 at 5:45pm
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 May 2015 at 1:16pm
A few more upgrades from this weekend.  New Husky 4500 electric jack - I'm going to love this since cranking the tongue up to get the WDH spring bars on meant lifting an 800+ pound tongue and the rear of the truck.  What should have been a 40 minute job turned into a 3+ hour job.  First 2 of the 3 bolts sheared off so I had to get new ones and drill out the old bolts.  I also spent an hour just trying to get the foot off the old jack.  It was rusted on there firmly and no sledgehammer, WD-40, torch or pressing would get it to budge.  Took a Sawzall 5 minutes.  Wink

Also installed a MaxxFan with integral cover.  Not real happy with how the Dicor cured, it feels more like soft foam than the heavy rubberish stuff I was expecting.




Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 May 2015 at 10:30pm
Sounds like someone needs a reward of camping...or, at least a dozen jumbos and a few Natty Bohs, hon.

Tech, you splain to them what I just said! Nice work! Wink

fred
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 May 2015 at 1:55pm
Wur goin downy oshun.  Love havin a ruf and zinc on wheels!  Will be havin some crabs hon!
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 May 2015 at 10:10pm
The mods look good.. them natty's.. no tanks.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 May 2015 at 6:03pm
How 'bout dem O's!

Have fun Tech! Not sure the campsite where you are staying, but we found good campfire wood after Berlin and before Buck's Place. Dry and relatively cheap. I hate buying firewood when I got cords of ash piled here, but I understand - ash borer bad.

Yeah, furpod, Natty Boh's are a bit, well, ...local. I think it's an acquired taste. I just never acquired it. Nat Premium isn't bad, though. And Heavy Seas is growing on me..like barnacles!! Actually, I like Loose Cannon. Makes me want to do crazy fun stuff with machines in the yard.

fred


2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 May 2015 at 6:47am
Here, hold my beer and watch this....
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 May 2015 at 10:00pm
A few more mods this weekend.  I fixed a few things, nothing interesting to post about related to that.

Also switched my marker lights to LEDs, you can see an LED on the left, and on the right under the red lens.  Old incandescent in the middle for comparison.  The new LEDs are cool white, not that it matters under the lens.

I also installed additional left and right brake/turn signals up high for better visibility.  I did this on our pod, too.  I ran thin wire down the edge insert channel/trim.  You can see another view of the new LED marker lights (the two red ones).


Under our fridge there is a large wasted space with nothing in it but the water pump.  I took off the metal grate and mounted some doors from an old cabinet.  Took some modification to the hinges and I had to chop up a paint stirrer to act as spacers behind the hinges.  Matches pretty close to the existing cabinetry.




Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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