ouR escaPOD mods

Nice work.  That is on my list to do some time soon.  So I take it the original drawer slides still worked for  the new drawers. That should make it all easier.  Thanks for the write-up

One thing that made me scratch my head, wondering what the designers were thinking were the drawers for the RP-179 wardrobe. When I looked, there was easily six inches of wasted space behind the drawers. In addition, the drawers are shallow. There is a big opening and a little drawer. I decided to do something about it.

First a trip to Lowe's again to purchase materials. I got 1/2" birch plywood for the frame and 1/4" birch plywood for the bottom. I cut the framework so that it would retain the same width as the original drawer when finished. I cut the length six inches longer and the height 1-1/2" higher. I cut a notch for the bottom and assembled with glue and used a nailer to fasten the corners. I verified that the drawers were square. Then I sanded them to smooth the edges with 80 grit sandpaper on a power sander followed by 220 grit to smooth it out in preparation for the finish. I used 3 coats of satin polyurethane which I got in the spray can to seal and protect them.

I used the old front of the drawer to help guide me for drilling holes to fasten the faceplate. After I got it assembled and the sliders from the old drawer attached,  I took it out for a test fit. While the additional 1-1/2" on the sides works well, it didn't work so well for the front and back due to the catch. Only adding 1" to the front and back panels would have worked. Since I have them built, I decided to make a notch for the catch both on the front and back panels. Once I did that, it fit well with just enough space top and bottom to clear the original opening without rubbing.

I still need to transfer the faceplate and sliders for the other two drawers.  I hope to get that done tomorrow. Until then, here is a picture to show the difference between the old and new drawers.



Edit: I would have liked to use the 3/8" plywood like the original drawers, but I could not find 3/8" birch plywood at either Lowe's or Home Depot. The only place I could find 3/8" birch plywood was at our local Michael's store. They would not have had enough to build all three drawers.

For anyone interested, I used a table saw to do all of the cuts except the notch for the catch. That was done with a jigsaw and a clean-cut blade.

Originally posted by Patriot Dave I am about to do the same thing on my 179. For what ever reason they really put the lap sealant on thick at the factory so I will have to cut away a fair amount. How many tubes of sealant did you use?

I only used a partial tube for the Ultrabreeze installation. I did not remove the old sealant all the way around, just where the brackets needed to be. That reduced the amount of sealant needed. I did follow the instructions I saw to clean the area with denatured alcohol. It was surprising the amount of old dirt that came off of the old sealant. Proper preparation should ensure a good seal.

On my post on the 18th, I mentioned Dicor Self-Leveling Lap Sealant, and that I would say for what I used it. Well, I don't want to wait until I take the cover off the R-Pod (put on due to threat of rain after just finishing the spoiler re-do noted above). This is what I used it for:

I wanted a vent fan cover for the Fantastic Fan on our RP-179. I had previusly been told that a cover would not fit. I was encouraged though by reading about how others have installed a Fantastic Ultrabreeze Vent Cover. So, at the same time I purchased the lap sealant, I also purchased one of these covers. I got the gray one because it is translucent, not opaque. My test fit showed that it would fit with no problems. I think there may be some variation in placement of the TV antenna and/or vent stack near the fan. In my case, there was no problem, so I installed it.

Installation is pretty simple. There are several videos available showing the process. After making sure all the parts were present, I installed the grid per the instructions. I then verified the placement and marked where the slots were. This assisted in locating the appropriate screws which were buried under old lap sealant. I used a putty knife to remove enough to reveal the screw heads, which I removed. I then used the bracket to be installed to mark out its placement. After that, I used a putty knife to remove the old sealant from the area where the bracket needed to sit so that it would be as flush as possible to the frame of the fan and the roof. I followed this up with denatured alcohol. While I was at it, I cleaned the old Dicor sealant all the way around. This is because I noticed some cracking in the sealant on the edge which was toward the front of the R-Pod. Since I was up there, I wanted to make sure there would be no areas where water could penetrate.

Once I finished cleaning, I sealed the areas that were cracked. I then put down a bead of Dicor self-leveling sealant along the edges where had cleaned away the old lap sealant for one of the brackets, ensuring to also add sealant to the screw hole. I used one of the included screws to fasten the bracket to the frame. I repeated this with the remaining brackets. I made sure to seal the edges of the old Dicor sealant I had cut as well.

The final step was to put the cover on and insert the locking pins. It was then that I found that one of the holes in the bracket's pin was drilled incorrectly. The locking pin would not go through. I ended up drilling that one out so that the pin fit. There was no problem with the other three. This was the only problem I had with installation. I'm glad I had the tools on hand. I would not have wanted to take it back for many reasons,  one of which was the fix was easy and it would have left me with an incomplete job with rain threatening. Once I drilled the hole out to the correct size, completing installation was simple. Just put the cover on over the four brackets and insert the locking pins.

The finished cover looks good and functions quite well. I can even leave the vent cover open with the R-Pod's Classic Accessories cover installed as the Ultrabreeze prevents the cover from pressing down on the fan's lid.

I don't feel bad about leaving the fan's lid open now. I don't have to worry about rain getting in, even when I don't have the CA cover installed.

That's not the only area where I found screws not properly sealed. The amber porch light was another one as was the AC outlet.

The AC outlet was particularly troubling. Apparently, the hole had been cut too big so that one of the anchors that should have been holding it in place was instead holding onto nothing. I had checked it because the outlet looked crooked.