Four Wheel Camper Modifications (Part Four)

One of best upgrades that we have done to our Four Wheel camper is to upgrade and move the external water drain.  Because we spend more time outside the camper than inside, we often fill Roxanne's water bowl, etc., from the drain line outside the camper.  The original drain spigot was located behind the camper door.  The spigot, itself, was also very cheap and difficult to use.

The original water drain line can be seen to the left of the door.  The new spigot is on the right.

To solve this problem, David pulled up the threshold to the door, hoping to figure out a way to re-route the drain to the opposite (passenger's) side of the camper.  To our surprise, we discovered that the threshold already had a recessed channel that would accommodate the rerouted water drain line.  David simply ran a new water line from the tank using the same path as the original then extended it under the threshold to a new spigot on the right side of the door. (The spigot is a conventional flanged valve for a hose bib.)  He drilled a hole in the aluminum frame for the piping.  Now we can use the water drain line as an outdoor water source.  In addition, we added a cap for the drain which makes it much more sanitary (particularly since we travel off-road so often).

Our new water spigot with sanitary screw cap.

In order to monitor the battery power level, we added a volt meter and a switch to turn the meter on and off to conserve power.

Electric box on Raven

We also placed the thermostat above the height of the bed from its original position below the bed.  Because hot air rises, we found that the temperature was always hotter towards the ceiling, so we wanted to raise the thermostat closer to the temperature where we slept.  We found a thermostat that can be set as low as 40 degrees... necessary for such a confined space.  The thermostat adheres to one of the support panels with industrial-strength Velcro so that we can remove it when traveling.  The thermostat rests in one of the canvas pouches when not in use.

One more upgrade to post this time around...  We have also installed external lift assists in the front and rear of the camper to help raise the roof.  (Four Wheel Camper's option were internal lifts.  They would not work with a king-size bed and also restricted access to the point that we feared that one of us... most likely me... would hang themselves on one of them before the first night was through!)  With the new lift assists, I can lift the roof by myself.  If you'd like more details, please leave a comment.

External lift assists for Four Wheel Camper

Now on to more adventures!