Vista 26 HE questions

[Oldtrooper]

BBQ Judge

Looked at the job you did with moving the chair. I like you approach to the problem. I am changing the location on mine as well, but when I looked the situation over, seeing where the bolts were and getting access, I figured I would move the chair one pedestal width and drill two new holes. The fuse panel is a problem, but seeing what you did made the job simple.

[BBQ Judge]

Glad I could help and return some of the good things I've learned on the whole iRV2 site.

[Garyp47]

I don't like the toilet paper location either. My solution is to store a roll inside the cabinet door. Leave the mounted one for show. Open the door before you sit down. You get just enough extra knee room if you are near a 5'9" frame. Makes a big difference.

[Oldtrooper]

Just an update on some minor mods on the 26HE.
1. Replaced the snap strap holding the curtain to the bedroom. I always found the curtain loose and always interfering when going in and out on the drivers side. So I removed the strap and added two velco strips, the kind with the loop and hook on opposite sides. I put two, one mid way, one closer to the bottom. Keeps things nice and snug.
2. Kitchen drawers, the three little ones, I found that over time I would likely begin to see some wear (dirty) on the unfinished front of the drawers, since the only way to open them is to pull on the front of the drawer. So I got some cherry stain and stained the drawers, now it looks a little more finished.
3. Sinks are always a wasted space with not being used as a sink, so I made two inserts out Cherry panel, cut a little hole in the middle for your finger so you could remove them easily. Now there is extra room to lay things down in between sink usage.

Photos attached.

[Oldtrooper]

This is what I did for the cup holder problem. The storage space is good for maps etc. I put a little wooden box in the storage space for small things like keys etc. I attached it a three points, two to the front and one at the back under the dash.

[Oldtrooper]

Rottenkid, where did you mount your inverter. I have a 3000W inverter, about a foot square in size, and have contemplated locating it in the storage bay behind the steps and then running 110 to a wall plug that I would install near the fuse panel beside the stove. Anyway before I started drilling and cutting, I saw you comments.

[Oldtrooper]

On my 26HE there is a heat shield that extends from one frame rail to the other, and it runs from about where the transmission ends to just past the where the exhaust pipe exits in front of the rear wheel. The noise that I am getting sounds like what we did as kids when you had a big metal sign and tried to make it sound like thunder. Anyway when I hit rough road this just rattles like a big tin drum. At first I thought it was the gas tank, then I thought it was the storage bays, then I thought it was the long narrow heat shield welded to the bottom of the passenger side frame rail. now I think it this huge sheet on the frame. Anyone with the same noise. It is almost like there should be some sort of deadener that is missing.

[rottenkid]

My inverter is in the compartment to the right of the TV. We can watch the TV without having to start the generator. If I knew how to add pictures to this site then I would.

[Rossi6998]

Originally Posted by Oldtrooper

Just an update on some minor mods on the 26HE.
1. Replaced the snap strap holding the curtain to the bedroom. I always found the curtain loose and always interfering when going in and out on the drivers side. So I removed the strap and added two velco strips, the kind with the loop and hook on opposite sides. I put two, one mid way, one closer to the bottom. Keeps things nice and snug.
2. Kitchen drawers, the three little ones, I found that over time I would likely begin to see some wear (dirty) on the unfinished front of the drawers, since the only way to open them is to pull on the front of the drawer. So I got some cherry stain and stained the drawers, now it looks a little more finished.
3. Sinks are always a wasted space with not being used as a sink, so I made two inserts out Cherry panel, cut a little hole in the middle for your finger so you could remove them easily. Now there is extra room to lay things down in between sink usage.

Photos attached.

Nice job on the inserts. I actually found the sink inserts online and ordered them... It does make a difference with space when not using the sink as a sink.

[Garyp47]

Oldtrooper,

I installed an 1100W inverter in my 26HE and mounted it in the compartment next to the door. It's actually mounted on a wood backpanel along with a couple of relays, a solenoid and fuses. Plus my solar panel controller. The relays are wired to the two coach misc electrical circuits and I can select which circuit I want to transfer to the inverter power. I can also turn the inverter on and off from inside the coach to the left of the stove where the two circuit switches are also located. Next project is to add a switch next to the receptacle to the left of the bed that will turn the inverter off. Yep, I am too lazy to get up and walk to the front when it's time to turn the TV off and go to bed.

The intent is to be able to watch the front TV or the one I installed in the bedroom. Also, the coffee maker and my wife's roller heater all without running the genset. I also added a 100W solar panel on the roof and a controller on the same backpanel as the inverter.

This location for the inverter is the closest you can get to the batteries and that makes everything safer by keeping any unprotected DC wiring as short as possible. It also is best for voltage drop as these inverters will pull a lot of current at rated load.

The drawback to this compartment is the lack of ventilation. We only watch the tv at night and the coffee and rollers in the AM. It also is convenient for using the vacuum cleaner. I am not worried about heat buildup in the compartment at this time but you should consider this.

Garyp47

[Rmblaster]

Originally Posted by Rossi6998

Nice job on the inserts. I actually found the sink inserts online and ordered them... It does make a difference with space when not using the sink as a sink.

Do you have info on the sink inserts like the part # and where to purchase

[Rmblaster]

Originally Posted by Garyp47

Oldtrooper,

I installed an 1100W inverter in my 26HE and mounted it in the compartment next to the door. It's actually mounted on a wood backpanel along with a couple of relays, a solenoid and fuses. Plus my solar panel controller. The relays are wired to the two coach misc electrical circuits and I can select which circuit I want to transfer to the inverter power. I can also turn the inverter on and off from inside the coach to the left of the stove where the two circuit switches are also located. Next project is to add a switch next to the receptacle to the left of the bed that will turn the inverter off. Yep, I am too lazy to get up and walk to the front when it's time to turn the TV off and go to bed.

The intent is to be able to watch the front TV or the one I installed in the bedroom. Also, the coffee maker and my wife's roller heater all without running the genset. I also added a 100W solar panel on the roof and a controller on the same backpanel as the inverter.

This location for the inverter is the closest you can get to the batteries and that makes everything safer by keeping any unprotected DC wiring as short as possible. It also is best for voltage drop as these inverters will pull a lot of current at rated load.

The drawback to this compartment is the lack of ventilation. We only watch the tv at night and the coffee and rollers in the AM. It also is convenient for using the vacuum cleaner. I am not worried about heat buildup in the compartment at this time but you should consider this.

Garyp47

Garyp47 do you have any pics of your install

[Garyp47]

Originally Posted by Rmblaster

Garyp47 do you have any pics of your install

Not right on hand but I plan to pick up the RV and bring it home to get it ready for next weekend's trip. I will get pics Tuesday and hopefully get them posted.

[rottenkid]

Here is a picture of the inverter in the overhead passenger compartment.
I hope this works.

[Garyp47]

I picked up the RV today and got a couple pics. There is/was an existing pre-drilled hole just above the receptacle in the compartment. I used this hole to get my wiring up into the electrical area above. It couldn't have been in a better spot plus it was good sized. It's hard to see but the battery cables go through the backboard below the right side of the inverter. The holes in the sheet metal behind the backboard are overcut by a quarter inch. The backboard is attached to the sheet metal back with wood screws from the backside of the compartment.

[Rmblaster]

Originally Posted by Garyp47

I picked up the RV today and got a couple pics. There is/was an existing pre-drilled hole just above the receptacle in the compartment. I used this hole to get my wiring up into the electrical area above. It couldn't have been in a better spot plus it was good sized. It's hard to see but the battery cables go through the backboard below the right side of the inverter. The holes in the sheet metal behind the backboard are overcut by a quarter inch. The backboard is attached to the sheet metal back with wood screws from the backside of the compartment.

Wow nice job you want to do mine question why 2 circuits and you are using the relays for what

Richard

[rottenkid]

Will that system operate the refrigerator as your driving?? When I questioned Winnebago about an inverter to operate my refrigerator as we are driving, they informed me that they didn't know of a way to do that on a Vista HE26. Maybe I had the wrong representative on line.

[Garyp47]

The relays act as separate transfer switches. Very similar in operation to the transfer switch used to switch power to the genset. They switch both the neutral and the hot from the load center output to the inverter output. If I remember right, the TV receptacle circuit did not feed any of the receptacles at the sink counter. This forced me to pick up the other receptacle circuit to have power at the sink/kitchen area for coffee and my wife's rollers. There are other receptacles that don't get picked up by either of these two circuits but it does do the ones I need. The hardest part was finding the two circuits under the oven and splicing in the new wiring to the relays. In the process I somehow unplugged the converter and I couldn't find where to plug it back in. Had to get the book out and found the receptacle for the converter built into the load center.

I am about half done with adding a switch in the bedroom to turn the inverter off without getting out of bed. I am also about half done with adding a cold only shower to the compartment with the fresh water tank. Someplace where I can wash off my hands and hose down the dogs if they get dirty. My last RV had the outside shower and it came in handy a couple times.

Then it's on to the cheap handling fix which will probably be the easiest. We are going on a short camping trip early Thursday afternoon so I have to get this done. If the CHF improves the handling, I will take the links off and get them lengthened 2".

[Garyp47]

Rottenkid, the fridge wasn't a concern to me since it will run on propane or AC power so it's not picked up by the inverter.

[macnut]

Originally Posted by macnut

Congrats on your 26HE! We bought ours in June of 2012 and love it! As far as mods:
1) Added HDMI cable to TV so I could hook up my iPad for watching movies.
2) Turned the MCD Solo shades into Duo shades. I ordered directly from MCD and added the solar shade myself.
3) Added solid brass dually valve stems on all six tires from duallyvalve.com. My local BigO did the install.
4) Added a tee in gas line outside for our Weber Q100 grill and another one inside for a propane heater (Camcorder Olympian Wave 3). My local RV mechanic did the install and test.
That's it so far!

5) just replaced the single stage converter/charger with a Progressive Dynamics 9260 4-stage converter/charger. So far, it is working as advertised....I'm already noticing a difference in battery life when we dry camp, since we start with a full charge. Also, initially, my batteries were boiling off water, but that was because I have a Qwik-Fill system and I added water to new batteries before charging them fully them....live and learn...


2013 Itasca Sunstar 26HE, 2014 Honda CRV with Roadmaster tow package, RVing on weekends and vacation since June 2012