Just purchased a Boldt

[Dr Dudley]

Hi, my husband and I just purchased a Boldt. I'm very interested in learning what folks have done to enhance the inside. Also, I am very new to forums.
Best,
Dr. Dudley

[gurroz]

Congratulations on your new rig! I am sure you will have many fun adventures in your future. The Boldtis a small unit so I would suggest searching YouTube for videos on RV organization. There is a lot of good information and ideas that will help you organize the inside.

[JimMcG]

Looks like a great rig. Electrical power is fantastic. We have an older 2011 ERA 170X Very similar floor plan as yours--four seats that we rotate around. Added one extra house battery --but would love your battery bank!! We took the driver side rear seat out and build a rack that holds 6 Tupperware bins. Food, clothing etc. Some sneaky storage space over rear wheel wells (small gun safe). Baskets in the overhead cabinets and stick on puck type LED motion detector lights.

[PRK]

Originally Posted by Dr Dudley

Hi, my husband and I just purchased a Boldt. I'm very interested in learning what folks have done to enhance the inside. Also, I am very new to forums.
Best,
Dr. Dudley

We have a Boldt BL and did a few things to both the inside and outside. Inside I put in a dimmer switch to control all the overhead coach lights, dimmer switch to control string lights under the over head storage shelf, additional ram mount baskets, numerous extra hooks on walls to hang things, straps on the wall behind the driver seats to secure the window/windshield shades to free up storage space in overhead cab shelf, storage clip on wall behind drivers seat to store folding broom, various holders on bathroom wall and a towel holder that folds flat to wall. I darkened 2 of the overhead bed lights so they weren’t as bright. Outside I installed some Owl Van products: spare tire carrier on driver rear door, B2 bike carrier with large and medium aluminum storage boxes on passenger rear door, and rotopax fuel and water carriers. On the roof I put a third solar panel and a Weboost cell booster. That’s about it.

[Al Humboldt]

Just took delivery of our KL. First two nights boondocking have been great. Still getting situated but looks like only thing we’re planning is modding the rear closet with shelving. Don’t need much else. Plenty of storage and we’re pretty minimalists.

[raytaylr]

Any one still interested in this string? I have a list of 20 mods some that nearly doubled storage space.

[Al Humboldt]

We don’t really need extra space but whatcha got?

[Tour0n]

Originally Posted by raytaylr

Any one still interested in this string? I have a list of 20 mods some that nearly doubled storage space.

Am very interested in the mods that you have made. Thanks

[Al Humboldt]

We added a cell booster. Helps a little. Put a fairing on the front of the rack. That’s it here ��

[cliburn]

Originally Posted by raytaylr

Any one still interested in this string? I have a list of 20 mods some that nearly doubled storage space.

I would like to see the list also.

[Hoski]

I would love to see the list as well

[periopnurse]

I’d be interested in hearing about the mods. Picking up a Boldt KL on Friday.
Leon

[raytaylr]

I'll answer in 2 parts. The list of mods will follow which gives a summary of almost all the mods I've done.
I do offer to give more detail on each item if wanted just not sure how to make a phone or email contact to do that.

Does this forum block listing phone #s or emails?

[raytaylr]

I have a 2020 KL model and have made many mods adding effective storage additions on the Winne and Mercedes side. Here is a list of several mods:

Running Gear
-Wireless Remote Problem Ignition could never find the keyless remote requiring it to be inserted into the slot near the floor, very annoying! This was primarily because we used the side sliding door to enter. If entering through the drivers door it usually works as it should. This can also be avoided if the lock/unlock buttons are pressed in sequence
-Bright lights In auto mode headlights will not go to high beam automatically at low speed-what? Isn’t that when you might need them? You must be going 16 mph or more in auto mode so switch headlights out of auto mode and they’ll work normally
-Speakers Front Replaced the absolute junk front speakers with JBLs See Youtube on this it involved a component set with tweeter and crossover. This doesn’t equal an amp install but for under $100 it sounds great.
-Speaker Front center This speaker is overbearing and ruins any sound no matter what. I installed a resistor which quieted it down but left it functional. Most installers just disconnect it which is an improvement on its own but loses some functionality
-Lug nut Covers Added a pair of pliers to help remove lug nut covers so lug wrench works on Alcoa wheel lugs
-DIY Oil Change Added drain valve oil plug makes changing the 13 liters of oil easy
-Hood Bra Had clear hood wrap done to protect front end paint
-Seat Belt receivers Loosened the seat belt receivers mounted in the side of the seats and installed a jam nut so I could tighten the bolt and allow the receiver unit to swivel out of the way. It jammed my leg when static mounted and caused bruising!
-Phone mount/cords Found a way to run phone cords from dash compartment under dash to openings under center vents and added magnetic phone mounts

Interior
-Front storage Under the driver side bed are 3 tubs, I pulled the tubs out, rearranged the wiring (basically bundled them up and moved them out of the way) added a solid ¼” custom cut pegboard surface to cover and protect the plumbing that runs along the floor with short support legs down to the van floor for support, then covered that with the same “carpet” material used in the above cab storage space (Home Depot sells a roll of this “grey carpet” for $15) and storage galore opens up. I do use 1 tub.
-Rear Storage Revamped rear storage area and gained HUGE space. I removed the shelves and the shelf brackets on the left side and pulled off the 1/4” panel they were mounted to and found lots of empty space. Installed a 90˚elbow on the inside end of the water fill fitting to clear the water fill line then lined the area with the HD carpet.
-Refer door is hinged the wrong way (easily changed)
-Refer door shelf Replaced rigid alum door shelf retainers with 3/8” shock (bungie) cord allows some give.
-Refer Temp Control knob Located where it can be hit and setting changed, fashioned a guard to protect it
-Refer control board refer was fluctuating/switching on and off melting and refreezing ice cubes, called manufacturer with refer on the bench and ended up replacing a faulty control board covered under warranty
-Refer removal careful here, there is a safety cable connected to the back of the unit. Pull refer out about 10”, remove top drawer next to fridge reach to the back of refer use a 3/8” wrench to remove retaining bolt.
-Bed height only works for 6'+ users or your feet swing in the air knee pads from Harbor freight help
-Overhead storage space (the one above cab) needs carpeting (got some at HD) or rattles galore
-Dump Hose There was no finished end on dump hose!!! Installed a clear 45˚elbow then mounted a plate up under next to the dump hose storage tube and screwed an end cap to the plate to mount 90˚dump elbow while driving rather than storing inside.
-Toilet seat Installed a quiet close toilet seat. Also found a rechargeable LED motion sensor bowl light, a wonder!
-Light Dimmers Added dimmers to all switches. 3 types, all interior lights now dim
-Faucets Installed a kitchen sink pull out faucet (Home Depot) Also installed a tall bathroom faucet
-Windshield cover Outside windshield cover for parking long term, keeps the sun off the dash
-Hitch Step Installed a in hitch step and hung a pull-up strap making stepping up into the back door possible
-Slip proofing Applied slip proof grip tape 1” wide in the back entrance, running board outer edge and front grill step up
-Rear water management Removed coyly garden hose (no space to store) re-plumbed h20 outlet w ½” fittings and hose adapter to use water fill hose rather than carrying 2 hoses.
-Water pump switch at front sink Moved the water pump switch from the back storage area to the kitchen. The relocated pump switch fit under the light switches at the kitchen sink perfectly and now I can switch on the pump from where it’s used most, at the kitchen sink and I can tell if the pump is on from outside the side door rather than climbing back in and going all the way back to the gauge panel. I believe a switch could be added rather that relocating the existing one, maybe I’ll do that once I find the specialized switch.
-Water fill I prefer to fill my water tank with the gravity fill at the side door. Problem is the fill opening will burp out water once full and flood the step and the bottom of the wall. I discovered that a 1 ¼” clear vinyl tube 12”-18” long will insert into the fill fitting, (you’ll need to bevel cut the outer edge of the vinyl tube as it’s a tight fit), enough to prevent the backflow from flooding the step. Your filler hose end fitting also will fit into the outer end of the vinyl tube allowing you to see the water flow in and backup when the tank is full. It takes 2 people unless you can control water flow at the rig rather than the faucet.
-Water Pump constantly running I had air bleeding into the pump inlet side causing the pump to run continuously (not when filling). Turns out the water tank filler hose connector was allowing air to bleed past it and eventually hit the water pump. Winnebago send me a replacement fitting but it only prevents outgoing pressure. I use a Campco plug to seal the inlet.
-Front Curtain Found a hook clasp set at Joanne’s that allowed me to mount a curtain to the large overhead storage shelf. We bought a panel of material that blocks light and insulates. It fits across the back of the cab seats wall to wall. We also set a zipper from top to bottom to allow access to the cab or to just peek out the front windshield. A snap on each side closes it up nice and tight. Perfect for cold or hot blocking and for boon docking.
-Under cabinet storage Found a source for the swing down shelves. Ordered a wider one and mounted it at the sink to store often used silverware.
-Medicine cabinet installed thin shock cord in medicine cabinet with eye screws at the ends to hold contents from spilling out
-Small liquor cabinet Made a small liquor cabinet out of the space in the front passenger side overhead using 3/8” shock cord to hold bottles (wrapped in insulation pad to prevent rattling) in place.
-Drawer glides installed self-closing drawer glides
-Beds Cushions are HARD, found a foam shop and made them comfortable, made our own fitted sheets and custom comforters. Removed the hard seamed upholstery and covered the foam with a custom made fleece covering
-Rear Seatbelt Passenger seat belt in back closest to the counter is for TINY people(found a longer one)

Many of these mods are simple, some more involved but in the end this has been my retirement project and have made this wonderful machine that much better.
~RT

[Hoski]

Well done! Nice list.

[Rewired]

Do you have a contact for the foam beds? Thanks

[Tour0n]

We got the bed toppers at Bed, Bath & Beyond. They were for twin beds and we just cut them down to fit.

[Rewired]

Thank you for your quick reply

[Hoski]

Great list. Now that we have traveled around in ours a bit, can you share how you routed the usb cables through the center console? Thanks

[Ricktbaker]

Very excited to join this forum because we just purchased a 2022 Boldt 70 BL! Looking forward to learning more about the features, benefits, and “mods” on this particular model;…along with building relationships with like minded people. Thanks in advance! Rick & Kellie Baker (Cincinnati)