New owner 2024 Micro Minnnie 2108DS

IdahoHunter · 12-20-2023, 07:06 AM

Good Morning! New owner after selling my Jayco Baja 154BH. Wanted to get a little bigger, double axle, full size bed w/separate dinette and stay with 7ft width because that's critical for getting into some mountain spots I/we go. So far the construction of this MM seems good, but I'll take this winter time to go through it looking for some shortcomings that people on here have posted.....like adding support under the water tank and looking for spots that need foam or caulk sealing to keep the dust out.

**Eagle5** · 12-20-2023, 10:08 AM

Hi Mike,
Looks great! I would like to see photos of how you reinforce the fresh water tank, and I bet others would too.
Thanks, Eagle5

Marine359 · 12-20-2023, 03:05 PM

Congrats Mike. Looks Sweet.
IMHO,
If you don’t plan on going off-pavement on to dirt/gravel/rutted FS and BLM roads (or non-roads), there’s no good reason to reinforce the fresh water tank. The rough roads contributed to our tank failure due to the jarring and greater than normal inertial moments that you don’t get on paved roads. That same effect caused our 12v fridge mount to fail, and the fridge fell out of its cabinet enclosure. The 12v fridge is totally unreinforced, and hangs from a couple of wimpy tapping screws in the front only. Big time design flaw that WBGO won’t acknowledge. I’ve posted in the past how to re-mount your fridge so it can’t fail, and how to do a field repair of FWT, with recommendation on permanent fix. Just remember your 2108DS has torsion bar suspension, so rough roads will exaggerate the jarring of the trailer. Happy trails.

IdahoHunter · 12-20-2023, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marine359

Congrats Mike. Looks Sweet.
IMHO,
If you don’t plan on going off-pavement on to dirt/gravel/rutted FS and BLM roads (or non-roads), there’s no good reason to reinforce the fresh water tank. The rough roads contributed to our tank failure due to the jarring and greater than normal inertial moments that you don’t get on paved roads. That same effect caused our 12v fridge mount to fail, and the fridge fell out of its cabinet enclosure. The 12v fridge is totally unreinforced, and hangs from a couple of wimpy tapping screws in the front only. Big time design flaw that WBGO won’t acknowledge. I’ve posted in the past how to re-mount your fridge so it can’t fail, and how to do a field repair of FWT, with recommendation on permanent fix. Just remember your 2108DS has torsion bar suspension, so rough roads will exaggerate the jarring of the trailer. Happy trails.

Yes, I saw your post about the tank, and I’ll use that as I research my solution. I go off pavement all the time, and some places I drive under 5mph while watching my trailer tires walk over rocks!

Wakullabob · 12-21-2023, 07:48 AM

I have owned over 15 trailers over a 50 year period > Starting 15 years ago or so I have been reinforcing my water tank after losing one on I-75 , Fill your tank full and then take a look underneath . Most times it will scare the devil out of you ! Not difficult to add strength under there . I usually go to Tractor Supply or Home Depot and buy steel strapping , quarter inch by two inch and place under the tank . I leave the chloroplast in place . Depending on what it looks like I sometimes went fore and aft and some times across , both will do the job . That said , if I do it again I would check out the " Superstrut system sold by home depot , would make the job a lot easier and look a lot better !

Camper1 · 12-22-2023, 06:34 PM

Nice Set-Up Mike, congrats!

I'm also new to the Winnebago brand, with my 2021 (new to me) 2108TB. Like you (and others) I do go off road and get into some really tight/rough spots, so the 7' wide body is excellent! I've been known to cut some branches off nearby trees to get through. Not ideal, but sometimes necessary :-)

I will be looking at reinforcing the FW Tank. I'm not really sure how to do this, 'Without' removing the Coroplast. I would think, to assure the steel strapping or "Superstrut' product is solidly attached to the framing with Tap Bolts or brackets or whatever, to support the FW Tank, it would make sense to R&R the Coroplast. Maybe after crawling underneath and looking, I will see what Wakullabob is speaking about.

I'm hoping the 12v Fridge mounting shortfalls Jim mentioned, is just for the 12v compressor fridges, and not the absorption 110/LP fridges, which I have in mine, but will check it out. (I saw your post on this Jim, thanks)

I'm not sure if your new coach came with a fan over the stove for outside venting, but mine did and we're glad it did, because it really helps when cooking! If not, I've heard of some folks installing a Fantastic (Or Similar) fan in place of the Bathroom roof vent.

Another item I'll mention to you is your Gas HW Heater. Mine is a Dometic, model WH6GEA, and mine (and others with this model) will simply not work with the Door 'Closed' at higher elevations. I would say 4-5K' and above. If one opens the door, it works fine, and mine 'Always' works at lower elevations. I'll post a thread link below for some ideas if yours is this model.

Congrats again!!

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...ml#post3947141

Marine359 · 12-22-2023, 06:47 PM

The fridge mounting will not fail if you have an absorption fridge. It’s because the cabinet was designed to fit the absorption fridge. The compressor fridge is dimensionally smaller behind the front plate. It’s about 2” shallower than the absorption fridge. So, inside the cabinet, there’s nothing supporting it behind or below other than the front bracket mounting screws.

Many Micro Minnie Owners have reinforced their fresh water tank using steel (galvanized) strut and U-Bolts. U-bolts go over the frame and fasten to the strut, which goes below the coroplast. Simple. I fixed mine with baling wire routed through one of the frame holes, and up and over the frame. Then re-screwed-in tapping bolts taking a good bite into the wire. Pretty sturdy now.

IdahoHunter · 12-30-2023, 03:39 PM

Curious if many people have changed out the dual 20# propane tanks for 30# tanks? Looks like even the black cover for the tanks has enough height to permit both tanks to be 30#, and the hose looks long enough too. Haven't experimented with how long the two 20# tanks will last, but one 30# in my smaller Jayco would just barely last 10 days in the winter with only morning and evening furnace use. I figure the extra tongue weight would be well worth essentially having a 3rd 20# tank. Plus, I've already got one 30# tank on hand.

Marine359 · 12-30-2023, 04:24 PM

In winter, we would carry a third 20# tank in a milk carton in the truck bed. Boondocking, while running the furnace demands more than 40#. This arrangement served two purposes that are harder to accomplish with two 30# tanks.
First, the 20# tanks are much lighter, and smaller, and they fit upright in the truck bed under the tonneau. Second, we normally used the truck bed tank to fuel our propane generator. You don’t have to move anything out of the truck. just connect generator to tank, start it, and plug in the shore power cable. A bonus benefit is that the third tank served as our tank measurement system. No gauges or doohickeys. When the first tank on the tongue ran dry, we would swap it with the truck bed tank and still have another tank as reserve. On some occasions, we would have to tap the reserve tank to run the generator. At our leisure, we could then go fill up the two empty tanks. Never had to guess how much propane there was left. We managed winter and shoulder season camping with one propane fill-up stop per week. In summer, we didn’t carry a third tank.

IdahoHunter · 12-30-2023, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marine359

In winter, we would carry a third 20# tank in a milk carton in the truck bed. Boondocking, while running the furnace demands more than 40#. This arrangement served two purposes that are harder to accomplish with two 30# tanks.
First, the 20# tanks are much lighter, and smaller, and they fit upright in the truck bed under the tonneau. Second, we normally used the truck bed tank to fuel our propane generator. You don’t have to move anything out of the truck. just connect generator to tank, start it, and plug in the shore power cable. A bonus benefit is that the third tank served as our tank measurement system. No gauges or doohickeys. When the first tank on the tongue ran dry, we would swap it with the truck bed tank and still have another tank as reserve. On some occasions, we would have to tap the reserve tank to run the generator. At our leisure, we could then go fill up the two empty tanks. Never had to guess how much propane there was left. We managed winter and shoulder season camping with one propane fill-up stop per week. In summer, we didn’t carry a third tank.

I guess to start with, I wouldn't say the 20# tanks are much lighter, and they are 6" shorter (same diameter). The 20# is 18" high, and 30# is 24" high. A full 20# weighs 37lbs while a 30lb weighs 55lbs. The main point for me is two 20# tanks hold 9 gallons of propane while two 30# tanks hold 14 gallons. So for a mere 36lbs more weight when full, I get 55% more propane (5 gallons more), which is a little more than a 3rd 20# tank. I figure I can run on one tank and see how long it lasts to gauge if I'll need more, and that estimating will get better as I use the trailer. My genset is a gasoline one, but if I had a propane one, my MM has a propane port towards the back of the trailer under the awning. It's mainly for grills, but a person could run a propane line around the back of the trailer to a genset.

I've carried a spare tank around with my previous trailer, and I'd like to forgo that if possible. We'll see. I could still bring a spare 20#, but I would need to put a block under it to raise it up to the level of the 30# on the other side given how they have the dual connections configured, and I couldn't travel with the 20# in place because of the single hold down bracket for both tanks.

So given your explanation Jim, I'm assuming you never tried running with twin 30# tanks?

Thanks for your reply.

Marine359 · 12-30-2023, 07:20 PM

Never felt the need to go to 30# tanks.
3x20#= 13.8 gal
2x30#= 14.0 gal
So no real capacity difference.
At my age, lifting a 20# tank is much easier.
Thought about switching at one point, but we’re not full timers, so going to 30# tanks would have provided no advantage, AND a 30# tank will not fit (upright) under my sliding metal tonneau. But, I suppose if you feel you really need a lot of propane, two thirties and a twenty would be better.

Sorry Mike, I suppose I should have read your post as soliciting feedback only from people who tote 30# tanks. Good luck with you setup.

IdahoHunter · 12-31-2023, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marine359

Never felt the need to go to 30# tanks.
3x20#= 13.8 gal
2x30#= 14.0 gal
So no real capacity difference.
At my age, lifting a 20# tank is much easier.
Thought about switching at one point, but we’re not full timers, so going to 30# tanks would have provided no advantage, AND a 30# tank will not fit (upright) under my sliding metal tonneau. But, I suppose if you feel you really need a lot of propane, two thirties and a twenty would be better.

Sorry Mike, I suppose I should have read your post as soliciting feedback only from people who tote 30# tanks. Good luck with you setup.

No reason to apologize Jim. I appreciate your input. I just have a little different viewpoint. After toting around a spare for a while, I think I'd rather have the same capacity sitting on my trailer without having to swap out a spare.