Queen to King Bed;Residential Fridge;New Table Area;Slide Topper;Remove Couch

[Mike Groves]

Recently my wife and I came up with a list of things that we could do to make our '99 Marquis into something that would work for us as we pursue a full-time lifestyle (at least temporarily).

We submitted a request for quote to RV Outfitters in Bend, OR, and it appears that we can make these mods for around $16,500 minus mattress and lounge chair.

The work involves placing a zipdee slide cover over our only slide (LR Slide), reconfiguring the rear bedroom to accommodate a King Size mattress, replacing the dining room table with a combination of cabinets and suspended corian dining table, and purchase/install a residential fridge.

As I consider the bid, the one thing that bothers me from a design standpoint stems from my recent experience with my hydronic heating units.  I was only able to get to 4 of the 5 to replace the fans as the bathroom unit as been a tough nut to crack.  The easiest to work on was under the current fridge.  All you had to do was remove the draw and all the screws were accessible with a short screwdriver.

Since Jim Sizemore has described the fridge replacement as requiring the removal of the 3 drawers below the fridge, I am imagining that it would then be impossible to get to the hydronic unit beneath the fridge without pulling the fridge.

I know several of you with my era coach have done this.  How would you get to your hydronic heating unit with this fridge in place?

Perhaps before I have them replace the fridge, first, I could try and talk my wife out of it.  She hates the fridge.  Ok, might not happen.  Second, I could make sure this unit and surrounding area is as clean as possible before the fridge is installed, then integrate a mesh filter with the inlet grate to it.

How have others managed to get around this issue.  I have to tell you, the dust I have found on these units has been caked on, and its no wonder I thought my fans were the problem. 

Oh, and as a side note, does the pricing sound reasonable for the work to be performed.  I don't think there is another remodeler that has the specific "beaver heritage" that Jim's outfit has, but I want to do my due diligence on this as I do with everything.

The bid breaks down to about $5,000 for the bedroom reconfiguration for King bed - no mattress.  That includes cabinet modification and relocation of wiring, $3500 for fridge - includes installation, $5625 for the cabinet/table - includes removal of existing table, cabinet/table creation and installation, and $2200 for zipdee awning including installation.  All woodwork would be given the good ol' beaver lacquer coating to make it shine like the rest of the coach.

Mike

[Roy Warren Co-Admin]

Mike,
I heartily recommend Jim and Greg.  As for the price, quality workmanship is priceless.  He has done every remodel we have and will continue to do work for us as long as we own the coach.
Roy

[Bill Sprague]

RV Outfitters did a beautiful job on our '04 Monterey a couple years before we sold it.  They are very good!  And, we were very pleased. 

I shot a video that is still on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8-wxx65Gtk

[Jerry Carr]

You may want to try a bid from Beaver Coach Sales, Ty has an in house upholstery shop plus cabinets I would make a list of the items and get some bids. The other consideration may be who can do the job in a timely manner. I feel that all the shops in Bend have good and technical staffing.

[Tic Wilson]

For What it is worth, we have had all the carpet and floor tiles removed and replaced with a commercial grade vinyl that looks like wood.  It is lighter in weight, waterproof and you cannot tell it from the real thing.  We had the 3 burner stove and oven removed and replaced it with a two burner induction cook-top and had the pantry reworked giving us over twice the space we had before.  Expensive at $15K.  The work is nearly complete, will have taken 8 business days to complete.  The work is being done by RV Decor in Yuma, AZ.  They have a business arrangement with La Fuentes Inn & Suites $55.00/night.  Check them both out on the Internet.
We decided on RV Decor after hearing that our Hydro-hot repair guy had his Monaco done here.

[Fred Brooks]

        Hi Mike,
  Just finished doing some upgrades on Ron Johnsons 2000 Thunder, Samsung refer, GE Profile micro, ect. I can do everything you want for 30 percent less with 45 years experience and references upon request.
       When we had the refer floor out, we cleaned the heat exchanger and installed filters on the return air supply register. We also engineered the refer to slide out on 4 by 6 blocks in less than an hour if needed. The Girard awning is mounted behind the refer. If your interested, shoot me an E-mail
       Regards, Fred

[Gerald Farris]

Mike,
There is one item on your list that I would think twice about, and that is the installation of a slide topper. One of the things that I like about my 2000 Marquis is that it was designed to not need a slide topper. Most of them are noisy in windy conditions and it's just something else to maintain.

Gerald

[Fred Brooks]

        Hi Mike,
  I agree with Gerald. The slide room on the 2000 Marquis is engineered not to require any topper. Just one more thing to deal with especially when accumulated rain has frozen on the fabric and it won't retract for departure.
   Just finished putting a Samsung refer in Scott Harris' 99 Patriot along with a GE Profile Microwave which we vented to the outside next to the security light.
   For your information, the new Samsung refers only draw 1.1 amps of ac power when running which is user friendly to your inverter when you are parked over night or in transit.
    Regards, Fred

[Mike Groves]

Hey Fred and Gerald,

I read in my manual or somewhere that Beaver admits that in blowing rain conditions the slide system fails, and that's been my experience, most recently at Pacific Shores when we were last there.  I understand the wind sound while driving down the road.  I had to remove a small antenna (still not sure what it was for) from the driver window which eliminated a soft but irritating squealing sound.  So I do appreciate what you're saying.  I had the outer seals redone when I got the coach because clearly the top lip was tearing off and that helped but only if the coach is level and the wind isn't blowing the rain.

Having said all of that I am surprised that Gerald has never seen this issue with his given his full-timing in it.

Mike

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Here is the zip Dee topper I had installed while in Florida.  No leaks and no wind noise on return trip.
Windy and rainy all week.
It can be done........

[Mike Groves]

Tom,

THANKS!  For posting.  I was meaning to contact you to find out how this went.  RV Outfitters recommended the ZIP DEE over the Girard for higher winds when the slide is out and being attacked by the weather.  Was this also the recommendation that you received or did you just pick the ZIP DEE because that is what they had.

Since Margaret is now again certain that we should keep our Marquis and simply do the remodel, the slide topper is now back on my radar as far as picking the right one.  In re-reading Gerald's and Fred's opinion, I think they were talking about noise like "flapping" in the wind when parked with slide extended.  I saw a Girard awning on a 2005 Monaco Signature over the weekend and the material appeared to be quite taught so I would think if stretched correctly then the flapping would be minimized.

Ok, finally to the question, when your ZIP DEE is extended is it stretched so that it is taught, or when a gentle wind blows does it ruffle a bit? 

Could you take some pictures with slide extended and send them to me?

THANKS!  Mike

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Mike, will do.  We were if Florida with winds around 25-30 and thunderstorms.  No flapping at all.

It is taught, the installer added one extra turn to accommodate fabric stretch.

I choose the zip Dee to match the other awnings.  The Gerard was a bit pricey and it appeared to be over kill for a 16 inch slide out to me.  I also installed new metal covers on the window awnings as they looked a little tired and spotted.

Thanks.

[David T. Richelderfer]

Our automatic Gerard awning on the living room's curb side slide makes no noise in the wind.  If the wind gets bad enough to make it move much, then it automatically retracts.  But the three slides' topper awnings do flap in the wind and make enough noise that we can hear the flapping when in the coach - usually the toppers up-wind side of the coach do the most flapping, obviously, so direction of parking regarding the wind direction can make some difference.

This past February while parked at the Pleasant Harbor RV Resort's (north Peoria, AZ) dry-camping area we saw a Monaco (similar to our Beavers) that had ropes thrown over its topper awnings with the rope-ends tied/weighted down so as to pull gently downward on the leading and trailing edges of the awnings.  While likely a PITA to put up and take down, those would stop most of the flapping.  Just don't forget to remove them prior to retracting the slides.

[Michael Hannan]

RV Outfitters did a beautiful job on our '04 Monterey a couple years before we sold it.  They are very good!  And, we were very pleased. 

I shot a video that is still on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8-wxx65Gtk

Great job indeed!

MJ

[Mike Groves]

We got our updated Beaver back from RV Outfitters on April 18th.  I'm waiting for Jim Sizemore to send me the pictures he took during the process and then I'll produce a web page showing the transformation. 

The updates were great and better than I thought they would turn out, but I have to say we were simply dazzled by the coach's outside detailing which included a wash and wax and buff which removed all the clear coat tree branch marks we'd previously owned.  And I was delighted with the tire black and the tire blacking of the rear rock guard flap as well.  In addition the wheels were all polished nicely.  I think that was a great deal for $500.  I'd not waxed it since my ownership on 9/4/2013 but it looked fabulous and now I feel like its been protected.

We had changed the scope of our update to include fixing all windows (5) which had "snaked" over the years and had another refitted to make it easier to open.  We opted to get the slide awning put on locally and that is in progress as I write this.  I also had 2 awnings repaired which I had damaged due to getting too close to parking structures.

Our full-timing will begin May 31st.  We'll see how long we last out there!

Mike