Interstate Mods - I'll go First

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by bugsbunny

Is the radio GPS display controlled by the interior light control?

I don't have one of these, but my regular radio display brightness is.

It appears to be manual. My husband attempted to increase brightness, but it lost too much contrast in the process.

Garmin clearly has the display part of the package down to a science. Now if it would just stop sending me to the nearest county dump, that'd be great (as the well-known meme says).

[Lotus54]

I don’t get that pattern with my polarized lenses (they have ‘readers’ in the bottom, so may be out of focus in that area in pic).

Both of them look pretty good to me, easy to read, see etc.
I did adjust the screen a little on the Pioneer- but I don’t recall exactly what I did.

I’ve never used it with AirPlay and my phone for navigation yet. I just opened it the first time to take these pics.

Last pic is both without sunglasses.
Of course neededing safety glasses with sun protection makes it a moot point if some other sunglasses are ok.

[Tronadora]

You may recall I found a way to move my rear TV out of harm's way by altering the way the articulating arm mechanism zag-zigged instead of zig-zagging.

Well, I also wanted to move my front TV so it wouldn't stick out into the hallway and today I finally did it. Maybe yours was already positioned out of the way but mine stuck out 1.6 inches. So I drilled new mounting holes and shifted the mounting plate over 1.875 inches.

All the photos shown are "after". Since there are no dollar rewards here for things like this, I treated myself to some nice rum during and after this mod. Cheers.

[wachuko]

Zacapa?

[Tronadora]

Originally Posted by wachuko

Zacapa?

Zacapa is good... but I was referring to Flor de Cana. 7 year.
Learned of it in Costa Rica, and it's cheap there....

And when I use Coke, it must be Mexican... in the bottles..... the only stuff with sugar instead of lousy corn syrup !

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Lotus54

I don’t get that pattern with my polarized lenses ....

I wondered why in the hell the screen manufacturer would do this, knowing how many people wear polarized lenses. I don't have an explanation other than to wonder whether there's something about the ANSI rating that makes these glasses different (haven't researched it).

Unfortunately the throw-away manufacturers (mail order from other countries) don't yet offer safety glasses, or else I'd do some experimenting.

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

I wondered why in the hell the screen manufacturer would do this, knowing how many people wear polarized lenses. I don't have an explanation other than to wonder whether there's something about the ANSI rating that makes these glasses different (haven't researched it).

The great "heads-up" display on my Genesis sedan windshield disappears when I wear certain of my sunglasses that are polarized. The speedometer in the Sprinter is hard to read with my photo-grays turned dark in bright sun and requires looking way down. I pretty much use the speed displayed on my top-of-dash 7" screen Garmin 70 on sunny days. Similar to the heads-up display, I don't have to take my eyes very far from the road ahead to check my speed on the Garmin.

I wish the AI had a heads-up display. The Genesis displays nav info along with speed, cruise control, and lane following info and I can choose what is displayed.

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by Pahaska

The great "heads-up" display on my Genesis sedan windshield disappears when I wear certain of my sunglasses that are polarized. The speedometer in the Sprinter is hard to read with my photo-grays turned dark in bright sun and requires looking way down. I pretty much use the speed displayed on my top-of-dash 7" screen Garmin 70 on sunny days. Similar to the heads-up display, I don't have to take my eyes very far from the road ahead to check my speed on the Garmin.

I wish the AI had a heads-up display. The Genesis displays nav info along with speed, cruise control, and lane following info and I can choose what is displayed.

I just got new glasses... progressive and also with the option that darkens inside the car (the ones I had before did not and having to switch back and forth between sunglasses was not fun)... but I have not tested them in the AI... will do so this weekend as we are heading out for a long weekend.

I no longer need the sunglasses with the window film now installed. Would be interesting to see if the new glasses work well with the different displays in the AI.

[InterBlog]

I modded the CarPlay mod by adding a Ram Mount X-Grip to hold my iPhone 6+. LB_3 said, "That sort of defeats the purpose of having the CarPlay unit." I said (paraphrased), "No, but it sure makes it easier to shuffle songs, and I can have the maps displaying on the unit itself and the songs displaying on the iPhone."

I did some research on this issue and found that internerds who tested various products and placements ended up preferring their phones mounted by the driver's pillar. That way, they are within easy reach of the driver without interfering with either sight lines or access to instrumentation. The T1N is well-suited to this placement because it retains the old flap-style cab door windows (although they aren't openable the way those windows were in years past). You can roll down your window without dislodging the phone mount.

The X-grip is expensive but far higher quality than all of the other products I evaluated. It was a no-brainer, as choices go. I haven't done a long distance drive with it yet, but it seems to hold fast to the window. I don't expect it to fall off.

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

I modded the CarPlay mod by adding a Ram Mount X-Grip to hold my iPhone 6+. ...

Poifect!

I have those that you insert into the vent and have a magnet, and your phone cover has a metal plate... well... not too thrilled with them as they block the a/c vent and tend to pull down on the vent... was looking for an alternative. This fits the bill. Thank you!

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by wachuko

Poifect!

I have those that you insert into the vent and have a magnet, and your phone cover has a metal plate... well... not too thrilled with them as they block the a/c vent and tend to pull down on the vent... was looking for an alternative. This fits the bill. Thank you!

**BEWARE** of the holders that include the magnets mounted on the back of the phone. They are neodymium and powerful enough to wipe credit and gift cards. When not mounted in our Interstate, my phone lives in a purse flap pocket which is positioned directly over my credit cards. I'm glad I read the reviews before making a choice.

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

**BEWARE** of the holders that include the magnets mounted on the back of the phone. They are neodymium and powerful enough to wipe credit and gift cards. When not mounted in our Interstate, my phone lives in a purse flap pocket which is positioned directly over my credit cards. I'm glad I read the reviews before making a choice.

No worries there. Only thing on the phone's case is a metal plate. Magnet is on the mount

[rmkrum]

In our area, mounting the phone over one of the 4 A/C vents on the dash helps keep the phone cool. When my iPhone runs a GPS program, and is continuously being charged it will heat up quite a bit. Cool air from the vent helps a lot, IMHO.

[InterBlog]

Micro-mod suggestion for T1N owners --

Last year I described how I made a gear loft using Airstream's OEM snaps butts, the ones that were already embedded in the Interstate's headliner.

Well, whether or not you decide to use those snaps for Airstream's supplied privacy curtain or for something else, when the curtain or the something else is not in place, there are two open snap butts located on the pillars adjacent to the cab seats. During the daytime, other items can be snapped into those if you want to do that. The T1N only has two cup holders, so I decided to take one of my climber's chalk bags (which I use for general small-item storage rather than chalk) and embed a snap head into it so that I could snap it here when needed.

I wouldn't put anything really heavy in there given the limitations of the snap, but an empty tea thermos, sunglasses case, etc. work nicely. There are not enough storage cubbies in the T1N dash. Every little bit of gained space helps.

This shows the chalk bag snapped in place with the passenger seat swiveled around to face the rear. When the seat faces forward, the bag is held next to the passenger's right shoulder (there is sufficient clearance for it, in other words).

[bugsbunny]

Great Idea! Thanks!

[InterBlog]

QUESTION: Does anyone have a spec reference (technical specification) for the hook and loop fasteners that Airstream used in our rigs?

It is not consumer-grade Velcro - it's something much tougher. I see lots of product numbers out there on the internet, but I don't know what it corresponds to.

There are "hook" dots riveted onto our sliding door so that the privacy screen can be placed there. I made a new privacy screen last year, using sewn-on Velcro-branded loop segments to correspond to these dots that were already installed. But the dots are so tough that they shredded the consumer-grade Velcro - tore it apart, making it useless. I need to re-do the loop tape pieces, this time using the proper grade (whatever that is).

Gracias.

[Lineolated]

My Interstate doesn’t have the Velcro patches, so just a random thought here... there is a product called Industrial Strength Velcro which is much more substantial than standard hook and loop. You’ll find it in the big box hardware stores. Unfortunately I’ve only seen it with glue backing, which you won’t be able to sew. (Picture annoyed sewer sitting at machine wiping down the needle with alcohol every 3-4 stitches and the thread breaking every inch or so.)
I’ve also seen a product that is hooks both sides. This was on the back of a stick up LED strip light. No manufacturer info, sorry.

[InterBlog]

I had no idea that hook and loop was as complicated as it is. I think I want hook 88 and loop 1000, but the problem is that most products don't state the specs on the packaging.

One retailer told me that the dots look like "normal" hook, but it certainly doesn't act like it. The 88/1000 combination is supposed to have 20,000 life cycles. The loop I had was Velcro branded and had less than 100 removals before it became ineffective.

[Tronadora]

I think you may be wanting this product. Both pieces are hook style and it is very grippy.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#hook-and-l...eners/=1cfrgeq

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Tronadora

I think you may be wanting this product. Both pieces are hook style and it is very grippy.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#hook-and-l...eners/=1cfrgeq

Thank you. This certainly looks like the stock product that Airstream used. But other than stating "nylon", no specs are provided on the product link itself.

HOWEVER, this page notes that "strong hold" hook and loop is only good for about one hundred open/close cycles, which is pretty much bang on with my observations for my current unfortunate combination. Obviously a hundred uses will not be sufficient for a privacy curtain that is repeatedly applied and removed.