20-footers

[LNBright]

Yeah... I think I got away with it once, tapping out the core (the base seemed okay on mine, wasn't as brittle as the handle was). I think, once it's time to do it again, I'll use something other than the original, that isn't as susceptible to degradation over time. (I really don't like the idea of having to cut an access panel, but, I'm not sure how you'd tackle it without doing such.)

[CruizinDux]

Hey Lesie, I cut what I needed to cut then used some thin plate, some screws where I knew what was on the upside and some Alu HVAC tape, leaving just a weep hole just in case.

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f44...-160792-2.html this poster is a 20'

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f44...ve-213864.html I followed Bob's lead (#3)

the left pic was my first pass to rough in the location, find the tank and the heater wiring, and was cleaned up on subsequent passes.


The right pic I added a few more self tapping screws, then sealed the edges with the alu HVAC tape.



the flange. My link doesn't work any more but it was black anodized from Ebay from a Veteran owned co.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/39331571214...Cclp%3A2047675

[PapaPepper]

Originally Posted by PrairiePete

My search skills have not found an answer, so...

The fresh water tank drain valve on my 2016 20FB appears to be on borrowed time.

Can the hose clamps behind the valve be accessed by pulling the valve away from the tank, or does the undertray have to be removed? Or is there an access point that I haven't found?

Thanks in advance.

Pete

Please see January 28 & 30 2022 posts for some limited photos.l of the repair of the FW tank that was ultimately replaced.


Last year I had a failure of the freshwater drain valve on my 13’ 20’. The 90 degree elbow failed so it was an unIsolable rupture until the tank drained out. That was not the only failure. The trauma that caused the elbow to crack must have put stress on the spin fitting of the tank and the threads were cracked down the spin fitting. The whole tank needed replacing or repair. I opted for replacement. By removing bolts on the jacks and the sheet metal tray holding up the tank I was able to remove the broken tank. There was some strapping that had disintegrated over time that I believe was holding the tank up. By the time I got to the tank it was just sitting in the tray loosely. I installed the new tank. Replaced the elbows with brass. And installed a new drain. It wasn’t the hardest repair but It was a surprise to find an elbow busted AND then the tank threads cracked too. I put new strapping in to hold the empty tank up for an easier install. Additional foam was installed to keep the tank immobile in the tray.

If you have any questions DM me and we can chat.

[miamipanther]

Hi, we have upgraded our 460AH battery bank to 604AH one, it's exact same design with some minor upgrade.

It can fit under the bed on the driver site compartment, but it's very tight, I have to make a few adjustment to fit it in, but it turned out nicely

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f44...ml#post2707012

[LNBright]

Originally Posted by miamipanther

6. Hatchlift RV Bedlift

The bedlift is THE most beloved add-on by wife, this SHOULD come as standard from factory. It's so PITA to get access to the storage area without it. The most of important is how to position the hardware so the bed can be lift and push down by one hand, the measurement is attached in the photo.

So this has finally come up on my to-do list: but looking at my current arrangement, I have to ask, how did you deal with the hamper/ storage at the foot of the bed?

With the boards for the bed frame being two pieces running lengthwise, I get adding the piano hinge, so the board closest to the window stays put; and, the storage at the head of the bed goes deeper, the front board is passing by it. But the storage at the foot is mounted on top, across both the back and the front board: I can’t simply cut the board to match the head side, as there’s not the same support structure for that end.

How did you solve that?

[LNBright]

Ok, step one complete:

Started removing screws from the front plywood piece of the bed frame: only had two screws strip out. Used an extractor to remove those two screws.

The headboard goes to the floor; it was the footboard that is mounted onto the plywood: three screws in the bottom of the footboard cubby, and two on the side that weren’t the easiest to reach, as the wall between the bedroom and the dinette limits access. Once the footboard cubby was removed: discovered the plywood piece is too long to come out, with that wall still in place. So, I put a spacer underneath the plywood to lift that end, set my saw as shallow as I could get it, and cut the piece off that would remain sitting under the footboard cubby. Then I could remove the main sheet of plywood. Cleaned up all the sawdust, then remounted that endpiece of plywood, with the footboard cubby back into place.

Outside, I trimmed a slight amount off of the plywood main sheet, along where it would be adjacent to the headboard cubby, so it wouldn’t tear at the headboard covering material. I then marked the spot where the piano hinge would mount, and trimmed a touch off of the edge of the main plywood sheet, and also off of the edge of the other plywood sheet of the bed frame sitting under the window, so that the barrel of the hinge would sit down inside the v, allowing the hinge to sit flat. Sanded the cut edges, brought the plywood back in, and installed the hinge.

So, I can now open the bedframe: I’ve yet to get the lift kit itself installed, but am now prepped for that portion. Before I install the lift kit pistons, I’m going to install the new battery bank and Victron components under the bed first. (A bit at a time as I go.)

[dbsd1]

Newbie here and just bought 2017 FC20 ... such a great forum. So we need to fix black and grey water sensors/senders. My search skills on this forum are not finding any posts with any information regarding accessing the black water tank on an FC20. Anyone do this work in the past or know of any posts on the forum describing any of the work needed for this? Thanks.

Will say our first approach will be to drop the grey water pan and tank and check the wiring and sender circuit pad. Will document as we go and post any details we learn along the way.

[LNBright]

A: welcome! For our 20FB’s, this is a great little corner to brainstorm on things in common between our campers….

B : I haven’t had to deal with the tank sensors; my first question is, what is it doing? Is it possible it’s an issue with the display, and not the sensors themselves?

[dbsd1]

LNBright - thanks, it could of course be the display. the previous owner said the black and gray were not working well, so i knew it was an issue when buying the trailer. the fresh tank is reading properly, read proper value when partially full and then when empty it read 0, so fresh is good. the gray and black are reading 0 all the time regardless of how full they are. I can verify gray again tomorrow by adding some more water just in case it is actually too low to read anything. i have added water to the black and looking down the toilet know it has plenty of water to register something other than 0. since all the senders/sensors are wired to the same wire to the display, and they use a proprietary communication protocol, we thought that the display is probably ok if it can display the fresh level fine. here's the specified wiring for the sensors,

https://www.garnetinstruments.com/wp...Diagram-v3.pdf

maybe it is a calibration issue? will read about that all again tomorrow.

looking through the manuals the system seems to be relatively simple ... the hard part is accessing the senders/sensors under the trailer if needed.

[dbsd1]

So my sensors are fine, it was me being a dumb newbie! tank sensors must be biased towards full, makes sense, they did not even register until they hit 13% full.

[LNBright]

Originally Posted by dbsd1

So my sensors are fine, it was me being a dumb newbie! tank sensors must be biased towards full, makes sense, they did not even register until they hit 13% full.

Glad you don't have a problem to deal with!! And apologies for not having actually known that to have saved you the worry... I'll try to remember that...

[dbsd1]

So one of the other upgrades needed on the 2017 20ft FC we recently bought was to replace the old beat up cooktop. If your thinking of doing something similar, here's a couple before and after photos. I also rely heavily on youtube DIY videos, so while doing this replacement I shot a bit of video and made my first DIY youtube video in case it can help others too.

https://youtu.be/LDxNRmdbFpc?feature=shared

[LNBright]

Appreciate the video! I’ve never made a video for anything that I’ve done, in retrospect, even if I never posted it, kinda wish I had…. but at the same time, most everything I’ve done has been off of a video already posted somewhere, so mine usually would have been redundant.

[centennialman]

Thank you for this great video! I want to change out my cooktop and this gives me the inspiration to do it!

[dbsd1]

Originally Posted by centennialman

Thank you for this great video! I want to change out my cooktop and this gives me the inspiration to do it!

That's great to hear! Good luck!

[RoGo]

Great video. Like how you showed the challenges along the way.

[Bethie]

After over 5 years and more than 400 nights in our 1977 Argosy 6 metre minuet, we just took possession of a 2016 Flying Cloud 20C from Colonial Airstream in NJ. We loved our Argosy, but with frame damage and axel problems and rear separation, and knowing we want to continue traveling for many more years, we put her out to pasture and took the plunge. We love to cook, so the larger galley was a no brainer when we were shopping.

The FC feels very elegant and fancy to us, and a sewer connection that doesn’t require us to go under the trailer is bliss! Colonial was great to work with and we are looking forward to making Pip our own! I’m enjoying all the ideas and conversations on this thread

[LNBright]

Berthie,

Welcome! We love our 20' FC. Ours is a year older, so we don't have the ducted AC in the ceiling like yours, but, that's okay w/ us...