Monday, March 11, 2024

Roadtrek Play Upgrades (Part 3)

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In Part 3 we include:

  • Under Bed Storage Access
  • LED Headlights
  • Rear Door Spare Tire Mount


Under Bed Storage Access

This upgrade has been a game changer!  
The Play has a large, open storage area under the passenger side bed. It's great....except that in order to access it, you need to lift the bed frame lid....including the mattress. That's a lot of weight to hold up while reaching into the storage compartment. After accessing it a few times (and having bruised arms to show for it) we decided to see if there was an alternative. 

Our solution was to remove the partition between the rear door small storage area and the large under bed area. The red line in the pic below shows where a partition was located. We used a jigsaw to remove the partition, thus opening up the entire space. 
It took us about 3 hours....mainly removing all of the screws that were holding the hinged top of the bed so we could access the partition that we needed to remove.


In order to access the entire space from the rear door, we added two metal carts with wheels. They can be pulled out for easy access to stored items. 







LED Headlights

We didn't have our Play very long before deciding that we couldn't tolerate the dim and yellowed headlights. We looked at LED bulbs, but most required making an adaptor our of gasket material or gluing the bulbs in place. 
We instead decided to order the OpenGlass Ram Promaster LED Kit. A 3D printed ceramic bulb holder and high and low beam bulbs are are included. This kit was worth every cent. The installation instructions were clear and the video helped guide us through.
The difference is amazing and well worth the extra money for the OpenGlass Kit. 



Rear Door Spare Tire Mount

We are in the mindset that while we will likely rely on AAA or other roadside assistance to change a tire, we don't want to sit waiting on a busy highway while a service truck tries to find a tire (and rim if damaged). We looked at the under-vehicle kits available to store a spare under the Promaster, but were turned off after reading reports of the cable snapping and bouncing the spare along under the chassis....destroying water lines, propane and more.
After researching, we decided on the Landed Gear Right Rear Door Mount. We wondered about how easy it would be to open the rear door with the spare in place, but Landed Gear's video relieved our concerns. 
It arrived and once we got over the frightening aspect of drilling holes in our new Play, we had it installed in a little over an hour. The kit included a template and a door hinge limiter strap. We purchased an OEM tire and rim and we're in business. 




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Roadtrek Play Upgrades...Part 4

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In Part 4 we'll cover a few more of our Roadtrek Play upgrades, including:
  • Slider Door Handle 
  • Exit Step Down Handle
  • TV Mount
  • Stove & Sink Covers
  • Utensil Drawer Storage


Slider Door Handle Upgrade

The slider door OEM handle always felt like it could snap off. When we saw that an upgraded handle was available from 3D Tech we installed this one. It's a big, beefy handle and is easier to grab and there's no feeling that it will break off in your hand.   





Exit Slider Door Handle

I was a bit insecure stepping down out of the slider door, and the OEM handle on the right side is great for entering the van, but it's on the wrong side for me to step out.
We installed this great handle  from Amazon on the sink cabinet from inside the cabinet and it's made the step down much more secure. It's almost like that corner of the cabinet was made for a handle....LOL. 



TV Mount

Our Play did not come with a TV, so we purchased a 24 inch Roku TV and used this Rotating Mount from Amazon to install. The TV can be rotated to use in vertical position if desired. 





Stove and Sink Covers

One of the first realizations with our Play was that without covers, we would quickly drop something on the glass stove & sink lids and shatter them.
I looked at a couple of solutions, and ended up buying a molded foam kitchen mat and cutting it in half. Because the inner foam is "crumbly, I sealed the cut edges with some silicone. The mats are sturdy enough to hold our induction burner or coffee maker, and they provide great protection for the glass lids. When not in use, they slide into the "Pizza Oven" shelf. 





Utensil Drawer Storage

I really like keeping our cooking utensils protected. We haven't had rodent issues so far, but I worry about the possibility of one breaching our Play and contacting utensils. A Rubbermaid 4.4 Liter Take-Along fits nicely in the under stove drawer. The outer edges of the container need to be trimmed with utility scissors a bit to allow the contain to sit down into the drawer and allow smooth opening and closing. 










That's all for Part 4!


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