Modernizing my 2008 Safari Cheetah

[McHughes]

OK, I'll start

New  grilles for the Air Conditioners and Fantastic Fans and replacements for the fluorescent lights .

I had posted this on irv2 but thought it might be OK here as well.

Edited June 1, 2020 by McHughes

[McHughes]

One of the first upgrades was to replace the fake ultra-leather on the captains chairs.  Found a local company, Velvet Touch Upholstery, who agreed to recover both for $500 each.   Was originally going to use real ultra-leather but the shop convinced me to use a heavy duty premium grade marine vinyl. Looks the same but not as soft.  I doubt the will ever wear out.

[McHughes]

Tired of the oil droplets on the toad so I installed a Moroso crank case vent tank.  I later removed the filter and ran a plastic hose up and  to the right rear of the coach. Drain it annually and get about 2 ounces of oil and sometimes a little water.

Since this coach spent some of its time in Indiana there was surface rust and salt damage to repair.  Blasted the undercarriage with "Black Magic" slag and redid the undercoating.  While I had it in the air I replaced the front wheel bearings and seals and installed the wet hubs.

Edited June 4, 2020 by McHughes

[McHughes]

 

On the next trip to Quartzsite Wanda and I sat in on a seminar on refrigerator fires given by "Mac the Fire Guy".  So in went the fire suppression behind the Norcold.  Eventually removed the Norcold and installed an RF18.

 

 

It was just about this time, after several long trips we decided that we just couldn't take the poor driving any longer.  So after a few months talking with Van we installed cross bars on both front and rear.  While we were at it we installed new Koni shocks.  Tremendous improvement in handling.  But not fixed. 

Edited June 4, 2020 by McHughes

[McHughes]

Installed the first prototypes of the front and rear watts.  Again, major improvement.  Still not completely fixed.

 

Installed the TRW steering gear box after discussing with Craig several times.  Only had about 3/4 inch of play in the wheel but it was enough to be irritating.  Finally, the steering /handling issues are fixed.  Drives like it should.

[McHughes]

Replaced kitchen drawers that were only 12" deep with 18" drawers and changed to soft close slides.  Also added a pull out drawer under the stove.

Fuse/relay circuit board had a burnt off the prong holding the air conditioner fan relay.  repaired it and replace the condenser fan that was drawing too much power.  Relay had melted and scorched the adjoining relays.  Nearly had a fire.

[McHughes]

Replaced tank monitors with See-Level gauges.  Removed a 5 gallon bucket of wires from the old gauge system.

 

Added side turn signals.  Amber in behind front tire,  red behind rear tire.

 

Replace all the day/night shades with "Automotion" roller shades.

[McHughes]

 

Sanded, clear coated and polished headlights.  Changed bulbs to LED's from M4.   Amazing improvement in lighting.

 

Norcold doors wore out and would no longer shut. You could feel the cold air flowing out the bottom of the doors.  Cost of new doors and seals we much more than the Samsung RF18 so in it goes.  Created a steel base platform, vented on the sides and bolted it down to the floor and wall.

Later I added Camco drawer catches based on examples given to me by Jim in Vegas.  No longer have to worry about putting in "fridge fixer", 

 

[McHughes]

 

Now that I have a residential fridge I should have solar panels.   Installed 8 100w Renogy panels and 40a Commander controller.

 

Shift panel was worn and had a burnt out display.  Priced a used one from salvage yard.  Price was higher than an new one.  So a new one it is.

 

Decided my neck couldn't take watching the front tv from the sofa any longer so we removed the jack knife sofa and built a tv/fireplace/work table unit.  Matching Corian top.  Lots of counter space.  43" Samsung TV with Samsung Blue Ray player and 4K Roku.  Dimplex 28" Multi-Fire XHD  fire box.

 

[McHughes]

 

Floor  rollers had gouged the bottom of the bed frame causing it to drag on the carpet.  Installed stainless panels to fix and while at it decided to replace all the carpet.

 

 

Felt I needed to know more about the battery charge condition so we installed a Magnum BMK to go along with the ME2012-02 inverter/charger

 

Upgraded the Bat Wing antenna and indoor control.  While at it we  converted the on/off switch for the sat dish  to a charge outlet for the new hot spot router.  Solar panels  now occupy the space where the full motion dish was.

 

This coach didn't come with the Magnum Auto Generator Start we added it.  Mounted to the side of the inverter/charger.

[McHughes]

 

After seeing what people were doing with their entry steps at QZ we decided to do ours.  

 

And added entry LED lights controlled by magnetic door sensor.  Come on automatically when door is opened. The original switch now enables/disables the lights.

 

Water pump was aging and starting to randomly shut off as well as minor leak.  Bought a better one on Amazon and had it shipped to a friends farm in Oregon.  Installed it in the Elks parking lot.

 

Like many we installed the VMS-PC and BlueFire systems, IPAD for Co-Pilot GPS  as well as TST tire monitor.   TST repeater installed in bedroom closet.  

[McHughes]

 

Since purchasing this coach we couldn't figure out why the bathroom had such foul odors.  Eventually figured out the pump shaft seals were leaking in the Tecma Toilet pump.  Replaced it only to find it worse.  On close inspection we saw that the new pump housing was cracked at the hose connection.  Replaced it again. At last, no more odor, after almost 4 years of living with it.

 

While at the 419th Maintenance session we stopped by the Lambright showroom near Shipshewanna IN  and replaced the convertible sofa with a power recliner sofa.   Pretty much hated that old sofa.  Killed your back. This was a perfect fit.  When we returned we made a custom mounting frame to use the existing holes in the slide floor to bolt it down.

[McHughes]

 

Replaced the 1.5 din original radio with a 2 din  Magnadyne M6.  With Android , Touch Screen, Blue Tooth, WiFi, DVD Video, Apps, 4 Camera inputs  and GPS

 

Always liked the feel of a leather steering wheel.

 

Tired of those curtains.  Installed Automotion Shades in the cockpit.  Wood trim to match existing cabinets.

[McHughes]

 

Battery upgrade.  4 Battleborn 100ah Lifep04,  Replaced the Big Boy and BIRD with a LI-BIM, replaced the control board in the Magnum 2012-02 inverter/charger and replaced the remote control with an ME-ARC.  Added a switch in the hallway to be able to energize the relay without having to turn on the ignition.  Changed chassis batteries to  Odyssy  Extreme  1150CCA AGM's.  Batteries are bolted down to prevent theft and to secure in the event of an accident.

 

Didn't like the idea of having a single GFCI outlet controlling every outlet in the coach.  Especially since Samsung does not recommend the fridge be connected through a GFCI.   In the last couple of years I have had 2 instances of nuisance tripping caused by the fridge.  The two outlets by the kitchen, one in central bath and the one in the toilet area are now on their own individual GFCI outlets.

 

Propane and carbon monoxide detectors timed out so they were replaced.  Added two new Kidde smoke alarms (one in driver area and one in the bedroom) and added a third smoke/CO detector in the kitchen area.

[McHughes]

 

Installed LED lighting in the outside door handle. Replaced the porch light with motion sensing. Added LED lighting under the kitchen and living room slides. 

 

Installed a queen Sleep Number mattress. Rewired all bedroom outlets to run through the inverter.  Previously the bedroom outlets required either generator or city power.  New mattress hung over the end of the platform and sagged after some time so we extended it about 3".

[McHughes]

 

Added Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer along with Hendersons on-the-fly Trim Unit.

 

Changed out the fixed thermostat in the water heater to a temp adjustable one.

[Scotty Hutto]

Awesome thread!  So many ideas to “borrow” 😂

[McHughes]

Replaced 6 tires with new Michelin 275/70 22.5 XZA2,  added Centramatic balancers and polished rims.  Local tire dealer (Tim Wells Tire) beat the FMCA discounted price.  Date code showed less than 2 months old.

 

 

Edited June 14, 2020 by McHughes

[McHughes]

Added side table next to drivers seat. Thanks to poddville  on irv2.com Manaco Owners Group for a great idea.
Construction, materials and finish are an exact match to original Monaco cabinets. Corian top with adjustable shelf.

[Chargerman]

Nice work Mike

are your cabinets Cherry?  If so what did you get for a finish that matches?

Thanks,

Steve

[Rob and Amy Harper]

This is great. I'd like to know more about those overhead replacements for the ugly florescent fixtures. Did you make those yourself?

I'm surprised at the condition of the old UltraLeather. My coach has 109,000 miles and my seats are still like new. I have been very happy with them.

[McHughes]

Yes,  American cherry.   Most of the stain was provided to me by Roy on irv2.com.  This was mixed by Sherwin-Williams.  I mixed that with 20% Rustoleum Traditional Cherry.   Finish is three coats of oil based poly. In direct sunlight the colors match.  In the shadows it appears a little more red.  I do like cherry variations with sapwood being more red and heartwood being lighter.  Makes the wood interesting.

Ron and Amy,  That is what the seats looked like at 35,000 miles.   Material just flaked off down to the fabric backing.  Just cheap imitation ultra-leather I think.

Those lights are just a cherry wood plank with two or three puck lights bought off amazon.  Held on by Camco drawer latches.  The ones over the couch and table have touch dimmers.

[Rob and Amy Harper]

The drawer latch fasteners are a GREAT IDEA!!

I used LEDs similar to those for replacing the halogens. The ones I used were quite expensive, but they are dimmable 12v which isn't too easy to find, or at least they weren't 3 years ago. Your solution looks pretty simple, as in I can do that. :)

I don't have a picture of the driver's seat handy, but I attached one of my desk chair. All my seats look like this.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Rob and Amy Harper

[McHughes]

I think by mid 2008 Monaco was on the downward slide so materials and workmanship began to suffer.

Interestingly enough my brothers 2015 Newmar Ventana has the same issue at just 25k miles.

Those LED puck lights were less than $5 each off amazon.

Edited June 15, 2020 by McHughes

[Rob and Amy Harper]

I looked up my order, I got mine in December 2016 and they were $35 for two from Amazon. In retrospect, that's not too bad given they are dimmable and they fit perfectly into the existing holes from the halogens.