9 - Privacy Cover and Curtain

My Orion came with a very nice vinyl exterior windshield cover. It fits over the windshield and side windows and is held on with embedded magnets. This was intended to be the privacy cover for the cab, as no interior shade or curtain was provided. Three problems became quickly evident. (1) You had to go outside to install the cover, which would not be pleasant if raining or stormy. (2) If you wanted privacy in the daytime, the cover made it very dark inside. (3) The magnets barely held the cover in place and it would blow asunder in any stiff breeze. Time to engineer a solution.

Being in a hurry for our second camping run, I found a couple of bath towels that looked good and together were the right size for an interior curtain. I had some punch-through snaps and eyelets from an old project and installed 8 of them them along one side of the towels which also served to fasten them together for the right length. I fastened 4 S-hooks to the middle 4 eyelets which I hang to the existing sun visor hardware. I put 2 cup hooks above the top rear of each side door to hook the remaining eyelets to. The result is a curtain that covers the front glass but still leaves room to access the cab area. The towels we chose are a bit heavy but still let light filter through and give a bit of insulating value. I should have run them through 3 or 4 more wash cycles though, as I still get a bit of lint every time I handle the curtain. Between uses, I just fold it up and stuff it between the driver's seat and the couch. It only takes a few seconds.

Below - Stock exterior cover

Below - Privacy curtain made from two towels

Below - Arrows point to S-hooks hooked to visor points. Circles are

punch-snaps that fasten the towels together. (Could be sewed, but

don't have sewing machine.)

Below - Right visor hook and rear cup hook attachment.

8 - The Sewer Connector Problem

Back in Post 6, I mentioned that the sewer outlet as installed on the coach was inoperable. The problem is that the outlet was mounted close to the under-belly and behind the lower skirt of the siding molding. There was literally no way to connect a sewer hose coupling to the outlet due to the interference from the skirt. I discovered this as I was trying to empty the tanks after our first trial camp outing. Obviously, a bit of a problem as seen in the picture.

My wife got on the phone to a Forest River representative, but figuring no easy nor quick solution was in the offing, I got in the toad car and drove 20 miles home to get my trusty saber saw, some masking tape, and some files and sandpaper. There was clear space behind the skirt, so I applied masking tape to the outside and traced a pattern of the outside of the hose coupling onto the tape. I then found a bowl in the kitchen that had a diameter slightly larger than the coupling and traced a nice arc in the right position. I caught my breath and then proceeded to carefully saw the semi-circle piece out. I filed and sanded the cut smooth and the result looked pretty much like it was made that way. I was able to empty the tanks.

Meanwhile, my wife had talked to an engineer from F.R. and he basically said he was at a loss to explain what happened. I followed up later with them and sent pictures showing the issue. I don't know if my unit was the only odd one like this, but I suspect the result was that the outlet was run and hung a bit lower to clear the skirt. Actually, I'm kind of glad it is where it is as there is more ground clearance.



7 - 4/2017 Status and Questions Answered

I had a punch list of 4 relatively minor warranty items that I took to RV World in Yuma, AZ. They were very accommodating to do the work even though they are not the selling dealer. Items were: (1) GFCI outlet kept tripping. Replaced with new. (2) Awning LED strip lights not functional. They were never wired to the switch when built. New fused circuit added. (3) Gap at floor between floor and wall--could see ground from inside. Screwed together and sealed. Beautiful repair-can't detect it. (4) Did not get 2nd set of compartment keys. On order. This brought the coach up to full functionality. I have since installed a 2nd battery under the entry step, and put a Maxx-Air fan in the middle vent location. A Maxx-Air or Fantastic Fan is one serious omission on standard equipment in my opinion, considering some of the other standard items included. I would happily exchange the outside TV that I doubt I will use for a powered exhaust fan. I also had the 1-1/4" to 2" hitch adapter permanently welded on since all my hitches and hitch accessories are 2".

I received the following questions in a previous post comment and provide brief answers here.

1. Is this a 4-season coach? The fresh water tank and all plumbing lines are inside and above the floor, so would be in the heated area. The holding tanks are under the floor but have electric heat jackets. Windows are single pane. The drain pipes from the holding tanks to the sewer outlet are fairly long and would be exposed to freezing. So the answer is, sort of but not really.

2. What is the length? Not measured, but 24' + or - a few inches is about right.

3. Spare tire? None included. I believe one could rig up something to fit underneath. Or get a rear carrier installed.

4. Does either cab seat swivel? No. Swivels are available for passenger seat only as after market.

5. Option for heated cab seats? No. Standard commercial Transit chassis with cloth seats.

6. What type windows? Single pane horizontal slide opening for 3 main windows.

7. Refrigerator size? Between 5 and 6 cu. ft.

8. Is the club lounge with barrel chairs still available? There are more Orion models including cab-over plans. My 24RB model is still listed. Drop-down bed with small dinette and 2 club chairs.

9. Does the table require using the leg support? Pretty much yes. The support was added because the wall supports only pulled out of the side panel if too much weight was put on the table. Like some large lady using the table as leverage to get up from the chair at an RV show (many times!)

10. Is the mattress iCool memory foam? No. It is generic 4" thick industrial foam. We added a 2" memory foam pad and cushioned mattress cover on top, and it is very comfortable.

11. Is there a house inverter. No, and no factory option.

12. Convection microwave. No, it's regular microwave, and no factory option.

13. Is a tankless water heater available. No factory option. It's a standard 6-gal DSI tank heater and no electric heater mode.

14. What are the 3 roof vents? Front and mid vents are standard crank-up. Rear bath vent has a 6" noisemaker fan. The front vent is covered when the bed is up against it. I installed a Maxx-Air fan in the mid vent position at my own expense.

15. Type of roof? Rubber membrane over plywood (TPO?)

16. Heat strip in A/C. No, and no factory option. A/C is ceiling ducted, which is a bit of an upgrade.

17. Option for leveling jacks? No. Probably can be done as after market if your budget can handle it.