Making Changes to Rocky, our Pop Up Tent Camper

Desperately needing upgrades :)

After our trip to Lost Maples SNA where we had to zip up Rocky after having been rained on, we had to open the PuP up to dry out. Since we have it stored in a secure facility, I've been able to leave it all opened up for several days. And, since it's opened up, I decided I had the opportunity to do some of the minor fixes that have been needed.

To wit, my first repair job simply had to be hinge replacement. Let me begin by saying that the benches around the dinette table are pieces of plywood that have the "backs" attached with hinges. The backs need to lay flat when we drop the ceiling. But, since this is not the most expensive RV on the market nor is it the best made PuP on the market, the hinges were attached with 4 screws instead of the 10 the hinge was designed to handle. Within the first trip or two, I had leaned back one too many times and the screws pulled out and the hinges bent. This caused the sharp edges to cut into our cushion (bad!). 

So, I simple removed the two 6" hinges and replaced with one 30" piano hinge and one 6" hinge with 8 screws attaching it. Now, the seat back lifts easily and feels much more stable than previously.

Piano hinge with original hinge

I was on a roll so I made these changes to all three of the seat backs and one of the storage bin doors. So far, so good.

Then, I went on to repair the toilet/shower lid. Apparently, the small block of wood they used was quite insufficient for me to sit on the lid. The wood piece broke off the very first trip we took.

I bought two 2" corner braces and used them to provide support for the lid. Even though I doubt the lid will hold my weight if I were to sit on it, at least it won't bend down when I put our clothes bag on it.

My mods on the left. The original block on the right.

Next, I decided to add a place to hang up wet towels after showering. I simply bought a coat rack about 18" long and used a bit of chain to suspend it from our ceiling. When we get ready to close up, I just unhook the chain and we can store everything in one of our many, many (not) drawers.

Excess chain will be removed before using.

In the future, I plan on getting a replacement mattress, installing a thermometer, buying or building solar covers for the canvas sections, installing a digital battery meter, installing mud flaps to cover our stabilizers, and a whole bunch of other things!