2023 Hot Water Recirculation / Kitchen and Shower

Our 2023 Grand Design Reflection 297RSTS came with the Furion Tankless Water Heater. We have also had the traditional Gas/Electric water heaters before.

After a few weeks playing with it we had two issues.

1. Wasted a lot of water into the holding tank to get hot water. Not hateful but more than we were used to.

2. The distance from the water heater to the kitchen island sink took almost 2 mins to get hot water suitable for doing dishes in cooler weather. The freshwater tank temperature affects the time to heat the water.

In our previous rig I had already researched adding hot water recirculation device, called the ShowerMiser. Thankfully the wife decided to sell it before I did this modification.

I contacted https://showermiser.com/ and they were great to work with.

I sent them photos of my fixtures in the shower and kitchen sink and they emailed me the best options.
Here are the models that work for that unit:

Shower choices

SMMM02

SMEBM01

SMM001

 

Sink choices (Looks like Chrome?)

SKC002

If Brushed Nickel

SKB002

 If you have any additional questions or comments please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Gus Searcy

Aqua View Inc.

Office: 714-485-5904

www.Aquaviewinc.com

I purchased these based on the recommendation:

• SMMM02 SHOWERMI$ER Mushroom Matte Black

• SKB002* SINKMI$ER Brushed Nickel Unit for Home/Commercial

SHOWER Install

    For the shower, I was able to run the recirculation line to the underbelly from the rear of the shower using the closet that also can house a washer and dryer.

Turn the valve to recirculate and it will circulate water from the fresh tank through the water heater and back to the fresh tank until you change the control valve to send it to the fixture. - No Wasted water anywhere.

SINK Install

 I chose not to install the control valve on the countertop because I was uncomfortable with the clearance. So I made a bracket and installed it inside the cabinet.

Turn the valve to recirculate and it will circulate water from the fresh tank through the water heater and back to the fresh tank until you change the control valve to send it to the fixture. - No Wasted water anywhere.

The most difficult part of the installation was dropping the underbelly and running the additional pex lines from the shower valve and sink valve to the input side of the freshwater tank NOT the input to the water pump.

Current Observations:

• This is working well enough that would not want to be without it. It does what we want. The wife and I like different temperatures for a shower and we like 104 degrees Fahrenheit for dishes. So we leave the thermostat set at 104 and add cold as we desire to shower.

• Restroom Sink - I did not add a recirculation valve to the restroom sink because it is easy to just recirculate the shower and the sick is close enough to be effective. You will want to shut off the shower recirculation before opening the sick fixture because the factory pump is designed to supply only one fixture at a time and the recirculation valve is a fixture when on.

• You can also use the recirculation valve to fill your fresh tank if you want to.

• You will want to shut off the shower recirculation before opening the sick fixture because the factory pump is designed to supply only one fixture at a time and the recirculation valve is a fixture when on

• Using Water Pump - This is the way it is intended to work and work perfectly.
• Using City Water - It can be done, you have to understand that IF you recirculate while on City Water hookup it will still send water to the fresh tank because you are not drawing from the fresh tank when using City Water you WILL overflow your fresh water tank.

Other systems involve secondary pumps with timers and others with crossover mixer valves and "H" valves.

I chose to go with the www.Aquaviewinc.com  because:

1. It was within my skill set for the wife and I to install.
2. The product is used in many high end rigs.
3. The products are high quality and not plastic.
4. The company provided great pre-sale support.
5. The company also followed up with my to insure I had a great install.

The water heater sips propane and is used less than our traditional gas./ electric because it only heats when using it.

       

Changes for 2023

Forward-looking in our planning:

As we began thinking about the next phase of our lives heading into retirement, we decided to make a change with the rig. Several things created the reasons we chose to make a change, we will share a few of them here.

• Grandchildren. While we did not do a bunkhouse, we saw the opportunity to improve the time we spent away with the grandchildren with a larger floor plan.
• We decided that we were ready for storage facilities similar to a 5th Wheel, however, we did not want the steps that come with the traditional 5th wheel floor plans. We started seeing the flat deck 5th wheel floor plans and liked what we saw.
• Truck - it is important to us that we stay with our tow vehicle's capability with a safety margin that we set. Also keeping the bed of our truck available to us was another consideration. So the flat deck 5th wheel layout in the travel trailer form factor won us over.

We began as so many before us, from tents, and pop-ups to towables. We started our towable journey with a 2014 Crossroads Z1 then moved to the 2016 Jayco White Hawk 27DSRL and now the 2023 Grand Design Reflection 297RSTS.

This blog and its related social media are meant as a place to share with others like-minded. We have been active in manufacturing forums and users groups both learning from others and sharing our modifications and experiences to return the help we receive from others doing the same

We will keep the history available on our website www.stormpod.org, this blog, and the social media sites. This is a primary hobby for us and we are not full time nor do we plan to be.

We will keep updating as we feel the desire to share or answer questions. 

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Wheel Fender Fix

While on a trip I notice in my mirror that a wheel fender skirt is flapping in the wind. I pulled over and inspected the issue and was happy it had no permanent damage and I was confident that I had something onboard that would allow me to get to the destination.

Wheel well with fasteners pulled through. Found many cracks around the holes in the fender skirt on both sides of the rig.

I found an ACE Hardware and looked for some fasteners and grommets.

My idea was that the grommets would provide a firm fit in the mounting holes so the fasteners did not crack the skirt and pull through. 

I decided to use these and they worked well. I bought enough do to both skirts with 4 extras.

This is the result, they have held the fender well.

I used this to paint the fastener heads for looks only.

2017 Fall Shipshewana, Indiana trip Day 2

Started the day with some K9s sleeping in.

After a slow start we head for brunch - Our driver took one wrong turn and we ended up having brunch in Michigan. It made for a nice scenic tour of the area including some local waterways.

After brunch, we head back into Indiana to the Jayco Factory. Factory tours are available on Thursdays at noon. Due to weather during our tow on Thursday we missed the factory tour again..however, Intern Shea was engaging and made our trip worth it. The second year in a row we have missed the tour.

Of course, it was raining, so the Wife felt it was a fitting time for a photo opportunity.

After we left the Jayco Factory we headed to a cheese factory - took home some great cheese.

After the Heritage Ridge Creamery, we had lunch at Ben's Pretzels. A clean and easy place with great food options.

After lunch, we stopped at Yoders Meat shop and had a great time. More cheese and lots of meat.

Needless to say, we left with some great eats.

With it raining most of the day, we went back to the campground for a nap, after which it was time for dinner. At check-in, we got a 10% off offer at a local restaurant named
http://www.howerestaurant.com/. It was well run and surprised our party of four with great service, and abundant choices. The place is family run, the food and portions was above average.

2017 Fall Shipshewana, Indiana trip Day 1

We head out to http://shipshewanacampgroundnorth.com/. The campground works well for us because the in-laws get a cabin for 2 across the lane from the StormPOD at a reasonable cost. The area has a lot to do and see and is home to most of the RV Manufacturers.

We had not had rain at home for 10 days and right on schedule - the morning we leave we have it.

The weather added an hour of towing time to the trip. We went through several bands that slowed us to below 35 mph with some wind but the rig handled it well.

My coupon queen Wife scored us a tank of fuel for ten cents a gallon which meant it cost us less than $3.00 to make the trip from Southwest Ohio to Northern Indiana.

We do a lot of StormPOD activities because of her skills in this area. In this case, we use reward points.

We picked up some great firewood for the night at a local farm less than 3 miles from the campground. The campground sells firewood but the quality and quantity are far less than what we got for the same money.

The sites are closer together than we would like normally, we find that in tourist areas this is what you get. 

Because we arrived on a Thursday and there was a large crafts festival  in the area, we decided to hit the Blue Gate Resturant for dinner. This was a good decision as the area was very busy already.

My wonderful Wife

She loves horses.

 Had a relaxing evening and met some great neighbors. Wonder what Day 2 will bring?

Bumper End Cap update

The StormPOD has the typical 4 inch thin walled bumper with the plastic end caps.
We had added to our trip checklist to ensure these caps were in place, they tend to work loose and disappear.

We still use this bumper for long-term storage of a spare sewer hose so I wanted a way to keep the caps on that allows for easy access. I used the items below from Lowes to accomplish this.

Used these fasteners on each cap.

Drilled hole in the bumper and end cap. The end caps are not stock, I replaced the stock ones with these to stop wasps from building in the bumper.

Finished product. Did the same on the other side. The fastener is finger tight, pinching a little to prevent the fastener from backing off.

Wheel Lug upgrade

I make maintenance on my rig a priority and in doing so I remove the wheels often to clean and inspect tires, brakes, bearings, and suspension.

The factory wheel lugs have a thin covering on them that moves on the lug and frequently gets stuck in the lug wrench forcing them to be punched out of the socket, it slows me down, a distraction and damages the cover.

So I replaced them with solid stainless steel lug nuts.

I needed to know the specs of the lugs so I could order them, the dealers in my area acted like I was asking for a controlled substance when I explained what I was looking for.  After my upgrade, the lugs went from 19mm to 13/16 socket size.

So this is what I determined I needed -

1/2"-20 thread x 7/8" diameter cone x 1-5/8" height

and I found these:
Product type:	Trailer Wheel Lug Nut Package
Quantity Included In Our Package:	A Package Contains 20 Lug Nuts
Composition Type:	100% Solid Stainless Steel
Are These Stainless Caps?:	No - They are SOLID Stainless Steel
Nut Type:	Acorn Style
Thread Pattern:	1/2-20 Right Hand
Nut Length:	1-3/8" Long
Socket/Wrench Size:	Standard 13/16" Size

20 pack SOLID Stainless Steel Acorn Style Trailer Wheel 1/2" Lug Nuts Rust Proof

Comparison  - Stainless Steel replacement on left, Factory original on right.

Comparison  - Stainless Steel replacement on left, Factory original on right.

Factory Lugs

Stainless Steel Lugs