Nice walkthrough and congrats on your new trailer. Sounds like you have some pretty exciting mods planned. Def going to be looking at that ladder mod for our 2185 and thank you for the link! Happy trails
Thanks for the positive feedback! The ladder is a factory installed option just FYI. I imagine you could install one now, but I have no experience with that. We also purchased this ladder amzn.to/3fFWU2z which is super compact and allows us to get higher, but not be standing on the roof such as when we're putting the cover on the RV. Having factory attached ladder is super convenient though.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Oh I was referring to the bunk ladder. The original one, as you mentioned, is not ideal as it blocks access for our son to the middle bunk. The fold away telescoping one just makes way more sense. Will be keeping an eye on your solar/battery mods too. Good luck!
@@lioncrab88 Oh haha I should have realized that. Yes I highly recommend adding the ladder onto the bunks. Here's the link to it for your convenience. amzn.to/2QgUmxv I'll be publishing videos of the RV modifications mixed in with trips we've already done. Thanks for watching!
Great video! We picked up our 19’ 2185 in November from northern Massachusetts, We left Long Island NY mid March traveling Xcountry since and now currently on the coast of Oregon. Great camper made some mods of my own already, but we’ve been super happy and trouble free so far. Best of luck and safe travels to you and your family👍🏻
Beautiful Lance. I will have a 200w panel paired with a 1000w inverter on a Rockwood mini lite. What are my battery options to maximize our RV when boon docking? Two 6 volts or Lithium. We are newbies and not big on boon docking, just to want to have the option. Thanks
The best battery technology currently available is LiFePo4, and I think it's cheaper in the long term too. However it's up front cost per Ah is higher. You'll get a longer life out of it than traditional lead acid batteries, and you'll be able to use the full charge of the LiFePo4 battery. That's what I went with, and it's worked well for me. If you don't Boondock much and you spend most of your time at campgrounds then perhaps a cheaper in the short term option like 6 volt batteries is the better option for you, I really can't say for sure since I don't know all the parameters. Good luck in your research!
That is great - I am interested to see the solar / electric modifications so you can be truly "off the grid" once you have your CyberTruck! Thanks for showing us around the trailer!
I do not see a weight distribution hitch setup. You might want to consider getting one as soon as possible. This trailer is too heavy to be pulled safely without one. You also should get a new sewer port cover to replace the missing one in case one of your tank dumps fail while driving. Another tip: the TV latch is notoriously weak and will often pop out while towing. So, always check your TV is re-latched before opening your slide or you will crush you TV between the slide and wall. (ask my how I know this). You can replace the springs in the latch will some stiffer ones from a hardware store. I would also add some straps or bungees to secure the TV even better while traveling.
You're right I don't have a weight distribution hitch. The need for one is dictated by the tow vehicle in conjunction with the weight of the trailer more so than the weight of the trailer alone. We don't have our Cybertruck yet and we don't yet know enough details about the Cybertruck to know if it'll need a weight distribution hitch (the 500 mile Cybertruck we'll be getting will be very heavy). I suspect it won't need one based on the research I've done around what dictates the need for one. If it doesn't need one I'm not going to add one just because. I'll likely be having to unhitch the trailer often in order to back into most supercharger parking spots unless somehow Tesla adds a whole lot of pull through chargers in the next year. In the meantime we won't likely be taking the trailer out a whole lot this year because it's currently in a state of disarray with me swapping out components and building the electrical system. We have had the TV become unlatched twice (on the trip we took after this video was made) and the first time I also had it get stuck behind the slide out. Luckily I noticed immediately and stopped the slide out before causing damage to anything. I'm planning to inspect it to determine what I can do to improve on the inferior design from Lance. Thanks for the heads up on that issue, and tip on replacing the spring. Super lame of them to have such a weak spring. Thanks for the tips!
@@ElectricTechAdventures I don't know what tow vehicle you currently have, but with our 1/2 ton pickup, there was significant sag in the rear end without a WDH. More important than the WD effect, however, is the sway control. So, even if you have a 1 ton pickup currently, you should have some solution to help prevent sway. Another thing to keep in mind is the 2185 has a very high tongue weight. Real world weights for a moderately loaded unit will be around 900 lbs. When you add in your family and other items loaded in the bed of the truck, you can quickly eat up your payload capacity of a 1/2 ton truck or even a 3/4 ton if it has a diesel engine. I wish I knew this when I bought our rig. I would have gone with an F250 gas or similar. I know the Cybertruck is supposed to have a 3500 lb payload, but I will be interested to see if they can hit that mark. If so, it would be in the class of a 1 ton pickup. But batteries weigh a lot and will eat into payload quickly. This is the key question I have about all the electric pickup trucks coming out on the market. Are they really being built to haul trailers or will they be limited to the capabilities of a midsized pickup and are just trying to get marketshare from the largest auto-buying segment in the US? You also mention charging. This is another concern I have. It will never be practical to unhitch your trailer every time you have to change. Also, as you have seen with real world MPG on a fossil fuel truck while towing, you range is effectively cut in half. This means that the top of the line 500 mile range (if they can achieve that and keep the payload high enough) will be cut to 250 miles in real world towing. So, will there be available fast chargers with pull though configurations or is that too niche a market for them to bother with? And will they even be available near most areas you want to boondock or just camp without hookups like state forest campgrounds? I hope these issues can be resolved but I suspect it will take several iterations and some improved battery technology before a practical electric tow vehicle comes to the market. Good luck with your rewiring project. I would be interested to see some videos on the changes you end up making. We still have the stock GoPower PWM solar charger but have thought about switching to an MTTP unit. We did dump the two lead acid batteries and are running on a single Lithium currently but might add a second one soon and an inverter.
@@jlokanis The two trucks I've used to tow our travel trailer haven't had any rear sag, as you can see in the videos I've published here on my channel of when we picked up the trailer from eastern Washington and when we went to Goblin Valley. The battery in the Cybertruck is a permanent component of the vehicle and will not count against the payload. There are a lot of questions about details around the Cybertruck and it's performance while towing. We'll simply have to wait and see as there's no point in speculating about it until real people take delivery and start to use the truck in the real world which I intend to do, and I'll be showing here on my channel how it goes. I trust the Tesla engineers are brilliant based on how amazing my Model S is and I hope they knock it out of the park so to speak with it's capabilities. Unhitching to charge will be a pain, but it's not a big deal to me. I can unhitch in about a minute or two by just setting the electric jack to automatically rise to the pre-programmed height setting for the truck and while it's rising I unhook the chains and lights. (If on uneven ground I'd need to chalk the tires too.) Annoying yes, deal breaker no. I'm confident that over time more superchargers will be built as pull through spots like they're doing in Beaver Utah right now, but in the beginning I'm sure we'll have to unhitch regularly. Also while towing the trailer I don't anticipate trying to drive super long distances each day most of the time. Only charging our 500 mile range Cybertruck once a day while towing and only getting 250 miles of range will likely still allow us to drive around 400 miles in a day with some safety margin which will likely work just fine. There will be long haul trips while towing to get to a general region, then I plan to go just short distances then stay to experience the area before moving on. There are a LOT of new things to try out with the Cybertruck and I'm excited to get mine so I can begin the testing and making videos about it! Feel free to subscribe and see how it goes for us. :)
@@ElectricTechAdventures Just be careful about sway. It can ruin your day, no matter how heavy your truck is. Check out the BTBRV channel for good info on safe towing. I have learned a ton from his videos.
@@jlokanis thanks. I've done a lot of research and I have subscribed to and watch the btbrv channel. I'm familiar with the dangers of sway. Sway control is not a defacto blanket requirement for all truck trailer combinations. I know that's a controversial statement based on the many heated arguments I have seen online but there are definitely a lot of opinions about out there about everything...
Do you think that you can remove all the bunks in the bunkhouse? It would be an area to turn into a little "office" maybe? Or allow you to walk in without ducking under the top bunk. What are your thoughts?
Yes for sure the bunks could be removed with a Philips screwdriver. That's assuming you don't need the bunks at all. The upper bunk has a lot more screws because it's more permanently mounted. The middle bunk has a hinge at either end. The screws might be a little tricky to reach, but they got it installed somehow so I'm sure it can be removed. Then on the back wall there are two stops that the bunk rests on and the latch mechanism. All those things could be relatively easily unscrewed and you'd have a nice generic box back there to use as an office. I've actually been considering using it as a place to work myself, but I need it at night for my girls to sleep so I can't just remove the bunks. The middle bunk when it's flipped up is still about 6 inches out from the wall down where the hinges are at the bottom so in an already narrow space it makes it a little less practical for working there. There is a video I found on TH-cam of someone else attempting to use that space as an office th-cam.com/video/kv3hjjxlY2M/w-d-xo.html and in their case they left the top bunk because they have one child that sleeps up there. I don't think they stayed with this solution as later they showed her setup at the dinette with that computer setup. Personally I think what's most likely to work comfortably for me is once I have my Tesla Cybertruck I'll be able to simply sit in the drivers seat, then figure out how to mount my laptop, and hopefully one external monitor in there. It has readily available electricity plus the HVAC (AC or heat) can stay on continuously with minimal impact on the battery. Until then though I may figure out how to use the rear space, but just FYI when the middle bunk is folded up it's pretty close to the ground so it makes the most sense to enter from the rear door.
This is my first travel trailer so my perspective isn't very well informed, but from what I can tell and what others have told me looking at my trailer it appears to be "well built" compared to other trailers. Nothing has broken for us, although there are these cheap plastic screw covers that come off regularly in certain places. I could probably put some glue on them to hold them in place but they're in out of the way places so I just leave them be. There hasn't been any loose trim, but there really isn't much trim in a Lance anyway. There are components of the trailer that I think are kind cheap feeling so I'm careful with them, but I'm pretty sure that's just normal in the RV industry. There's always the battling priorities of quality, vs weight, vs cost. Getting components inside the venn diagram that includes all three is very difficult and some might say impossible.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Hopefully you got a decent pre Covid built unit. Absolutely shocking how many nightmares I've heard about recent models. I'm really scared to order mine till they get their shit together.
Would the bunks be “roomy” enough for teenagers? Looking at this specific trailer. We have been camping out of a Popup trailer with 5 kids for the last 4-5 years and looking to upgrade. How wide is the dinette when made up to a bed? We have kids 13 down to 5.
The bunks are 74 inches long 31 in wide and 21 in tall from the upper surface of the mattress pad to the ceiling. The middle bunk has two additional inches of height for some reason. The biggest restriction for the bunks is getting into them. The opening is 21 in tall by 29 in wide. The bottom bunk is obviously relatively easy to get into as it is on the floor. That when you can go in feet first or headfirst somewhat easily. The second bunk is not too hard but a tall person would probably do better to sleep with her head by the windows at the end of the bunk. If they have any issues with being claustrophobic then the two upper bunks do have windows and so that helps. But backing into them would be difficult for an adult. Same applies to the top bunk it would be hard to go in feet first because you have to first climb up into the bunk and then turn around in such a narrow space. The weight limit on the upper two is also a consideration at 250 lbs In my trailer and I think they are all the same. The bottom bunk being that it's just the floor has no weight limitation though. Personally I am 5'10" tall under 200 lbs and I have no problem sleeping in the bunks. I prefer the middle one because it is easiest to get into and out of and it has a window. Not that I really sleep in the bunks usually as that's where our kids sleep. Our kids being so small we can easily have two of them in the same bed one with their head at each end. Eventually when they are bigger we will have one of them sleep in the dinette slide out. The dinette is 78 in long so two adults could sleep there. It is 55 in wide so only about 5 in narrower than the queen size bed in front of the trailer.
Great content and presentation. I subscribed. Very interested in your channel since I will be picking up a Lance 2185 in March. Many of your planned mods are similar to what I would like to do so I will be following and commenting. Quick question - do you have a cover for your trailer? If so, what do you use?
I'm glad you like my video! I have finished my modifications and I've camped in my fully electric trailer 3 times now and I'm working on editing lots of videos going over the details and performance of the trailer and systems. The cover I got is Covercraft Designer Series Tyvek Travel Trailer Cover Price: $289.00 USD Part #: 34842 which I expect is more expensive now. My wife is going to modify it by removing most of the roof area of the cover so that it protects the sides of the trailer from UV rays but allows the solar panels to continue producing.
@@lamdog2000 no it doesn't touch the floor but it doesn't need to because the girls are able to get their foot up on the first rung of the ladder just fine. Their weight is then hanging from the upper bunk which is strong enough for 250 lbs if I remember right.
The backup camera on the trailer came with it's own monitor screen which I attached to the windshield in my truck with the suction cup mount it came with. The camera uses wireless communications to display the image. The camera in the back of the trailer is powered by the trailer light wiring so I have to turn on the headlights in the truck in order for the camera to work.
Great video. Hope you have lots of fun in your new trailer. Which brand of rear camera are you using? I would really like to know how it is performing after one year. I've not had one last longer than six months.
It is a Voyager WVOM43. It was on the trailer when we bought it and the trailer is a 2019 model. It still works for us. We anticipate having lots of additional memories made! If you haven't already seen our most recent video of us in Goblin Valley you should check it out because there are some beautiful views of that area which were seen in the background of this video. Thanks for watching!
The clear line you saw in the video is the inlet for antifreeze when winterizing the water system of the trailer. It works fine for that purpose, not being too kinked. Also the outdoor shower water pressure is fine and doesn't use the clear line anyway.
shortly after this video was recorded I replaced the stove top with an induction cooktop which can't catch the paper towels on fire directly. If we cooked something that flamed up like oil then perhaps the paper towels could ignite but extremely unlikely. I thought the same thing when I first saw it located there that it seemed to be too close to the oven which is where the prior owner put it for some reason, probably because there's just not a lot of wall space.
I wish you luck with this electric truck shenanigans. Even Ford is trying this crap it will never be efficient enough for anything except short and very flat trips. SO you buy a Lance but then you want to gut it. Why pay for a top dollar rv just to gut it? Probably better and easier rv's to go this route with. None the less it will make for some interesting vids.
Do you have any experience towing with an electric vehicle? I'm confident you're being too dismissive towards towing electric. I don't think the Ford's highest end 300 miles is sufficient for towing on trips, but it'll do fine around town/region. Towing electric is an amazing experience (checkout my towing videos with my Tesla Model S) with the main limitation being range. With the 500 mile Cybertruck getting roughly (guess) half it's range at around 250 miles will be just fine as that's what our Model S gets right now and we've been able to go on many fun trips (and there are more superchargers every week). I hardly paid top dollar for my used Lance. Yes I paid more than a garbage trailer, but why put a bunch of effort installing solar/inverters/batteries into a garbage RV? I want the base platform to be well insulated and a quality RV. My plans are largely adding to it and my plans have certainly nowhere near the word "gut" them. In removing certain components like the rooftop AC, Oven/Stove, Microwave, Fridge it allows me the opportunity to install more appropriate appliances for what I want and I'll be selling the replaced components and thus re-cooping some of the cost to change them. I'm curious why you're being so judgmental about something I assume you know nothing about (since there are literally zero electric trucks available on the market at this moment unless you custom built one for yourself)? Worst case scenario the 500 mile range Cybertruck is insufficient, what then? Well in that case as a backup option I'd be able to just tow it with a legacy gas/diesel truck and the trailer will be completely self sufficient needing zero propane or grid electrical connection.
Seems like a great trailer for a family! I like how there are three bunks. I’m interested to see what modifications you’ve made.
Yes it has worked well for us! Here's the video going through all the modifications. th-cam.com/video/S1Nhuu0L4-g/w-d-xo.html
Nice walkthrough and congrats on your new trailer. Sounds like you have some pretty exciting mods planned. Def going to be looking at that ladder mod for our 2185 and thank you for the link! Happy trails
Thanks for the positive feedback! The ladder is a factory installed option just FYI. I imagine you could install one now, but I have no experience with that. We also purchased this ladder amzn.to/3fFWU2z which is super compact and allows us to get higher, but not be standing on the roof such as when we're putting the cover on the RV. Having factory attached ladder is super convenient though.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Oh I was referring to the bunk ladder. The original one, as you mentioned, is not ideal as it blocks access for our son to the middle bunk. The fold away telescoping one just makes way more sense. Will be keeping an eye on your solar/battery mods too. Good luck!
@@lioncrab88 Oh haha I should have realized that. Yes I highly recommend adding the ladder onto the bunks. Here's the link to it for your convenience. amzn.to/2QgUmxv I'll be publishing videos of the RV modifications mixed in with trips we've already done. Thanks for watching!
Great video! We picked up our 19’ 2185 in November from northern Massachusetts, We left Long Island NY mid March traveling Xcountry since and now currently on the coast of Oregon. Great camper made some mods of my own already, but we’ve been super happy and trouble free so far. Best of luck and safe travels to you and your family👍🏻
That's awesome, thanks for sharing your experience!
Great walk through! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Beautiful Lance. I will have a 200w panel paired with a 1000w inverter on a Rockwood mini lite. What are my battery options to maximize our RV when boon docking? Two 6 volts or Lithium. We are newbies and not big on boon docking, just to want to have the option. Thanks
The best battery technology currently available is LiFePo4, and I think it's cheaper in the long term too. However it's up front cost per Ah is higher. You'll get a longer life out of it than traditional lead acid batteries, and you'll be able to use the full charge of the LiFePo4 battery. That's what I went with, and it's worked well for me. If you don't Boondock much and you spend most of your time at campgrounds then perhaps a cheaper in the short term option like 6 volt batteries is the better option for you, I really can't say for sure since I don't know all the parameters. Good luck in your research!
That is great - I am interested to see the solar / electric modifications so you can be truly "off the grid" once you have your CyberTruck! Thanks for showing us around the trailer!
I certainly will! And THANKS SO MUCH for your very special assistance with the making of this trip happen!
I do not see a weight distribution hitch setup. You might want to consider getting one as soon as possible. This trailer is too heavy to be pulled safely without one.
You also should get a new sewer port cover to replace the missing one in case one of your tank dumps fail while driving.
Another tip: the TV latch is notoriously weak and will often pop out while towing. So, always check your TV is re-latched before opening your slide or you will crush you TV between the slide and wall. (ask my how I know this). You can replace the springs in the latch will some stiffer ones from a hardware store. I would also add some straps or bungees to secure the TV even better while traveling.
You're right I don't have a weight distribution hitch. The need for one is dictated by the tow vehicle in conjunction with the weight of the trailer more so than the weight of the trailer alone. We don't have our Cybertruck yet and we don't yet know enough details about the Cybertruck to know if it'll need a weight distribution hitch (the 500 mile Cybertruck we'll be getting will be very heavy). I suspect it won't need one based on the research I've done around what dictates the need for one. If it doesn't need one I'm not going to add one just because. I'll likely be having to unhitch the trailer often in order to back into most supercharger parking spots unless somehow Tesla adds a whole lot of pull through chargers in the next year. In the meantime we won't likely be taking the trailer out a whole lot this year because it's currently in a state of disarray with me swapping out components and building the electrical system.
We have had the TV become unlatched twice (on the trip we took after this video was made) and the first time I also had it get stuck behind the slide out. Luckily I noticed immediately and stopped the slide out before causing damage to anything. I'm planning to inspect it to determine what I can do to improve on the inferior design from Lance. Thanks for the heads up on that issue, and tip on replacing the spring. Super lame of them to have such a weak spring.
Thanks for the tips!
@@ElectricTechAdventures I don't know what tow vehicle you currently have, but with our 1/2 ton pickup, there was significant sag in the rear end without a WDH. More important than the WD effect, however, is the sway control. So, even if you have a 1 ton pickup currently, you should have some solution to help prevent sway.
Another thing to keep in mind is the 2185 has a very high tongue weight. Real world weights for a moderately loaded unit will be around 900 lbs. When you add in your family and other items loaded in the bed of the truck, you can quickly eat up your payload capacity of a 1/2 ton truck or even a 3/4 ton if it has a diesel engine. I wish I knew this when I bought our rig. I would have gone with an F250 gas or similar.
I know the Cybertruck is supposed to have a 3500 lb payload, but I will be interested to see if they can hit that mark. If so, it would be in the class of a 1 ton pickup. But batteries weigh a lot and will eat into payload quickly. This is the key question I have about all the electric pickup trucks coming out on the market. Are they really being built to haul trailers or will they be limited to the capabilities of a midsized pickup and are just trying to get marketshare from the largest auto-buying segment in the US?
You also mention charging. This is another concern I have. It will never be practical to unhitch your trailer every time you have to change. Also, as you have seen with real world MPG on a fossil fuel truck while towing, you range is effectively cut in half. This means that the top of the line 500 mile range (if they can achieve that and keep the payload high enough) will be cut to 250 miles in real world towing. So, will there be available fast chargers with pull though configurations or is that too niche a market for them to bother with? And will they even be available near most areas you want to boondock or just camp without hookups like state forest campgrounds?
I hope these issues can be resolved but I suspect it will take several iterations and some improved battery technology before a practical electric tow vehicle comes to the market.
Good luck with your rewiring project. I would be interested to see some videos on the changes you end up making. We still have the stock GoPower PWM solar charger but have thought about switching to an MTTP unit. We did dump the two lead acid batteries and are running on a single Lithium currently but might add a second one soon and an inverter.
@@jlokanis The two trucks I've used to tow our travel trailer haven't had any rear sag, as you can see in the videos I've published here on my channel of when we picked up the trailer from eastern Washington and when we went to Goblin Valley. The battery in the Cybertruck is a permanent component of the vehicle and will not count against the payload. There are a lot of questions about details around the Cybertruck and it's performance while towing. We'll simply have to wait and see as there's no point in speculating about it until real people take delivery and start to use the truck in the real world which I intend to do, and I'll be showing here on my channel how it goes. I trust the Tesla engineers are brilliant based on how amazing my Model S is and I hope they knock it out of the park so to speak with it's capabilities. Unhitching to charge will be a pain, but it's not a big deal to me. I can unhitch in about a minute or two by just setting the electric jack to automatically rise to the pre-programmed height setting for the truck and while it's rising I unhook the chains and lights. (If on uneven ground I'd need to chalk the tires too.) Annoying yes, deal breaker no. I'm confident that over time more superchargers will be built as pull through spots like they're doing in Beaver Utah right now, but in the beginning I'm sure we'll have to unhitch regularly. Also while towing the trailer I don't anticipate trying to drive super long distances each day most of the time. Only charging our 500 mile range Cybertruck once a day while towing and only getting 250 miles of range will likely still allow us to drive around 400 miles in a day with some safety margin which will likely work just fine. There will be long haul trips while towing to get to a general region, then I plan to go just short distances then stay to experience the area before moving on. There are a LOT of new things to try out with the Cybertruck and I'm excited to get mine so I can begin the testing and making videos about it! Feel free to subscribe and see how it goes for us. :)
@@ElectricTechAdventures Just be careful about sway. It can ruin your day, no matter how heavy your truck is. Check out the BTBRV channel for good info on safe towing. I have learned a ton from his videos.
@@jlokanis thanks. I've done a lot of research and I have subscribed to and watch the btbrv channel. I'm familiar with the dangers of sway. Sway control is not a defacto blanket requirement for all truck trailer combinations. I know that's a controversial statement based on the many heated arguments I have seen online but there are definitely a lot of opinions about out there about everything...
Do you think that you can remove all the bunks in the bunkhouse? It would be an area to turn into a little "office" maybe? Or allow you to walk in without ducking under the top bunk. What are your thoughts?
Yes for sure the bunks could be removed with a Philips screwdriver. That's assuming you don't need the bunks at all. The upper bunk has a lot more screws because it's more permanently mounted. The middle bunk has a hinge at either end. The screws might be a little tricky to reach, but they got it installed somehow so I'm sure it can be removed. Then on the back wall there are two stops that the bunk rests on and the latch mechanism. All those things could be relatively easily unscrewed and you'd have a nice generic box back there to use as an office. I've actually been considering using it as a place to work myself, but I need it at night for my girls to sleep so I can't just remove the bunks. The middle bunk when it's flipped up is still about 6 inches out from the wall down where the hinges are at the bottom so in an already narrow space it makes it a little less practical for working there. There is a video I found on TH-cam of someone else attempting to use that space as an office th-cam.com/video/kv3hjjxlY2M/w-d-xo.html and in their case they left the top bunk because they have one child that sleeps up there. I don't think they stayed with this solution as later they showed her setup at the dinette with that computer setup. Personally I think what's most likely to work comfortably for me is once I have my Tesla Cybertruck I'll be able to simply sit in the drivers seat, then figure out how to mount my laptop, and hopefully one external monitor in there. It has readily available electricity plus the HVAC (AC or heat) can stay on continuously with minimal impact on the battery. Until then though I may figure out how to use the rear space, but just FYI when the middle bunk is folded up it's pretty close to the ground so it makes the most sense to enter from the rear door.
How is the build quality of your trailer? Are there loose trims or unanchored screws?
This is my first travel trailer so my perspective isn't very well informed, but from what I can tell and what others have told me looking at my trailer it appears to be "well built" compared to other trailers. Nothing has broken for us, although there are these cheap plastic screw covers that come off regularly in certain places. I could probably put some glue on them to hold them in place but they're in out of the way places so I just leave them be. There hasn't been any loose trim, but there really isn't much trim in a Lance anyway. There are components of the trailer that I think are kind cheap feeling so I'm careful with them, but I'm pretty sure that's just normal in the RV industry. There's always the battling priorities of quality, vs weight, vs cost. Getting components inside the venn diagram that includes all three is very difficult and some might say impossible.
@@ElectricTechAdventures
Hopefully you got a decent pre Covid built unit.
Absolutely shocking how many nightmares I've heard about recent models.
I'm really scared to order mine till they get their shit together.
@@irok1d mine was built in 2018 as it's a 2019 model so it's for sure a pre-covid built unit. I can understand your concern as I would be too.
Congrats on the new purchase!
Thanks for making it!
Would the bunks be “roomy” enough for teenagers? Looking at this specific trailer. We have been camping out of a Popup trailer with 5 kids for the last 4-5 years and looking to upgrade. How wide is the dinette when made up to a bed? We have kids 13 down to 5.
The bunks are 74 inches long 31 in wide and 21 in tall from the upper surface of the mattress pad to the ceiling. The middle bunk has two additional inches of height for some reason. The biggest restriction for the bunks is getting into them. The opening is 21 in tall by 29 in wide. The bottom bunk is obviously relatively easy to get into as it is on the floor. That when you can go in feet first or headfirst somewhat easily. The second bunk is not too hard but a tall person would probably do better to sleep with her head by the windows at the end of the bunk. If they have any issues with being claustrophobic then the two upper bunks do have windows and so that helps. But backing into them would be difficult for an adult. Same applies to the top bunk it would be hard to go in feet first because you have to first climb up into the bunk and then turn around in such a narrow space. The weight limit on the upper two is also a consideration at 250 lbs In my trailer and I think they are all the same. The bottom bunk being that it's just the floor has no weight limitation though. Personally I am 5'10" tall under 200 lbs and I have no problem sleeping in the bunks. I prefer the middle one because it is easiest to get into and out of and it has a window. Not that I really sleep in the bunks usually as that's where our kids sleep. Our kids being so small we can easily have two of them in the same bed one with their head at each end. Eventually when they are bigger we will have one of them sleep in the dinette slide out. The dinette is 78 in long so two adults could sleep there. It is 55 in wide so only about 5 in narrower than the queen size bed in front of the trailer.
Great content and presentation. I subscribed. Very interested in your channel since I will be picking up a Lance 2185 in March. Many of your planned mods are similar to what I would like to do so I will be following and commenting. Quick question - do you have a cover for your trailer? If so, what do you use?
I'm glad you like my video! I have finished my modifications and I've camped in my fully electric trailer 3 times now and I'm working on editing lots of videos going over the details and performance of the trailer and systems. The cover I got is Covercraft Designer Series Tyvek Travel Trailer Cover Price: $289.00 USD Part #: 34842 which I expect is more expensive now. My wife is going to modify it by removing most of the roof area of the cover so that it protects the sides of the trailer from UV rays but allows the solar panels to continue producing.
Thanks for the ladder tip! We just got our 2185 about a week ago and the ladder was already starting to bother me.
That's great, I'm glad to hear it! The kids love being able to lower the ladder themselves!
@@ElectricTechAdventures Does the ladder actually touch the floor when fully extended?
@@lamdog2000 no it doesn't touch the floor but it doesn't need to because the girls are able to get their foot up on the first rung of the ladder just fine. Their weight is then hanging from the upper bunk which is strong enough for 250 lbs if I remember right.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thanks for the update.
How do you connect the back up camera? Or it came with its own monitor?
The backup camera on the trailer came with it's own monitor screen which I attached to the windshield in my truck with the suction cup mount it came with. The camera uses wireless communications to display the image. The camera in the back of the trailer is powered by the trailer light wiring so I have to turn on the headlights in the truck in order for the camera to work.
Great video. Hope you have lots of fun in your new trailer. Which brand of rear camera are you using? I would really like to know how it is performing after one year. I've not had one last longer than six months.
It is a Voyager WVOM43. It was on the trailer when we bought it and the trailer is a 2019 model. It still works for us. We anticipate having lots of additional memories made! If you haven't already seen our most recent video of us in Goblin Valley you should check it out because there are some beautiful views of that area which were seen in the background of this video. Thanks for watching!
Clear line by 12v water pump looks kinked. Maybe that will add water pressure to outside shower 🤣
The clear line you saw in the video is the inlet for antifreeze when winterizing the water system of the trailer. It works fine for that purpose, not being too kinked. Also the outdoor shower water pressure is fine and doesn't use the clear line anyway.
Very nice trailer, but move that paper towel rack
as it is a fire hazard.
shortly after this video was recorded I replaced the stove top with an induction cooktop which can't catch the paper towels on fire directly. If we cooked something that flamed up like oil then perhaps the paper towels could ignite but extremely unlikely. I thought the same thing when I first saw it located there that it seemed to be too close to the oven which is where the prior owner put it for some reason, probably because there's just not a lot of wall space.
I wish you luck with this electric truck shenanigans. Even Ford is trying this crap it will never be efficient enough for anything except short and very flat trips. SO you buy a Lance but then you want to gut it. Why pay for a top dollar rv just to gut it? Probably better and easier rv's to go this route with. None the less it will make for some interesting vids.
Do you have any experience towing with an electric vehicle? I'm confident you're being too dismissive towards towing electric. I don't think the Ford's highest end 300 miles is sufficient for towing on trips, but it'll do fine around town/region. Towing electric is an amazing experience (checkout my towing videos with my Tesla Model S) with the main limitation being range. With the 500 mile Cybertruck getting roughly (guess) half it's range at around 250 miles will be just fine as that's what our Model S gets right now and we've been able to go on many fun trips (and there are more superchargers every week). I hardly paid top dollar for my used Lance. Yes I paid more than a garbage trailer, but why put a bunch of effort installing solar/inverters/batteries into a garbage RV? I want the base platform to be well insulated and a quality RV. My plans are largely adding to it and my plans have certainly nowhere near the word "gut" them. In removing certain components like the rooftop AC, Oven/Stove, Microwave, Fridge it allows me the opportunity to install more appropriate appliances for what I want and I'll be selling the replaced components and thus re-cooping some of the cost to change them. I'm curious why you're being so judgmental about something I assume you know nothing about (since there are literally zero electric trucks available on the market at this moment unless you custom built one for yourself)? Worst case scenario the 500 mile range Cybertruck is insufficient, what then? Well in that case as a backup option I'd be able to just tow it with a legacy gas/diesel truck and the trailer will be completely self sufficient needing zero propane or grid electrical connection.