Gateway 3800RLB Mods

Just purchased a new to me 2017 3800 and am already working on a few mods. Would like opinions as to best ways to go about things.

First, I hate dead space. I believe there is space under the stairs going up to the master bedroom. I would like to be able to remove the stairs and use those boxes for storage but am not sure the best way of securing them to keep from creating a fall/trip hazard. They are covered in carpet too... wouldn't mind replacing that with wood.

The booth seating. Currently, to get to the storage under the booths for the dining table, I have to remove the cushions and then remove the plywood that is ruff and I know will tear some upholstery at some point. Plan on replacing these boards with something smoother and more forgiving. I would like the option of removing the "face" of the booths as well to have quicker and easier access to the underneath. Looking at the framing of the bench, I think I can use the cabinet clips that hold the cabinet doors closed, and use those to make the face removable but also stay in place when in the normal storage position.

The back bathroom, behind the toilet there is a cabinet. Behind this wall is the extremely tall outside storage that goes from ground to roof. I want to add some sturdier 1X2's or 2X2s as framing and add shelves in the bathroom that go all the way to the back of that exterior wall. This will give a shelf under the cabinet as well as make the existing cabinet much deeper. Guessing I can contact Gateway for trim that will match to frame out the new shelving. Will also work to make the exterior space of the existing outside storage weather resistant if this is necessary. The outside storage will still exist, just won't be soo tall.

I have run a cheap extension cord from behind the TV, through the wall and up to the top of the cabinets above the T.V. This will give my wife a place to plug in christmas lights, small fans, etc on that shelf. I noticed all the T.V. cables were passing behind the "vent" above the cabinets and just ran the cord down with it. I plan on putting a heavy duty power strip in it's place that would be beafier and safer.

Thoughts and other mods appreciated.
 
Stair Mod:

Want to add storage to the few stairs I have that seem to be hiding wasted space. Thinking I might be able to disassemble the stairs and put them back together again ensuring the proper framing and then adding drawer slide outs and drawers that pull straight out. This will keep the stairs stable vs having the top of the stairs being removable.

As always, thoughts and improvements appreciated.
 

justafordguy

Well-known member
My 15 Gateway has drawers in the steps. I wonder if you could order the drawers for a 15 and make them work for you?
 
New range/oven thoughts

The oven in our 38000 RLB is tiny, as I'm sure most are. I got this idea from this thread https://heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/62323-Apartment-size-Range. I got the measurements and it looks like the depth and width should allow it to fit with minor mods but the height is about a foot taller than the cabinet. Has anyone done anything like this? I know the back of the range goes up a bit, but am worried it won't look right if the range itself is an inch or more above the counters.

http://www.brownstoveworksinc.com/24in/tnm6307bkw.html

TNM630-7BKW.jpg
 
Still looking and got to remeasure but I've looked around and found some better options size wise that might not even require modifying the counter. We'll see... definitely not at the top of the list as far as priority but at the top of the list as far as I want to do this.
 

justafordguy

Well-known member
If you run across a small gas range with a "retro" look, let me know. We have remodeled our interior and my wife thinks a range with the retro look would look perfect.



kitchen1.jpg
 

Bones

Well-known member
If you run across a small gas range with a "retro" look, let me know. We have remodeled our interior and my wife thinks a range with the retro look would look perfect.



View attachment 56722

Yeah that would look nice. I really like the two tiny cabinets removed from the counter and top cabinet under the TV. If I get some time I plan on doing that to ours as well.
 

justafordguy

Well-known member
Yeah that would look nice. I really like the two tiny cabinets removed from the counter and top cabinet under the TV. If I get some time I plan on doing that to ours as well.


They were easy to remove and really give you a lot more counter space.
 
Floor vent catches

My 18 month old decided our floor vents was a great place to put his gold fish and Cheerios.. I picked up some wire mesh from the HD and made a catch for these items as well as change and others. Made sure the mesh was plenty large enough to not impede air flow but small enough to catch a Cheerio. So far it has worked out great, going to have to be cleaned out regularly though... maybe he will get bored of it soon.

- - - Updated - - -

Had our internet/cable hooked up today. I had read a post prior about people pushing back walls in the basement to make more room. For the guy to get to the splitter, I had to take one of the panels down, figured while I was in there I might as well take down the rest and get a feel for how much space was available. While I was under there, I found that the stairs will be a much larger project than I care to take on to add shelves/drawers to the interior of the camper. However, it will be very easy to add more storage to the basement, I think it will be a great place to keep my tools stored and organized in the basement. I will get pictures another day.
 

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Have noticed while running the heat that the bunk room doesn't get much air flow out of the vents. Read on another thread that sometimes there is a lot of unnecessary duct work routing around under the camper. Plan to look into that to see if I can straighten it out some to get better flow. Been using space heaters to help keep the temperature where I want it.

Anyone else had this problem? I will say that it is much easier keeping our 5th wheel warmer than it is my parents. My wife even noticed the floors aren't nearly as cold to walk on as my parents. The winter package makes a definite difference it seems.
 
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