skinnymike
Member
We’ve just spent 3 months traveling in our M21, logged 12000 miles on all kinds of roads, from Arizona to Minnesota to Alaska to Oregon – a thorough test. Suggested improvements:
1. Awning. Move it about 2’ towards the front.
a. When awning is extended, the entry door bangs into the front support leg and there’s no way to hold the door open.
b. The awning provides a nice covered entry when it rains – but just barely because the front edge ends right beside the door. Moving the awning forward would provide better entry rain protection.
c. The door hold-open has been reportedly reinforced. That’s good but it doesn’t solve the basic problem: the door is subject to severe wind buffeting because it sticks out like a sail instead of being snug against the sidewall – like it is on every other travel trailer. Move the awning forward so the door can be opened and held more closely to the sidewall, out of the wind.
2. Bathroom door. Current location is extremely inconvenient because the swing area takes up nearly all the bathroom floor. Reverse it so it swings out or replace with a folding door, pocket door, something. Anything.
3. Bath light placement. Move bathroom light so it’s directly above the cabinet/mirror. I shave my face, not the back of my head.
4. Bed lights placement/type. Move the lights further forward, towards the head of the bed, better for reading and less head banging. Task lighting is needed here, not wide-area lighting. Replace wide-area fixtures with mini-spots that swivel so light can be aimed at reading material.
5. Weather/dust proofing. Drive 20 miles of dirt road and the entire interior is a pig pen, especially inside the sink base cabinets. Dirt enters at the wheel wells, the exterior speakers, the fridge vents, everywhere it can. Apply foam sealant at wheel well edges and seal all other dirt access points. Stuff insulation all around the fridge so it’s not the huge pneumonia hole it currently is.
6. Table shape. Why the curved indent on the table? It accomplishes nothing and reduces the already- narrow surface unnecessarily: where do you put the food? Make it rectangular.
7. Windows. Wind gusts can cause the super light windows to flip up, overextending and ruining the struts. Change the strut design, provide tethers and/or post warnings.
1. Awning. Move it about 2’ towards the front.
a. When awning is extended, the entry door bangs into the front support leg and there’s no way to hold the door open.
b. The awning provides a nice covered entry when it rains – but just barely because the front edge ends right beside the door. Moving the awning forward would provide better entry rain protection.
c. The door hold-open has been reportedly reinforced. That’s good but it doesn’t solve the basic problem: the door is subject to severe wind buffeting because it sticks out like a sail instead of being snug against the sidewall – like it is on every other travel trailer. Move the awning forward so the door can be opened and held more closely to the sidewall, out of the wind.
2. Bathroom door. Current location is extremely inconvenient because the swing area takes up nearly all the bathroom floor. Reverse it so it swings out or replace with a folding door, pocket door, something. Anything.
3. Bath light placement. Move bathroom light so it’s directly above the cabinet/mirror. I shave my face, not the back of my head.
4. Bed lights placement/type. Move the lights further forward, towards the head of the bed, better for reading and less head banging. Task lighting is needed here, not wide-area lighting. Replace wide-area fixtures with mini-spots that swivel so light can be aimed at reading material.
5. Weather/dust proofing. Drive 20 miles of dirt road and the entire interior is a pig pen, especially inside the sink base cabinets. Dirt enters at the wheel wells, the exterior speakers, the fridge vents, everywhere it can. Apply foam sealant at wheel well edges and seal all other dirt access points. Stuff insulation all around the fridge so it’s not the huge pneumonia hole it currently is.
6. Table shape. Why the curved indent on the table? It accomplishes nothing and reduces the already- narrow surface unnecessarily: where do you put the food? Make it rectangular.
7. Windows. Wind gusts can cause the super light windows to flip up, overextending and ruining the struts. Change the strut design, provide tethers and/or post warnings.
