The temperatures have started to climb on the East Coast and that’s when the realization hit home that “Travel Season” is just a few months away. We best get started on all the improvements we contemplated doing when we purchased the Plateau XLTS last October so we will be ready for our first trip in May.

All RVs require improvements and modifications to make them fit into the camping style of their owners. We spent a lot of time with our first RV maximizing storage space by converting a wardrobe into a pantry and installing a Vancillary shelf above the driver and passenger seats.

We no longer have the storage constraints that we had with our Ontour 2.2. However, there are still improvements and modifications that we’d like to make in our Plateau XLTS.

Phone Holders

The need for new phone holders was apparent as soon as we drove off the dealership lot in Fort Worth, TX. The Mercedes Sprinter Van has small circular air vents so the Mag-Safe phone holder that Sue used in the Ontour would not work in the Sprinter. There is no way to clip Apple’s Mag-Safe holder on to the vent. Joe was using a Weather-Tech Cupfone holder. It was fine, but he didn’t like having his phone sitting so far below eye level.

One of the advantages of having a Sprinter chassis on our Plateau XLTS is that there are numerous third-party improvements available, ranging from shock and suspension improvements to phone holders. We settled on a holder made by OffRoam which clips into a pocket in the Sprinter dashboard. Nicely machined and packaged, the holder secures into the dash and the magnet holds our phones much more firmly than the Apple phone holder. OffRoam also makes vehicle-specific phone holders for Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Jeep and other vehicles.

Mirror, mirror on the wall…

Our beautiful bathroom with a stall shower, two medicine cabinets, and Corian counter tops and backsplash does not have a mirror (or tp holder for that matter). Sue and I think that Pleasure-Way’s design team may be a male-dominated group that sometimes misses out on some important “comfort” issues. Yes, there is a three-quarter length mirror immediately outside the bathroom but who wants to leave the bathroom to use a mirror?

Fortunately we found a solution on Amazon. The acrylic mirror we purchased was light-weight, shatter-proof and fit perfectly onto the large Corian backsplash in the bathroom.

In case you are wondering, we secured the mirror using 3M Command Strips which makes removal of the mirror possible if needed.

Privacy and Preventing Peepers

Privacy while camping, or even when we are parked in a rest stop having lunch is very desirable. We understand that many people are curious when they see an RV and tend to look in the windows. We know because one of us would do the same (Can you guess who😉). Because we are in a class C, the windows in the living space of our rig are higher off the ground. Bottoms of the window are 6 feet, and tinted, which makes it difficult for most people to look in. These windows all have MDC roller shades which allow us to completely prevent outsiders from looking in, especially at night.

However, the windshield and the cab’s side windows are big and allow an expansive view into the RV. Even though our Plateau XLTS came with custom-fitted window covers which block the view into the rig and also prevent the sun from heating up the interior, we tended to only use them when we were camped for multiple days. They were big, heavy and bulky and not something you can quickly put up and take down.

Last year, Sue suggested we install a tension curtain rod in our Ontour and hang blackout shades from the rod. Joe was skeptical it would work but to his surprise the curtain rod remained in place for over 8,000 miles of driving. So we did the same in our Plateau. Now we can quickly screen off the cab area of the RV anytime we stop.

There are still occasions when we need to prevent the sun from reaching into the living space and heating up the interior. We purchased Weather Tech window covers and will give them a try once we are on the road. The covers are custom fit for the Sprinter chassis and magically stick to the windows. They are less stiff and much easier to handle than the window covers provided by Pleasure-Way but they are also much thinner. We will have to wait to this summer to see if they insulate well enough.

It’s mid February and we are eagerly anticipating of first trip of the season. Our “shake down” trip will be a short, week-long trip to the Oregon Inlet Campground on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in mid-May. We will do this to ensure that that everything in the RV is working well before we head out on more extended excursions.

We still have some additional modifications to make, including the installation of a variable-speed water pump controller to reduce noise. This project will have to wait until we can “de-winterize” the RV.

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