Jim's TrailManor Modifications

Nancy and I ordered our 2004 TrailManor model 3023 from Danny's Campers in November of 2003. We took delivery in December 2003 and took our first camping trip (to Kalamazoo, MI) in April of 2004. Since taking delivery, I have planned to and have already made some tweaks, additions and modifications. This page details what I have done and what I have planned. Scroll down through the projects or jump to a specific project using the links in the index below.

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Index of projects:

Project:	AM/FM/CD In-Dash Stereo installation, Power Cut-off Switch & Audio/Video Input Jacks addition for
Date:	April 2004
Status:	Installed and working. However, need to recheck speaker wiring. May possibly add outside speaker jacks to door-side of trailer. Factory antenna power needs to be wired to new Cut-off switch as the antenna remains powered whenever the trailer battery or other power is present. Video input jack presently connects to nothing as the stereo does not have a video display. Down the road, if we decide to watch TV or DVDs in the trailer and desire a second screen, I may add an LCD display elsewhere that can connect up to my laptop.

These 3 projects in 1 went pretty well. The only challenges were securing the rear bracket from the back of the unit to the underside of the counter-top and modifying the fold-out flanges of the stereo housing to accept the thickness of the cabinet front. Patience and good tools won out!


This is the stereo hole in the trailer with the factory wiring (power, antenna and speakers)	This is the stereo, installed in the factory mounting hole.	The item in the center with the chrome plate is the power switch I installed inline with the factory power lead for the stereo. On the left is the external input for the Auxiliary input of the stereo. This allows me to easily jack in from an MP3, player, the laptop, TV etc.

Follow-up required on this project is to access the unit from the outside above the refrigerator and double check my speaker output wiring as I need to adjust the balance to an odd setting in order to get clear sound from both speakers. Another add-on for this project is to add jacks for outside speakers on the door-side of the trailer so we can have speakers out there when we want to. Right now, I'm thinking it would be best to install a surface mount, shallow-depth, outdoor-grade, single-gang weather-proof electrical box underneath the trailer to one side of the steps. The rubber-gasketed flip-open plate would cover RCA phono jacks. If I could not locate suitable mounting locations on the front shell side wall for shallow speaker mounts, I would probably just set the weather-proof speakers on the ground.
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I am happy with the function this project provides. I wish the refrigerator had a temperature gauge built-in - but this gets the job done, and it adds a clock to the trailer too!

This is the Oregon Scientific
Clock/Thermometer. I ran the outside
temperature sensor inside the
refrigerator in order to monitor and
adjust it as needed.

I ran the temperature probe between the
door gasket and the case. The wire is
tiny, so I don't think I'll have any air
leakage to worry about, around the
gasket. I wove the probe through the
wire shelving. I used the supplied clip to
clip it to the shelf. The probe is fairly well
centered vertically and horizontally in
the refrigerator. I slid the probe towards
front of the shelf in order to get a more
useful reading.

I am moving one of my 2 Rear Vision system cameras from the roof of my Jeep to the bike rack on the back of the TrailManor. This will give me a "no guesses" view of what is behind me and just to each side. This view, combined with the remaining Jeep roof mounted camera, my factory side mirrors and the McKesh tow mirrors I use only when towing, should give me ample viewing angles for multiple situations (not just over-the road driving (but backing into the campsite too!).

Project:	Refrigerator Temperature Sensor/Display addition
Date:	April 2004
Status:	Installed. However, I used black gaffing tape on the sensor wire to hold it on the inside of the refrigerator case. I want to replace this tape with a strip of white electrical tape.

Project:	Rear vision camera mounted at back of towed trailer
Date:	April 2004
Status:	Project is underway - completion planned for May


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Jim's TrailManor Mods

Index of projects: