LXE - Exterior Mods

Matted Step

The first step in keeping a house clean is keeping the dirt OUT. The LXE has a double step which folds for travel. I used stainless nuts and bolts to fasten a piece of aluminum diamondplate to the bottom step, where it's good for scraping most of the dirt off our shoes. On the top step, I screwed a piece of plastic grass-like doormat, which takes off the rest of the dirt.




Mud-dauber Wasp Screen

Mud-dauber wasps love cozy nooks like behind the fridge vent panels, or inside the bumper. To seal those openings, hot glue fiberglass window screen to the backs of the bumper caps and vent panels. A commercial screen is available for the furnace exhaust. To discourage spiders from setting up house (and gas-blocking webs) inside the furnace, hot water, and fridge gas jets, set a disposable flea collar in those areas. You can sometimes buy the collars at Dollar Stores and cut them into several pieces for use in the camper.

Hatch Doors

All of the hatch doors - toilet, water, and rear storage area - were equipped with locking latches. Because they all used the same generic 751 key, they provided little security and the key was an irritation. I replaced them with thumb-turn latches, available from most RV stores. We carry little of great value in the rear hatch, and in all our years of camping, we've never had a theft at a campsite. A self-adhesive white door holder works well for holding the rear storage door open.

Air Conditioner Drain Drip

Condensation from the A/C dripped from the drain hole and splashed by the step, making a muddy mess. We tied a string, weighted with a stainless nut, to a small S-hook which we hang on the edge of the A/C frame. Now the water is wicked directly to the ground (or, in very humid weather, into a small bucket), eliminating the messy splashing.

Front Storage Box - Leaks

Front storage boxes are notorious for leaks. When we purchased the camper, I was aware of 2 small cracks above the lid. I drilled a tiny hole at the bottom of each crack, to prevent them from lengthening, and caulked them. The rivets of the upper (box) part of the hinges were badly done and appeared to be another source of water. I drilled them out and replaced them with stainless bolts and nuts. The lid is not directly centered over the opening and rubs against the box on one side. This, I think, was the cause of a major crack that appeared after a freezing rain: I suspect that ice built up between the lid and box, creating stress that opened it on both sides. Finally, the "stem" of a rivet in the lid side of the center hinge was pressing into the gasket, creating a low spot that let rain run inside the box. I drilled out away from the stem of the rivet, leaving the outside cap which seemed to be firmly caulked in place. After all this, the front box has stayed dry.


To hold the box lid open, I "stole" this idea from another clever Aliner owner. Half of a bungee strap is screwed to the reinforcing ridge on each side of the lid. The lid will stay open with only one bungee hooked to the roof handle, making a convenient holder from either side. To keep the hooks from catching on storage items during travel, I fasten them with velcro to the inside of the lid.



Bumper Storage

When we bought the camper, there was aluminum diamond-plate riveted over the rear bumper. Not only was I concerned about rust developing underneath it, but the rivets projecting into the bumper made it impossible to store the sewer hose inside. I drilled out the rivets and removed the diamond-plate, finding significant rust and peeling paint. I also discovered that the rear stabilizers were attached to the bumper with self-tapping screws, another problem for sewer-hose storage. I replaced the stabilizer screws with stainless bolts, putting the bolt head and lock washer inside the bumper and a nylon lock nut on the outside (see before and after pictures). I also drilled a couple of drain holes in the bottom of the bumper. Finally, I filled the rivet holes, scraped off the loose paint, applied rust stabilizer inside and out, and repainted the bumper. Now with a smooth interior surface, the bumper is a great place to store the sewer hose. The long hose goes in one side and the short hose for the portable grey-water tank goes in the other side.

For easier access, I capped each end with a piece of aluminum diamond-plate, cut from a 12x24 piece purchased at Lowe's. A metal blade on my old saber saw did a nice job. So that I wouldn't have rivets or screws jutting inside the bumper, I used JBWeld to fasten the hinges and hasps. So far, so good!



Gutters

When the camper is erected, rain sheets down the roof and over the front and rear hinges. Although the hinge area is fairly well protected from water intrusion, it makes more sense to direct the water away from there if possible. On the top of both the front and rear roof extrusions, I attached a length of 1/2" aluminum angle, securing it to the roof extrusion with 5 small stainless screws, and caulking it along the top edge. This gutter extends about 1/2" beyond the sides of the roof. Wooden clothespins clipped to the ends of the gutters wick the water to drip even farther from the camper. The hinges still get wet, of course, but in a heavy rain, it's amazing to see the volume of water that shoots harmlessly off the ends of the gutters. 

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