It is a common practice for RV owners to make modifications to their rig in order to best suit them. Mods are typically somewhat permanent and may involve replacing stock equipment or adding additional equipment that requires drilling holes or attaching items to the RV that can’t be easily removed, while add-ons are items added to enhance the existing setup. Here are the mods we’ve made to Usain, our 2022 Winnebago Boldt KL.
-
Window Props Mod
We really like the dual-pane acrylic windows that Winnebago installed in the Boldt, with a couple of exceptions. The built-in window props only have a limited number of settings and none that allows for the windows to be open only a couple of inches. This is especially problematic for the window on the back passenger…
-
Disabled Reverse Sensors Mod
Usain, like most modern vehicles, has rear sensors that sound a warning when reversing the vehicle and it detects something is in the way. Since we typically travel with a bike rack attached to the hitch, it gets really annoying to have to reach up to the dash to turn off the annoying beeeeeep each…
-
Super Singles Wheel Upgrade Plus Spare Carrier Mod
After giving it a lot of thought, and weighing the pros and cons, we finally did it. We ditched Usain’s duallies and made a major upgrade to super singles. We purchased the Sixty Sprinter Super Singles set from Own Offroad, which included a spare (that can go on either the front or back, if needed).…
-
Hood Struts Mod
The stock Sprinter van that the Boldt is upfitter from has the heavy hood that requires the teeny tiny bar to swing out to hold it up. For convience and safety’s sake, I had Owl Offroad install their Sprinter Hood Strut Kit. They really work nice and will really appreciate them the next time I…
-
Rear Door Struts Mod
I’ve had a few close calls where a gust of wind has come up and slammed the van’s rear doors unexpected as I was working behind the van. I decided it was time to outfit Usain with rear door struts supplied by Owl Offroad. The downside is that they take a lot more effort to…
-
License Plate Frames Mod
Sometimes it’s the little mods that make something look better. In this case, it was adding license plate frames to Usain. They’re completely aesthetic, but I really like them. It was a set of two, so both the front and back plate got a frame. The ones I purchased even have screw covers, which makes…
-
Pack Rat Repellent Mod
As we started adventuring into more remote locations in the southwest, we noticed that a lot of vehicles had their hoods propped open while parked at campsites. Having never seen this before, I Googled and discovered it was to protect pack rats and other pests from camping out under the vehicles’ hoods (cold desert nights,…
-
Sprinter Horn Upgrade Mod
Anyone that has driven a stock Mercedes Benz Sprinter van has discovered the horn is very wimpy. As Owl Offroad says, “Your Sprinter might drive like a truck, but it shouldn’t sound like a scooter.” You can purchase an upgrade online and install it yourself, but we chose to have Owl install our replacement at…
-
Sprinter Pedal Control 2.0 Mod
There is often a lag when accelerating from a stop in Sprinter vans. We noticed that Usain is no different, especially with all the added RV equipment weight. Pedal Control allows us change the throttle characteristics with a phone app since the accelerator is a throttle-by-wire. The pedal control is designed to smooth out the…
-
Additional Galley Lighting Mod
Back in 2023, I replaced several of Usain’s puck lights with dimmable ones because often they are too bright, especially over the beds at night (see Puck Light Replacement Mod). One area where the lights in Usain aren’t too bright is in the galley/kitchen over the stovetop. Since I had the spare puck lights that…
-
Mounted Boot Brush Mod
Not sure if I saw this mod in the Winnebago Boldt or Travato Facebook group, but it’s one that I can highly recommend. We do a lot of hiking in all kinds of dirt and sand, so we’ve always kept a small brush inside the door for brushing our shoes and boots off before climbing…
-
Shoe Racks Mod
Finally got tired of having my shoes lay in front of the sliding door in Usain (Lisa’s are small and she can fit several pairs in the back closet). We debated about different solutions — some kind of hanging holder behind the passenger seat, boxes in the pizza oven, etc. Finally landed on folding RV…
-
Custom Wine Rack Mod
For some reason 🙂 Usain likes to take advantage of our Harvest Hosts membership by staying overnight at wineries. As such, we often end up traveling with a bottle or two of wine without a good place to store them. Since we’ve never used the folding table behind the driver’s seat, this seemed like an…
-
Additional USB Ports Mod
We already have a couple of USB splitters in Usain to allow for more devices to be plugged in at once, but there never seems to be enough. We’re also starting to transition from USB-A to USB-C, which only adds to the challenge. To tackle the inconvenience I decided to hardwire additional RV-style sockets purchased…
-
Dash Cam Smart Mirror Mod
Another upgrade, this time with the dash cam. We’ve been using only a front-facing dash cam on Usain (see Dash Cam Mod) and decided it was time for both a front- and rear-facing cam. The main advantage is an always-on rear view, since the stock Sprinter camera only displays when in reverse. We upgraded to…
-
Starlink High Performance Flat Dish Mod
We’ve been using a Starlink generation 2 dish on our Boldt for nearly 2 years and decided it was time for an upgrade (see Starlink with Flag Pole Buddy Mod). We’ve been extremely happy with the gen 2 version for the most part, but wanted to upgrade for the following reasons: Starlink technology is changing…
-
Cat-proof Screens Mod
Usain’s windows have combination pull-down screens and push-up shades. They are very nice but unfortunately not very cat-proof. Both cats at times have pushed their faces through the RV screens, and one attempted to chase a squirrel through the window. A quick grab of her back leg prevented her chase and the squirrel lived another day. To solve…
-
Vacuum Cleaner Storage Mod
About a year ago we purchased a small Shark vacuum cleaner for Usain (see Vacuum Cleaner Add-on). While it works surprisingly well, it in no way compares to our Dyson v11 that we use at home — especially with two cats that are constantly shedding. I had been struggling to come up with a way to take…
-
Custom Cat Hammock Mod
When we’re home, our adventure cats have a double decker hammock as part of their living room cat tree that I made soon after we adopted them. They love it so much I wanted them to have one in Usain. Unfortunately, there’s not enough room for a double decker, so a single sling had to…
-
Refrigerator Stability Mod
I’ve read about other Boldt owners experiencing their refrigerators pulling away from the cabinet housing. Usain proved to be no exception. It turns out that the entire fridge comes balanced atop a narrow piece of wood at the front edge. Copying one of the posters in the Boldt Facebook group, I mounted 2 slats from…
-
Propane Control Guard Mod
While repainting the exterior propane control guard plate (see Propane Control Guard Maintenance), I finally decided to make it a bit easier to remove and replace the plastic front guard. This was another poor design on the Boldt as the plastic guard is held on by stretching it over 2 bolts sticking out of sides…
-
Volta Power System Ventilation Mod
Usain’s Volta Power System (inverter, batteries, etc.) can get very warm at times and I’ve read that some Boldt owners have had to get various parts replaced due to overheating. Following the lead of a fellow Boldt owner who posts in the Boldt’s Facebook group, I decided to add a powered ventilation system. Using the…
-
Debadging Mod
The term debadging refers to the process of removing the manufacturer’s emblems from a vehicle. For some reason RV manufacturers are notorious for over badging their vehicles. Look at the typical travel trailer or 5th wheel. The manufacture names and models are all over the RV in very large letters. The first debadging I did was to…
-
Wall Mount Clothes Rack Mod
Lisa needed a place to hang quick dry clothes on laundry day. We found a small wall-mounted rack that folds down that was just the ticket. I mounted it just outside of the bathroom.
-
Center Speaker Switch Mod
Can’t blame Winnebago on the need for this mod — this one’s on Mercedes. The center speaker on their Sprinter vans is notorious for being too loud with no way to reduce just the volume of it. The problem is well documented in the Sprinter-Forum. Here are links to some of the threads: I tried…
-
Shorter Sewer Hose Mod
The part of RVing that no one likes to talk about, but it’s really not as bad as we envisioned. Dumping the grey and black tanks periodically just becomes part of the van way of life. The Boldt came with a sewer hose and a storage tube for it under the van. However, the hose…
-
Dash Cam Mod
UPDATE: As of July 2024, we have replaced our Garmin dash cam with a combination front- and rear-facing camera. See Dash Cam Smart Mirror Mod. I view a Dash Cam as an insurance expense. You hope you don’t need it, but it can help settle insurance disputes when needed.
-
Bathroom Soap Dispenser Mod
Limited counter space in the bathroom combined with a moving vehicle makes a hanging soap dispenser almost a necessity. We debated about adding a couple of more for shampoo and conditioner and may do so in the future.
-
Full Length Mirror Mod
Another easy mod per Lisa’s request — a full length mirror. It’s acrylic so no worries about it breaking while on the move. Ordered from Amazon and attached with heavy-duty Velcro to the inside of the cabin’s closet door.
-
Wall Decor Mod
With all of Usain’s windows there just isn’t much empty wall space for hanging pictures. Plus, anything hanging has to be able to take the jolts that occur in a moving vehicle. I saw someone in the Boldt’s Facebook group have these unique wall hangings of Bonsai trees that looked 3D so I asked where…
-
Clothesline Mod
The drying rack that I added (see Clothes Drying Rack Add-on) works well for occasional wet things that need to be hung up, but not necessarily for our bath towels. Our daughter, Lauren, gave us this handy retractable clothesline that works perfect in Usain. I mounted it just under the “pizza oven”. After removing the…
-
Bathroom Door Latch Mod
The Boldt’s bathroom door comes installed with a magnet that is supposed to keep the door open while traveling. We initially found it didn’t work very well as it kept slamming open and shut while making turns. After some adjustment of the metal plate it seemed to work better. That is, until screw holding the…
-
Shower Head Replacement Mod
The Boldt’s stock shower head on-off switch leaked something terribly. We mentioned it to the dealer when we took Usain in for some warranty work and they said they could replace it with a new one but it would probably leak as well. Ugh. Based upon the recommendation of another Boldter we ordered our own…
-
Puck Lights Replacement Mod
A common complaint of the Boldt’s interior lights is that they are too bright, especially over the beds when you just need a light for reading. Adding dimmer switches if one solution, but we chose to replace the 4 puck lights over the beds with dimmable ones. I wish they would dim even more than…
-
Faucet Aerators Replacement Mod
Sometimes it’s the little mods that make a big difference. Usain’s kitchen and bath sinks are fairly small and replacing the stock faucet aerators with these swivel aerators makes it nice to be able to direct the water toward the front of the sinks. Switching between the normal flow into a spray is nice when…
-
Mattress Toppers Mod
For some reason mattresses in most RVs are less than ideal. Before even spending one night in Usain we knew we needed to improve the stock offerings. The solution was to add a 2″ memory foam topper. I ordered the topper from Amazon and cut them to fit — one for each mattress and a…
-
Bathroom Closet Shelves Mod
The closet in the wet bath includes a bar for hanging clothes, but we pack light with nothing formal so we only use the drawers in the cabin for clothing. That leaves the bathroom closet open for other stuff. I added shelves to better organize the space.
-
Bed Post Reinforcement Mod
To convert Usain’s twin beds to a full bed requires pulling out a center connection piece. One common issue of the Boldt is having this center section collapse, so the solution typically involves adding reinforcement bolts. We never experienced a collapse, but not wanting to take our chances we did the reinforcement ourselves. I just…
-
Garage Pegboard Mod
The rear of the Boldt has a storage area for many of the typical RV mechanical equipment such as hoses and cables. This area is known as the “garage”. Many Boldt owners also take advantage of the space between the rear wall and the back door for storage as well by installing hooks and hangers.…
-
Laptop Mounts Mod
I previously had kept my laptops — personal and work — in a laptop bag, but it took up valuable storage space and was a pain to pull one or the other laptop out when needed. The solution was a couple of laptop mounts I found on Amazon. I installed one under one of the…
