2008 FunFinder 189X

Our 2008 FunFinder X189

Here are some pictures of our Travel Trailer

I really like how the FunFinder trailers come with steel rock sliders all the way around! Stabilizer jacks on all four corners are also really nice to have. This thing will be firmly planted, expecially when the wheels are locked together. We had a near disaster with our previous trailer rolling off the leveling blocks.

We finally have a full 80x60 queen bed, large fridge/freezer, and A/C. Only thing we miss is having an oven. The white cabinets make the decor feel more modern and bright compared to trailers with wood paneling. The red accents also really liven up the interior.

The front window lets a lot of light in, something new trailers are missing. At night the trailer is really well lit, there are 16 LED bulbs illuminating the interior, equal to about 300 watts of light, but only drawing 50 watts. After trying several LED bulbs, these are the best I've found: GRV T10 24-5050 SMD LED

This model trailer only has one 12v outlet, so I added two more near the beds so we can charge phones, ipads, laptops...

Dual axles really make it easy to go over curbs (we have to go over the curb to get the trailer in our side yard). The trailer weighs 2700 pounds, but is rated to carry 5600. Bumper to hitch is 18 feet (18'9" including the spare tire)

Best mod so far was removing one of the walls in the storage area. This opend up a 2' x 2' area previously only accessible by lifting the bed. The bed only opened 8" and there is also a wall in the way, so this area was essentially unusable. Now I store all our wheel chocks and leveling blocks in this little bull pen, and nothing can slide around. I relocated the cargo light so the entire area could be illuminated.

Apparently this line of fans is discontinued, but I was still able to find it online. The deluxe models were sold out, so I bought the basic model without the thermostat or reversing switch. I added a reversing switch myself, and the fan came with a 3 speed option. It's great being able to exhaust or infeed air, even when it is raining, or while we are driving. Air blows down right above the bed, perfect location. The best part about this fan is it does not require any roof penetrations, it mounts to the side of your existing roof vent.

I installed a remote control LED dimmer, it comes with a keychain fob so we can turn the lights on wirelessly. I connected the porch light and a newly installed entry light to it.

There are no light switches inside the trailer that a kid can reach, the switches are all mounted on the ceiling. I added this light for our kido. I replaced the on / off switch with a 3 position: on / off / remote.

The cabinet above the bed converts into a bunk bed, and the dinette converts into a third bed. There is also plenty of overhead storage cabinets. The original matress was crap, we could feel to top of each coil spring. We bought a $200 matress on Amazon to replace it.

The walls of this trailer are made with aluminum studs and fiberglass exterior, much better built than our previous trailer which had wood studs and aluminum siding. We bought our 6 year old FunFinder 189x for $9,999.

There is a skylight and vent fan in the bathroom. The skylight is big enough that it gives an extra 5 inches of head room in the shower.

I also replaced the on / off switches on the light fixtures with a 3 position: 1 bulb / off / 2 bulb

Our trailer was intermittently loosing battery power, I found the fuse still worked but was loose in the fuse holder and was melted. The new fuse holder is rated 80A and has a 30A Maxi fuse in it.

I added a graduated bubble level, the marks indicate how many inches are needed under the wheels to level the trailer.

Replacement anode rod for the waterheater. The old rod was was just about gone after 6 years.

Hopkins 08525 Graduated Level

Lighting EVER RF Dimmer, LED Lights, Wireless Control

X-Chock Wheel Stabilizer

Andersen-3604 Camper Leveler

GRV T10 24-5050 SMD LED

BEP MARINCO 702-HDBFH MARINE CONTOUR HD MAXI BLADE FUSE HOLDER

Camco 42935 Wrap Around Step Rug XL (23", Gray)

Suburban 232768 Aluminum Anode Rod

Curt 28274 Jack Foot

Camco 39761 RhinoFLEX 15' Sewer Hose Kit with Swivel Fitting

LUCID® 6" Firm Memory Foam Mattress

Some of the top picks we bought for our trailer:

I added a trailer hitch to our travel trailer, now we can attach our bike rack. The hitch came with two 18" long plates which I cut down to 4.5" wide to bolt on as an extension to the frame.

I made two end tables. One is a table that extends out 20" on drawer slides which makes a convenient breakfast table, extra counter space by the stove, or a place to put extra dishes at the dinette table. The other table is by the front door, which makes it easy to hand off plates outside, and hang backpacks, keys, flashlights...

I removed the speaker baffles in the overhead dinette cabinets and freed up a ton of extra storage space. It did require cleaning up the wiring for the 4 speakers and a couple of lights. I ran the power and video cable for our backup camera to this cabinet through the ceiling where there is a wire duct used to run the speakers to the radio. I was hoping the wireless transmitter would be more reliable being closer to our truck.

I added 2 layers of 1" thick foam insulation to the floor. This was the only place where the trailer was not insulated. The walls and roof have thick styrofoam insulation. The floor should be rated R10.75 now. I used foam safe adhesive and 2 1/2" screws with fender washers, and (4) 4'x8' sheets; $130 in all. All of the fresh water lines run inside the trailer, so this insulation should help prevent the lines from freezing. The grey and black tanks are still exposed to the elements, I wasn't able to install insulation above the tanks, so I still have a section about 4' x 4' uninsulated. Perhaps having no insulation there will help prevent the grey & black tanks from freezing. If we do more sub-freezing camping, I may install a wrap heater around the drain pipes.

I bought a 30 Watt solar panel ($37), and made a solar charge controller using an MPPT controller ($10) and watt hour meter ($15). The solar charger plugs into the 12v outlets using DC barrel jack type cables. We don't typically use much power, so 30 watts gives us about 2.5 amps at 12 volts for several hours, just enough to recoupe what we use in a day. The solar panel is small enough to fit in the cabinet above the bed. I wired in an XT90 connector with a 30A breaker directly to the battery, so I can easily charge the trailer battery or run an inverter. I made sure it wasn't so long it could drag on the ground.

We recently rented an RV in Switzerland which used a Truma Combi (combination water heater and furnace). It was so quiet compared to our 1960's technology furnace, but it was also quite pricey ($2k), so I decided to build something similar. I used a heater core style heater which uses hot water from our water heater to heat the inside of the trailer. A hot water circulation pump supplies the heater with hot water. I ran ducts to the bathroom, galley floor, and bed area, previously all the heat came out in one location, which left several areas of the trailer unheated. The new heater should put out about 2kw of heat (7k BTU/hr), distributed throughout the trailer. The heater vents are located along the floor, and at the foot of the bed which feels nice. We can run our heater off electric or gas, since our water heater is both.

We now have instant hot water at the sink when the pump is circulating hot water. I installed a drain valve for the heater core to help force out any trapped air, and for winterizing. The blower is rated 177 cuft/min, we get plenty of air from the vents even at 25% power. This draws about 1.5 amps, and the circulation pump draws about 1 amp.

I replaced our noisey pump with a quieter one (Shurflo E65). When installing it, I noticed the inlet hose to the original pump was severly twisted and kinked, which could have been why our pump was so loud.

There are no light switches inside the trailer that a kid can reach, they are all mounted on the ceiling. This also makes it so adults have to step inside before they can turn on a light, very annoying. I added a wall switch by the front door.

The heater core heats the cabin at a rate of 11 deg F per hour, with the water heater consuming 1,300 watts continuously. The original furnace puts out much more heat, and I think the furnace is more battery efficient (more BTUs per Ah). I was able to install the original furnace, in the original location above my heater core (being observant of proper clearance restrictions). Most of the time I'll use the heater core heater, but if we need rapid heating we can revert back to using the furnace.

Decided we no longer needed the huge storage cabinet/bunk bed above our bed. It certianly feels more open, easier to get in/out, and make the bed without the overhead cabinet getting in the way.

I spent a few hours finding a good wall paper match. "TN0010 Light Brown Stucco Wall paper". https://wallpaperupdate.com/p78733/stucco.aspx

I used 2" double sided carpet /CNC tape to stick it to the wall, since it is not adhesive backed. I raised the window valences to let more of the window show, and that covered the holes from the bunk bed brackets.