Love our Challenger

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by BradnKaren

This looks like a good idea. I think we will wait until the warranty period is over before we start making those kinds of mods, though.

I've done a lot of reading here and on other forums about trouble cooling down inside when outside temps are high and it seems to be an issue for some. This is our first dark colored RV so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.

Doing this mod will not affect your warranty at all.

[KCook]

Originally Posted by SuperD

You obviously spoke to a moron, putting a pad under the jack will not stop the wheel from raising up off the ground, the jack just won't have to extend as far. The wheel raises up because of the angle your coach is parked on.

I agree about the wheel but it would help keep the jack cylinder from being so long/extended.

KC

[Hoosier 26]

Originally Posted by schreinertms

Hoosier 26, can you share some pics of your install? I also have a 37TB I'd like to add some noise insulation to and wouldn't mind seeing where you placed yours and how you fastened it. As for adding your left over to the generator compartment, I would assume that as long as you do not interfere with the generators air intake or exhaust, you should be fine. Thanks in advance.

Sound insulation install is very easy from a technical point of view. It does require some patience and planning to fit pieces into the puzzle. I didn't take pictures while I was working because someone did that already on this board. It was 6 months or so back in the forum.

I bought 32 sq ft of Noico sound and heat shield material from Amazon. The version that I bought has a very sticky side and an aluminum foil side with about 3/16 of an inch of dense rubberized or asphalt type of material. It was easy to work with, easily cut with scissors or a utility knife.

I removed the dog house from the driving compartment and lined the underside with the material. When finished it looked like I had wrapped an aluminum foil gift. Next I took the top bubble looking section of the dash off. This is a very flimsy plastic with no real support inside. I was amazed at how heavy this plastic shell was after I installed the liner. It doesn't seem like much but the mass difference after install is really amazing. I had some material left over so I decided to install it under the floor of the driver and passenger side of the cab section of the coach.

If you level your coach you can look up under the front wheel well and see some white plastic that acts as a barrier to the road for the floor of the coach. I spent considerable time cleaning this area to remove dirt and grease. The sticky side of the Noico liner will be negatively affected by road contaminates as far as its ability to stick and stay in place. Installing the product under the coach was not easy and required some flexibility and strength to apply proper pressure to the surface insuring that it will stick. I have long arms, am in pretty good shape and was determined to give this a try. This part of the project might not be possible for everyone. Be sure to secure your coach so the jacks can't fall while you are between the wheel and the coach. That could be painful if not fatal, however unlikely that the jacks would fall while you were working.

I am truly happy with the result. I am taking a trip this weekend so the family will get to hear the difference. I am sure that for 500 or
less per coach this could be done easily in the factory and make the product so much more user friendly. I'm surprised that no manufacturer has tried to do this as a competitive advantage. If this was done while building you could completely secure the floor from underneath. I think the noise reduction would be even that much more. I would definitely do this project again.

[char]

Hi everyone I am a newbie and looking to buy a challenger RV in a few months. My question is I love the tile flooring in the Tuscany RV. Wondering if it is possible to switch out the flooring on the challenger to the tile flooring.

[ctpres]

Originally Posted by char

Hi everyone I am a newbie and looking to buy a challenger RV in a few months. My question is I love the tile flooring in the Tuscany RV. Wondering if it is possible to switch out the flooring on the challenger to the tile flooring.

Going to tile floor will add a lot of weight! Probably over 4 pounds per square foot. Assume 250 sq feet of floor that makes about half a ton.

[rving2015]

Originally Posted by Hoosier 26

Sound insulation install is very easy from a technical point of view. It does require some patience and planning to fit pieces into the puzzle. I didn't take pictures while I was working because someone did that already on this board. It was 6 months or so back in the forum.

I bought 32 sq ft of Noico sound and heat shield material from Amazon. The version that I bought has a very sticky side and an aluminum foil side with about 3/16 of an inch of dense rubberized or asphalt type of material. It was easy to work with, easily cut with scissors or a utility knife.

I removed the dog house from the driving compartment and lined the underside with the material. When finished it looked like I had wrapped an aluminum foil gift. Next I took the top bubble looking section of the dash off. This is a very flimsy plastic with no real support inside. I was amazed at how heavy this plastic shell was after I installed the liner. It doesn't seem like much but the mass difference after install is really amazing. I had some material left over so I decided to install it under the floor of the driver and passenger side of the cab section of the coach.

If you level your coach you can look up under the front wheel well and see some white plastic that acts as a barrier to the road for the floor of the coach. I spent considerable time cleaning this area to remove dirt and grease. The sticky side of the Noico liner will be negatively affected by road contaminates as far as its ability to stick and stay in place. Installing the product under the coach was not easy and required some flexibility and strength to apply proper pressure to the surface insuring that it will stick. I have long arms, am in pretty good shape and was determined to give this a try. This part of the project might not be possible for everyone. Be sure to secure your coach so the jacks can't fall while you are between the wheel and the coach. That could be painful if not fatal, however unlikely that the jacks would fall while you were working.

I am truly happy with the result. I am taking a trip this weekend so the family will get to hear the difference. I am sure that for 500 or
less per coach this could be done easily in the factory and make the product so much more user friendly. I'm surprised that no manufacturer has tried to do this as a competitive advantage. If this was done while building you could completely secure the floor from underneath. I think the noise reduction would be even that much more. I would definitely do this project again.

Please update us on your thoughts after your trip with the noico material. I have the same coach and been wanting to do this. With so many options on material available its good to hear actual results from those who have installed in a rv like ours.

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by char

Hi everyone I am a newbie and looking to buy a challenger RV in a few months. My question is I love the tile flooring in the Tuscany RV. Wondering if it is possible to switch out the flooring on the challenger to the tile flooring.

Besides the weight factor there is the thickness of the tile which would require some engineering to fix, floor height, slides, counters, just about everything.

[Hoosier 26]

Sound insulation of the driver area was a resounding success. I kept saying to my wife "Wow did you hear difference in that downshift. " I think she got tired of me bringing it up but she agreed the Noico product worked as advertised. I couldn't be happier.

[Makes6]

Hi All!

Newbie here. This post has been super helpful! We should be purchasing our Challenger 37TB this Saturday! We looked it over last night to see what needed to be fixed. I have some questions:

1.) When we saw it last week, the salesman told us that you could play the same thing on all 5 TVs at the same time. We tried to last night, but were only able to get cartoons on the living room TV and master bedroom tv, but not on the bunks. We saw that 5 hdmi cables were connected to the living room tv box, so it looks like you "should" be able to connect to the other tvs. The guy helping us do the walk-thru, didn't know. Can anyone confirm if you can watch the same thing on all? Or do the bunks only do tv and their own DVD?

2.) How the heck do you convert the couch to a bed?! Any way that we configured it, left gaps. I know it's not an ideal bed, but we couldn't figure out a way to make it decent.

3.) Have you guys had issues with the velcro ripping off of the dinette cushions? This coach is a 2017, but was used briefly. While inspecting it, the velcro was either completely ripped off some, or starting to come off. I'm sure they'll fix it, but it looks like it will just happen again since it's only held on by a couple of screws.

4.) Why do they not have seat belts on the other side of dinette? Could I install them? Would that be safer than the couch? I have 4 kids (ages 9, 7, 4 year old twins), what is the safest way to have them ride? Can they sit on the couch? I know some coaches have seat belts on the couch but then tell you not to use them for driving! Weird. I haven't been able to google info on this for the Challenger. Thoughts?

Thanks so much!

[SuperD]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum!!!

The only question I can answer is about the seatbelts. Belts are not installed on the rear facing seats for safety reasons, think accident and what would happen to someone with no neck or back support. Normally the sofa has belts, they probably got pushed down, lift up the bottom cushions and look on the floor, they are probably there.

[gmc]

Welcome...

As for seatbelts - SuperD covered why no seatbelts on rear facing dinette (though I thought others said their coaches have them... mine do not).

There is no place in an RV that will be as safe as traveling in a car... Lack of shoulder belts... lack of suitable forward facing seats... and the many more 'projectiles' that will come into play in an accident.. It is finding the safest you can.. And finding four 'safest' is a challenge (no pun intended with RV model.)

To me safest we use for grandchild is in a booster seat, belted into forward facing dinette seat with table removed (no shoulder strap - would hit head on table in a forward collision...) In our rig that location is most sheltered from forward moving 'projectiles' - being at the rear point of the slide...
Booster and child seats (beyond infant) typically labeled to use forward facing only - not side or rear...

If it were me - and this is personal preference only - no warranties, etc... I would use any forward facing dinette seats for the younger ones without the table in place... and use side facing couch for the older ones...

[Makes6]

Originally Posted by SuperD

Congratulations and welcome to the forum!!!

The only question I can answer is about the seatbelts. Belts are not installed on the rear facing seats for safety reasons, think accident and what would happen to someone with no neck or back support. Normally the sofa has belts, they probably got pushed down, lift up the bottom cushions and look on the floor, they are probably there.

Thanks for the welcome

But the other side of dinette also wouldn't have neck or back support. Seems weird that they'd allow one side and not the other. And yes our couch has seat belts. I just read that isn't not good to put your kids there. But since i have four kids, I don't really have a choice.

[Hoosier 26]

Makes6

We had the same issue with our couch and dinette Velcro. My recommendation is to make a rule that only adults move the cushions and then you find the edge and carefully pull it off while supporting the connection so as to not rip anything. My kids are older but I made that rule on our first trip. Teenagers can be hard on the equipment. I think the others did a good job with the safety seating positions. Regarding the blu-ray player I think it is possible to make the signal available to all TV's but I'll have to mess with the system to figure it out. I know it will put the signal to the exterior TV so I don't see why the bunks would be different. I think it is a matter of setting the signal switch (in the cabinet above the living area TV) properly and then choosing the right input setting on the individual TV.

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with the new coach.

[Makes6]

Originally Posted by gmc

Welcome...

As for seatbelts - SuperD covered why no seatbelts on rear facing dinette (though I thought others said their coaches have them... mine do not).

There is no place in an RV that will be as safe as traveling in a car... Lack of shoulder belts... lack of suitable forward facing seats... and the many more 'projectiles' that will come into play in an accident.. It is finding the safest you can.. And finding four 'safest' is a challenge (no pun intended with RV model.)

To me safest we use for grandchild is in a booster seat, belted into forward facing dinette seat with table removed (no shoulder strap - would hit head on table in a forward collision...) In our rig that location is most sheltered from forward moving 'projectiles' - being at the rear point of the slide...
Booster and child seats (beyond infant) typically labeled to use forward facing only - not side or rear...

If it were me - and this is personal preference only - no warranties, etc... I would use any forward facing dinette seats for the younger ones without the table in place... and use side facing couch for the older ones...

Thank you. That's what I was thinking as well. My twins are in high back booster seats which require a chest belt. I'm thinking of buying them a 5 point harness car seat, and installing them with the lap belts.That would give them head support and support their chests. I'm debating even getting 5 point harness seats for my older two, but not sure yet.

[Makes6]

Originally Posted by Hoosier 26

Makes6

We had the same issue with our couch and dinette Velcro. My recommendation is to make a rule that only adults move the cushions and then you find the edge and carefully pull it off while supporting the connection so as to not rip anything. My kids are older but I made that rule on our first trip. Teenagers can be hard on the equipment. I think the others did a good job with the safety seating positions. Regarding the blu-ray player I think it is possible to make the signal available to all TV's but I'll have to mess with the system to figure it out. I know it will put the signal to the exterior TV so I don't see why the bunks would be different. I think it is a matter of setting the signal switch (in the cabinet above the living area TV) properly and then choosing the right input setting on the individual TV.

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with the new coach.

Thank you! We'll play around with a TVs a bit more on Sat and see if we can figure it out.

Edited to add: My husband just told me that there were no HDMI cables connected to the bunk TVs. So maybe they're supposed to be, but they're not connected.

[Makes6]

Originally Posted by Hoosier 26

Makes6

We had the same issue with our couch and dinette Velcro. My recommendation is to make a rule that only adults move the cushions and then you find the edge and carefully pull it off while supporting the connection so as to not rip anything. My kids are older but I made that rule on our first trip. Teenagers can be hard on the equipment. I think the others did a good job with the safety seating positions. Regarding the blu-ray player I think it is possible to make the signal available to all TV's but I'll have to mess with the system to figure it out. I know it will put the signal to the exterior TV so I don't see why the bunks would be different. I think it is a matter of setting the signal switch (in the cabinet above the living area TV) properly and then choosing the right input setting on the individual TV.

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with the new coach.

Oh what about the couch? Have you used it as a bed? Were you able to get it together without gaps?

[Mike in AZ]

I'm still trying to figure out what the Monoprice switcher in my Challenger (co-located with the Bluray player above the microwave) is supposed to do, and how to make it actually do it!

[Hoosier 26]

Originally Posted by Makes6

Oh what about the couch? Have you used it as a bed? Were you able to get it together without gaps?

My experience is that the couch is a terrible bed. We use it only as a last resort. The dinette is easier to set up and is a better sleep surface. We are a family of 6 too. We put our two oldest daughters in the cab bunk and the third daughter and the youngest (son) in the bunk beds. We prefer not to use either the dinette or couch if possible. We bought a memory foam mattress for the cab bunk. We remove the OEM mattress until we reach our destination. Then put it under the memory foam. The cab bunk will not close with both in place. We store the OEM mattress in the toad while in transit. If you roll it up it fits easily in the rear seat of my Ford Fusion.

You are right about the gaps and uneven pad sizes in the couch bed. It is a poor design and anyone over 5' tall is going to resent having to sleep there.

I really like my Challenger and think for the money it is the best thing on the road. Now that we have some experience I was thinking about what I might want next but I can't find a diesel pusher with the floor plan, storage and sleeping flexibility of the Challenger. I'm not in the market for probably 5 years but the Challenger will be hard to top without spending serious money.

Enjoy!

[Hoosier 26]

Originally Posted by Makes6

Thank you! We'll play around with a TVs a bit more on Sat and see if we can figure it out.

Edited to add: My husband just told me that there were no HDMI cables connected to the bunk TVs. So maybe they're supposed to be, but they're not connected.

I asked my son and he said he can watch cable in the bunks when we are connected. That signal is distributed via the same cables the Blu-ray signal is and I believe controlled by the switch box controller next to the Blu-ray player. Good luck and let me know if you resolve it.

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by Makes6

Thanks for the welcome

But the other side of dinette also wouldn't have neck or back support. Seems weird that they'd allow one side and not the other. And yes our couch has seat belts. I just read that isn't not good to put your kids there. But since i have four kids, I don't really have a choice.

Not specifically neck and back protection, but there is a wall that limits movement, no padding though. Rear facing dinette seats have no support, in a crash the body would bend at middle of the back and also the neck area causing serious, if not fatal, injury. Sit in the dinette and lean backwards, now imagine doing that in a violent crash. My wife sits at the dinette frequently while we're on the road, I will NOT allow her to sit in the rear facing seat!!!