Leon's LXi Modifications

[davidbrady]

Folks,

I'm starting this thread for Leon (lcard). Leon's the second owner of this LXi; the first owner was Charlie Schrenkel, former national president of the FMCA.

Leon's made many significant upgrades and modifications to his LXi. He installed new Samsung LED flat screens, 42” in the front and a 27” in the bedroom, he replaced the Alpine indash stereo with a Pioneer receiver with a new sub woofer, removed the Dometic fridge and replaced it with a 17 cu ft Fisher & Paykel stainless steel double door with a pull out freezer that's counter depth, replaced the propane stove with an electric smooth top 2 burner stove, removed the propane tank from under the coach, put in a floor and moved the bulkhead back and now has another pass thru bay, installed a Headhunter water system with a 2 gallon expansion tank and the Headhunter inline strainers, he installed another auxiliary air compressor along with a 5 gallon air tank and ran new air lines to each side of the coach with chucks to air up tires, and he's tied this system into the DOT air system thru a check valve regulated to 120 psi. Leon's also replaced every marker light with complete LED fixtures, installed Hella replacement tail light led fixtures, and he's installed a steer safe and 365’s tires on 10.5" wheels on the steer axle, and more!

I uploaded a sampling of pics to give you folks the general flavor. To say this man loves his LXi is quite an understatement!

[RangerStrider]

(04-30-2015 19:51)davidbrady Wrote:  Folks,

I'm starting this thread for Leon (lcard). Leon's the second owner of this LXi; the first owner was Charlie Schrenkel, former national president of the FMCA.

Leon's made many significant upgrades and modifications to his LXi. He installed new Samsung LED flat screens, 42” in the front and a 27” in the bedroom, he replaced the Alpine indash stereo with a Pioneer receiver with a new sub woofer, removed the Dometic fridge and replaced it with a 17 cu ft Fisher & Paykel stainless steel double door with a pull out freezer that's counter depth, replaced the propane stove with an electric smooth top 2 burner stove, removed the propane tank from under the coach, put in a floor and moved the bulkhead back and now has another pass thru bay, installed a Headhunter water system with a 2 gallon expansion tank and the Headhunter inline strainers, he installed another auxiliary air compressor along with a 5 gallon air tank and ran new air lines to each side of the coach with chucks to air up tires, and he's tied this system into the DOT air system thru a check valve regulated to 120 psi. Leon's also replaced every marker light with complete LED fixtures, installed Hella replacement tail light led fixtures, and he's installed a steer safe and 365’s tires on 10.5" wheels on the steer axle, and more!

I uploaded a sampling of pics to give you folks the general flavor. To say this man loves his LXi is quite an understatement!

Leon, That is one beautiful coach. Kudos for all the nice work and upgrades you've done Leon. We just bought our first Bluebird a couple weeks ago (2003 LXI single slide) and I hope to someday have it just half as nice as you've made yours. Thanks David for posting the pictures.

[cvaughn]

I would like to know where he found the Model 60 Clearance light upgrade to led. I have looked for years.

[GregOConnor]

Very nice fit to the frige. One issue with the air compressor crossover to the DOT spec designed chassis air brake is with the leak down test. The backup 110 compressor is a good item to have but tie in wont allow the detroit compressor to come on independently and provide air pressure recovery. not sure how this effects the air dryers. or how this preserves use and test of the detroit. I tied both systems together as well but need to make a note to shut off the 110 compressor when the engine is on. I am thinking of a buzzer that is wired to the dash aux air compressor switch ON side then passes thru a relay normal off which get excited by the ign. might even be a way to make it blink the aux air light?

[cmillsap]

(05-01-2015 10:11)cvaughn Wrote:  I would like to know where he found the Model 60 Clearance light upgrade to led. I have looked for years.

X2 and the rear LED Lights

[ernie ekberg]

the side turn signal lites are available https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo...arker/596/

[timetravelers]

David, I think I remember you saying that the 365 tires do not have clearance in an LXi, did he do additional work to use them?

[Itchintogo]

Leon rocks!

[Lrcard]

Thank David for the compliments, it makes it a bit easier when you start with a coach that is as it left Fort Valley.

Charlie, the Signal-Stat part number for the marker/clearance lights in LED are 6050 , they are a challenge to install but doable. I used those on the front cap and rear cap only. For the side marker lights I used a surface mount LED with a chrome bezel.

Greg, thank the fridge turned out very well. As for the air system,the factory set up is still intact and operates as it should, S60 compressor, Jun-Air and Thomas compressors. I installed a Extreme Aire, 12 volt Compressor, 3/4HP, 1.5 cfm @ 100 psi, continuous duty up to 150 psi. I'm getting my power supply from the 3 group 31 cranking batteries, power goes through a 50 amp circuit breaker that I installed. Air flows from the Extreme Aire through a filter and water separator, into a 4 gallon storage tank. The Extreme Aire only operates when manually turned on and cuts in at 120psi and shutoff at 150 psi. From the storage tank I ran 2 lines, one to each side of the coach with an air chuck on each side so I can air a tire if needed. There is a second air line that ties into the coach air system that runs through a regulator that is set at 120 psi and then through a check valve so the coach system can't back feed and the regulator only allows 120 psi to enter the coach system. I can however leave the Extreme Aire on all the time, at that point the S60 compressor would never run. I have a switch outside and one inside the coach for the Extreme compressor.

Chuck, the LED rear tail lights came from Susquehanna Motor Sports 610-944-3233, speak with Dave, he is the owner. Third light from the top which looks to be clear is the turn signal and flashes amber, the bottom is the back up which is not LED, Hella calls it a super bright back up, they do not make a LED back up. These lights require some modifications the the engine compartment cover to work, again a bunch of work but doable.

Morey, the 365's are a fantastic upgrade. I did 2 minor modifications to do the 365 tires. First the 10 mounting studs that are from the factory are to short, they need to be driven out and replaced with longer studs so you can get a full nut of threads. The second modification was trimming in inner fender lip, this needs to be done so the fender does not hit the tire when you dump the suspension. it you look at the pic's David posted you will see the trim job I did. It was very easy, used a sabre saw and painted the cut edge with epoxy to seal the fiberglass. I'm running 98lbs in my fronts, ride and handling is great. You also need to use the right part number wheel. I was told by Alcoa that the front wheel used on a Prevost will not work. If you would like the part number I can find it.

[al perna]

Hello Leon ,
I read about your upgrades and would be very interested in the steer tire replacement items needed for the upgrade . Could you go into a little detail on what's needed and aprox cost . Thank you in advance I really like the idea of running 98 lbs of air vs 110 . on a warm long day my pressure goes up to 135 lb , do you know what pressure your 365 s go to ?