SO, one of the things we’ve not been the happiest about during, the over a year and a half, in our Tiffin 32SA was the kitchen area. The stove can’t be set low enough to properly simmer food. Our solution for that was to purchase a countertop induction burner and later, a Ninja hot air grill, both of which we love and use on a regular basis. We cook simple; meaning it would be very rare to have to heat more than one pan at a time. Now the stove cut-outs have turned into just a place to catch spills that we have to periodically clean. But we haven’t found a solution for that yet. One thought is to remove the stove and create a nice pullout work surface extension. We also wanted more light (replaced the bulbs under the microwave with LED) and purchased brighter wallpaper to install the right of the stove.
The “valance” around the panoramic kitchen window – made from the same plastic as the countertop, plus STONE – actual STONE tiles set in grout, that were distractingly crooked. One might think that if Tiffin were going to go to all that trouble, setting the stones straight would be part of the plan. No, that isn’t enough reason to remove the valance, just another tick on the list of irritating little unnecessary mistakes. The opening for the window was also WAY TOO SMALL – blocking much of the view of this nice window. It also took up 4 inches of counter space.
Our plan was to remove the valance and create a new one, with a bigger window, that took up less counter space. As we started this process, we removed the valance and discovered it weighed nearly 80 pounds!! I purchased some half-inch lumber to create a new valance. Since we were camping out near home, I designed, measured and cut it all to size using my saw table at home. The original assembly happened later, and well, it took me a while to get to the final assembly of it all.
After removing and disposing of the old valance, the next part was to reverse the shade. It rolled down with the shade coming off the interior side. By flipping it, having the shade come down the exterior side- the shade was over an inch farther back from the counter space. This move required lengthening the wire and reprogramming the shade stop points from what had been programmed by Tiffin (based on the smaller window).
Our valance has a much larger opening for the window. Sure, we can see the window frame – but we can also see ALL of the outside views from almost any angle. The valence design slants toward the outside of the vehicle at the bottom, again preserving more of the counter space. It is less than 1.5 inches on the bottom.
There also was a 4-inch-high strip of plastic+stone tile on the right side which we removed. It had been epoxied to the wallpaper, and thus necessitated cutting out the epoxy and bits of wallpaper then filling in the holes with wood filler. Next, I installed the new wallpaper on the right wall.
Finally – the valance was painted white and installed. Three brass screws into the wall on the bottom and two small brackets to the cabinet on top.
The result is a much brighter workspace with a nicer view of the outside.
Hey Tiffin, are you watching?
Mike