DIY Hitch Cargo Carrier and Side Mounted Hitch Receiver for Roadtrek Agile

Agile's Continental spare tire carrier location prevents the use of hitch cargo and bike carriers without any modifications. I've seen people use hitch extensions to clear the spare tire carrier, but this defeats the purpose of buying the shorter Agile not to mention its considerable influence in dynamic loading of the rear suspension over bumps and other road changes. Hitch baskets and bike racks mounted towards the rear of the spare tire also prevents the spare tire carrier to be folded down when needed.

I fabricated an extra hitch receiver that bolts-on into the right side of the factory hitch arm; it can accommodate medium sized hitch cargo carries/basket.  I will be fabricating a hitch cargo/bike carrier combo that swings to the side for easier access to the rear of the RV. For now, I'm using a small fabricated hitch cargo carrier for small loads like firewood/ ice cooler/ tool box, etc.

The receiver tube is a Harbor Freight tube cut short, and then welded to the fabricated bracket.

Automatic RV Hot Water Recirculation System

To minimize waste of water while waiting for the hot water in the sink or shower to come through, I installed a DIY automatic hot water recirculation system in my Agile. I can also use it to prevent the water line from freezing when camping below freezing temperature. I'm already thinking of re-plumbing the hot water line under the RV to provide heat into the fresh and holding tanks via a DIY heat transfer plates which will be installed under each tanks. A manual diverter valve will be used to divert hot water away from the heat transfer plates when it is not needed, that would be my near future project.

The DIY hot water recirculation system is installed into the galley faucet hot and cold water line which is the point farthest from the water heater. It is fully automatic with manual switch override. A digital temperature controller is used to switch the pump on and off to automatically recirculate hot water back into the cold water line. The adjustable fan-control thermostat switch (see below) monitors the water temperature in the water heater tank and the system only becomes active when set temperature is achieved. It will shut the system off when water temperature falls below the set temp, doing this will prevent the recirculation pump to continuously run when water heater is shut-off and hot water falls below a certain temp.

Hot water recirculation system wiring diagram.

120- Volt Electric Conversion to Suburban Gas Water Heater

Warning: The post below is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation to modify your water heater and other products mentioned here. I will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages or personal injury that may result from following this blog post.

I recently installed an aftermarket 120-volt electric heater element to my Suburban gas water heater. This mod should help cut my water heater propane usage when shore power is available. I opted for the "Lightning Rod" brand as it is the only electric conversion unit with built-in anode rod. Suburban does recommend using an anode rod in their porcelain lined steel tank for corrosion protection. Although the anode that came with the electric conversion is a lot smaller than the OEM anode rod, it is still a better option than no anode at all with the competing aftermarket products. I'm not sure how well the small anode will last or perform. I will update this post after a few months of water heater use.

RV Exterior Hand Held Hose/ Showerhead Replacement with Magnetic Pin Mount

I finally replaced my bulky, leaky, hard to store exterior showerhead and hose attachment. Found a small showerhead with built-in shut-off lever on Amazon along with a very flexible stainless steel hose, a shower pin wall mount (optional) and a pin mount swivel connector. Actually, the pin wall mount/ swivel connector was salvaged from an old showerhead I had, but it is available on Amazon (clickable Amazon links above).

Replacement is pretty straightforward, just unscrew the old hose and the showerhead then attach the new ones in place. I just made one minor modification to the new showerhead by drilling a bigger hole into the water saver valve (located on the water inlet of the showerhead) as the water flow is weak and restricted by the smaller hole.



The new hose is very flexible and really easy to store, unlike the factory hose which is a pain to store into the storage compartment, just coil the new hose about 3x and the door will close with ease.

Battery Separator Upgrade to Blue Sea ML-ACR 7622 Automatic Charging Relay

My Roadtrek originally came equipped with the Sure Power Battery Separator Model 1315-200, a 200-amp solenoid version. While the separator functioned properly, it drew approximately 1.5 amps when the solenoid was energized, resulting in a significant loss of solar energy.

I decided to replace it with the Blue Sea ML-ACR Model 7622, a 500-amp magnetic latching (bi-stable) automatic charging relay featuring manual and remote control capabilities. Although it comes with a higher price tag of around $200 USD, the investment has proven worthwhile for me. According to the manufacturer, it draws very low current (<40mA to monitor terminal voltage) in both the "ON" and "OFF" states, with a moderate current draw for a very short duration during state transitions.

The Blue Sea ML-ACR is dual-sensing, detecting charge levels on both batteries. It also includes a start and engine isolation feature, though I opted not to utilize those functionalities. With the addition of the remote switch, I can manually isolate and combine batteries from the driver's seat. Typically, I leave it in auto mode and only switch it off (isolate) when the house battery is charging from solar panels.

For most applications, the more affordable 120-amp continuous rated Blue Sea SI-ACR should suffice for alternator charging.

The replacement process is quite straightforward, using the same wiring as the old Sure Power isolator. The ML-ACR terminal studs for the batteries are interchangeable, eliminating the need to trace which wire goes to the start battery or house battery. I only had to run three new wires (red remote, red [+], and yellow LED wire) to the remote switch, which I mounted on the dashboard next to the headlight selector switch. Additionally, I slightly enlarged the ring terminal holes on the [+] cables as the ML-ACR terminal studs are slightly larger (size 3/8") than the old isolator. If preferred, you can also change the ring terminals on the [+] cables at this point.

Blue Sea ML-ACR automatic charging relay wiring diagram.