Ranger 31 Top 10 Mods

[Bill & Donna Sibbers]

We have lived with our Ranger Tug 31 for nearly a year and have logged 300 engine hours and over 60 nights on board. What a great design and terrific factory support. The design is innovative, thoughtful, and functional. Our goal is to live within it but have added a few touches to help.

Our Top 10 Modifications are:

1. Full cockpit surround. King Marine took the original Bimini, tightened it up and added vinyl curtains and screens. Cold sunny winter days warm the cockpit like a greenhouse. Its a big additional room rain or shine.

2. Heater vent in master head. Warm bathroom, dry shower! Luxury.

3. Bedding by YachtBedding. May seem pricey but worth it for super comfortable sleep. As good as home.

4. USB outlet next to TV in master bedroom. Netflix movies through the iPhone without battery dying before the end.

5. Bluetooth adapter for Fusion sound system. Easy no bake connectivity and control.

6. SideBar porta-pub dispenser. Looks like a factory option. The bar is always open, bottles of gin, vodka, bourbon, tequila, and vermouth are secure and out of sight.

7. Portland Pudgy dinghy. Incredible design befitting a Ranger Tug. USCG approved for 4 people with motor. No pump required. Sails well, too. We use a Torqueedo electric - no gas on board.

8. Shades for skylights including black for bedrooms. Velcro attached.

9. g2Vision chip for Garmin chart plotter. Very efficient routing, information, and satellite photo perspective. )

10. 2 large Weems and Plath instruments mounted on panel above and behind pilot house. Easy read, yet out of the way. Barometer + Temperature and Clock + Tide.

Next 3 Mods:

1. 2 additional solar panels connected in parallel.
2. Water maker.
3. Diesel hot water heater.

 

[coreychamness]

I like your list. The favs I have installed in our R-31:
1 Wallas diesel heater
2 3M inline water filter before the ice maker
3. Bluetooth module for Fusion stereo
I have tried to get a bluetooth transmitter to work in order to send from the Salon TV to the fusion stereo but have not been successful in pairing. The TV has such wimpy speakers they are challenged by the dynamic range of a movie
4 gVision chip for Garmin
5. Mobile Hotspot

I am interested in your #6
Mods for this year
1. Sun Shade for cockpit. - probably the one from Magma
2. Better screens for hatches. The delivered ones stink and leak bugs like they're water

 

[Bill & Donna Sibbers]

Thanks for sharing yours. TV volume definitely a problem. Will put some thought to your solution.

#6: http://sidebarbeverage.com.

 

[Dale777]

On the R31, the TV volume is a major problem with it being so wimpy that it is almost impossible to listen to even when the volume is set to 100%. If anyone gets a solution to this problem, I would really like to know.

 

[Nellie Too]

On the back of the TV you will find a audio output, I ran a cable from there to my stero and use it for outside in the cockpit or inside in the cabin or both. I have a TV I installed in the main cabin which is an older 29' and this has worked very well I also have a KVH intenna I use with DIRECTV.

Bob

 

[coreychamness]

I have considered hardwiring from the audio out but the cable bundle and route is tortured and circuitous to go down and behind the helm so I have thus far not done it

 

[Pourhouse]

Does some one have a suggestion on a good way to keep the drawers in the cabinet in bumpy seas?

 

[kevinflanagan]

We had to have something done about our drawers flinging out in rough seas, will show you our fix(need to get a pic).
Tommy at Gaston came up with our solution.

 

[rjohnson58]

Please share it with all of us. We too have had a slight problem with the cabinets coming open in rough seas in our prior 29. We are really trying not to be out in that again, but you never know.
Rick

 

[rjohnson58]

Could you please post how you put a heater vent into the head? What a great idea!!
Rick

 

[Bill & Donna Sibbers]

#2 Heater info: Parts

Product Name Part No. Quantity Item Price Total Price
60MM PAK Duct High Temperature Ducting

Length: 5 Foot
398-497 1 $25.20 $25.20
Webasto W909-99A High temp 90mm x 60mm x 90mm branch wye

W909-99A 1 $19.13 $19.13
Webasto 9012300A High temperature 60mm threaded Black Grille

9012300A 1 $13.17 $13.17
Subtotal: $57.50
Shipping & Handling: $16.15
Tax: $7.00
Order Total: $80.65

 

[Bill & Donna Sibbers]

Bluetooth for TV volume: This connects to Fusion system wirelessly. Volume better than TV. Order from Amazon. TaoTronics TT-BA06 High-Fidelity Wireless Portable Bluetooth 4.0 Stereo Music Transmitter (Not A Bluetooth Receiver) for 3.5mm Audio Devices

 

[Bill & Donna Sibbers]

Added two new solar panels to factory single install (see photo). Powers 3 refrigerators and charges battery bank before day is over. Have seen amp readings of 22+ when batteries had been depleted prior to hook up. In sunlight batteries are charged by noon then amp draw comes down to between 5 and 8 toward evening (refers). This is our generator. Cloudy conditions produce same amps as single in sunny. IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/12/e413e6e586d8fdbc4b61f594d643b85c.jpg[/IMG]

 

[Spinner]

Hi, what kind of controller does the three panel set require? I want to change out to a larger panel, but understand the standard controller will have to be replaced in that case....
Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

[Bill & Donna Sibbers]

I will get back to you. The installed controller had capacity for the 3 panels - I checked in advance of panel purchase.

 

[dialtone]

Existing charger only sees one source as panels are in parallel. Just need to stay within specs of your charger.

 

[Northerner]

Bill & Donna Sibbers: Can you kindly tell me the width of each of your 3 solar panels, and the total width. The R-23 I'm buying has a total width of 77" on the roof racks so wondering how I would attach the outer panels if they hang out over the roof racks? Perhaps the clips you used are underneath rather than along the outer edges...? I hope to install a pair of Kyocera 265 Watt panels that total 78" wide.
Thanks

 

[Bill & Donna Sibbers]

Dear Northerner - I believe these are the specs for our panels. https://www.solar-electric.com/lib/wind ... X-LFBS.pdf. At a width of 26.3" each we span 80" with a very small space between panels. Worked perfectly on the factory rack. For narrower boats you might consider a 2 panel setup - one on each side of rack. I saw this configuration on a 27 at the rendezvous this year. The existing 25 amp solar charger accepts up to 3 panels. We did exceed the 25amps on occasion this summer with a spike of 32amps. The charger automatically shuts down for very short time before accepting input again. Works great.