All of the Things We’ve Done To Make Our Grand Design Our Home!
When you first get your rig and take it home it can be, or at least it was for us, both a joyous and overwhelming experience all at the same time. As we got familiar with our 2020 Grand Design Momentum 399TH we were amazed at all of the things that came with it and the things that it would do! Heck, even to this day almost two years later we are still learning about what she is capable of!
There does come a point where you start looking at it with a different set of eyes and begin to imagine “what if” we did this or added that? Heaven help us if we tour someone else’s rig and see what they have done to theirs. The cool thing is that we each get the opportunity to make our rigs exactly that … OUR RIG!
Below you will find the modifications, both large and small, that we have added to our home! They are organized from the front, our bedroom, to the back where the office is and then outside. Where it makes sense we have added pictures and links to where we bought it. Without getting too long winded we have added some info about some of the mods! Take what you like and use it and feel free to ignore what doesn’t work for you! The only thing we ask is that you share your mods with us because we are always looking for that next tweak!
Our Bedroom
When we bought our 399 we opted for the queen sized bed! That may not seem too strange unless you know us and know that Jim is 6′ 4″ and Christie is 5′ 8″! It is one thing that we discussed at length before deciding and our conclusion was that we could get used to it as a trade off for having more room to move “around” the bed particularly when going through the rigorous task of making the bed. Originally we bought a 4″ topper from Walmart to deal with the factory issued bed being less than desirable.
At first that worked fine but eventually the base mattress work out so we replaced it with a Zinus 12″ Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress for around $400 and we love it! We have been sleeping on it for almost a year now and it is every bit as comfy as the king sized bed we had in our bricks and sticks home before going full time. Getting a great night’s sleep while on the road, especially if you are full time, has a lot to do with how well the day goes so we consider this a great investment!
Our next bedroom mod is one of the very first things we added and is quite small but was a great addition to the bedroom. It is a simple little corner shelf we installed right below the television for the purpose of adding a small ceramic heater. Turns out it was a great place to put a small oscillating fan when the weather turned a little warmer as well! You can find these small shelves online as well as at Home Depot or Lowe’s!
The last little item in the bedroom is one of my favorites … a closet organizer that is also available online or at your local Home Depot or Lowe’s in the home organizer area. In most rigs, but especially in ours, closet space is minimal and we are always looking for a way to better maximize the space. This little thing allows me to create a ton more usable space than I could ever get than if I just hung everything up. It is particularly good for those things that can be folded or rolled up and where getting them a little wrinkled isn’t a concern!
The Master Bathroom
While the master bath is pretty simple and works well right out of the box there are a few mods we have made there that we find significant! The first is the swapping out of the shower head for an Oxygenics Spa RV Shower Kit. This is game changer for sure! While there are YouTube videos out there that show that they don’t necessarily use less water I think they actually do because you need less time in the shower washing your hair and rinsing off. I do know Christie really loves it when it comes time to wash her hair!
The second bathroom mod is maybe the simplest of mods ever yet very effective. We replaced the little shower drain strainer with a TubShroom Ultra Revolutionary Drain Protector Hair Catcher/Strainer/Snare … at least that is what it says! This thing really does a good job and is easy to clean. Note: You will want to replace it every couple of months or so therefore we recommend you buy the 2 pack.
The third is also “simple” as a matter of fact it is called a SimpleHuman 3 chamber dispenser. I can’t believe it has survived all of the rocking and rolling the rig suffers from going down the road but it is solidly attached to the shower wall right where I put it the first day! We love how efficient it is and how it keeps the shower neat!
The Living Area
For those that aren’t familiar with a Momentum 399TH it has a side patio and opposing slides in the living area along with some great big windows and a sliding glass door that leads out onto the side deck. It also has a really cool loft where presumably small people could sleep although we have never considered testing that out ourselves. We use this space for all kinds of storage! This wide open, very usable space is why we chose the 399TH for our home!
With that in mind here are the mods we have put into place. They are few but again, really improve the usability of this space! Perhaps the most important mod in this area most people will never see but was one of the first things Christie wanted done. That was adding shelving to 3 areas of this area.
Over the Pantry! 
Over the Coffee Bar 
Over the Sliding Glass Doors! 
Over the Sliding Glass Doors!
While there is quite a bit of cabinet space most of the cabinets were very deep and high at the same time. So, I simply added an additional shelf to the area above the pantry, the cabinets above the sliding glass door and to the cabinets above the coffee bar. This literally doubled the amount of actual shelf space in the living area with a minimal amount of effort. I purchased pre-made shelving( that matched our current trim perfectly) from Home Depot, cut it to fit and secured them with 90 degree brackets. Simple mod that made a huge difference!
Right Side of the Loft! 
Left Side of the Loft! 
Sliding Glass Doors!
Our next mod in this area was to add curtains that covered up the two entries into the loft. We measured the openings and bought the rods and curtains on Amazon to fit each. Note: All of the curtains in our rig came from the same manufacturer so they match throughout. We also added a matching curtain and curtain rod to fit the sliding glass door. This curtain serves several purposes. It provides privacy, because it is a blackout curtain it helps with both cold and heat and it looks nice in the living area even when we haven’t deployed the side porch!
The last mod isn’t really a mod but an addition. We could write an entire blog post on this addition, and will, because everyone wants to know how to stream their favorite television show, Netflix and etc. We chose to go with Apple TV and love it. Stay tuned for the detailed blog post on all things connectivity!
The Garage/Office Space
As we move from the living area to the garage there is so much to share! Again, one of the primary reasons we settled on a toy hauler was for the opportunity to convert this space into our office. We both still work and this space has been very important to us! While we love how it is set up now it is still a work in progress! We are constantly looking for new and better ways to make it as comfortable and efficient as possible!
Probably the first mod you will notice is the privacy curtain on the door leading to the office. Again, a black out curtain that matches all of the others and it is secured by a very simple curtain rod like you might find over a window in your home. This curtain rod is attached to the door by screws! Yep, drilled them into the door with great care and trepidation!!!
The next mod you will likely notice in the garage is that it is fully carpeted. This was a game changer in the office for a number of reasons … look/feel, insulation, sound and overall comfort. I did write a blog on this mod you can check out at The One Mod I Put Off Way Too Long!
Our next mod has gone through several iterations and currently is very effective and that is the desk space we use in the office. We took out the Happy Jack benches and secured a desktop, purchased at Amazon, to the brackets on the driver’s side of the rig using the same hardware that secured the benches. We chose that side of the rig because it is a longer wall and allowed for more desk space. You can buy these desk tops on Amazon in varying lengths to fit what works for you.
Originally we would raise the desk and the opposite side brackets that were left to make room for all of the things we store in the garage when traveling but now we leave the desk down. Why? We have found that the remaining brackets on the side opposite of the desk make a great place to secure our two bicycles! HA! We just bungee cord them to the hardware there and off we go!
Two Drawer File Cabinet! 
Cool and Effective Cubbies From Amazon! 
Our Ring Security System!
Other mods in this space include adding a file cabinet, a really cool and functional 6 drawer cubby and, of course, a blackout curtain that covers up our sliding glass doors that lead out onto the back patio. Just like the curtains on the side patio door they provide privacy, help with the heat and cold and they give a finished look to the office that we really like! One note on these curtains. We originally used an expanding tension curtain rod here like you might use in a shower at home. The problem is it kept falling down during transit and we broke two of them. We now attach the curtain using Command Hooks. While not as attractive it works!!!
The garage also houses all of our electronics including our hot spots from AT&T, T Mobile and Verizon, our mac desktop computer, the Tineco vacuum cleaner and our Ring security system. Again, all to be included in a future blog post!
Let’s Not Overlook the Half Bath!
For a lot of reasons we don’t need to go into, the half bath in the garage is Jim’s and we both like it that way! Even though it is small it nonetheless has its own handful of mods that work for both of us! Check it out …
Is That Cute Or What? 
Cool Rack From Amazon! 
Command Hooks!
We have a cute toothbrush holder, our towels for the both of us (rack from Amazon) and a couple of heavy duty Command hooks serve to keep our broom and mop organized! How about that?!?
One More Amazing Mod On The Inside!
Because we live full time in our rig we can’t just put her up for the summer! And this year we didn’t head north to escape the heat until mid August. That said, we did do something this for our JoyHauler that has made all of the difference in the world when it comes to keeping everything nice and cool and comfy inside! We added RV AirFlow Systems and it made an amazing difference!
You can read a full review of this mod at Dang It’s Hot!!! One “COOL” Mod That Will Make A Huge Difference! This mod is another “game changer” classified addition to our rig that every owner should check out! Thanks Richard and Joanne Stark for this innovation!
A Couple of Mods on the Outside!
I thought about skipping our mods on the outside but if I had there would be three critical additions to our rig that would be missed! The first is simple but I love and that was switching out the 50A receptacle on the side of the rig from factory issue to a Smart Plug! I get challenged from time to time about the need for this little gem and that’s ok. I would tell you, other than the fact that it is a better/safer connection to the 50a of power flowing into the rig I love it because I have already saved countless hours I was spending trying to get the old ring to screw on securely without cross threading the darn thing! Case closed!!!
The second mod on the outside is right at the top of the “game changer” list and that is the addition of Sumo Springs to our suspension system!
This mod began with my good friend, and Director of Service at United RV, Jim Vititow’s love for Sumo’s and Adam Weisner’s, Chief Commercial Officer Sumo Springs International, interest in seeing how they would perform on a big 3 axle rig like a toy hauler. So, in July of 2020 we had them installed. Because we were stationary in the DFW area for a month they only got a 25 mile workout from the dealer to our home base. That said, in those 25 miles I was taken back by how smooth the rig rode in freeway conditions. To complete the package we pulled the AirLift bags and added Sumo’s to the Ram 3500 as well.
If you want the short story … the performance of the truck, the 399TH and the overall rig together is outstanding! I could not be any happier! If you want the detailed review on how it impacted both the rig and our Ram 3500 DRW check out Sumo Springs … Best Mod Ever!!!
I know there are a lot of discussions out there about hitch systems and we made the decision right from the start to go with a Reese GooseBox for our rig. Since we were coming out of a bumper pull and into a 5th wheel our expense was a wash. I love the fact that I get the bed of my truck back but I love even more that it is a simple, safe and secure hook up along with the fact that it features two shock absorbers and an air bag to make for a great connection!
So, while I am sure I forgot something that is it for now! We do have two significant mods on the list for when we are more stationary. The first is to remove the sliding glass door to the shower and replace it with a shower curtain and circular shaped rod. And, we will be removing the dinette in the living area and coming back with some kind of work space.
Let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you in any way as you work to make your rig exactly what you want it to be!
If you have any thoughts or questions please leave them in the comments below or reach out to us at info@teamjacobus.com We look forward to hearing from you! We invite you to follow us on our journey by being a prat of our Facebook group JoyHauling With Team Jacobus and/or by subscribing to the blog!
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