remove/reinstall the belly pan

[Rostam]

After an "off-road" trip last summer, I found a leak in the gray water tank. The water drips down when the tank is full. I'm thinking some of the plumbing fixtures may have gone loose after my bumpy adventurous off road trip. I want to remove the belly pan to take a peek, see what the issue is, and fix it.

Anyone knows of a "How to remove/reinstall the belly pan" tutorial? I looked at SilverAvion.com, but found nothing. Yahoo group is, as always, difficult to search. Is the belly pan one piece? Or two piece (one before and one after the axles)? Should the LP lines and stabilizers be removed before we can pull the belly pan?

Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

P.S. I am also thinking of applying POR-15 to the whole frame while the belly pan is off.

[KYAvion]

This is coming from someone who hasn't removed their entire Bellypan, but I've been under there and taken extra measures to seal up mouse entry points, as well as cut into the area below the grey and black dump valve connections.

If I were needing access to my grey water tank or any other area, I would use a pneumatic cut off tool with a thin (1/16") disc and cut out a section of the Bellypan larger than the area I wanted access to. Then when reinstalling I'd use a slightly larger piece of sheet metal to form a panel that could be easily removed if needed in the future. I did this for the area below my dump valve connections and I personally think there should be an access panel for each system (freshwater, black water, grey water, trap for shower) just for situations like yours.

[Rostam]

Thanks. Thats a good idea. Certainly less effort required.

I have been thinking about the belly pan design since yesterday. I think if the belly pan was in several pieces (so each piece could be taken off separately), it would make life a lot easier. My freshwater tank is after the axles, and gray/black water tanks forward of the axles. Those are the only 2 areas that I can think of that need separate access. I will look into the idea of cutting the belly pan right around these areas, and riveting them separately, to provide better access (the rest of belly pan stays as is).

Any thoughts on this idea? Besides water tanks, is there another area that may need to be accessed? Thanks.

[KYAvion]

Makes sense to me. If you don't have a pneumatic cut off wheel or a compressor large enough to run one, you could also use a corded grinder with a fine 1/16" disc.

[Rostam]

Thanks. I'll think about this a bit more and when the weather is warm, hopefully, I will get to it. I'm concerned riveting the belly pan piece (that is cut out) alone may not be enough to hold it in place.

[KYAvion]

What I did is drive self tapping hex head screws with large fender washers through the Bellypan material and right into the frame. Between framing members I have smaller access panels where needed.

[Rostam]

good idea.