Removing Water Bay Panel

[Dick Simonis]

I need to pull the water bay panel to find/repair a leak.  In addition, the valve for hot water low point drain isn't working for some reason.

Any tricks to removing and replacing the panel??

Thanks for any advice.

DIck

[Jerry Emert]

Just undo the screws that hold the braces on the sides and it should come out far enough to work on stuff.  Easier than it looked!   Good luck.
Jerry

[Dick Simonis]

Thanks Jerry....that's almost to easy to be true.  There must be a catch someplace.

[Jerry Emert]

I am not very handy to begin with.  I watched a guy do it when I had a leak behind it.  He fixed it but I had another leak in a same area a few months later.  Hardest part was removing the caulk.  Originally, it intimidated the crap out of me when I removed the round access cover and looked in there at all the hoses.  Even worse, I put my hand in to look for the first leak and it bit me!  So I called an expert.   So be careful of the teeth and have fun.
Jerry

[Edward Buker]

Dick,

If you get lucky you may have enough hose slack to tilt the panel out enough to use a mirror and start disconnecting piping and what needs removing behind the panel. The biggest problem I had was the two water manifolds with all the knobs on them. The factory used metal straps with nuts and screws so you had to remove the nuts to gain access. When I had mine apart I modified mine to use wood screws with a different attachment method. Some photos etc here if you have the same issue. It is all doable just tedious and you will need a good light and a mirror to sort things out.

http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,462.msg2476.html#msg2476

Later Ed

[Fred Brooks]

               Hi Dick,

       On my coach, I have to remove the rear gas strut to get the panel to tip outward so be careful to support the compartment door. Once the panel is tipped outward, observe which hose is keeping it restrained and disconnect it until the panel will allow you enough access to determine your issue. Not near as intimidating as it appears. If you need more help, give me a call.
     Regards, Fred

     

[Adam Hicklin]

Be careful!  The edges on my panel were very sharp.  I ended up covering the edges with some tape so I wouldn't scrape up my arms as I was reaching back there. Not a lot of room and as Ed said, the nuts and bolts method was a brain dead idea. 

[Edward Buker]

Dick,

If you have not pulled it apart yet you might take a mirror and look to see that the drain is inserted through the floor right and that no mud dobber or insect has plugged it up. Put a Philips head screwdriver in the low point drain and see if it is clear.

If you get lucky the water inlet can be a leak source, the pipe attachment point on the back of mine leaked. You can fix or check that one by removing the 4 screws and pulling it out from the panel. The paper towel holder can be removed and there is a cut out behind it that will let you see some of the plumbing with a mirror and a flashlight to spot the leak before diving in.

The point of those manifold alterations I did was to be able to release all of the water manifolds with 4 sheet metal screws from the front side. I gave some thought of splitting the lower portion of the panel and putting it back on in two pieces. If you do that there are metal shops with a water jet cutter that can perfectly cut the panel without heat and discoloration. I used one in Pensacola for altering the stainless panel on my mudflap and the results were excellent and not overly expensive.

Hope your panel work goes smoothly but my guess is that colorful language will be involved....

Later Ed

[Dick Simonis]

Thanks guys, I'm going to start on it Monday.