Pulling down ceiling panel?

[ViewRVs]

I need to pull down (or at least open up) the center ceiling panel to complete my Jack Digital TV antenna install and also troubleshoot that pesky purple wire. Any hints on how to drop/open the center ceiling panel?

Thanks in advance.

[WineStream]

I've found a few threads on here talking about it, but never one that is a step by step guide. I wanted to take down the ceiling for much the same reason as you, but in the end didn't do it due to never being able to figure out how to get the bathroom door upper track out of the way. I decided it wasn't worth (what looked to be) a complete removal of the back half of the interior just to get the ceiling down to run a new wire.

Keep us posted. If you find the miracle method, I'll be interested to see it.

[bkahler]

Before I started dismantling the 345 I thought removing/reinstalling that ceiling strip would be easy. Well, that turned out to be NOT the case. Maybe a shorter motorhome (or trailer) might have been easier but on a 345 the ceiling panel is probably in excess of 30' long and difficult to handle. I was doing it myself which probably had a lot to do with it but I decided at that point that I would never willingly remove those panels from our 310 or Argosy.

If you do decide to remove the panel I would recommend having at least three people on hand to help, more for the longer rigs.

Brad

[ViewRVs]

Brad,
I realized the same thing! In my Argosy 20', it is a single aluminum panel from the front cap to the rear cap. The piece goes into the grooves on the north-south spars. That piece is nearly impossible to remove. I was able to get everything done with the AC, fan, and TV antenna holes open. Airstream really closed these things up so well that any maintenance/repair is VERY difficult.

As for the pesky purple wire, I guess ran a wire around behind the couch, into the cabinet, and through a hole in the wall up to the 12v outlet. It is clean and effective!

[bkahler]

Fred,

I browsed through your blog about adding the fantastic fan and installing the new air conditioner. One thing that surprised me is your air conditioner and fantastic fan are in opposite locations compared to my 74 20' Argosy. On mine the air conditioner is in the middle of coach and the standard airstream roof vent is at the back of the coach.

I wonder why the difference? Now I'm going to have to look through (again!) all of the pictures I've been saving of Argosy motorhomes to see if there is any sort of pattern.

One thought that acame to mind was the reason you had to add support for the air conditioner was possibly because the center opening was where the air conditioner was supposed to go. Just a thought.

Brad

[ViewRVs]

Thanks for plugging my blog!

My Argosy had a factory installed Armstrong AC unit in the rear spot. My roof vent was also factory installed original. It looks like most of the Argosy 20' units in my archives have the AC towards the rear. Based on the footprint (i.e. rivet holes and unpainted area on my roof) the Armstrong probably had a pan that almost spans the ribs. My hunch is that the new (replacement) AC units without drain pans cause the support issue. The new units use a gasket that is just larger than the 14"x14" opening.

Both the AC and the Fan vent would use a 14"x14" opening.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by 1985air345

Thanks for plugging my blog!

No problem

My Argosy had a factory installed Armstrong AC unit in the rear spot. My roof vent was also factory installed original. It looks like most of the Argosy 20' units in my archives have the AC towards the rear. Based on the footprint (i.e. rivet holes and unpainted area on my roof) the Armstrong probably had a pan that almost spans the ribs. My hunch is that the new (replacement) AC units without drain pans cause the support issue. The new units use a gasket that is just larger than the 14"x14" opening.

Both the AC and the Fan vent would use a 14"x14" opening.

Sometime in the next few weeks I'm going to be replacing the gasket on the air conditioner. I have no idea how old the one is that's installed right now and with winter coming which brings a lot of rain here in central Kentucky I figure I should do what I can to minimize leaks.

Looking through your archives it seems that only the front bath models have the air conditioner in the middle of the coach.

What air conditioner did you install? From reading your blog it sounds like you didn't need a drain pan.

Brad

[ViewRVs]

Originally Posted by bkahler

What air conditioner did you install? From reading your blog it sounds like you didn't need a drain pan.

Brad

My unit had a brand new DuoTherm Brisk Air unit on it when I bought it. Based on the job I found, the PO's must have gotten "Free Installation". I reused the gasket since the one on the unit was better than the Camco one I ordered.

I did not use a drain pan. The water is just going to run down the side. I think that Inland RV makes a drain pan for the several air conditioners.