HELP '78 Sovereign - Disassembly of Center Bath Interior for Water Heater Replacement

[87MH]

I need some help - I have searched the repair Forums and have not found this particular problem mentioned.

I need to remove the large plastic panel adjacent to the toilet in my '78 Sovereign Center Bath. The panel in question is No. 15 in the pic below (double click on the pic to open full size in a separate window).

The AS Manual says to remove the trim panels, drill out the rivets, and remove the panel.....anyone have any idea on how to remove the trim panels?

I assume they are glued in place, but I cannot find a place to get a knife between them and the aluminum extrusion. The trim panels are perfectly flat, but I can feel behind them, and I think I have found all of the rivets, I just cannot figure out how to disassemble the trim panels so I can drill the rivets.

The AS manual says, "remove the panel adjacent to the shower in order to access the water lines for disassembly and removal of the water heater"....

Bull Hockey - ain't no way a "normal" person can get a wrench behind there to remove the flare nuts from the water connections on the water heater.

[LI Pets]

Dennis, the key part to get out is the alum on the left side of that panel, not from the formed fiberglass that stays as one piece.

"The AS manual says, "remove the panel adjacent to the shower in order to access the water lines for disassembly and removal of the water heater"...."

This is piece of luan to the left that also comes out.

If I recall it is also screwed into the floor, it will come out by bringing the bottom edge towards you.

When your done the fibgass #15 and the alum are one part, the luan the other.

I assume you removed the toilet

If not I hope you know a good chiropractor

[Zeppelinium]

the "trim piece" is a strip of flexible plastic, but with age it gets a little bit brittle. When new, you can hook something thin under one end and bend it into a "U" shape to get it out of the channel. If it's your original plastic from '78 it'll probably crack. You can get replacement strips for this from almost any RV parts store, although the color may not be perfect.

I'd go ahead and damage the trim plastic and remove it so you can get to the rivets. Once you put it all back together you can worry about replacing the trim, except sometimes if you plan the last piece right, you can slide all the trim back into the aluminum extrusions before the last piece makes that impossible.

Zep

[87MH]

Zep:

Thanks for the info - I was able to remove the plastic cover and drill out the hidden rivets....removed the large panel and was able to back off the flare nuts....

Mission accomplished!