Acess Panels in Belly Pan

[Ag&Au]

Has anyone thought of placing access panels in strategic places in the belly pan? I would like to have access to the under floor area and frame for installing new wires , etc. I was thinking maybe something with stainless steel Dzus fasteners. Any ideas?

Regards,
Ken

[truckasaurus]

I thought about doing something similar but instead installed the belly pan in sections so that anything flat can be removed without affecting the compound curved sections.

[walt c]

Speaking of access panels,I'm looking for a source of aluminum hinged units with snap locks to secure. Anyone know of a source for built up units that just need riveted in?

[fmr.capt.evi]

My dealer (Bill Thomas in St. Louis), installed access panels beneath the black & gray dump valves, to provide easy access to the sensors, (which unfortunately, go bad quite frequently), at a reasonable price. (Just FYI, the fresh tank sensor in the 25FB is accessed from inside the trailer).

[Kistler]

I sort of have one on the right side of the step as you face the door. Dillons in Apache Junction cut a flap and reattached the flap with a screw after putting a new bolt in the step--under warranty

Since then I have had to unscrew the flap and tighten the bolt twice. I believe I need an access door

[fotochop]

I think another nice place to have one would be under the refrigerator. Every few years you could unbolt the burner and clean it out then reattach (with never-seize and stainless bolts) without pulling the unit out of the interior...

[Jim Foster]

I needed to get to the dump valve on our Caravel. I found that a PO had needed to get to that area and had installed two removable panels, and had updated the dump valve. They were held in with pop rivets, but a 1/8" bit made short work of them and I was in to make the needed repair.
Sometimes we get lucky.
Thank you PO.

[DreamStreamr]

We spent an entire day inspecting our prospective CCD 25 before turning over the correction list to the selling dealer. Somehow it completely escaped us, in our newbie condition, to spend as much time looking under the belly pan and at the back of the wheels.

What would we have found? Broken wire to an electric brake? Poorly attached lines on the belly pan? How about the approx 18" X 18" access panel under the toilet? I haven't needed to open it and only guess maybe they must have been looking for something they lost there. Or repairing a frozen line?

I found it two years later when I happened to look up after repairing a wire to the streetside rear wheel brake.

Anyway, anywhere I need an access panel I'll rivet a flat aluminum piece with 2" lap and butyl or other sealing tape between. Hopefully I can do my repair well enough I won't plan to go back in again.

Jim