Rear permanent bed

[steven d. ferguson]

With all the recent postings about redoing the rear bed I may have to
dust
off my plans to build a hot tub in that area which would have a cover
that
could serve as a water bed. The engine heater loop going to the hot
water
heater could run through the hot tub to keep it ready to use after a
long day
of driving.
Geeze Emery, anyone can see why this won't work. One quick stop &
your rubber duck would be on the dash. As far as the additional weight
goes, perhaps some jackstands with wheels would hepl.
Seriously, I really like the permanent bed idea and I'm going to give
it a whack now that I'm finished with most of the mechanical stuff &
trust the coach. The stupid question I have is how difficult is it to
remove the rear hatch? I have also considered removing the rear window
and replacing it with a sheet of aluminum or steel. This would give me
temporary rear access to build the bed plus take a lot of weight off the
rear of the coach.
Steve Ferguson
San Diego

 

[hdavis]

>trust the coach. The stupid question I have is how difficult is it to
>remove the rear hatch? I have also considered removing the rear window
>and replacing it with a sheet of aluminum or steel. This would give me
>temporary rear access to build the bed plus take a lot of weight off the
>rear of the coach.

I didn't remove my hatch or window to build my bed - but it might have been
easier.

The rear hatch comes off by removing a number of screws from around the
edge. My screws were replaced this summer at Jim Bounds' in order to
eliminate some leaks. It took his guys a few hours and a bunch of sweat to
get the old ones out. Rust is definately not your friend for this job.

Henry

Henry Davis Consulting, Inc / new product consulting
PO Box 1270 / product readiness reviews
Soquel, Ca 95073 / IP reviews
ph: (831) 462-5199 / full service marketing
fax: (831) 462-5198
http://www.henry-davis.com/ http://www.henry-davis.com

 

[jim bounds1]

Henry,

Yea, you can pull off the rear panel and its not as hard as you would
think. It is though extra work that doesn't really give you that much more
access.

Besides, I have found it a crap shoot when trying to reinstall and seal it
to keep from leaking!

We pulled off Mike F. rear panel because we had to access body damage but
you would have to really twist my arm to do it as SOP!

Hey, go for it though, it makes a pretty cool picture for the scrap book.

Jim Bounds
- -------------------

>>trust the coach. The stupid question I have is how difficult is it to
>>remove the rear hatch? I have also considered removing the rear window
>>and replacing it with a sheet of aluminum or steel. This would give me
>>temporary rear access to build the bed plus take a lot of weight off the
>>rear of the coach.
>
>I didn't remove my hatch or window to build my bed - but it might have been
>easier.
>
>The rear hatch comes off by removing a number of screws from around the
>edge. My screws were replaced this summer at Jim Bounds' in order to
>eliminate some leaks. It took his guys a few hours and a bunch of sweat to
>get the old ones out. Rust is definately not your friend for this job.
>
>Henry
>
>Henry Davis Consulting, Inc / new product consulting
>PO Box 1270 / product readiness reviews
>Soquel, Ca 95073 / IP reviews
>ph: (831) 462-5199 / full service marketing
>fax: (831) 462-5198
>http://www.henry-davis.com/ http://www.henry-davis.com
>
>
>

 

[hdavis]

>Henry,
>
>Yea, you can pull off the rear panel and its not as hard as you would
>think. It is though extra work that doesn't really give you that much more
>access.

Thank goodeness I'M NOT planning to take off the rear panel. We just got
the damned thing sealed!

I actually would have liked the theory of building my bed outside and then
just slipping it in place. Unfortunately the theory doesn't match up too
well on the coach interiors in my experience. It appears that while the
interiors were "stock," they weren't the same from a cabinetry standpoint.
SO, what works on paper and what works in the coach often aren't the same.
Modules shift around, they sag, droop, and generally wrack. The resulkt is
that every thing I build is a custom fit to the specific spot.

Henry

Henry Davis Consulting, Inc / new product consulting
PO Box 1270 / product readiness reviews
Soquel, Ca 95073 / IP reviews
ph: (831) 462-5199 / full service marketing
fax: (831) 462-5198
http://www.henry-davis.com/ http://www.henry-davis.com