In my coach there is a storage bay door to the rear of the drive wheels on the driver's side. Open the door and there is an empty space. You can see the transmission. The space available behind the bay door is more than 2 ft tall, about two feet deep and just over 16 inches wide.
It looked like a perfect place for an extra storage bay for some of that stuff that you may not use very often but want to have along.
So I looked, measured, drew, measured, redrew and finally settled on an idea. I took my drawings up to my friendly welding and machine shop. He looked them over and said "They will be ready next week". So I picked up an aluminum box and two support brackets yesterday afternoon. I painted the brackets last night.
It was a perfect day for this project, sunny and upper 60's. Normal high temps this time of the year are in the 40's. So late this morning I got everything ready for the install. The support brackets hook over a frame rail just below the floor and attach to the bottom of the steel frame around the bay door to support the box. The box fits into the steel frame around bay door openong and is attached to the frame on all four sides. An isolating wrap separates the steel frames from the aluminum box. A generous bead of caulk was applied to the steel frame and the aluminum box was slid into place. Some minor adjustments were made to get the box in position as the screws were inserted. The support brackets were attached at the lower bay door frame, bolts going through the aluminum box, the lower bay door frame and the support brackets.
With 15 years of road grime cleaned off the inside of the bay door and an adjustment to the latch I now have a new watertight storage bay. Total cost was about $250 including screws, fasteners, caulk and paint. Total time, coach out of the barn to back into the barn was just under three hours.
Awesome project! Have you redone your wet bay Roger? Love to see it if you have.
Great Project! What was that door for, and why didn't the factory finish it off as a storage bay? Looks like the same general location as the house battery racks on our GV. Pretty strange that it was just totally open behind the door...
I have the same exact bay on my coach. It is opposite the chassis batteries. I would love to turn it into a bay also.
Jeff,
Glad you asked! If I were doing it again I would use aluminum instead of stainless. Cheaper, easier to work with, lighter.
Recent third dump valve installations (split from another topic) (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=25056.msg197677#msg197677)
Chuck,
Our batteries are on the other side. The doors are the same size. It might have been an option. The battery rack was a starting point for the design. Having that space open makes getting in there to work on stuff pretty easy. The new box fits with the OEM muffler. Even with the box in place I can still get (squeeze) in there. I have to see how it gets used and for what. A couple of shelves might be nice or a drawer.
John,
Send me an email address, I'll send you my plans. Any good sheet metal shop can make the parts.
Noticed on an'01 at MOT that there was no bay, only the door. My '03 has the bay....
You guys are years behind as I posted that storage area that I did 5 or 6 yrs ago. Nothing new here and I did it with Aluminum too- and a shelf in middle. Way behind the times- sorry. I also have a removable one opposite side over the Batteries with a slide out draw no less. It is also totally removable (complete box) in about 30 seconds to be able to get to batteries and fuel filter and primer pump. Ho hum !!!
JohnH
Plus, on 320's if you remove 55 gal muffler and install resonator, you have another 3 or 4 cubic foot for storage!
Sorry to have wasted your time, John.
Edited by Roger...
I never said it was an original idea just new work by me on my coach.
Lots of folks read the "front page" and like to see what is going on right now. It gives them ideas about what is possible, starts the thinking going. And then they start doing or maybe looking at "old news" for other ways of doing it. I am just sharing, trying to help. It is not a competition to see who does what first or best.
Here is a link to the project John referred to.
extra storage space at rear (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=12469.msg65354#msg65354)
I removed muffler years ago( think I was about the 3rd to do it too) and this was after I put that storage container in.
JohnH
Not wasted it Roger just that it has been done long time ago, so wondered why all the hoop la from some members. I guess they are newbies??.
JohnH
I am working on an item I saw on the Realms( and I think it is an option on the IH45s too) while in NAC last November that Ruth today called COOL. Have it about 50% finished and will be installing them mid next week. I have taken a few pictures of the stages and will post it all next week sometime. Some will think it nice and others will not I guess but hey, whatever!!!
I need to find things to do to fill my time.
JohnH
After installing my resonator I installed a S/S wire basket that holds all my sewer hoses and adaptors. Four bolts hold it in place and can get to eng batteries easyly.
Good work guys on your storage mods, sometimes forum threads need to be refreshed.
Many don't know what they're missing let alone do a search for it.
Good job Roger and thanks for sharing the information. It doesn't make any difference if you "re-invented the wheel"; what is important is that you came up with an idea that was useful, followed through and then shared it.
This is true, John, we have new members joining the Forum every day. For their benefit, when you say "I did that same exact mod xx years ago", you might also include a link to your original "tutorial" post. That would save a lot of time for new members who would like to benefit from
your particular skills and knowledge. It is difficult to search the Forum for a thread on some clever modification, if you don't know the thread exists...
So John, any details on your muffler bay avaiable.. like Roger said.. I send the drawings.. ^.^d
Every time someone does something "new" to their coach it adds to the overall body of knowledge. Keep it up. Our bay in that location has the safe hanging down right in the middle. behind that, to the center of the coach is the isolator that is almost impossible to get to. Any ideas on that would be most welcome.
Slow down, Rick and Robyn, take a deep breath. Have a nice day.
Roger, thanks again and a question
A 2001 i saw five years ago had a storage added behind duals, i guess similar you did. I asked tech about any reasin I not do that and he said makes it really hard to get to shocks.
But I guess have to change those very seldom, maybe that not importsnt? Anything else that might impact? Is the storage removable fairly easily if had to? Is that where the ride height adjusts? I do like opening that door to look at engine, tranny things but i could ask Jackie to crawl under and look around for possible problems!
With muffler gone, seems time to revisit...thanks for details on how to do this...maybe get to see it before long.
Good Morning Mike.
I thought about access for service to areas behind or in front of the box. Changing the shocks or adjusting the ride hight or air bag service or almost anything else in that corner would be easier without the box there. Removing the box would take maybe an hour assuming the caulk breaks free easily. I have a new 4/0 cable to run from the front to the battery isolator at the foot of the bed. Threading it through there will be easier without the box I will give the in and out a try this summer. Maybe I will do shocks then too but we are just at 70K miles. Air bags are good as well.
The box could be built with most of the front side removable from inside the box for access.
With the coach raised up all the way and the safety blocks in place, the aluminum box fits under the side of the coach.
Roger
Great job Roger!
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Roger, looks great, and thanks for posting it.
Very similar to what Roger did except I added a thin wall alum'n angle around the front opening of box to seal against the inside of fibre glass panel.
John H
Roger, sorry about sounding harsh last night it was not meant to discredit etc.
My '03 295 came from the factory with bay there. So there must not be a need for an access hatch.
Ever since I removed the muffler and replaced it with a resonator, I've thought about adding a wire basket like Richard did. All I need is a round tuit.
The older we get, the harder it is to find those; Snap-On doth not make them anymore. ^.^d
Only thing I might do to the box is paint the outer part with a bed liner or undercoat spray.Then with the leftover paint the safe.
Nice job Roger!!!
Here are sketches of my box and brackets. If you are going to do this you must verify the dimensions of your bay door frame opening. I left about 1/8' for clearance. It was a close fit. Your coach may be different so check the dimensions to the coach frame rail and all other clearances as well. I also had to remove a corner of an angle iron welded to the coach frame at the upper rear corner of the bay door frame, maybe 1/4" x 3/4".
With the coach all the way up the box will side underneath from the side and rotate up into position.
The brackets hang on the frame and are bolted to the bottom of the door frame. They need to be made in two parts in order to get them over the frame. Test the fit to verify that the bottom of the frame rails are square to the bay door opening so that the box will sit on the rails.
The box has some very heavy tape wrapped around the outside at the front edge and along the bottom where it sits on the rails.
Slide the rails towards the front of the coach out of the way and put the box into the bay door opening using a bucket and a 2x4 for support. I left about 1/8" for clearance. It was a nice fit. When you are happy with the fit slide the box back and put a bead of good caulk (ie 3M 4000) all the way around and then slide the box back into place.
I started with a screw in the lower sides and then made sure it was where I wanted at the top and then a screw on each side near the top. If all is OK then finish with the side and top screws.
Then I crawled under and repositioned the brackets where I wanted them, clamped then at the bottom of the bay door frame, drilled a ¼' hole through the box, the door frame and the bracket and got the ¼' bolt started and tight. Then I tightened up the bolts under the coach frame rail. Some extra caulk clean up and it was done.
Roger
I also added a new compartment this past January. Like what others have done, I had a welder install a cage made out of 3/4 angle iron and then I cut and epoxyed 1/2 in plywood for the the walls and floor. I installed a central vac and a water softener. It has been ideal for the vac but too hot for the water softener. I will be moving the softener to above the water pump, as soon as I get a free weekend. It is an ideal location for the central vac, as I could install the central vac outlet in the foot of the bed, directly above the new compartment. Very easy to drill the hole in the floor and just enough room in the foot of the bed.
I've never messed with a water softener, so I ask this question out of both ignorance and curiosity: In what way is being in a "hot" compartment bad for the softener?
It probably would be a good place for a vacuum. My plan is to measure the temps in there when we stop once we get going again this winter. I would not keep our water softener in there since it would freeze up here in MN in an unheated bay. I am thinking wheel chocks, a 120v compressor, my 50ft 50 amp extension cord and things like that. Not frequently used but handy when you need them.
Our water softener works well. Recharges with ordinary table salt in less than 1/2 hour after about 800 gallons. Our incoming water goes through three filters and the water softener and into the tank. Almost all of our water use is from the tank using the pump. We fill the tank about once a week and put the fill kit away. We have been in some places where the water was very bad. In those places especially we are glad to have the softener and filters.
I don't know but given that the compartment gets hot I worry about what that might be doing to the resin in the softener. Maybe no problem but I want to move it to above the water pump because it is a heated compartment and I will not need a separate hose.
Ken, do you have a resonator installed in place of the Muffler? If you do not then that will make the compartment hot. Change out that big monstrosity and do what a lot of us have. The temp drop is very large and it makes the bed cooler too.
JohnH
No excuses any more, round tuits and other very usefull hard to find parts.
Search Results : KaleCoAuto.com, Your home for the rare, unusual, and hard... (http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=a6HtOeouH2j6xZ0WFGEyY3&keyword=round+tuit)
grab a cold one and enjoy
Back to the storage box's on our coach, I meant to post a picture of the one over Batteries that I did at same time as other but have added a slide out drawer since that time. So for what ever it is worth here it is. I can remove the complete unit in less than 30 seconds to get at fuel filter/primer and of course the Batteries.
JohnH
John,
That is very cool! Thanks for the inspirational images. Good engineering and,---with a few mods, THAT could be a very hot Turbo Chili Cooker like "those bad hands" did on big Cats in the Oil Field.
Bad spot for a beer cooler, right?
Paul, this storage is on opposite side to the resonator which does not get anywhere near as warm as the old Muffler. It is right behind passenger rear duals so lots of air movement.
JohnH
John, I have not swapped to a resonator. That is another project on my very long list. Thanks for the suggestion.