Rear Engine access cover - essential or not??

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Tony Lee
Member
Posts: 539
Building the new living quarters on a subframe behind the driver's cab, it would be very convenient to pretend that this hatch was never really necessary (after all, the tray would have to be removed to get at it in the single cab configuration).

What sort of maintenance and repair jobs is this hatch ESSENTIAL for.
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Tony

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October 27, 2011 at 2:14 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Peter & Sandra James Oka 374
Member
Posts: 412
Tony
I know where you are coming from, I looked long and hard at the same thing when deciding on the interior layout for the camper. After pulling it off and looking at what sort of access it created when removed I decided to work around it so that with a minimum of extra disassembly it could still be removed.
If you had to do any work on the intake or exhaust manifolds and turbo it would make the job much easier, the same goes for gearbox removal and getting at the back of the engine.
Most trays would only be mounted in half a dozen spots so wouldn't be that hard to remove but access to the rear of the engine would be easier on a tray as well.
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Oka 374 LT Van

October 27, 2011 at 5:54 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
Tony I agree, try and keep it accessible if possible. I've only taken mine out once in 5 years but to access the items Peter mentioned, plus the hydraulic reservoir, axle breathers, lift pump, air filter to turbo pipe work and dual battery switch wiring, it would be invaluable.
I built a shower recess behind the drivers seat which covers part of the engine access panel so I fitted aluminium rails so it can be slid out from behind the shower. I also cut and re-glued the lower section of the shower wall so that can also be removed for access if really necessary.
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David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148

October 27, 2011 at 11:09 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Tony Lee
Member
Posts: 539
Yeah, well Dammit!! You're probably right.

Now that I have got it off, I can see that it would come in handy for polishing the back part of the engine.

With my layout having the bathroom in the front corner, the 675mm crossways dimension will mean that the left hand 60mm of the hatch won't be available but the rest will be. Nothing much on that side anyway. Can fit a hatch in the front wall and it will be all hidden in the back of part of the kitchen cupboard. Make one of the vertical dividers removable, take out the two sets of drawers and accessibility should be better than it would be in a crew cab.

Might glue some aluminium sheet for thermal and fire protection over the hatch ( which like the front wall is made of 25mm thick fibreglass/foam sandwich) and maybe some engine blanket over that (fitting snugly in the opening), and not even bother putting the current screwed-on hatch back on.
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Tony

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November 1, 2011 at 4:03 PM