Move storage box

[FishBioGirl]

Hi All! I recently added an electric tongue jack to Bailey. We love it, but it presses against the propane tank cover such that I cannot close the storage box. It seems that there is about an inch and a half of room between the box and Bailey's body that if I moved the box back about an inch, the propane cover would not be a problem. Anyone done this? Seems like I just need new holes in the storage box. I tried a soft cover propane tank cover that looked fine when first put on. It shredded in the back on our outing. Clearly it was junk...
thanks Kris

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by FishBioGirl

Hi All! I recently added an electric tongue jack to Bailey. We love it, but it presses against the propane tank cover such that I cannot close the storage box. It seems that there is about an inch and a half of room between the box and Bailey's body that if I moved the box back about an inch, the propane cover would not be a problem. Anyone done this? Seems like I just need new holes in the storage box. I tried a soft cover propane tank cover that looked fine when first put on. It shredded in the back on our outing. Clearly it was junk...
thanks Kris

Make sure that if you move the box towards the trailer, you still have room for the top to swing when you open it. It moves towards the trailer when opening.

I have the same combination (electric jack, hard tank cover & storage box. While I could still open & close the storage box, it rubbed against the propane tank cover, making it difficult. I finally heated & reformed the back side of the tank cover (it is a thermoplastic) to provide more clearance. There is enough free space between the tanks & the back of the cover to put a 1/2" "dent" in the top.

[bobwirtz]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

I finally heated & reformed the back side of the tank cover (it is a thermoplastic) to provide more clearance.

I would like to do something similar to this, but I have no experience with reshaping thermoplastic. I would appreciate some tips. Is a paint stripping gun a good heat source for this? What are the danger signs that the plastic is getting too hot? Thanks in advance.

[Ron in BC]

I never liked the look of the ETI box and made 2 of my own design but when I got my present one on the 21 for free because I was a returning customer I didn't turn it down.

One thing I never liked was the "falling forward" look. I understand that stemmed from the original box cover that was concave in the center and tilting it let it drain. That's not the case with the current design.

I got the box loose and mounted it myself. I used two wedges between it and the frame. Sorry, no access to the photos. The box stands upright with the lid level. The extra space I gained was enough to mount a second sewer type storage tube between the box and the shell.

Try undoing the box and standing it upright. It might solve your problem.

Ron

[Rossue]

Replacing the stock front box lid edging with 1/8" material also helps:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Mark B1]

I detailed how I dealt with this in post #8 of the following thread.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ker-21859.html

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by bobwirtz

I would like to do something similar to this, but I have no experience with reshaping thermoplastic. I would appreciate some tips. Is a paint stripping gun a good heat source for this? What are the danger signs that the plastic is getting too hot? Thanks in advance.

When I tried to get it warm enough with just a 1500 watt heat gun, it couldn't do it. I put an electric heater inside aimed at the front and used the heat gun on the outside.

The plastic will turn "rubbery" when it reaches the forming temperature. It will actually melt & smoke if you get it too hot. Even heat is necessary; don't hold the gun in just one small spot. You need to hold the plastic in the new shape while it cools (it will be too hot to do this by hand). I used a couple of 1" X 4"s.

[Mark B1]

Originally Posted by bobwirtz

I would like to do something similar to this, but I have no experience with reshaping thermoplastic. I would appreciate some tips. Is a paint stripping gun a good heat source for this? What are the danger signs that the plastic is getting too hot? Thanks in advance.

That is what I used. If you look at my post above I give a link to more details.