Hidden Spaces

[Ron in BC]

Over the years many folks doing mods have had to run cables and wiring from front to back etc. through hidden spaces. There have been several mentions of these spaces over the years but I thought that it might be useful to compile some of them into one thread.

Some of the spaces relate to Gen 1 19s and some to Gen 2 21s. There are differences between the 19 and 21 and some things in common.

My most recent opening up of a hidden space was the under counter area of my 21 so that I could run wiring for an alarm system.

So I'll go through the separate hidden areas in this order: under counter area in a Gen 1 19, under counter area of a Gen 2 21, hidden areas on drivers side of a 19 and then a 21.

 

[Ron in BC]

Gen 1 owners have a huge usable hidden space under the counter. ETI put a "back wall" in the under counter space straight up from the inside of the wheel wells. On Gen2s the back wall only goes up to the top of the wheel wells and the shelf over them goes right out to the shell. There isn't a huge hidden space like the Gen1s have.

On my Gen1 19 I needed a secure out of the way spot to carry some, umm, long objects.

I bought a door from ETI and opened up the end of the kitchen counter by the door. That gave me access to the hidden area that is about a foot wide and the full length of the counter. In my case I wanted an out of sight secure storage area so I put a piece of plywood on top of the wheel wells and installed a hidden access panel. The lockable steel door is covered by a plywood panel held on by magnets. I considered the storage area to be pretty secure.

So for Gen1 owners looking for such a space, that's how it works. For Gen1 owners that'd just like some more under the counter space there's no reason not to simply cut the "back wall" horizontally and put a piece of plywood the whole length of the counter greatly expanding the under counter space. That would also give access to the space between the two wheel wells.

So, lot's of unused space in Gen1s if you want to use it.

Ron

 

[Ron in BC]

Gen2 under kitchen counter

I've installed an alarm system and I needed to wire from the PS dinette area up to the door. I could have run them on top of the shelf but I'd like them to be out the way. Running them through the hidden area lets them emerge right at floor level by the door.

Sort of knew generally what to expect but I did need to drill two holes 4" in diameter, large enough for my hand. Drilling into a blind space always has a bit of risk involved because you might hit something unknown, like wiring.

The two holes, front and rear did provide the needed access and showed a few usable details. They allowed me to run my wires, as planed, from the dinette area and emerge at floor level by the door.

The space above the wheel wells was a little larger than I expected as there's several inches clearance above the wheel wells. Not as usable as the Gen1 but still potentially usable.

The photo looking in at the electrical box is a bit mis-leading. It makes the area look more shallow than it is. The actual distance from the panel to the rear of the box is 11"

At the front there's two sets of wires visible. I'm presuming that they're for the exterior light and the master light switch. There's a 12 volt drop on one of them. Didn't seem to have power but I don't need it so I didn't trouble shoot it.

So, different space than Gen1s but still a usable amount of space. Opening a hatch at the mid-point would provide a good storage space between the wheel wells for extra food etc.

So, anyone who wants to use this space for storage or running wires etc. this is what you're working with.

1. rear of space and exterior electrical box
2. rear bottom of space
3. length way shot from rear
4. front hole
5. looking towards rear
6. 12 volt drop
7. cover plate

Ron

 

[Ron in BC]

Gen1 19 drivers side, front to back

At first blush it almost looks impossible to run wires front to back and past the bathroom shell. The side of which appears to be very close to the wall of the trailer.

But there's clear passage there, it's just a little tricky unless you use a couple of tricks. First is using something to pull a wire through. But that's short sighted. The best thing to do is get a double length cord pulled through and then it can stay in place and you can use it for repeated cables and wires, even if you don't know what you might want to do in the future.

The first step, that makes it much easier, is to cut a small cutout in the top of the rear panel under the fridge. It gives you much better visibility and you can grab whatever you push through more easily. I found that a flexible batten, (marked with a red X in the photos,) worked really well. It helps if there's all sort of wiring etc. along the way just waiting to foul your passage. The advantage of the batten, held on edge, is that you can lift up the hidden end and clear whatever's in the way.

Might take several tries but there is a clear passage.

The bottom of the fridge cavity is the roof of the space. This allows cables from the roof to come down the fridge chase into the hidden space and then along to the front.

Ron

 

[Ron in BC]

Gen2 21C Drivers side front to rear

The easiest way by far to run wires etc. along this area is to remove the rear panel forming a "rear wall" underneath the furnace. It takes some care to remove but you may not want to replace it. With it removed the area doubles in usable size and you can reach around the corner and put rarely used things, like spares, in the wheel well space between the wheels.

As the photo shows the passage is clear from this space all the way to the rear bulkhead by the dinette. This gives access to the side of the shelf that holds the furnace. If the goal is to run wires further forward the easiest thing to go is to remove the panel at the foot of the bed. As I mentioned previously it's possible to pry this panel off without damage. It's also possible to put it back in place without the need for fasteners. It snaps into place and is easily removable. It makes a good place to put valuables out-of-sight.

Ron

 

[Ron in BC]

Corner battens

Not exactly hidden space, more like hidden wires. Lot's of folks have done this when wanting to run wiring vertically.

Pop off the plastic cap and undo one screw and the batten is off. The butt joint of the wall foam and vinyl can be used to push wires in out of the way.

The bottom of the upper cabinet is hollow but it's easy enough to get wires through.

I did this to install captains lights in the corners.

Ron

 

[HABBERDABBER]

On my Gen 1 E19, I removed the paneling inside of the small cabinet beneath I believe the refrigerator. That opened up space to store a compact 12V vacuum and water jugs. The panel hides a wheel well. There's lots of space there.

 

[Ron in BC]

Absolutely, back in the past when more folks were doing mods some removed all the backs and lined the opened up space with vinyl or carpet.

Ron

 

[Ron in BC]

Cubbies

Knowing that there was probably usable space under the cubbies proved too irresistible to ignore.

So I cut out an opening and sure enough it's usable as an extra cubbie. You can never have enough cubbies.

No interactions with anything.

It also allows you to see the water supply and drain for the bathroom sink. Not sure this access will ever be needed but at least I know where and what it is.

I thought that it might be useful to some folks in the future after I've pulled my Escape off into the sunset to have this information in one place.

Ron