CC 38RD Belly panels

[justbob]

Anyone have problems with the belly panels?

Had 2 drop out while driving along I-90 in Wyoming. Just another problem in an ever growing list of problems on our 8 month old 5th wheel.
Insulation all blew out and panels damaged.
Called Coach-Net for help - and once again they were no help. After calling them and waiting 2 hours I called back and they said they couldn't find anyone to help me. Finished pulling the 2 panels completely off and zip-tied the hanging wires - then drove the 20 miles to Sheridan, WY safely. Will jury rig the panels until we can get back home.
I'm sorry but if there is any pride of workmanship at Cedar Creek - they skipped over our unit!

[jwakeman]

Been there and done the same. Last fall some where in OK. The front 2 panels dropped down on one side. Got pulled over and used cargo straps to hold things together until we got to RGV. Got no help from any of the several roadside protection plans I was carrying.


Used 2 1/4 x 1/4 angle iron to hold in place for the trip home. That was our third trip south with this rig.

[spock123]

Originally Posted by jwakeman

Been there and done the same. Last fall some where in OK. The front 2 panels dropped down on one side. Got pulled over and used cargo straps to hold things together until we got to RGV. Got no help from any of the several roadside protection plans I was carrying.


Used 2 1/4 x 1/4 angle iron to hold in place for the trip home. That was our third trip south with this rig.

What plans


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[justbob]

Joe - exact same thing for us, front 2 panels dropped down on one side. Wish I had brought my straps but I didn't. Going to get a few more 1x3 boards to go across the frame and screw every thing to them and duct tape all the seams. Still got about a month and 1500+ miles till we get back home.

[dieselguy]

Sounds like the panels are not screwed to the cross wood 1X2's or the screws have worked their way out. The panels are wide enough to not fall out when flat ... when they aren't screwed into the wood, they bow down and their efective width decreases ... they fall out. Make sure the wood is in place under the metal angle screwed to the frame over the belly pan joints and make sure the panels have a half dozen screws along the width into the wood at each seam.

[mike2wheels]

We lost the panel that sits above the axles while driving through Louisiana. Forest River wanted $600 to freight a replacement. Using Gorilla duct tape I secured a tarp to cover the opening. It's been holding for over a year now.

[jwakeman]

The no help road side plans were from Good Sam and State farm.
What 1x3 boards? Never seen any.
Careful with the screws as where we put one of the angle irons was up tight against a tank. put the v side up and into a down grove on the panel. Made a real tight fit.

[Oaklevel]

I knew there was a reason I do not have belly panels..... Thanks for confirming that.......

[silverback 35ts]

Yes but then you do not have a warm belly either?
The reason for the belly pans is to enclose so it will keep the heat in, and there is a lot of insulation above the pans, tes it is one more thing to go wrong, but it is also one more thing to make it fell more like home. Mine has them also, and yes i have had to fix mine, BUT not because of anything FR did or not did, it was because i needed to replace the sewer valve, and while in there i noticed the mice and made a house so to took all the pans out and redid the who;e belly. (My coach is on a seasonal site so mice are an issue)So to everyone out there it is not just a FR issue it is all coaches with heated bellies, you need to be aware of them being there and also keep an eye on them for dropping (drooping)

[Oaklevel]

Never had a RV in 30 years that had belly panels so I couldn't tell you how good or bad they can be. I just like the idea of being able to see & inspect everything. Have not had a problem being cold but we do not camp below freezing much either.

[Jim34RL]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

Never had a RV in 30 years that had belly panels so I couldn't tell you how good or bad they can be. I just like the idea of being able to see & inspect everything. Have not had a problem being cold but we do not camp below freezing much either.

Our you sure? This is from the PUMA TOY Hauler exterior features list. And I quote "•Darco Wrapped Underbelly" end quote. To me this is covering the underbelly of your unit.

All three of my 5er's have had some type of belly covering for the water and waste tanks. They all advertised that the tank area was heated and or protected some way for freezing prevention. Also this prevents air buffeting of the underneath belly area when travel at 60MPH down the road.

Cedar Creek units do the covering just a little different and in my very humble opinion this is a better option than what the Keystone Cougars have for their underbelly covering.

What people forget is that travel trailers (all types) and motorhomes take extra prevention and work to maintain them. This is just part of RV'ing. My neighbors see me crawling around and walking on the roof working on our 5er all of the times. They think we are nuts for all of the work that I put into the 5er. But than I have a house on wheels and not some flee bit hotel with bed bugs in it.

[dieselguy]

Belly panels or one piece belly pans are common on mid range RV's and up ... they do add insulation value both winter and summer, give a bit more areodynamics benefit, provide a bit of sound deadening, and provide a bit of "critter/insect" deterent. At least on the CC and Silverbacks, there are 1X2 or 1X3 wood strips running IBeam to IBeam above each overlaping joint of the belly panels. They are there to provide something to screw into to sorta keep each pan from bowing down at the seams and falling out. If you drop a panel and feel righ above the astrfoil insulation, there should be a wood strip with in a couple of inches. Make sure they are in place when you put the pan back on and screw a half dozen screws thru both panels at the joint overlap into the wood.
The Darco wrap used widely by many manufacturers is just the flimsy black woven material they attach directly to the bottom flooring to cover the wood or particle board. On RV's like Oaklevel talks about with no belly pan ... if you look up inbetween the frame rails ... you'll see the stuff on the below the flooring right above the cross beams. It has no insulation value, but there is insulation just above it. Darco is on the bottom of most slides as well. Forest River is having issues with it fraying along the edges of the slides.

[Oaklevel]

Originally Posted by Jim34RL

Our you sure? This is from the PUMA TOY Hauler exterior features list. And I quote "•Darco Wrapped Underbelly" end quote. To me this is covering the underbelly of your unit.

All three of my 5er's have had some type of belly covering for the water and waste tanks. They all advertised that the tank area was heated and or protected some way for freezing prevention. Also this prevents air buffeting of the underneath belly area when travel at 60MPH down the road.

Cedar Creek units do the covering just a little different and in my very humble opinion this is a better option than what the Keystone Cougars have for their underbelly covering.

What people forget is that travel trailers (all types) and motorhomes take extra prevention and work to maintain them. This is just part of RV'ing. My neighbors see me crawling around and walking on the roof working on our 5er all of the times. They think we are nuts for all of the work that I put into the 5er. But than I have a house on wheels and not some flee bit hotel with bed bugs in it.

I think I know what I have The wrapped Darco Underbelly is not the sheets of hard material and insulation below the frame covering the tanks etc. My Darco wrap is a material that looks like a black tarp materiel to keep water off the flooring, it is directly under the flooring and on top of the frame. My frame, tanks & piping are exposed with no covering. All our campers have been that way.