Engine Compartment Access

[dfp]

You almost have to be a contortionist to gain access to the front of the engine via the small hood opening. I have removed the springs from both sides of the hood and then I use a stick to hold the door up, my gain is just a couple of inches. Anyone have other solutions?

[270S]

Originally Posted by dfp

You almost have to be a contortionist to gain access to the front of the engine via the small hood opening. I have removed the springs from both sides of the hood and then I use a stick to hold the door up, my gain is just a couple of inches. Anyone have other solutions?

Use the blue slide the dealer never explained to me. Also, I go under the front end cap and stand up inside - tight, but I manage.

[dfp]

I do not have that Blue Slide and the Dealer does not know what this is nor carries Forest River any longer. Is this something that I can get directly from Forest River? Further, my poor old body cannot move well enough to crawl under the front cap.

[dfp]

I contacted Celestino at Forest River and he is checking if the blue pieces from your picture are applicable to my rig.

[KEliasz]

Originally Posted by dfp

I contacted Celestino at Forest River and he is checking if the blue pieces from your picture are applicable to my rig.

I don't have a blue holder piece either

[JTseed]

Yup, got the same access problem on mine and nothing to hold it open. But hey the design engineer thoughtfully installed a light on the drivers side of the engine compartment so I at least see the battery on the passengers side that I can't get to check the fluid level...... Also thinking about taking a photo of the Mickey Mouse stick propping open the access panel (which boldly shows the Forest River & Georgetown brand names) and sending it to the Forest River Marketing folks. Probably not the best product advertising message when other campers stop by to ask what the hell are you doing.

So getting serious, I have just started looking for some bigger springs to replace the original ones on the access panel. My hope is that larger springs will keep the door up without the need for the so professional looking 1x2 makeshift prop stick. If the bigger spring quest works, will post again about the results.

[dfp]

We are still on the road but Forest River Customer Service said that they would send me one of the blue brackets when I got home. The trouble with the bracket is that it was designed for later rigs, newer than my 2015 so I might have to do some modification. We will see as I have unhooked the original spring and hinge and clearance is only a little better. Maybe an easier mod would be to install two additional locks the remove the hinge parts altogether. Then when you open the hood the door would completely come off.

[270S]

Before I discovered the blue item and its function, I used 2 1" x 1" x 8" wooden posts to keep up the "engine hood".