How to reach fuses

[Chuck.C]

I need to replace a fuse in the box way forward under the dash, and can't figure out how to reach it. Has anyone managed to do this?
It was easy on my old Winnebago that had a driver doorway.

[BigHomey]

Find a skinny 10 year old to go in there for you. When I did some wiring under my dash, I found it easiest to remove the drivers seat.

AL

[Chuck.C]

Thanks
I hoped for an easy way I overlooked.
Guess the seat will have to come off.


Another fail for Coachmen Engineering. (yes, I know Ford built the chassis that way, but they should have allowed some kind of reasonable access).

[kenandterry]

I find myself fortunate to be relatively slim. Slim enough that, for the very few times I’ve had to work in that fuse block, I can shimmy into and out of the area like a caterpillar moves along. It’s an acquired talent......thank you very much.

Biggest tip I can offer.....move the driver’s seat as far back as possible, then move the lever to turn the seat approximately 45 degrees to give the most clearance.

PS. Have your cellphone handy enough to call to have someone haul you out if you find you get stuck.

[Chuck.C]

Well, I've looked all over, and I can't find anything that tells me that only thin and very flexible people should buy and maintain this coach.
I guess I should have bought it 50 years ago when I still had a 30" waist.
They had to move it as they built the coach out. Why not put it somewhere more accessible?

[kenandterry]

If you’ve ever seen a “stripped” F53 chassis when it arrives at Winnebago, Thor or Forest River to be made into a Class A motorhome, you’d see that there’s not much more than a partial firewall to attach the fuse block too.

A stripped chassis has a steering wheel, gas and brake pedals, a large bag full of dash controls, wiring, vent hosing, and not much else. To drive it, you either do it standing up, or you can sit on an apple crate. Everything else in front, is the pure engine compartment that will never be in the cab when it’s completed.

That pretty well creates the location we get stuck with for future access.

[Chuck.C]

I stand corrected. Apparently Ford shipped the chassis with the carpeting already installed against the firewall. Oh, there's not enough slack for the box to move? All kinds if varied wiring under there, how tough is one more cable to make it serviceable?

[Bytesponge]

Originally Posted by Chuck.C

Thanks
I hoped for an easy way I overlooked.
Guess the seat will have to come off.


Another fail for Coachmen Engineering. (yes, I know Ford built the chassis that way, but they should have allowed some kind of reasonable access).

Removing the seat definitely easier for my 2017 Coachmen/Pursuit.
Had to do it more than once over the past years for a simple fuse change.

Bytesponge

[Oakwood Farms]

I’ll be honest, I’m NOT, a little guy!
I DON’T know any skinny people, that can help me change a fuse!
And it’s a fact, that if that panel has just ONE, blown fuse, that’s one fuse too many, to change!!
What I have to resort to doing, is letting the slide out, laying the driver’s seat ALL the way back, to as flat as possible, then laying on my back, slide my body upside down, under the dash, and change the fuse as quickly as possible, before all the blood rushes to my brain, and passing out!!
I feel your pain when it comes to changing fuses too!

[scotttkd]

After having the same complaint, I removed the screws that hold it to the firewall, and eased it out to the side and mounted it there. I lucked out and there was plenty of loose wire attached to move it easily.

[Chuck.C]

Thanks. I finally recruited my thinner grandson to crawl in and check the fuses. No luck with that, so I'll start another thread on the symptoms and hope for ideas. When he's back for Christmas I may see about relocating the box.