No way to remove furnace

[racin500]

2007 Everest 295TS, Keystone did not put an access door on the outside to get the furnace out. I removed the wall in the storage area and found that the unit was built around the furnace. No access door on the outside, rear butts up to the HWH, the toilet waste blocks one side and the sink waste blocks the other!

It sits under the bathroom so no access there.

I am thinking that I might buy/install the access door and cut out the side of the RV to get to it. The Montana model which is the same as Everest back then got the access installed at the factory.

[chuckster57]

Access doors on the exterior of an RV to remove a furnace are not something any manufacturer puts in as a rule.
If there is a grate for fresh air to reach the furnace, then access is usually through there.

I would think about removing an interior panel before I did any cutting on the exterior. In all my years working on a whole bunch of different brands/models, I have yet to see exterior access doors installed.
There are two basic brands of furnaces, and one has a cover that you remove and then you can pull the furnace out, the other has only the two "ports" and those come out from inside the coach.

[racin500]

Hi Chuckster. I wish there was another access but there isn't. I would have to cut the 2 waste pipes. Wish I had taken a picture. Mine is the Atwood, upright style. Can't get at the back side to remove the screws that hold it to the floor without taking out the HWH.

[Ken / Claudia]

Sounds like most motor vehicles nowdays. So darn many things I need to fix or replace take hours just to take all the stuff off that is in the way. My suggestion would be to have someone else take a look before you cut pipes, maybe a different eye might have a better way without cutting pipes. Plastic pipes can be repaired but, you need space to make the repair.

[ctbruce]

Post some pictures of what you are seeing. That will help. In seconding Chuckster, there is no vented grate on the inside of your unit? It has to draw fresh air from somewhere.

[Dave W]

While the furnace in our 5er would be a bear to remove, it will come out via the basement after removing the bulkhead and quite possibly one or both tank vents, neither of which would present more then a minor problem with a few ABS couplings and some ABS cement plus juggling some wiring just to make it more interesting. That approx. 12x16 inch outside cover is mostly for combustion air and exhaust plus access to the burner adjustment and thermocouple.

Post some pictures and someone will help

[racin500]

Well, turns out the furnace was not the problem. I disconnected the furnace and still had fuse blowing. Pulled the breaker panel to check for loose wire. Surprise, Keystone tied the refrigerator into the same fuse as furnace. Removed the frig wire and furnace started working. Now the frig looks like the problem. Nope! Inside the frig Keystone tapped the power to a light circuit. Frig works fine. Found the problem. Pinched wires in one of the slide outs. The whole bundle is torn up. Mix of 12v and 120v going to the fireplace slide out. Not a great thing since we were heading out this weekend but much better than a new/repair on a furnace or frig.

[chuckster57]

Glad you got it figured out. Now to get it fixed. If it makes you feel any better, keystone isn't the only ones that do that stuff with 12V circuits.

[gkainz]

glad you found it! I started chasing some goofy wiring last winter and still haven't completely resolved it, but it includes ceiling lights tied into fridge circuit, and other wiring (undetermined yet) circuits coming from fuses that aren't what's marked on the panel.

[Dave W]

Glad to hear you found the messed up wiring. So far, ours is OK, but I wish that whoever identified the circuits had written the breaker info English instead of Cyrillic

[Johnny's Journey]

Originally Posted by Dave W

but I wish that whoever identified the circuits had written the breaker info English instead of Cyrillic

Even if it was English it doesn't necessarily mean that fuse covers just that one thing. I had a tap coming off my furnace and thought what does this power up? Found it. Now the fuse is marked Furnace/Hood Vent.