Forum Discussion

marcindy's avatar
marcindy
Explorer
Apr 12, 2018

Underbelly, reuse or replace?

I have an Open Range Light, 310BHS. The cable that opens/closes the grey dump valves has broken (on both grey tanks), and I need to get access to the underside of the trailer to replace. Like many trailers, there is a plastic material/sheet covering up the bottom.

I have read up on this site about how to remove, however, mine (of course) has nails into the frame vs rivets or scews holding it up. I tried to remove a couple and it doesn't look like fun, especially considering how many are there.

Instead of spending a Saturday trying to pull out nails, should I just cut the old Coroplast out, and install new sections from HomeDepot? The material doesn't seem expensive. I'm not doing the full length of the trailer, maybe 15-20ft.

Thanks in advance on opinions on folks who have done this.
  • stripit's avatar
    stripit
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2018
    I used to have to crawl up into the belly a couple of times for various repairs. I would cut a 3 sided opening, about 2 feet square. The uncut side was at the front facing edge, so the cut flap would hinge down and let me crawl inside. I then used 1x2 wood, laying the 2 inch piece on a edge and screw 1 inch screws into the uncut bottom and the cut pices, It held the cut flap in place after I was done working up inside.I then used some Gorilla tape to tape up the 3 cut pieces to keep any water from entering. Should you need to re-enter the bottom, pull the tape, unscrew the screws and your back in. Fast and easy with no mess.

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