Trail-lite Over cab TV Cabinet removal

[Revving455]

New to this RV world, just bought a 21f 2003 Ford base R-vision. discovered a horrible smell which turned out to be mice urine. little creepers elected the camper as their home for a number of years prior to acquiring it.
The smell was coming from over the cab. Since I could not find any information on how this cabinet is secured in place, I figured I would at least give a little.
simply de-staple the plastic headliner under the cabinet. you will expose a few Roberston self-drill screws holding the cabinet in place and slide out (In my case, there were 3 of them, no wonder these things rattles from everywhere!). of course you have to disconnect the AC outlet and such before pulling out.

In my case, the accumulated amount of urine and defecation was really bad. I fiberglass insolation was all removed, all surfaces brushed with cleaners, all crevasses of the fiberglass mold were filled with silicone sealant and surfaces were sprayed with silicon base varnish to seal whatever could remain.
Was not a fun job but well worth it. I replaced the cabinet in location and added 2 thick angle brackets on each side to solidly lock in place.

[rowiebowie]

Welcome to the forum Revving!


What a dirty job. You're very lucky if they just confined their "home" to the one cabinet.

Enjoy your R-vision class c and let us know how it goes.

[Revving455]

Thanks for the good words.
its been a real good learning experience, although painful. Now, I will know what to look for in used RV.

Had to fix a delaminated wall due to a long time small leak from the position light on top of the cab.

made myself a Lifepo4 battery pack and all the necessary goodies to charged it by the alternator, wall outlet or Solar (with a 250W panel) and a 2200W pure sinewave inverter

Replaced all the graphics, windshield, tires, headlight assemblies. it is starting to look decent.

[rowiebowie]

Good work inside and with the lithium battery upgrade.

Outside looks great. Watch that rear over-hang. Those Fords carry a lot of length behind due to shorter wheelbase than Chevies. Make sure there are factory skid plates or add skid rollers and avoid steep driveways.

[Revving455]

Originally Posted by rowiebowie

Good work inside and with the lithium battery upgrade.

Outside looks great. Watch that rear over-hang. Those Fords carry a lot of length behind due to shorter wheelbase than Chevies. Make sure there are factory skid plates or add skid rollers and avoid steep driveways.

very interesting point. had no idea about them 'skid plate'. will definitively check