Removing the holding tank cover

gtfiver

I’m going to need to remove my holding tank cover on my Cameo. Looks like there are about a billion screws and the cover is approximately the size of Rhode Island. I’d appreciate any hints/tips about how to make the job as manageable as possible from anyone who has had the pleasure of doing this. Thanks in advance.

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Posted: 5:49 AM – Jan 08, 2013

zachlaplante

I’ve removed mine twice. The screws are all into bar stock, as opposed to sheet metal, so they are fairly tight. An electric screw driver is going to make this much easier. Also, my cover will not come completely off, the tank discharge is through a hole in the cover. You will be able to drop it down and work around it. The hard part is getting it back up. All the holes have to align. I used a pick to line up the hole next to the screw I was putting in and that lined up the hole I was working on. Keep your screwdriver torque low so you don’t strip the screws going in.

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Posted: 6:31 AM – Jan 08, 2013

gtfiver

Thanks, that’s a great tip about using a pick or awl to help line up the holes. When replacing, did you do the corners first or did you just work you way down a side a hole at a time?

I had my holding tanks replaced at the factory during the “great tank swap” event, and the new holding cover they put on has two sections, a fairly small area through which the discharge and valve rods pass, then a much larger area to cover everything else. So I think I should be able to completely drop the large section.

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Posted: 7:23 AM – Jan 08, 2013

JohnD222

Can I ask why you are removing this cover?

Regarding putting screws back in, it is good practice to get them all in and started just a bit before you tighten down any.

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Posted: 7:44 AM – Jan 08, 2013

gtfiver

It’s a little embarrasing. At the end of our holiday trip we had one final overnight en route to our home in SC. Kim accidentally left the water running slowly in the stoppered kitchen sink while we went out to walk the dog. When we returned, soapy water was running out the front door. Fortunately the living room area did not flood, the water mostly collected near the sink and doorway before running down below. Quite a bit of the water found its way into the holding tank cover. I was able to drain it out because the cover is in two sections as I described above, but the insulation is still very wet. So I suspect I’ll have to take the cover off and replace the insulation before it becomes moldy.

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Posted: 7:09 PM – Jan 08, 2013

zachlaplante

I didn’t pay much attention to the order for taking out the screws, or putting them back in. As I recall, I started at one point and just went around the cover. I think the main motivation was convenience since I was working on my back. I did block the cover up while removing and reinstalling so I didn’t have to deal with the cover weight.

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Posted: 9:42 AM – Jan 09, 2013

A&J’s Carrilite

I had to drop the cover on the ’96 532RKS that we had. I put a 2’6 across the cover supported by a floor jack. Undid the bizillion screws ( about half wrung off) and used the jack to lower the cover.
We had a leak in the gray tank vent where it entered the tank, so the insulation was nasty to say it nicely. It was an easy job overall, fixed the seal, reinsulated around the tanks, lubed the dump valve cables, and reinstalled. I drilled new holes and used sheetmetal screws instead of using the self tapping ones like the factory used.

B.W.Gentry
Owner/Admin
2007 Carri-Lite XTRM5
Breckenridge, TX

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Did you get your holding tank cover off?

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