# Anybody Ever Peek Inside Their Underbelly Cover?



## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

While working on my water pump/accumulator mod and the resulting water leak,







I had to open the underbelly of our 23RS. It wasn't difficult getting part of one side open, but I was a bit surprised at the number of wires and water lines resting on top of the cover. I would think these things should be secured in some way to the frame. Has anybody seen the same in their unit?

I talked to the dealer about swapping out the wrong table we got and he said they could take a look when I come out there. He also thought "things" shouldn't be hanging down like that, but then again, he's just the sales guy!


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Unfortunatly normal


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

I also have taken notice to some of the mess under the underbelly
I quess if you can't see it, It doesn't matter









Don


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

HootBob said:


> I also have taken notice to some of the mess under the underbelly
> I quess if you can't see it, It doesn't matter
> 
> 
> ...


The dealer's reply was this: "maybe you're just looking too closely....nah, just kidding. Bring it in and we'll take a look at it".

I guess I was thinking that somehow I might be talented enough to get the underside hung up on a rock or something in the desert and rip out not only the covering but a bunch of other stuff. I'd most likely rip out the axle first though.

I'll probably just close it up and be done with it.


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

I found it easier to just ignore the temptation to clean it up by telling myself I would never be able to seal the edges as well as they did at the factory.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Insomniak said:


> I also have taken notice to some of the mess under the underbelly
> I quess if you can't see it, It doesn't matter
> 
> 
> ...


The dealer's reply was this: "maybe you're just looking too closely....nah, just kidding. Bring it in and we'll take a look at it".

I guess I was thinking that somehow I might be talented enough to get the underside hung up on a rock or something in the desert and rip out not only the covering but a bunch of other stuff. I'd most likely rip out the axle first though.

I'll probably just close it up and be done with it.
[/quote]

Glad to hear the dealer will take care of it for you

Don


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## Txcamper (Apr 3, 2006)

Loose wires hidding inside the belly cover were seen when I pulled mine down. I would not say they are normal, just Keystone being cheap and not securing them.


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## mbakers (Apr 1, 2006)

Saw the same thing when I was installing the Quickie Flush. Yikes! I checked to make sure there weren't sharp edges rubbing on the wires and reinstalled the bottom cover. Figured it would take more miles for the wires to wear through and cause problems.... In the meantime, I'm going camping.


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

This came up about a year ago when someone else noticed the wires hanging down. I don't remember who pointed this out but I thought it made good sense. Yes, the wires do run here, there and everywhere. They certainly would look nicer if they were neatly bundled and tied back. There is no compelling engineering or sales reason for Keystone to do this since the wires are isolated from wear and tear, they are kept well away from spinning objects, they are not exposed unless you remove the belly and it would cost more money and involve more labor to tie them all back.

Now, this being said, when I dropped my pan earlier this year I did take the opportunity to make everything I could reach nice and tidy. It offends my avionics technician sensibilities to see things all messy. In the end I have to admit it only makes me feel better.

Reverie


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

You mean you don't like they way that this looks???


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## nascarcamper (Jan 27, 2005)

The underbelly is there to hide the fact they saved time and money by running the wires and water lines carelessly and they can also use it as a marketing tool. Win for them lose for you.


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## GoVols (Oct 7, 2005)

When I peeked in while installing my Tornado Flush, it dawned on me that their assembly process was to: 1) attach the belly pan to the frame, 2) seal the edges with the black foam, then 3) start running wires and plumbing, 4) lay the decking in place with pass-thru holes for wiring/plumbing. The attached belly pan allowed them to just "drop" the wiring down and not have to spend time/money securing it in place.


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

GoVols said:


> When I peeked in while installing my Tornado Flush, it dawned on me that their assembly process was to: 1) attach the belly pan to the frame, 2) seal the edges with the black foam, then 3) start running wires and plumbing, 4) lay the decking in place with pass-thru holes for wiring/plumbing. The attached belly pan allowed them to just "drop" the wiring down and not have to spend time/money securing it in place.


I'd like to see that assembly process some time. Doesn't seem very ergonomic or lean.


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

So if you don't pull the underbelly down, then mine doesn't look like that right??


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

skippershe said:


> So if you don't pull the underbelly down, then mine doesn't look like that right??


I'm with you - they say that what you don't know can't hurt you! Sometimes its good to be ignorant


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

hurricaneplumber said:


> You mean you don't like they way that this looks???


I saw the same red, white and green wires running parallel to each other from one side to the other. Normally, I'd think those were 110 volt wires, but Keystone wouldn't be that careless would they? I mean, that would be Romex if it was an AC circuit.......

I started to investigate what they were, then I decided I didn't care and closed up the underbelly. Water leak fixed, fresh tank fill hose replaced, done. Maiden Voyage tomorrow!!


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## Swany (Mar 2, 2006)

Reverie said:


> This came up about a year ago when someone else noticed the wires hanging down. I don't remember who pointed this out but I thought it made good sense. Yes, the wires do run here, there and everywhere. They certainly would look nicer if they were neatly bundled and tied back. There is no compelling engineering or sales reason for Keystone to do this since the wires are isolated from wear and tear, they are kept well away from spinning objects, they are not exposed unless you remove the belly and it would cost more money and involve more labor to tie them all back.
> 
> Now, this being said, when I dropped my pan earlier this year I did take the opportunity to make everything I could reach nice and tidy. It offends my avionics technician sensibilities to see things all messy. In the end I have to admit it only makes me feel better.
> 
> Reverie


That is nasty! Do the people at Outback visit this site? They ought to be ashamed of themselves!


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Swany said:


> This came up about a year ago when someone else noticed the wires hanging down. I don't remember who pointed this out but I thought it made good sense. Yes, the wires do run here, there and everywhere. They certainly would look nicer if they were neatly bundled and tied back. There is no compelling engineering or sales reason for Keystone to do this since the wires are isolated from wear and tear, they are kept well away from spinning objects, they are not exposed unless you remove the belly and it would cost more money and involve more labor to tie them all back.
> 
> Now, this being said, when I dropped my pan earlier this year I did take the opportunity to make everything I could reach nice and tidy. It offends my avionics technician sensibilities to see things all messy. In the end I have to admit it only makes me feel better.
> 
> Reverie


That is nasty! Do the people at Outback visit this site? They ought to be ashamed of themselves!
[/quote]

I'm sure someone from Keystone checks out the site
Now if they do something about it I doubt it

Don


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

GoVols said:


> When I peeked in while installing my Tornado Flush, it dawned on me that their assembly process was to: 1) attach the belly pan to the frame, 2) seal the edges with the black foam, then 3) start running wires and plumbing, 4) lay the decking in place with pass-thru holes for wiring/plumbing. The attached belly pan allowed them to just "drop" the wiring down and not have to spend time/money securing it in place.


This explains why I found over a dozen screws and wire caps when I pulled down the cover to install the Quickie Flush. It seemed strange to me at the time that they were in there but if they put the cover on and then install everthing from the top that explains it. Whatever they dropped during manufacturing they just left in place since it was hidden from sight


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## Hokie (Jul 10, 2006)

When I removed part of my underbelly, you could tell that the insulation (black expanding foam) was obviously put in from the top. (And very liberally) Therefore, the bottom is indeed the first thing they put on. Then they use the underbelly as a conduit tray to lay all of the wires in as they assembly everything else.

Just curious....anybody ever find a beer can under there?


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

Insomniak said:


> I saw the same red, white and green wires running parallel to each other from one side to the other. Normally, I'd think those were 110 volt wires, but Keystone wouldn't be that careless would they? I mean, that would be Romex if it was an AC circuit.......
> 
> I started to investigate what they were, then I decided I didn't care and closed up the underbelly. Water leak fixed, fresh tank fill hose replaced, done. Maiden Voyage tomorrow!!


I just looked at the picture as well for the first time and they look like 3 way Scotch locks for low voltage wire, ie telephone wire, what are they doing in an Outback, we don't have any low voltage in the TT do we?

Bill.


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

2500Ram said:


> I just looked at the picture as well for the first time and they look like 3 way Scotch locks for low voltage wire, ie telephone wire, what are they doing in an Outback, we don't have any low voltage in the TT do we?
> 
> Bill.


Those particular ones with the scotch lock looking things are the sensors for the tank levels.
You know the ones that never work right anyways.
Pretty small wire on those. about 20 guage.


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## Hokie (Jul 10, 2006)

Katrina is correct, those wires are for the tank sensors. There is quite a bit of other low voltage stuff running around in the TT as well. All of the 12V lights, the water pump controls, even the control for the electric hot water heater is low voltage, only the element is 120V. The only other 120V stuff is run directly to outlet receptacles, (including the refridgerator which is plugged into an outlet inside the cover) and a direct 120V run to the air conditioning.


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## outback21 (Jun 17, 2006)

Just think of the underbelly as a large, secure, extensive and complete wire loadbearing device and you'll have no worries at all!

And ....this also reminds me of something I've wondered about before... don't trailer manufacturers have to meet some sort of building code such as exist for homes, etc.?


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I think if i happen to take that down and saw that my orginizational light would go off and i would have to do something about that. I have collected miles of split loom ( the stuff your wireing is in under the hood of your car ) and would use it all over the place.

How hard is it to drop the belly cover and what do you use to reseal it up, in case i want to put in a quckie flush thing. I do know a guy with a pit in his garage do you think it would be easier to do in a pit or just get on your back and go for it????


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## Hokie (Jul 10, 2006)

I haven't dropped the entire underbelly, but I know I have read about others on here who have.

I have laid in bed at thing running the process over and over in my head though. I would drop the entire underbelly. Take a lot of pictures. Cut away all of the black foam. Organize the wiring. And then to seal it back up, I would probably use some sort of RTV Gasket Material that you use for engine valve covers. That stuff is very stable and comes out look fairly clean. It would also allow you to remove it again if you had to.

Any other ideas out there?


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

battalionchief3 said:


> How hard is it to drop the belly cover and what do you use to reseal it up, in case i want to put in a quckie flush thing.


One of my weekend plans is to install a Quickie Flush on my OB. Unless there are other suggestions, I had planned on just using silicone to reseal the underbelly.


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

When I put the belly cover back up I didn't bother with any sealant I just reattached the screws. Just be extremely careful to note the position of the short screws. Those are the ones that go in where the freshwater tank sits. If you use one of the normal ones there you'll put a hole in you're freshwater tank and create a major problem. When I say short screws I mean regular ones that they've cut down. When I took out the first two short screws I actually thought that they had broken off since that's sort of what they looked like. When I got to the other side of the trailer and came across two more my dim bulb finally lit up and I realized these were shorter to keep from puncturing the water tank.


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## jodynbarry (Aug 22, 2005)

H2oSprayer said:


> How hard is it to drop the belly cover and what do you use to reseal it up, in case i want to put in a quckie flush thing.


One of my weekend plans is to install a Quickie Flush on my OB. Unless there are other suggestions, I had planned on just using silicone to reseal the underbelly.
[/quote]
I installed the quickie flush and it took about three hours. Most of the time figuring the best way to get to the black water tank. In my case it was from the front of the fifth wheel, dropped the front half and got to the tanks. The wiring in mine didn't seem bad but it was full of saw dust and debris. The q-flush works great and now my tank reads correctly. I didn't seal my underbelly with anything and it has been no problem. The worst part was rolling around under it and working over your head on your belly!


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

outback21 said:


> don't trailer manufacturers have to meet some sort of building code such as exist for homes, etc.?


There is an industry standard. It's not on the web, though. You've got to pay the industry association some bucks to get a hard copy.

Ed


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

LarryTheOutback said:


> don't trailer manufacturers have to meet some sort of building code such as exist for homes, etc.?


There is an industry standard. It's not on the web, though. You've got to pay the industry association some bucks to get a hard copy.

Ed
[/quote]
Even those are just recommended practices though. I don't believe there are any actual codes or laws that must be followed.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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