Trailcraft fuel tank access
Submitted by 2-EZY on Wed, 2020-12-16 07:41
Hey Legends...
I am trying to remove the fuel tank from my 2015 model trailcraft 560 sports cab. I have removed the rivets and broken the bead of silicone around the edges of the access hatch, but it is not budgeing, to the point were the ally is bending on the edges when I try to force it up.... The only thing I can think of is they have siliconed the stiffeners to the actually fuel tank in the middle of the hatch? Which if is the case will make it almost impossible to remove without damaging the hatch. Has anyone removed a fuel tank on a later model Trailcraft?
Cheers!!
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Mate like any Sika joint,
Mate like any Sika joint, you need to be methodical with it.
lift it a little and tap a sharp scraper into the joint to cut sealant. Once you get a little you can tap it along and it'll get easier and easier
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
holth
Posts: 812
Date Joined: 09/10/06
Yep as Rob said get a
Yep as Rob said get a scrapper and hammer it in there to break the bead
scubafish
Posts: 949
Date Joined: 15/08/12
Try
A length of wire with dowel hand size on each end and slide under tank and use as a wire saw. Left Below: new “soft patch” principle over the fuel tank. This allows the cockpit sole (floor) to be totally sealed, but if access to the fuel tanks is required, it can be, by undoing the screws (easy) and slicing the sikkaflex (v. bloody difficult!) but this is a mile better system
https://www.australianboatmags.com.au/pdf/previews/PROLOG11_prev.pdf
http://img.gg/BQ91Sys
wifecallsmegrumpy
Posts: 139
Date Joined: 09/01/12
Sounds like more than
Sounds like more than silicone. Are you sure it doesn't have another rivet somewhere ?
If you are sure, what about trying to heat it up a bit.. No open flames obviously !!
Leave it out exposed to the sun, or get the iron and sit it on the plate where you think the silicone is.
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
if it was silicon, even an
if it was silicon, even an oxy torch will struggle to loosen it, as any boilermaker could tell you
In fact the aluminium will likely melt before silicon releases.
It needs to be mechanically released.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
2-EZY
Posts: 7
Date Joined: 03/02/13
Ok Thanks Lads,Fuel tank is
Ok Thanks Lads,
Fuel tank is out with a whole bunch of sweat and swear words!!! It was just the sika holding it in but man they had used a lot!!! And the rivets they use to seal these hatchs are rubbish and had all pretty much corroded away, so it was actually just the Sika holding the hatch in place...... But credit to them they had sanded the under side of the access hatch lid and the ally angle it sit on, so the sika had a super strong bond! I have removed fuel tanks before but this one was a real BI#%H!!
As a side note I was impressed with how everything looked under the hatch, I know these chinese made Trailcrafts cop a lot of flack from some (and if I had my way and a lot of coin I would of bought a Aussie made platey), but having built a few plateys myself many years ago, I was pretty impressed with the welds under the decks and how tidy everything looked.