Plastic floor plate trim

[niktam]

Does anyone know how the flat plastic trim is fixed to the rear of the (fuel tank access plate) between the front seats.

 

On the floor.

[Derek Uzzell]

The plastic cab floor of my 2014 Fiat Ducato-based Rapido stops just behind the removable hatch that provides access to the top of the fuel-tank where the fuel-pump unit is.

 

To the rear of the cab floor is a narrow ‘gap’ and that there’s a fairly wide lateral section that forms a step down to the lving-area’s floor. In the Rapido’s case the top of the section and the upper part of the section’s rearwards-facing face is carpeted (in a fuzzy black material that’s a magnet for hair).

 

The image attached below was taken from a YouTube review of a 2017 Autoquest 196. That motorhome seems to have a similar cab-to-living-area ’step’ to my Rapido’s, so I’m not sure what the “plastic flloor plate trim” is that you’ve referred to

 

(Whatever the trim plate is, may I ask why you feel a need to remove it? My experience of removing things where it’s not obvious how to do this is that - if removal is not vital - don’t attempt it.)

[niktam]

I would like to run a cable from one side of the MH to the other ie across the van. Underneath the van is a no no. Up and around the over cab cupboards is a possibility but messy.

There is a board across the van on the floor behind the seats which is hollow as it is a sandwich construction. I've undone the screws and the top board is loose but restrained at the front by the plastic trim box. There appear to be no fixings at the front of the board as it tapers into a vinyl sheet only.

I just wanted to remove the plastic floor trim and the board that's all.

 

Option two is to cable across in front of the step and box it in. As you can see in the photo there is a sloping rear flat plastic plate with a sectional trim at the rear. Not sure if the plate has been stuck down with double sided tape as I can't find any fixings. So the idea is to get the plate up.

Thanks

Nik

[Derek Uzzell]

I see now that you had asked the same question in January 2020 but no response (other than mine) resulted.

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Autoquest-196-2017/54223/

 

Based on your photo it’s evident that the design of your 2017 Elddis’s floor between the cab seats differs significantly from my 2015 Rapido’s.

 

It’s probable that no forum-member with a vehicle like yours will have felt the need to remove the plastic ‘plate’. As there are no visible fixings for the plate, it’s quite possible that (as you’ve suggested) sticky tape will have been used to fix it in place. There MIGHT be fixings underneath the plate that the plate clips on to, but I believe you’ll just to bite the bullet and shove something like a sturdy paint scraper into the plate-to-floor joint and see what happens when you try to lever the plate up.

[Deneb]

If you remove the plastic step liners from inside both cab doors, you will find a cable conduit running beneath the cab floor covering, towards the front of the seat frames and across the entire width of the cab floor, with associated cable routing leading forward towards the dashboard area and back towards the B-posts on both sides at the top of the cab steps. You will have to use electricians fish tape or similar to pull additional cables through, being careful not to damage the insulation of the existing wiring in the process.

[Derek Uzzell]

Useful information, though I’m guessing that, in Nik’s photo in the bottom-right corner, what looks like a coil of white cable (that I’ve red arrowed) is what he wants to lead across to the other side of the vehicle.

 

(It might be useful to know what the purpose of the cable is, as this hasn’t been stated here nor in Nik’s January 2020 enquiry.)

[niktam]

Derek Uzzell - 2020-12-21 7:26 AM

 

Useful information, though I’m guessing that, in Nik’s photo in the bottom-right corner, what looks like a coil of white cable (that I’ve red arrowed) is what he wants to lead across to the other side of the vehicle.

I would like to run a coaxial for the TV forward under the bathroom to the front off side lounge seating then across the MH to inside the front near side seat. To be left coiled up so I can plug it in on site as the external door hatch to this seat already has a cable cut out rather then cutting holes and installing sockets in the outside wall - which would be another connection loss point for the TV anyway.

 

Number two cable is to run a mains cable across from the front off side lounge seat to near side one for an additional socket. Preferably, not to run the two together even though the TV cable is double screened.

 

So that's a coaxial and a mains 2.5mm cable to traverse the MH.

[Derek Uzzell]

Thanks for the feedback...

 

It’s plain from what you’ve said that running the cables at floor level within your motorhome would be the best and most logical approach.

 

Your photo shows that the plastic ‘plate’ sits on top of flooring that would have been put in by Elddis not Peugeot, so presumably the construction sequence would have involved the flooring put in first followed by the plate being sat on top.

 

No forum member has yet said that they KNOW how to remove the plate, but you could try asking on the Elddis Facebook group

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Travel-Company/The-Elddis-Caravan-Motorhome-Owners-Group-389630858266471/

 

or on the various other motorhome forums. Or you could ask Elddis direct

 

https://elddis.co.uk/contact

 

[Deneb]

I'd remove the lower plastic capping panels from the B-posts behind the cab doors (around lower seatbelt mountings). That ought to allow access to the void below the raised floor installed by Elddis. If they have contoured the floor around the B-post capping, there will be quite a wide gap between the floor edge and the metal B-post pressing with the capping panels removed. Alternatively, you can access the inside of the B-post box section adjacent to the seat belt reel which should also allow access to the void via lower holes in the pressing. A route for the cable from beneath the seat towards the B-post will also then be obvious by following the Fiat loom.

 

This isn't my van, it's from the internet, but it does show the area around the B-post with the trim removed and no raised floor.

[niktam]

I did try the manufacturers on Monday and they were closed for the holidays. I may cycle over to the MH if it stops raining and have another fish around for the as built "cross cab" cable route.

Thanks again.

[flicka]

My vehicle battery box in located in the floor forward of the front passenger seat. Cables from there exit into the engine bay & across to the dashboard, etc.

Depending where you want the cables to terminate, it would be possible to attach to these.

Alternatively I have eased a cable inside the windscreen side & top surround covers, to the rear view mirror for my dashcam, but it would be simple to go the full width & down the other side.

This is also where my rear view camera wiring is routed.

[Derek Uzzell]

It might be practicable to do that for the TV coaxial cable Nicholas wants to ‘cross over’ from his motorhome’s offside to nearside, but he wants to do the same with a 230V mains cable and that will be a lot bulkier.

 

I own a Rapido 640F motorhome and this model has as standard a single 230V socket just inside the habitation-area entrance door and above the gas hob. I suppose the ‘logic’ (though if ever a word were inapt it’s that one) of siting the socket there is that the hob’s glass lid can be lowered and an electric kettle put on it.

 

The Rapido 640F’s 230V RCD/MCB ‘box’ is under the rear island bed and when I wanted to install extra mains sockets I would have liked to have put these in the front lounge. But running the cable from the bed forwards and inside the vehicle would - to all intents and purposes - have been a non-starter. In the end I fitted a double socket in the side of the bed’s base.

[niktam]

I did seek the manufacturer's advice evidently you can run cables under the false floor across the cab behind the seats but I failed to understand how the flat plate was fixed down? it is not flat as it has moldings to the underside face but I was concerned I would damage it so an alternative method is sort so now back to the drawing board.

[John52]

Have you seen the plastic (stick on) conduit in DIY stores?

Can be an neat easy way of running cables :-D

[pepe63xnotuse]

John52 - 2021-01-25 9:47 AM

 

Have you seen the plastic (stick on) conduit in DIY stores?

Can be an neat easy way of running cables :-D

Yes, there is a vast range of neat, shaped conduit/trunking available. Maybe a length of the small "skirting board" shaped trunking could be a tidy option?

Personally, if going that route I would opt for something trade/professional "grade" if possible, especially if it is on going to be mounted on a step face where it can get clacked?

[Deneb]

niktam - 2021-01-22 8:02 PM

 

I did seek the manufacturer's advice evidently you can run cables under the false floor across the cab behind the seats but I failed to understand how the flat plate was fixed down? it is not flat as it has moldings to the underside face but I was concerned I would damage it so an alternative method is sort so now back to the drawing board.

Presumably the "false" floor is contoured around or sits immediately behind the bases of the B-pillars at each side of the van. If you remove the lower plastic trim covers from the B-posts, you should be able to feed an electricians draw tape or similar (I find the plastic covered flexible outer sheath from bicycle brake cables useful for feeding through gaps if you don't have draw tape available) across the van beneath the floor and pull the wiring that you want to install back through.

[Derek Uzzell]

Nik’s 2017 Elddis Autoquest 196 is built on a Peugeot Boxer “Tempo Libero” ‘camping-car’ chassis and has a Peugeot 2.0litre BlueHDI powerplant requiring AdBlue. I’m not sure if the ‘access plate’ shown in Nik’s photo above relates to the AdBlue reservoir or the vehicle’s diesel-fuel tank, but it’s clear that the between-cab-seats part of the cab floor of Nik’s motrhome differs from mine that has a Fiat ‘camping-car’ chassis but a different motor with no AdBlue reservoir.

 

I’ve attached some photos relating to recent Autoquest 196 models. The 4th photo is of a 2020 model and looks alightly different to Nik’s, but I think Nik may have removed some pieces prior to taking his photo.

 

I would have thought that the flat plastic plate that Nik wants to run cables beneath is a Peugeot part made available to motorhome converters building on the Tempo Libero chassis and not an Elddis part.

 

I’m wary of the idea of running the cables beneath the false floor without knowing what obstructions there might be. I suppose one might try using a cheap endoscope to see how practicable feeding a cable under the floor would be, but if the cables are going to be at cab-floor level when they cross the cab, the logical approach would be to run them under the plastic plate with surface-conduit covering the cables on each of the plate’s sides.

 

Plainly (as Nik fears) there’s a risk that - if the plate has been stuck down with ultra-strong adhesive - use of excessive force when trying to prise it up could well damage it (and obtaining a replacement could be very difficult unless a Part Number can be identified, or expensive even if the Part Number becomes known). I’d still attempt it though, using a hair dryer to heat the plate before trying to lift it, as it looks like Elddis put the plate in place during the conversion stage and there’s a good chance that they used a fixing method that would respond to judicious use of brute force.

 

I’m reminded of when I was at an NEC show and asked an exhibitor (who I knew) how to remove th plastic trim around the window in a Hartal habitation-door as I wanted to retension the blind of my Rapido’s door-window. We went into one of the motorhomes on show and he took hold of the trim and gave it a sharp tug saying “Don’t do this in cold weather”.

 

Also at that Show I asked on the Rapido stand how to remove my motorhome’s Dometic reading lights. The French UK sales manager inspected a show-model’s lights but (like me) couldn’t work out how to remove them “I will get the factory to email you”, he said - but that never happened. So the next time I was near Mayenne I visited the Rapido factory and asked Anthony Pfaff how to take the lights off. He looked at one of them and said “I suppose you want me to do this so that - if I break it - I’ll have to give you a new light” and then gave the light a serious wrench that separated it from its base. Of course, once one knows how the light attaches to its base, it’s possible to take the two elements apart a lot less savagely, but the learning process is nerve-racking.

[Deneb]

Derek, I assume the lighter coloured "box" in your last photo, forming the raised floor between the back of the lounge seat and the grey covered cab floor, is the section that Nik wishes to feed a cable through.

 

He won't know whether there are any obstructions to routing the cable through that box section until he tries, but his last reply "I did seek the manufacturer's advice evidently you can run cables under the false floor across the cab behind the seats" seems to suggest that he's been told it is possible. In any event, unless he tries he won't know for certain, and it's only a matter of undoing four screws on each side to remove the B-post covers.

 

If he can feed cable through, it's a simple matter then to feed it through flexible conduit and feed the conduit through the box section also. Or he could try feeding the conduit through first, but if it is the corrugated type, it's not always easy to feed cable through it without draw tape to pull it through. But if the box section is clear of any obstructions, and he uses the correct automotive thinwall tubing (which although thinner, is a much more durable and tougher sheathing than standard cable) conduit may not be strictly necessary.

 

I must admit that I use conduit when running cables over or near potentially sharp or abrasive edges, but if you do any appreciable dismantling of modern Sevel vans you will soon find that even the manufacturer doesn't overly concern themselves with that when using thinwall cable 8-)

 

Edit: The circular plate you refer to is the access cover for the lift pump on top of the fuel tank. The flat dark plastic section behind it is just a cosmetic trim piece, although how it is attached I have no idea. It may be that the flat centre section is clipped into the outer frame, and can be carefully prised out from around its edge. The surround may then in turn be screwed or clipped into the cab floor. I usually find, where a dismantling method isn't readily apparent, that examination and careful manipulation usually reveals the way forward, but then I have quite literally had to disassemble parts of hundreds if not thousands of vehicles without having removal instructions available, so I suppose my guesswork is to some extent based on the logic of previous experience ;-)

[Derek Uzzell]

The 1st image attached below shows the layout of an Elddis Autoquest 196 and I’ve red-arrowed the route that I understand Nik wants to take to run his extra cables.

 

In Nik’s posting of 20 December 2020 4:41 PM above he said "Option two is to cable across in front of the step and box it in”. The cabling would then run as shown by the red line in the 2nd image I’ve attached below.

 

On the face of it this seems a simpler, less ‘experimental’, approach as it avoids trying to remove the plastic plate and the cables could either run in strong conduit/trunking (as suggested above) or hidden behind a shallow-depth ‘box’ covering the front face of the step.

 

(Nik also said that removing some screws showed that the board forming the section of floor that the rear of the plastic plate sits on is loose, so - if he could get the plate off - Elddis’s advice would almost certainly be correct.)

[niktam]

Thank you all for your input.

Update.

As explained I've tried all ways of removing the flat plate and it is stuck fast and the trim lifts up with it. I've levered the corners of the flat plate and slipped a long knife along under it but it is not flat as there are mouldings on the underside of it. Clearly I don't want to break it and I've gone backwards and forwards with the manufacturers.

 

I can lever up the rear edge(and have done) of the floor board panel across behind the seats and I could push a cable in sideways along the edge of the board but I have no idea of if the cable will be trapped.

I've spent a few goes ( 2 x 45 mins approx)on trying to fish through across under the floor board from B post to B post I've used the actual mains cable 3 x 2.5mm 9.1 mm diameter, tried a coaxial cable and a "proper" sparkies "fish" all go well through but do not get to the other end. I've tried all types from both sides a multitude of times and from both front and rear of the B posts. It is my belief that the "fish" gets diverted as it doesn't take a lot to do that. There are a mass of 12V cables that go under the floor by the side and front of the offside B post!

I've ordered a D section oak finished self adhesive cable tidy to span the 450mm between the front lounge seats to be stuck to the bottom side of the 100mm step up to the cab. I don't see this as an issue for damage as by the time you get to that point you must slow down due to being in the cab and we don't usually step onto the step edge the same as we never step/walk on the threshold of a doorway.

 

The coaxial I will try to get across the cab via the B posts then via the front cab steps and across the cab in front of the front cab seats. I don't want to run it next to the mains cable I'm putting in even though the coaxial is double screened and I may ali tape it as well? I could try this option to see if there is signal interference but testing would be an issue.

[mikefitz]

Once the plastic door step trim is removed you have access to pre formed channels in the cab floor insulation that run side to side and access to the base of the B pillars. Fiat run cable looms here. The picture shows the drivers step, the passenger side is similar.

 

Mike