Cutting hole in floor for fuel pump access?

[Blue~Go]

I cut an access hole for the fuel pump. It's a 10" square and simulates a manhole cover in the design.

Would you mind posting some photos or a diagram showing just where this hole would want to be? (Or where yours is?). Can the whole pump come up through it? Is it in the aisle or under furniture? Did you have the crossmember there? I may do my flooring this winter and while I have everything out would consider it, although I'd be reluctant if it meant I'd have to have a visible patch in the main exposed flooring (not the actual structural floor; that's no problem). Maybe I could make it look cool somehow though

(My buddy who had the E-450 RV pump replaced by dropping the tank.... no mention from the shop of any difficulty getting the lines back on, but maybe it was different (55 gallon tank ahead of rear axle) or they just didn't say anything. If it was the generator line being short that made it hard then I'd bet most people dropping the tank would be replacing that as it's notorious for cracking - maybe you could then make it longer? Or maybe not?)

[eporter123]

Yes, pics please! Your Chinook is similar age to ours, so I'm guessing construction is similar. I'm inclined to leave the fuel pump as-is, but it would be nice to have fairly easy access to it if needed down the road... Hmm...

[Scott]

I haven't researched this, but is there any direct correlation among these fuel pump failures? I'm wondering if rust is the culprit. Is it all Econolines or just RVs? Do they spontaneously die, or slowly stop working?

We all know RVs sit a lot, and gasoline phase separation can result in a layer of water in the fuel tank. That naturally causes rust, and anything that gets past the pump's mesh filter will not be friendly to the pump internals. Changing the fuel filter under the driver's seat is super easy, and we should all do it. If you hire a mechanic to do it, ask to keep the used filter. Then cut it open and check for rust. The results can be telling.

Aslo, inline external pumps can be installed more easily than dropping the tank, but that doesn't address old fuel lines. My EVAP hoses were customized by a hungry rat .

A little discolored but still looks decent

[Blue~Go]

I'm not sure of this, but I don't think it's RV's in particular. Reason I say that is I used to have a campervan that was really more "just a van" and driven accordingly. People talked about the fuel pumps in those too (and they tend to be used as daily drivers and/or driven on longer trips than a true motorhome). Maybe it's just noticed more because you have to drop the tank?

I know that at least the medium Chevy van (Astro) also had a similar thing (remove tank or cut hole in floor), and maybe that was likely to go out much more often.

I don't have any idea about rust vs. not.

I've also read to not go below 1/4 tank or the fuel pump won't cool and will burn out. That seemed like an odd design choice to me, so I researched it. My amateur read on what I found is that it's cooled by fuel pumping up through the pump as you run the engine and not the fuel that surrounds it, so it should cool as long as it doesn't run dry. I think someone on here worked in the pump industry and also felt this would be the case (?)

I find stopping for gas to be amongst the more disagreeable and hazardous parts of the drive, especially if I'm towing (people clipping you with their vehicles, credit card being skimmed, folks approaching for gas money, static on portable tanks, buying and eating too many candy bars and chips etc.), so I try to do it less. Not like I go to empty, but I mean I don't fuel 100% more often by doing it at half a tank. If I'm in the boonies then I will fuel earlier, but otherwise I'll go to 1/8 tank if there's no reason not to.

BG

PS: But I'm still interested to see where Hoosier's access hole is and if he encountered the cross member.