Extra Storage Space

[Diplomat Don]

I have a 2005 Monaco Diplomat 36' SKT. Because of the length, exterior storage is at a premium. Recently, I unscrewed the two exterior fuel door panels (screws under body) and found a ton of storage space atop the fuel tank.

On the passenger side, I glued a piece of indoor outdoor carpet to the top of the tank and placed my 10 gallon blue toilet tote tank on top. On the driver's side I made a lightweight wood platform to protect the sending unit and hoses and carpeted it also. I was able to store a 6 gallon water jug (wrapped in a trash bag) on top of the tank. Both of these items are bulky to store, but lightweight enough to store on top of the tanks.

There are two tabs on the bottom of the doors where they screw to the chassis. I bolted latches to these so they could be easily opened. They are also lockable.

I'm sure most will realize not to store anything dangerous or heavy here, but it is great for stuff that is light and bulky. The passenger side was approximately 31" deep, 19" wide and 10" tall. The driver's side is about 1/3 smaller.

[Diplomat Don]

I have a 2005 Monaco Diplomat 36' SKT. Because of the length, exterior storage is at a premium. Recently, I unscrewed the two exterior fuel door panels (screws under body) and found a ton of storage space atop the fuel tank.

On the passenger side, I glued a piece of indoor outdoor carpet to the top of the tank and placed my 10 gallon blue toilet tote tank on top. On the driver's side I made a lightweight wood platform to protect the sending unit and hoses and carpeted it also. I was able to store a 6 gallon water jug (wrapped in a trash bag) on top of the tank. Both of these items are bulky to store, but lightweight enough to store on top of the tanks.

There are two tabs on the bottom of the doors where they screw to the chassis. I bolted latches to these so they could be easily opened. They are also lockable.

I'm sure most will realize not to store anything dangerous or heavy here, but it is great for stuff that is light and bulky. The passenger side was approximately 31" deep, 19" wide and 10" tall. The driver's side is about 1/3 smaller.

[ronboc]

Good idea, Don. Can't wait til it stops raining here for me to take a look and see what kind of room I've got in mine.

I did a similar thing with the curbside 'blank' panel/door covering access to the water-tanks. Fresh water is the lowest one, with gray and black nestled above 'em. I cut a piece of plywood to go over the tanks, and bent some door-hasps to fit/lock when closed. I store bulky/light stuff like the Gen-turi and a couple extra extension cords.

It's probably against some OSHA-code or whatever, but I also use the propane storage-area for spare water-hoses, etc. Still leaving plenty of room to get to the shutoff in an emergency, obviously!

Yep, it's amazing what we can work-in with just a bit of ingenuity.

Ron

[BIGRED1]

Don, Ron; sounds like a great idea. I have an '00 Diplomat 38D that has a large bay door on one side with a space for a lock set, but no lock. Is this the same setup as on your coaches? Am I reading correctly that there are just a couple of screws on the bottom edge that are holding this door closed? What kind of latches did you use on them and where did you get them?

TIA!

[ronboc]

Hi Gaines -

Yup, it's probably the same setup, but don't know for sure.

Mine had a piece of aluminum from the door to some screws holding it to the frame. Removed the screws and the door simply hinged up.

I didn't want to mess with matching door-latches (because I'd have to paint 'em) so I just took a regular barndoor hasp and installed it under the lip where you wouldn't see it. Works great, and I can add a padlock if needed.

Added quite a bit of usable, but not real accessible, storage. Plenty for infrequent items, tho.

HTH,
Ron

[Diplomat Don]

BIGRED1...Sorry I've been gone. Mine didn't have a spot for a lock set, but is the same as Ron's. I bought hasps from the local hardware store and mounted them to the aluminum tabs on the bottom of the door. I put a clip through the hasp on one and a padlock through the other hasp on each door.

[BIGRED1]

Well, as it turns out the bay I was thinking about has the propane tank and something else behind a large black plastic cover in it, duh! The other unusable space has the cab air radiator, air dryer and jack pump in it. So, no luck on my coach, although I haven't run out of space yet and I could make some of it more useable by putting in wire shelves. The previous owner had done that in the main passthru bay of my coach.

[ronboc]

Hey Gaines -

Before you give up on using any of that space, see if maybe you can reclaim even a portion of the area.
I got a bit of extra room in the propane-tank area on a previous MH by storing the little BBQ-grill tanks, spare extension cord, etc. It wasn't much, but made the other spaces more user-friendly since they didn't have the cord-snake uncoiling or bottles bouncing out each time I opened a bay-door.

Ron