[Chuck v]

Jon,


My T40C had a queen size bed and the T40A has a king size bed, so it may be even heavier than my experiences with my coach (and it could even work differently than what I found in the T40C...) That said -- the following may help you:



The bed on these Tour Master models does indeed 'retract' a little bit to provide the spacing needed in closing the opposing slides in the bedroom. The electric lift motor that does this slants the upper part of the bed and mattress up at the wall such that the foot moves in at least 12 inches or so...


The platform on my coach was plywood faced with a high pressure laminate and may be what you describe as 'fiberglass' in your post above. This is a heavy panel because it has a welded square metal tubular frame structure, and has no lift assist springs or other means to help you lift it. What you want to do is take the mattress off the bed and lean it against your closet cabinet wall -- this removes a lot of the total bed weight and helps you in lifting the panel. You will need a prop to hold the hinged panel up after you lift it -- about 4 feet long or so, perhaps a 2x4 or similar. NOTE: the hinges that allow the top of the bed to attain the lounge position are also the hinges that allow the main bed support panel to be lifted at the foot of the panel.


Under this bed support panel is the AC to 12 volt DC Converter, and also the main transfer switch that selects either the shore power or the generator as source of AC to the various 110 volt loads. I replaced my transfer switch with one that had a built in ground fault protection so I did not have to use an external one at park hookups.


Let us know what you find and if you need further help...


Chuck