Necessary clearance for rear shocks?

[musigenesis]

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I'm putting in an RV step tub directly behind my passenger-side rear wheel well, with the tub part projecting below the level of the steel floor by about nine inches (with insulation the steel box around it will be about eleven inches below the floor level). The spot where this box will be projecting below the floor is near where the rear shock is mounted (as shown in the first pic) so I want to make sure I have enough clearance there so that the shock can still be replaced if necessary.

I'm guessing that a couple of inches (maybe 3?) would be sufficient to allow the nuts to be taken off and the shock removed, but maybe there's some other aspect to this operation that requires more room?

Edit: that is not blood, by the way - red thread locker.

 

[banman]

Visualize the tool in place to remove the shocks. And will you be doing this or paying someone else to?

A shop for example would prefer putting a ½" airgun on the nut and whizzing the old nut off. The shock will then have to slide sideways off the mount.

If using a 1" ratchet -- consider the size (thickness) of the ratchet + the socket + being free to get the nut completely untreaded...

If you're planning on doing this with an open, or box end wrench because there won't be room for easier to use tools (that's okay...) do yourself (or your wallet) a favor and remove all those nutz now while you have a sh!t-ton of room to work -- neverseize the threads and put the nutz back on. You or someone will thank me later...

 

[musigenesis]

do yourself (or your wallet) a favor and remove all those nutz now while you have a sh!t-ton of room to work -- neverseize the threads and put the nutz back on. You or someone will thank me later...

I will thank you right now, that's an excellent idea.

My clearance on this is going to be fairly tight, and the only way I could get extra room for the shock would be to reduce the thickness of the insulation around the tub, and I don't really want my tub to be cold. As long as it would at least be possible to get a regular wrench in and get the nuts and the shock physically off, I think I'll be OK even if it's not particularly convenient or easy to do that. I was imaging a worst case scenario where I would have to cut the tub and its box out of the floor in order to change the shock.

 

[banman]

I will thank you right now, that's an excellent idea.

My clearance on this is going to be fairly tight, and the only way I could get extra room for the shock would be to reduce the thickness of the insulation around the tub, and I don't really want my tub to be cold. As long as it would at least be possible to get a regular wrench in and get the nuts and the shock physically off, I think I'll be OK even if it's not particularly convenient or easy to do that. I was imaging a worst case scenario where I would have to cut the tub and its box out of the floor in order to change the shock.

It's not a routinely removed item so making it hard (but still doable!) is alright.
A ratcheting boxend wrench that size might be $150 for a wrench worth owning...

 

[Native-SKO]

It's not a routinely removed item so making it hard (but still doable!) is alright.
A ratcheting boxend wrench that size might be $150 for a wrench worth owning...

I am getting to a point where the ol' ratchet wrench is not as handy as it used to be. A set of ratcheting boxes would really be nice to have.


I'm with Banman as for frequency of service and access. As long as you *can* get to it and remove it, you should be fine. The neverfreeze is a great idea as well. With the level of rast in your wheelwell area, I would imagine the nuts on the shocks are permanent and may need to be cut off.