[66Overlander]

We brought the 1985 25' Sovereign home from storage this weekend for it's spring cleaning and preparation for it's maiden voyage in a couple of weeks (to the WBCCI Indy 500 Rally!). Unfortunately, we discovered our first (and hopefully only) big surprise – the fresh water tank leaks. Well, the water pump also won’t shut off, but that is a relatively minor issue.

The leak is coming from the fitting on the tank where the hose to the tank drain valve attaches. The fitting on the tank is split allowing water to seep into the belly pan (actually into the rectangular metal enclosure that surrounds the tank). My questions are several, so please bear with me:

1. Can this fitting be repaired or replaced? If so, using an epoxy of some sort or by “plastic welding?

2. Can I just remove the drain hose and plug this hole permanently? There is a big (1.5-2” plug just below the drain fitting that I could use to drain the tank at the end of the season if it’s not glued in place. What is the purpose of this big plug? My best guess is that it allowed access to the back of the drain plug during tank manufacture.

3. Are “drop in” replacement tanks available for a trailer of this vintage? From Airstream or somewhere else? How much do they cost? I would think that they might be available, because Airstream has built 25’ models with essentially the same floor plan continuously from 1985 thru 2005.

4. Is water tank replacement a reasonable “do it yourself” job? It looks like the metal tank surround can be dropped by removing a number of bolts around it’s perimeter. Is this metal surround what holds the tank in place, or is it directly attached to the frame somehow?

Oh well, that’s probably enough for now. If I get some good answers to these questions, I’m sure I think up some more. Thanks in advance.