Safari 30' Bunk: why 18 gallon black tank?

[LittleRadio]

Anybody know why this BWT is so tiny in this version of the Safari?

It seems crazy in a 30' trailer that's designed to sleep 6. Hmmm??

[Gen Disarray]

I would think 18g would be a whole bunch of........... Do you really want a bigger one? I have never measured mine but I would put it under 10g. Still takes me a while to fill that thing up. Maybe I need more fiber

[LittleRadio]

Well... I've been told that I'm full of it...

[Minnie's Mate]

A larger grey water would have been nice since my family can fill it up in just two nights and have more than once at state parks. Black water seems ok. We have purchased a Blue Tote for this week end in a state park since it is a three day trip. The one I got has four wheels and can be towed by the TV.

I would suggest that you lay off the Tex-Mex while on road trips if I were you.

[LittleRadio]

Tex-Mex... for sure... that, or keep the wife from cooking! (Don't tell her I said that!)

Seriously, something must've been added to the lower structure that precluded the installation of the larger standard tank found on other Safaris... what the heck could it have been?

And yes, when I borrowed my dad's 30' Classic, we, too, filled up the grey water a couple of times. When you travel with young children, this is always a concern, because of all the bottle washing, face and hands washing, potty breaks, etc....

Towing a separate tanker kind of defeats the purpose of having a self-contained travel trailer, don't you think?

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by LittleRadio

Towing a separate tanker kind of defeats the purpose of having a self-contained travel trailer, don't you think?

Yes, but we don't like to rough-it and prefer to shower every day and not skimp on the water.

I don't know why Airstream went with this size. I have a 30' also. It seems sufficient for us. There are two boys, my wife and me. We have stayed up to two nights and days without filling the black tank. When staying in full hook-ups we dump the tank every day. Maybe it is because the tank is located so far aft that they were afraid a larger tank might cause rear end sag if transported full for any distance or over rough roads like was experienced with the rear bath units of the late '70's.

[Pahaska]

The 18-gallon black tank is common to all of the recent Airstreams with the rear-corner bathroom. The black tank is directly beneath the commode. With the black tank that far back (think of the rear overhang on the 30'), the deleterious effect on tongue weight of a larger tank would be undesirable.

[HHP]

Damn, I am just too lazy to look this up..."deleterious" very perplexing....

[wheel interested]

Originally Posted by HHP

Damn, I am just too lazy to look this up..."deleterious" very perplexing....

I think that was a song by Prince.

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by wheel interested

I think that was a song by Prince.

Now I'm confused. I thought he was "The Artist Formerly Know As Prince". Now you call him Prince. And just last night I see a commercial for "Prince's Greatest Hits" or something like that. Of course all those songs were from the period when he was actually known as Prince. But now Michael Jackson has a son named Prince Michael. Wait a minute, Michael Jackson is the "Recording Artist Formerly Known as an African American"? Just too confusing!

[Pahaska]

Harmful, injurious

[Gator1]

I had an old Safari 23C which had a 22 gal Black Tank. My family of could easily "go" five or six days with that.

The 39 gal Gray water tank, on the other hand, was good for a day. I made a promise when we started doing this that I would not limit the water consumption for the family (they don't waste, either). My father in law gave me a modified blue tote where he replaced the plastic wheels and their axle with a longer axle and pneumatic lawnmower wheels. I can use the TV to make quick runs to the dump station any time (usually twice daily).

Jim

[Silvertwinkie]

Given the design of the coach, with the bathroom and head and particular in back, it's my understanding that the head must be near or above the tank. Unlike in a house where there can be up to 2 gallons of water in single flush, that luxury isn't always possible. So, putting piping to the tank might prove difficult to get the contents to the tank if they had to pipe around to the axle areas without that water to act as it does in a house, let alone filling the tank with just say 10 or less flushes.

That said, at one time the design that the 19, 25 SS had was an 8 or 9 gallon black tank. This was upgraded to the curent 18 gallon tank in the 2003 model year. When the 30' came around, this also got the same setup. It's my current understanding that more than 18 gallons would not only be difficult (as you notice, the head is actually elevated--also for a few reasons), but also might raise the head even further so that gravity could also still allow the tank to be high enough to empty the tank, let alone what John pointed out about the tank and the rear overhang stresses of a larger tank.

If you notice, most, if not all the current Airstreams with side baths that just happen to be over the axles already have significantly larger black tanks.

I've been able to last a bit over a week with my 18 gallon tank, with 3 adults.

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

It's my current understanding that more than 18 gallons would not only be difficult (as you notice, the head is actually elevated--also for a few reasons), but also might raise the head even further so that gravity could also still allow the tank to be high enough to empty the tank, let alone what John pointed out about the tank and the rear overhang stresses of a larger tank.

I'm short for a guy (5'-6") and my wife is the same hight. I don't need it any higher off the floor. Without a little foot stool to rest my feet on they would dangle above the floor! My six year old son...well lets just say there would be a lot of puddles on the platform to clean up if it were any higher.