two fresh water tanks 1960 Overlander

[Lothlorian]

I am trying to plan my fresh water system. I want to keep the orginal couch and everything the same. The problem I run into is I want more fresh water then 20 gallons. I was thinking of putting in a 20 gallon tank where the old one sat, and add another tank by the hot water heater under one of the twin beds. This would make boon docking without constantly filling the tanks with water more enjoyable.

Has anybody ever put in two water tanks and how did you plumb the system?

Brian

[pbearsailor]

I will have two in mine (someday?). They're in the frame and I couldn't get the capacity I wanted with one stock tank, so I got two 24 gallon tanks.

I'm not plumbed yet, but they will be independent, with separate fills and vents and likely just a couple of ball valves inline to select either one.

We're used to two on the boat, so it'll be the same in the trailer. Options on how much to fill and redundancy should you get a leak in one tank are nice to have.

cheers,
steve

[Lothlorian]

I need to figure out how to plumb two tanks for one pump. I checked out your blog and really liked the heater you had on the wall. What kind of hot water heater will you use?

Brian

[pbearsailor]

Hi Brian,

Plumbing to the pump shouldn't be much of a problem. Just need to run each feedline to a common manifold. I'll probably use two inline ball valves and then can open either one to allow feed from that tank.

I had an old Bowen 110 volt water heater and I'll just replace it with a 6 gallon Attwood in the same position, under the stove.

-steve

[utee94]

If you're going to go with a tank under the bed anyway, then you might consider elimintating the one under the couch and just moving to a larger one under the bed. My 30-gallon replacent tank fits easily under my streetside twin, with plenty of room to spare. And if you went with a custom tank you could squeeze even more capacity in there.

That would reduce complexity, unless of course you like the idea of redundancy As Steve does, which can certainly be a good thing. Just depends on your goals.

-Marcus

[Lothlorian]

Utee:

Did you keep your drawers and have a 30 gallon tank? We are trying to keep it orignal as much as possible. I like the custom tank Idea. I am going to design one and make a template out of pink board. I amy go with a 20 gallon also and increase my amount of water.

Do you have picture of your tank?

Brian

[utee94]

I only have drawers on the curbside twin, my streetside was always designed to house the water tank under it. The original water tank would have been one of the old galvanized units that ran off air pressure. A previous owner (Terry aka overlander63 here on the Forums) had already removed that, replaced it with a ~15 gallon plastic tank and on-demand pump. When I redid all of the plumbing, I kept the pump, and got a new 30-gallon plastic tank, which fits under the twin nicely, and if you made a custom one I bet you could get 40 gallons in there, plus water heater, pump, and all plumbing line (supply as well as the galley sink drain lines that come through there).

I have a picture of it all somewhere on my blog, linked in my singature below. I'll check to see if I can find it, I did the work about 1.5 years ago.

-Marcus

[Lothlorian]

Utee:

Your looks like my trailer. I like the van for the tow vehicle. I am looking for a tow vehicle. How does the van work? How big is the engine?

Brian

[Lothlorian]

My son got two 23 gallon water tanks that will fit perfectly. One will fit under the front window and the other will fit under the road side twin. My son has met a forum member here in Georgia, who has been helping him with Airstream knowledge. He also brought home another stove. We now have three and only need one.

Brian

[utee94]

Originally Posted by Lothlorian

Utee:

Your looks like my trailer. I like the van for the tow vehicle. I am looking for a tow vehicle. How does the van work? How big is the engine?

Brian

Brian, if you're looking at the early part of the Forums thread I linked below, then that's likely Terry's van (previous owner). I didn't take ownership until July 2008.

-Marcus