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Old 06-27-2008, 06:45 AM   #1
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Question Adding gray water tank to a 1971 25'

Is it possible to add a gray water tank to a 1971 25' and where would it go? What year did A/S start providing grey water tanks?

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Old 06-27-2008, 06:52 AM   #2
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Yes you can add one with some work. 1974 was the first year for gray tanks in Airstreams. Uwe had an early 70's Trade Wind that he added a gray tank to.
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Old 06-27-2008, 08:26 AM   #3
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I did, indeed.
It goes in the frame space immediately behind the rear axle.
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Old 06-27-2008, 09:04 AM   #4
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Uwe, do you have any photos showing the process?
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Old 06-27-2008, 10:25 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cameront120 View Post
Uwe, do you have any photos showing the process?
Sorry, I do not. I was on a PC back then, and when it went, it took out my photos.
I did a rear floor replacement at the same time.
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Old 06-27-2008, 10:37 AM   #6
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Sorry, I do not. I was on a PC back then, and when it went, it took out my photos.
I did a rear floor replacement at the same time.
That's a shame.
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Old 06-27-2008, 11:57 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by cameront120 View Post
That's a shame.
Indeed.
However, I do remember doing the job. It really wasn't very difficult.
The hardest part is always finding a suitable tank. One that has the drain connection at the right stpot and fits well into the frame space.
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Old 06-27-2008, 12:19 PM   #8
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I suppose one could make a tank out sheet stainless. That might actually be easier than finding one ready made that meets a particular trailers requirements.
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Old 06-27-2008, 12:53 PM   #9
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I suppose one could make a tank out sheet stainless. That might actually be easier than finding one ready made that meets a particular trailers requirements.
After you drop some belly pan and measure what you need...

Ordering a new tank will be easier than you think:

example - - Plastic-Mart -

try googling Custom RV Waste Tanks
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Old 06-27-2008, 01:07 PM   #10
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I considered adding a gray tank to mine but I felt it would be too difficult to reroute all the drain plumbing. On my present factory setup everything drains to the rear. I would have to completely redesign it to drain to the center then somehow route the tank drain back to the rear or street side. I may regret it later but decided it wasn't worth the hasle IMHO. I'll just have to hope that I will be able to use the old blue tanks.
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Old 06-27-2008, 02:18 PM   #11
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I'd do it now, while you've got a blank slate. I've found over the years that there are occasionally camping opportunities at places that aren't campgrounds. Sometimes, even at some campgrounds, the dump station is SO very far away, its a royal pita to get a blueboy over there. If you can, you have to wait in line twice. And where no dump station exists, (highway rest stop/walmart/crackerbarrel, etc), a small blueboy has little utility...and a big one is too heavy to lift into the truck. It would just be so much easier to be completely self-contained.
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Old 06-27-2008, 07:05 PM   #12
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I have a 70 23ft safari that I am going to put a tank in. I was going to try a tank from a newer Airstream. Maybe a 75 or 76 and see how the factroy did it. There can't be a lot of difference in the way they are put together. Mine is a single axle.
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Old 07-01-2008, 06:00 PM   #13
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Grey tank in '71 25 footer

Quote:
Originally Posted by paul903 View Post
Is it possible to add a gray water tank to a 1971 25' and where would it go? What year did A/S start providing grey water tanks?

Thanks
Hi Paul - my situation exactly, and I'm coming up with the same answers as others who responded - "put it behind the axle." Check out INCA Plastics. They make a 26 gallon tank that looks right, but I'm not ready to pull the trigger. Tonight, I'll post the specific tank #, some thoughts on why it looks right, and other work I'm doing in the area. jim
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Old 07-01-2008, 07:40 PM   #14
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I found a very nice tank for the Globetrotter at Ronco plastics in Tustin CA.
www.ronco-plastics.com

Their Holding tank catalog has some tanks that will fit into the frame recess, with just enough protrusion to make a nice new dump valve system.
Grey tanks need to be vented at or near the top, so that they can fill completely without forming an air bubble above the liquid. The fill pipe can go into the tank's lower section, or even connect to the drain line. With the 1.5in valve closed, the tank will fill so long that it is vented at the top.
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Old 07-01-2008, 11:29 PM   #15
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Check out <Incaplastics.com> RV Tanks - # H136 26 gallons, or# H 86 - 27 gallons. It would fill up either the next to last bay under the floor, just forward of the bathroom, or the bay forward of that. I would like to have it as close to the axle as possible to reduce change in weight distribution as it filled. And that also reduces the moment arm on the rear of the trailer frame if I had to haul it around filled for any distance on a rough road. The Land Yacht is vastly improved now that I've added new steel aft of the wheels. It was a trailer park queen, and suffered from regular irrigation at its stern - the floor under the bathroom was compost, the insulation was still damp, the frame had holes rusted through, and the belly pan was corroded at all the rivets. Forward of the axles, all was healthy except for the belly. Even the mice.

So while replacing one sheet of plywood, 6 1/2 feet of 11 gauge 5 X 1 3/4 frames, and trying to fit a shower into the aft curb-side corner, it seems like the right time to add a gray water tank. Its going to be a little tricky getting the piping to the new tank, venting the tank, and arranging a pipe and valve for the waste.

How have any of you secured the tank to the underside and the frame or cross-members? It doesn't seem wise to weld fixed brackets to the cross-members to secure a plastic tank. Have you any experience with forming a new shower pan in the corner, and locating and installing flexible plastic or fiberglass sheets on the inner skin?

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experience so generously. Jim
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Old 07-07-2008, 09:44 PM   #16
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What we wanted was to have the ability to stay someplace over night and still be able to use the sinks for things like washing hands and a little clean up after eating.

The original manual recommended leaving the cap on and allowing the pipes to fill but that makes a mess when you take the cap off because there isn't a valve.

The local AS dealer (back in Michigan) came up with the idea of using a section or two of 3" drain pipes going from the kitchen drain and the bathroom drain and putting waste valves on the ends. I can hold about as much as a small blue tank and I don't have to drag it around or lift it.

The price of the pipe is cheap and it didn't require any where near the work to install a full gray water tank.

I don't think I would recommend going long distances with the pipes full, especially over rough terrain.

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