Anyone Change Tank size?

[wahoonc]

I have run a search and been unable to come up with any results...According to my 1975 Owner's manual the Main and Auxiliary holding tanks on my 31' Sovereign only hold 20 gallons and 10 gallons respectively. FWIW the "main" tank is the black tank (best I can tell) and the "auxiliary" appears to be the grey water tank. Has anybody verified this? Here in lies the issue...10 gallons of grey is not enough, that will barely allow for a sink full of dishes and a shower, much less a long weekend's worth. We frequent campgrounds that typically don't have sewer hookups in the sites, but do have dump stations. I realize that the easy way out would be to just use a ground type dump tank. But, it appears that in redoing the floor in the infamous rear bath of mine I will have access to the tanks and now would be the time to do something about it. Anybody done this? Considered it? Want to volunteer to help? Opinions and suggestions are welcome and expected.

Aaron

[Moonshot]

Hey Wahoonc,

My grey tank is labelled 'auxiliary.'

Have you priced the tank yet? My black tank cost around $500. But it was a custom job.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by 63wind

Hey Wahoonc,

My grey tank is labelled 'auxiliary.'

Have you priced the tank yet? My black tank cost around $500. But it was a custom job.

But the request for a quote is going out tomorrow! to http://www.all-rite.com/
Aaron

[Moonshot]

Originally Posted by all-rite.com

Willingness to build ANY product for use in ANY industry!

That's what I call customer service!

[wol]

I just got the floor back in my 74 overlander (bathroom). I have not been able to find a gray tank that is bigger to fit so I am thinking of making my own from stainless. good luck

[Tarheel]

Have you considered making it out of plywood and epoxy? This is the way many tanks are made inside yachts, and this is a landyacht we are talking about. It would allow you to custom fit it. www.westsystem.com is the site and product I do for all my backyard boatbuilding. I don't know if you would want to go this way but it is how I would go since I would have to make a plywood template so that the SS tank could be fabricated.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Tarheel

Have you considered making it out of plywood and epoxy? This is the way many tanks are made inside yachts, and this is a landyacht we are talking about. It would allow you to custom fit it. www.westsystem.com is the site and product I do for all my backyard boatbuilding. I don't know if you would want to go this way but it is how I would go since I would have to make a plywood template so that the SS tank could be fabricated.

Thanks! It has been tooo long. I have built holding tanks out of plywood with 'glass and epoxy interiors, but it has been a few years.

Aaron

[uwe]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

I have run a search and been unable to come up with any results...According to my 1975 Owner's manual the Main and Auxiliary holding tanks on my 31' Sovereign only hold 20 gallons and 10 gallons respectively.
I will have access to the tanks and now would be the time to do something about it. Anybody done this? Considered it? Want to volunteer to help? Opinions and suggestions are welcome and expected.

Aaron

Aaron,
I just got 2 tanks from all-right for my 1963 Overlander project.

A large capacity grey tank will either fit right behind the rear axle, or above the axles, if you're willing to remove them to work on it.
One crossmember must be trimmed to 2 inches, which will eave you with a space of about 55 wide by 40something long. With a little fabrication, you can fit a 60gal grey tank ion there wihout it even sticking down more than 2 inches.
Look at my "A63 for me" thread, it's got teh frame mods pictured.
I would not put a bigger tank under a rear bath, the weight is too much, even for a short tow.
BTW, all right made my tanks, I picked them up earlier this week.
Not cheap, but most excellent quality. I watched Victor, while he made my fresh tank.
They need to sit on a platform, can't be supported by straps, unless you go real small. ( Polyethylene is soft)
I redid the grey in my 1971 tradewind, which has a retrofit PVC tank, that one got strapped and holds about 35gal-40gal or so, I forget. It's big enough for 2 nights of semi conservative use for 2.
You can get 35-40 gal with ut trimming the crossmember, but it will hang down a bit more. Not a problem on my tradewind, it never bottoms out, not even on dirt roads in Mexico.
Make sure you plan the waste pipe runs, and provide adequate venting.
PM me if you wish for more details.
Uwe

[wahoonc]

Uwe,
What I was kind of contemplating doing was not so much as adding a larger gray tank, but more along the line of reducing the size of the black tank with a corresponding increase in the size of the gray. Believe me I don't want anymore issues with the amount of weight back there either. (Battery needs to be moved but that is a whole 'nother issue.) Not really increase the overall capacity, but I have an idea in the back of my mind for that too. I am hoping to do what work needs to be done without major modification or interior stripping, though I am sitting at about 30% removed right now, what's another 70% Especially seeing how the bath has yet to be removed. We camp(ed) extensively with a large popup, it has a shower and cassette toilet. The shower and sink dump into portable tanks and the potty has it's own little black tank about 3 gallons or so. In a full week of dry camping We will typically use 40-50 gallons of water, the bulk of it grey. With the 10 gallon capacity of the AS I would be pulling a tank to the dump station every day. Maybe people in the 70's didn't shower as frequently as we do today? But I can see it becoming a real issue and now while the bathroom floor is coming out is the time to address it. The other idea that I am contemplating is a gray tank under one of the beds above the axle, with a transfer pump located in the rear tank to transfer water to the upper tank. The kitchen sink could drain directly into the upper tank, that would move the weight off the rear and give me more capacity and still be fairly easy to fabricate and install. It would only be a couple of valves and a small pump.

Aaron

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Uwe,
What I was kind of contemplating doing was not so much as adding a larger gray tank, but more along the line of reducing the size of the black tank with a corresponding increase in the size of the gray. Believe me I don't want anymore issues with the amount of weight back there either. Aaron

Aaron, newer Airstream products have their (larger) grey tank inside the belly pan, between the axles. You could go to an RV salvage yard (when did we stop calling them junkyards?) and get one out of a wreck, and install it with only a few minor mods in plumbing.
Terry

[uwe]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Uwe,
What I was kind of contemplating doing was not so much as adding a larger gray tank, but more along the line of reducing the size of the black tank with a corresponding increase in the size of the gray.

I am hoping to do what work needs to be done without major modification or interior stripping, though I am sitting at about 30% removed right now, what's another 70% Especially seeing how the bath has yet to be removed.

The other idea that I am contemplating is a gray tank under one of the beds above the axle, with a transfer pump located in the rear tank to transfer water to the upper tank. The kitchen sink could drain directly into the upper tank, that would move the weight off the rear and give me more capacity and still be fairly easy to fabricate and install. It would only be a couple of valves and a small pump.

Aaron

Aaron,
It's actually very easy, non intrusive to add a grey tank under the floor.
You need to remove one more section of center belly skin, and re-route some of the 1.5in plumbing lines. I find adding pumps and wiring etc. much more cumbersome than doing a factory type grey installation, especially once I modded the frame of the 63.
If your frame rails are enclosed, then you need only add some 2x2 angle iron ( you can use bolts to secure it to the frame) to support a sheet of plywood which the tank sits on. Sounds like you're a handy guy, do it once, do it right and camp in luxury!

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by uwe

Aaron,
It's actually very easy, non intrusive to add a grey tank under the floor.
You need to remove one more section of center belly skin, and re-route some of the 1.5in plumbing lines. I find adding pumps and wiring etc. much more cumbersome than doing a factory type grey installation, especially once I modded the frame of the 63.
If your frame rails are enclosed, then you need only add some 2x2 angle iron ( you can use bolts to secure it to the frame) to support a sheet of plywood which the tank sits on. Sounds like you're a handy guy, do it once, do it right and camp in luxury!

Thanks Uwe and Terry,
for the suggestions, I like the idea of a centrally located tank, but I don't know if there is enough "fall" to get the rear bath sink and shower to drain to a centrally located tank. Kitchen is no problem. Might still need the transfer pump, kind of like a bilge pump

Aaron

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Thanks Uwe and Terry,
for the suggestions, I like the idea of a centrally located tank, but I don't know if there is enough "fall" to get the rear bath sink and shower to drain to a centrally located tank. Kitchen is no problem. Might still need the transfer pump, kind of like a bilge pump

Aaron

Rear bath should have enough slope to reach a central tank. I put in a 28 gal tank foward of the axles and pitched the 1.5" drain line about 3/16" per ft. I also installed a flapper check valve. I also plan to put a plug in the shower pan while traveling.