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Old 05-04-2005, 11:42 PM   #1
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Black Tank for 65 Caravel

HI, I was wondering if anyone has a good lead/place to get a new black tank for my 1965 Caravel. Mine is too far gone to be repaired. It's very brittle and has quite a few cracks in it, both top and bottom. I want to get one that is the same as mine or very close, so I do not have to modifiy the shower enclosure. Thanks in advance !
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Old 05-05-2005, 10:29 AM   #2
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I too ran into the same problem. I ended up making one out of marine plywood and epoxy. It works fine and was really pretty cheap. I figured if it ever gets bad, I'll just make another one. Since I had the shower pan and closet out, I was able to make a template of the curve of the back wall and make the new tank a little larger.
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Old 05-05-2005, 12:37 PM   #3
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Paul & Ann,

Can you give me a little more detail? What thickness plywood? How much epoxy did you need? Did you use roving or mat? About how thick was the epoxy over the plywood?

My tank is in good shape, but it only has a 2" outlet, so I want to make a new one.

Aprreciate your help.
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Old 05-09-2005, 01:55 PM   #4
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Hi Don.

I used 5/8" fir marine plywood. I made a pattern of the corner of the trailer with a piece of cardboard, cutting and fitting until I got the angles right and the curve right. The tank is a little bigger than the original, it sticks into the closet just a bit so that there is room for the 1-1/2" vent stack to come out of it.

I used used West System epoxy that I got from West Marine. Any of the marine epoxys would do fine. Once I got the pieces cut out, I assembled the bottom and the sides. The sides were attached to the bottom by applying a thick mixture of epoxy and screwing from the bottom with stainless screws apppx every 4". Once the epoxy cured, I took the tank in for to check for fit and to mark the location of the bottom outlet, which I did from underneath with the tank was in place. I also placed the shower pan to check it for fit as well.

I then placed the top on the tank and set the pan back in place so I could mark where the toilet flange would go.

Once I had the outlet located I bought a 3" male adapter from the rv outlet.
I cut a hole in the bottom so that the portion of the threads fit fairly tight. I then mixed some epoxy with out any thickeners and coated the inside of the tank, letting as much run down around the threads as it would take. I was careful not to let any get on the slip fitting part of the adapter. I did this six more times on the inside of the tank, making sure I got a good fillet of it around the joint where the sides attach to the bottom. I also did the same to the top of the tank, getting all sides covered. I also covered the outside of the tank as well with six layers of epoxy.

I took the tank top and cut a hole where the toilet flange would go and a hole for the vent. I bought a 3" female adapter and epoxied it to the inside of the tank top so that once assembled, the toilet flange would have something to screw into. For the vent to hook to I epoxied a 1-1/2 male adapter to the outside of the tank top.

Now that everything was sealed with at least six coats of epoxy I was ready to assemble. I bought a tube of 3M 5200 adhesive sealant (also from the marine supply). This stuff is extremely tough, I use it to bed planks on wooden boats and once on and cured, it has to be cut with a heated blade to remove. I placed and extremely generous bead of 5200 along the top edge of the tank sides. I set the top in place and used a air stapler to shoot some fastners in to just hold the top in place while I was screwing it down. Then I screwed the top down with the #6 x 1-1/4" stainless flat head screws I had used on the bottom. I predrilled all the holes with a countersink before putting in the screws (same on the bottom.) Then I tightened them carefully and uniformly. 5200 oozed out which I later cut off with a knife. Then I let the 5200 cure for about 5 days and the tank was ready to install.

I'll try and get some pictures together that better shows it all and how the drain valve and toilet flange went together. The flange basically just scewed into place once the shower pan was permanently set. The plumbing underneath was pretty easy, I used a 3" street 90 and a y to get from the 3" male adapter to the waste valve.

It sounds like a lot of work but it wasn't too bad considering the cost of a new tank, and the fact a new tank would have to have fittings etc cut and mounted to it. Feel free to PM me and I can call or write with more detail.
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Old 05-09-2005, 02:04 PM   #5
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I forgot, epoxy wise I bought 2 quarts of epoxy and 1 quart of hardener. Thickness was probably almost 1/8" when everything was done and I didn't use any matting, without any thickener, which I only use for assembling pieces or for filling gaps, it soaks in and then the subsequent coats bind to that extremely well.
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Old 05-09-2005, 04:32 PM   #6
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Thanks, sounds like a great tank. I really like the idea of using 5200 to attach the top, I would never have thought of that part.
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Old 05-09-2005, 07:33 PM   #7
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Ya know, this idea is sounding better all the time. How long do ya suppose the epoxy will hold up to the holding tank chemicals ?
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Old 05-09-2005, 07:58 PM   #8
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My thinking, epoxy may not be as resistant as polyethylene, but it should be better than the original polyester fiberglas.

And if it isn't, I'll try something else.
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Old 05-09-2005, 08:41 PM   #9
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Yes, I just don't want to end up spending 400 bucks for a few tries at it when I could have bought a new one from Inland RV for the same amount. I guess thats worth a few tries tho Eh ?
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Old 05-09-2005, 08:54 PM   #10
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I understand. For me, it's a case of being familiar with, and comfortable building stuff out of fiberglass, and enjoying the sense of accomplishment. And I don't know if InlandRV has the tank for a '59.
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Old 05-09-2005, 09:02 PM   #11
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Hsve you looked into a custom built tank? THese links were published in another thread:

http://www.incaplastics.com/

http://www.accutanks.com/ronco_water.htm
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Old 05-10-2005, 08:53 AM   #12
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Thanks Janet, I will take a look at the sites.
Chris
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Old 05-10-2005, 09:08 AM   #13
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Well, epoxy should last as long as poly. Most modern wooden boats are constructed in this fashion. I have laminated thin strips of white oak to achieve a 2" x 3" x 26' "log" to use for chines in my wooden cruiser. Those are below the water line, where the sides meet the planing surface of the hull and they have stayed perfect now for five years. The key is to get everything encapsulated with a heavy protective barrier. Cost wise I probably have at the most $80.00 in materials invested. Hence why I figured if it ever gives me trouble, I can either do another or have one built. I'm not worried about the chemicals or wastes attacking the epoxy because epoxy coatings are widely used for chemical protection, and since the tank is small and the wood fairly stout, I don't worry about any flexure cracking the epoxy. If that is a worry there are epoxies that remain more flexible when cured than West. Epoxies from the rot doctor fall into that category. Anything that is going to flex should have that type of epoxy as opposed to a hard epoxy.
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Old 05-10-2005, 09:17 AM   #14
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Stuart Natoff wrote an article about doing this (for a combination black/grey water tank) in last summer's VAC magazine. He built this quite a while ago and it's worked fine for a couple of years. You can download the issue off the VAC website or click here:

http://airstream.net/members/van/v11i1.pdf

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Old 06-03-2005, 11:18 PM   #15
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Inland RV Black Water Tank

Before you go out and get a replacement black water tank from Inland RV, I want you to know about an experience I just had with Inland RV. I ordered a replacement black water holding tank for my 72 Tradewind. Total was about $450.00. It arrived with no inlet, outlet or vent holes. It was apparently hand made of fiberglas with what looked like a repair, all freshly painted white. I called Inland RV and was told to cut the inlet, outlet and vent myself. I was not about to cut these holes in the tank, let alone try to install threaded flanges in a handmade fiberglas tank. I returned it to Inland RV and aked that my Visa account be credited. After about a month an a half, I emailed Inland RV to see when the credit would be made. I recieved a reply telling me that my account would not be credited and that I could have the tank back if I paid for shipping Their "policy" was not to accept returns after 10 days. I wrote them a note back asking them to reconsider, seeing that I've been a good customer for many years. I think they value their customers! All I want is my money back. I would never consider putting that poorly made reproduction tank on my trailer. I'll let you know what happens.
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Old 06-04-2005, 07:23 AM   #16
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Rivet Tanks ...

fireflyinva,

Tanks-A-Lot for posting that link to the combination article. It was quite interesting.

C Johnson,

Here is another site you might try to search for a replacement tank and required fittings.

http://www.all-rite.com/products.html

In the restoration of my '65 I intend to consider providing a combination holding tank ... when & if I get back that far ... I started in the front and am slooowly my way to the rear!

PS. There are also some shower pans available on this site for those of you that have to create a new bath.
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Old 06-18-2005, 12:40 PM   #17
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Black Tank Problem solved

I am having one made from high grade 1/4 " polyethelene right here in town. It will be a bit larger than the old one. They are supplying the fittings. It is pretty much a duplicate of my old one except I extended it in to closet floor 6" to increase the holding capacity. I will post a pic here when it is done.
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Old 06-25-2005, 11:56 PM   #18
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New Black tank

Here is the new black tank I had made last week. Pic I increased the size. They supplied the 3" fitting for the dump valve. It ran me $250. Apex is a very good company to deal with. PM me if you want their info. New tank headache free, a ok in my book ! It holds approx 11.6 gals.
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Old 06-26-2005, 09:58 AM   #19
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Hi Chris, that's looks like a nice tank. You'll never regret the extra capacity, and the bottom floor of the closet is useless anyway, might as well fill it with tank!
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