Dropping tank pans, 2001 Safari 25

[Al and Missy]

I'm going to have to bite the bullet and replace my tank monitor system. This week we were out for two days and at the end of our camp out we drained the black and grey water tanks. The bar graphs on the original monitor system didn't change.

The pans (and presumably the tanks) are held in with side-to-side steel bars at the front and rear flanges of the pans and front to rear steel straps, all screwed into the floor and/or frame with screws/bolts. To drop the pans I have to pull the screws. Is there anything else holding the tanks in place? If I pull the screws, bars, and straps, will the pans fall away leaving the tanks hanging by their plumbing? The fresh water tank has a drain valve bolted to the pan with a short piece of hose. Is there enough slack in the fill and pump hoses to drop the tank? What is the connection, if any, from the toilet to the black tank and from the shower and sinks to the grey tank?

Lot of questions, I know. Thanks for any information or process suggestions!

Al

[Bill M.]

I would have the tanks power flushed first. Some marine places do that. I had a company called Hydro-flush or something like that do it 3 years ago. Sensors could be tust crusted up.

Personally I would live without the moniters if a good power flush did not fix them. I seldom look at mine.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, sounds similar to mine; I only dropped my fresh water tank and the lines/pipes need to be removed/disconnected or they probably would break. Tank and cover need to come down together. One mistake that I made was to not mark the metal bars [as you called them] The holes are very close, but not the same. I had some difficulty getting some of the bolts back in.

[sandlapper]

Al, have you tried the dish soap/ice/ride around the block treatment for your tanks?

Monitor panels of all types are notoriously inaccurate.

John

[Okiestreamer]

Al, I have the same need to access my tanks but for a different reason. My drain valves are leaking. Anyway, I will be following this thread to see if we get any help from those who have dropped the tank covers and tanks. It would be a great help for those who have done this would share their experience with us. Surely, we aren't the first to need access to these tanks.

[Panama Red]

I've only dropped the tanks on my 73 Sovereign center bath, both gray and black. If you think that info would help, I'd be glad to share... Not sure how similar it would be to yours.

-Red

[Al and Missy]

Robertsunrus - Your trailer may be similar to mine. Where/how did you get access to disconnect the fill line and pump line from the tank? I have the -A version with front recliners and rear twins. water pump is under the hanging locker opposit the head on the curbside

John - Thanks, i was going to try that next time I move. My storage place has a dump station. Right now the trailer is at home. I had suspected the monitors before, but this time when we headed out they were indicating empty for black and 1/3 for grey. After the camping they were 1/3 black and 2/3 grey. I drained them at the campground before leaving and the indicators didn't change. I'm going to try the ice thing before I do anything drastic. I can live with inaccurate, I'm not so sure about non-functional.

Thanks everyone,

Al

[sandlapper]

After the cleaning routine, dump everything and then leave the valves open and the cap off to let the tanks & indicators dry out. Give it a day or two then check their readings. If they are clean, and dry, and still read incorrectly , they may very well need replacing.

Good luck, see you in a few weeks.

John

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by Al and Missy

Robertsunrus - Your trailer may be similar to mine. Where/how did you get access to disconnect the fill line and pump line from the tank? I have the -A version with front recliners and rear twins. water pump is under the hanging locker opposit the head on the curbside

Al

Hi, my trailer had a large hole in the floor under the pantry. Not easy to get to, but can be done. I would not remove my tanks for the monitor system. They never work right anyway. If Airstream could show me exactly where the tank sensors are located, I would cut access holes for replacing them.

[Al and Missy]

Thanks. I think I may be able to do the same, but I am reconsidering the whole thing, or at least the part about dropping the tanks. My plan was to replace the existing system with the Garnet See-Level system. Their sensors are external, stick-on installation. I think with a couple of judiciously located holes I might be able to stick on the new sensors and abandon the old ones in place. I should be able to get a wire from the monitor panel area to the tank area for the new sensors or maybe use the existing wiring. But I'm going to go without for a while to see how that works. That's what a Blue Boy is for anyway, right?

Al

[Bill M.]

The drain valves are better accessed by cutting a access hole in the tank cover under the valves, servicing the valves, and screwing a cover over the hole. This is the method Jackson Center used to do our valves. Generally leaky valves can be repaired with a seal kit from OUtdoors mart or vintage trailer. Care is need in locating, sizing, and cutting the access hole so as not to harm the tank in the proces

If you just have to know you can look at the fluid level with a flashlight through the toilet. I just dump fairly often.