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Old 10-22-2002, 09:15 AM   #1
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Lightbulb Retrofit Grey water tanks

Has anyone ever retrofitted a grey water tank?

I have read the cons of the weight issue and I am aware of them but I cant help but think that someone has tried it.

I was thinking of a 4" PVC pipe that was strapped under the trailer and it ran the length of the trailer, (nominaly).

If a pipe of 4 " about 20 feet long were strapped to the under side it would hold quite a bit of water and to evenly distribute weight, one could install two lengths of pipe, one on each side.

I believe that this concept would work, a little jerry riggish but functional.

Of course the tanks would have to be emptied prior to leaving the campground or site or traveling on the highway.

20 feet x 4 inches would equal about 13 gallons.

Thoughts from the Gallery?

SMily

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Old 01-30-2003, 12:08 PM   #2
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Smily,
I am thinking along the same line. The challenge would be bisecting the axle with the pipe. Alternatively, the pipe could be snaked around the rear half of the trailer.

Another approach is to mount an exterior tank that would be 4" deep across the rear of the trailer. I would think that the tank, either galvanized metal or plastic enclosed in a metal shell, could be held in place with two straps fastened to the frame rails.

Let's keep this topic alive and challenge some of the more engineering minded owners.
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Old 01-30-2003, 01:53 PM   #3
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Just an idea.....

If you run the PVC the length of the trailer, it could just go UNDER the axles. You would have a slight dip in the middle, which may hold some of the water, and prevent it from draining properly. Or another idea would be to snake it back and forth between the rear of the trailer, and the rear axle. If you used the axle to support the front half, it would put less strain on the frame. You would have to come up with some sort of mounting, that would compensate for the suspension movement between trailer and axle though. You could put solenoid valves on each run in the middle, and open them over a sewer grate at a truck stop, or other parking lot. (Don't take me seriously on that last sentence!) I think 29 feet of 4 inch ID will hold around 19 gallons, which could weigh 160# more or less.
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Old 01-30-2003, 02:10 PM   #4
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I just stumbled on to this thread and find it interesting. Our 73 Safari has no grey water tank. The ABS pipe is an neat idea. I know that the previous owner cut the belly pan away up front and had a spare tire mounted there. The tire is gone but it sure is a large cavity. Is there any reason why that space couldn't be used to hold a tank of somekind? I guess it would be best to still have a pipe running to the rear for convienience of dumping. Any thoughts on this location being appropriate?
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Old 01-30-2003, 03:55 PM   #5
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The possibilities...

Why not go with a "U" shape or square with a wye or tee at the rear corner turned down at a slight angle to provide ground clearance yet help drainage? Figure 2-6.5'(+/-) runs across the rig and at least 2-8'(+/-) fore and aft runs and you'd have 29' of pipe not including the 90's and you wouldn't have to contend with the axle...just an idea.
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Old 01-31-2003, 08:33 AM   #6
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sounds good but wait till you have to clean the pipe out. all tanks get cloged up and are a mess to clean. need to red neck engineer a cleanout system for the pipe also. if you need the tank call the trailer dealer in alabama he has a zillion tanks stacked in his storage bldg. lol
al
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Old 01-31-2003, 08:59 AM   #7
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solution...

chimney brush cut down to fit on the end of a plumbing snake ingineers-r-us, attach it by using the bailing wire holding the pick-up box sides together!
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Old 01-31-2003, 09:13 AM   #8
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Clean out

Some form of hose fitting could be installed at the opposite end of the tube for flushing.

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Old 01-31-2003, 10:16 AM   #9
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Since they make a telescoping rod with a screw-on brush attachment on the end and a water hose coupling at the handle, all you would have to do is find a brush that would mount to the end and scrub/flush away.
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Old 02-01-2003, 12:11 AM   #10
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Exclamation Made one but it didn't work.

I had to remove and replace the rear portion of pan under my bath/toilet area because the shower drain had been poorly repaired. Anyway that area is fairly open with no frame cross-members creating an obstacle. So, I built a grey water tank out of 3" pvc piping by snaking it back and forth. I was able to fit it into the cavity and could have covered it with alum sheeting (which I finally did to repair the pan). But I gave up on the grey tank at that location because there was no way for the shower to drain into it. Also, it interfered with draining the shower to any location. The depth of the trailer frame under the floor is only five inches, and that was needed to install the p-trap for the shower.

Running pipe like that under the pan and under the axle would probably work, but it would lower your ground clearance significantly. The danger there is if you high center it on almost anything the grey tank would be ripped off and possibly it might take some of your other plumbing with it (along with sheet metal). Also, you would decrease the streamlining of your A/S, increasing mpg on your tow vehicle. Finally, I think it would look terrible, but to each his own!
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Old 02-01-2003, 12:17 AM   #11
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Lightbulb Addendum

Oh, I forgot to mention that the pipe I used was 4" not 3" and by snaking it back and forth I was able to have a run of about 8 feet. I'm not good at figuring volume in cylinders so I tested it by pooring water in one gallon at a time. I think I got about an 8 gallon capacity, if I remember correctly. A 3" line would obviously be less. An 8 gallon capacity might not be worth the effort.
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