Cramping the lifestyle... the horrid blueboy.

[gomotomoto]

So sorry to bring up a negative in the lifestyle section, but I think it's appropriate due to the fact that it directly lends to the overall vibe of the experience.

We have a beautiful 1964 Ambassador. Just love it. Everything has been updated except for the holding tanks. I don't think I'm going to rip the belly pan out and add one. Just too much hassle. So... we carry a blue boy.
It's gross. It's blue. It looks like hell when we have it lashed to the back of the airstream when we travel.

I know it's stupid, but disguising that thing would make it a touch better and was thinking of making a long rectangular tank out of aluminum diamond plate. It could sit on our back bumper and would improve aesthetics quite a bit.

Has anyone done anything similar?

[Meeks]

I do not have a solution for you but I'm sure someone will!

I just wanted to write that aesthetics is important. It is most likely one of the many reasons you enjoy your beautiful Ambassador so much! So your desire to come up with a more attractive solution for your Airstream is a wonderful idea! Let us know what you come up with!

[gomotomoto]

Yes, otherwise we'd be dragging around boxy northtrails

A big part of it is how the thing (airstream) pleases the eye. The blueboy is just a square peg in a round hole.

I do think a custom large, low profile diamond plate tank will offer a great solution. Excuse my french, but that won't look like a GIANT TANK OF POO strapped to our beautiful airstream.

I can TIG weld, so I think it would be a great project -- better than ripping up my floors to install a retrofitted grey tank that probably won't have enough capacity anyway.

That's it, I'm gonna do it. Now just need to find aluminum fittings that will work with RV plumbing lines and whatnot.

Originally Posted by Meeks

I do not have a solution for you but I'm sure someone will!

I just wanted to write that aesthetics is important. It is most likely one of the many reasons you enjoy your beautiful Ambassador so much! So your desire to come up with a more attractive solution for your Airstream is a wonderful idea! Let us know what you come up with!

[Lily&Me]

What about a large, drawstring, grill cover?


Maggie

[cwf]

Make it out of sheet ... add some rivets with TIG... paint a Minion facing forward... like this free clip art.. there others you may prefer...

[Lily&Me]

[gomotomoto]

excellent idea

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

What about a large, drawstring, grill cover?


Maggie

[gomotomoto]

this is a solid idea!

Originally Posted by cwf

Make it out of sheet ... add some rivets with TIG... paint a Minion facing forward... like this free clip art.. there others you may prefer...

[Lily&Me]

You can buy heavy duty grill covers in several sizes, and the drawstring ones stay on quite well...and, can be washed when road grime sets in...and, it will.

To me, that would be a near-instant solution.


Maggie

[InterBlog]

Grill covers could work, but many of them are black (UV-resistant) and rather conspicuous against aluminum, plus I don't know how you'd fare on getting a close size.

I'm a huge fan of silver tarp, the kind you can get for less than ten bucks a sheet (about 8 x 10 feet). If you have rudimentary sewing skills, you could sew a cover for the blue boy and maybe cinch it with bungee cords. Or make a drawstring pocket at the hem and run paracord through that to cinch it. And the silver color would blend with your trailer.

I did this for our Yeti cooler which sits on our custom hitch carrier, not because the Yeti was ugly but because I wanted to keep road dirt off it, and also because I wanted to add closed-cell foam insulation as an extra measure because we live in the Deep South where even a Yeti is challenged to retain its coldness against the prevailing inferno of heat. It is a big baggy in this photo because the basic box cover I sewed has extra growing room in it for more foam if needed.

The tarp stands up well to outdoor abuse - that's what it's designed for. This thing has about a year and 10,000 miles on it so far and it still looks pretty good. You can see that I use rubber bungee cords to cinch it around the bottom. Some of the rubber bungees that are on the market have re-position-able hooks so they can be adjusted to a custom length.

[MelGoddard]

The question is:
How well would the Aluminum stand up to the acids and corrosion factors of "The Poo"?

[gomotomoto]

Originally Posted by MelGoddard

The question is:
How well would the Aluminum stand up to the acids and corrosion factors of "The Poo"?

I decided to "wrap" a plastic tank inside an aluminum casing.

[sailormom]

Would REALLY like to see your pictures when done! We have a 67 Overlander. We did redo all our holding tanks but we also take a portable tank with us whenever we boondock for longer periods of time (right now we throw in back of pickup) so I would like to see what you come up with. One question--I can see having an empty blue boy on the bumper but would you ever be having a full one on the bumper while in tow? Wondering because it is so easy to cause rear end separation and we also worry about any extra weight back there.

[Tim A.]

An interesting thing is that it is possible to paint those blue things. The paint job won't be very smooth, but it will stick. How do I know? I did it about 14 years ago with our blue tank. Most of the paint is still on it even though I mounted the tank with a bracket under the trailer next to the spare tire and the tank is held in place with rubber tie-down straps.

The paint secret? 3M 90 Spray Adhesive. Spray the outside of the tank with the adhesive and let dry completely. Then spray with paint. I used black paint because it helps hide the lumps and bumps of the adhesive surface.

Be careful of overspray with the adhesive. It is almost impossible to remove!

Tim

[gomotomoto]

Originally Posted by sailormom

Would REALLY like to see your pictures when done! We have a 67 Overlander. We did redo all our holding tanks but we also take a portable tank with us whenever we boondock for longer periods of time (right now we throw in back of pickup) so I would like to see what you come up with. One question--I can see having an empty blue boy on the bumper but would you ever be having a full one on the bumper while in tow? Wondering because it is so easy to cause rear end separation and we also worry about any extra weight back there.

Will do! I wouldn't tow with any fluids in there. I'd be empty on the road always.

[gomotomoto]

Hmmmmmmm, wow that's clever. Think rattle can paint will work? If so I happen to have a very large can of silver at the ready!

Originally Posted by Tim A.

An interesting thing is that it is possible to paint those blue things. The paint job won't be very smooth, but it will stick. How do I know? I did it about 14 years ago with our blue tank. Most of the paint is still on it even though I mounted the tank with a bracket under the trailer next to the spare tire and the tank is held in place with rubber tie-down straps.

The paint secret? 3M 90 Spray Adhesive. Spray the outside of the tank with the adhesive and let dry completely. Then spray with paint. I used black paint because it helps hide the lumps and bumps of the adhesive surface.

Be careful of overspray with the adhesive. It is almost impossible to remove!

Tim

[RLtravel]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Grill covers could work, but many of them are black (UV-resistant) and rather conspicuous against aluminum, plus I don't know how you'd fare on getting a close size.

I'm a huge fan of silver tarp, the kind you can get for less than ten bucks a sheet (about 8 x 10 feet). If you have rudimentary sewing skills, you could sew a cover for the blue boy and maybe cinch it with bungee cords. Or make a drawstring pocket at the hem and run paracord through that to cinch it. And the silver color would blend with your trailer.

I did this for our Yeti cooler which sits on our custom hitch carrier, not because the Yeti was ugly but because I wanted to keep road dirt off it, and also because I wanted to add closed-cell foam insulation as an extra measure because we live in the Deep South where even a Yeti is challenged to retain its coldness against the prevailing inferno of heat. It is a big baggy in this photo because the basic box cover I sewed has extra growing room in it for more foam if needed.

The tarp stands up well to outdoor abuse - that's what it's designed for. This thing has about a year and 10,000 miles on it so far and it still looks pretty good. You can see that I use rubber bungee cords to cinch it around the bottom. Some of the rubber bungees that are on the market have re-position-able hooks so they can be adjusted to a custom length.

Thanks for the tip about making a thermal cover for your Yeti cooler. This is a great idea for any cooler, especially when the sun is beating down.

[backdoor man]

Have a Denteley you don't have a pick up truck, because you could just throw it in the back of the bed and forget about it. So forget the lumps and bumps's and the adhesive glue, just go to a straight up plastic spray can and pick the color you like and let it go at that until you can find a solution that you can live with.

[Meeks]

Such fabulous, creative ideas!

[djarrett]

Just wondering if you've considered a compost toilet to avoid the need for ole blue boy?