1963 Safari Plumbing

[sdiddy]

Hello All,

I'm in the process of getting my 1963 Safari somewhat restored. I'm now working on the plumbing in the toilet and bath area in the back. My first step is to remove the old toilet and black water tank. I'm interested in the shape of the floor under the tank and around the shower area, since from my reading on this forum, that seems to be a susceptible area for water damage.

My question is to all the restoration gurus on the forum is how does one remove the black water tank and shower without destroying everything.

Thanks
Steve

[overlander63]

Steve, the first thing to do is liberally apply your favorite rust penetrant, then wait a couple of days, and re-apply. Move the fasteners carefully, working them back and forth until they start to unscrew. Continue adding the penetrating oil while working the fasteners back and forth. With any luck, most of them will come out with little trouble. The most important thing is to take your time. A little judiciously applied heat may help as well, just remember you are working around 40+ year old (very) dry wood.

[sdiddy]

Terry,

Thanks for the tips. I'm really interested as to how the black tank is attached. I drilled out a set of rivets that hold the top flange of the tank to the back inner skin and also drilled out a second set that looks like it held the tank using a metal flange attached to the floor behind the front wall of the tank.

Do you know if there are attachments on the bottom where I need to remove the belly skin? Is it customary just to cut the black abs pipes going to the tank? I'm a bit concerned about the dump valve and how to remove the tank without destroying things.

Thanks
Steve

BTW, where is Cape Fear, FL? I was born n raised in Miami.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by sdiddy

BTW, where is Cape Fear, FL? I was born n raised in Miami.

12 miles WNW of Fort Myers, about 18 miles South of Cape Hayes.

The black tank basically rests on the floor, with the dump valve protruding through the floor. You will find a vent pipe attached to a corner of the tank, on top of it, as well as the toilet mount. The black PVC can be cut, and a PVC joint can be put in where the cut was made. There are attachments that come from the kitchen sink, and the bathroom sink/bathtub drains that will have to be removed from the dump valve. On ours, to simplify plumbing, I ran the kitchen sink drain into the vent for the black tank, it keeps food debris out of your blue tote, and there is then only one drain from the bathroom sink and tub into the tote.
Here is a photo showing the alteration:

[sdiddy]

Terry,

Thanks again for the info. I have another quick question about the dump valve on the black tank. I think I found the handle, but am not sure it is the handle. THe handle I found is accessable from the outside in the back. The handle is a tee handle and is in a hatch on the back bumper which also looks like it was storage for the long gone original sewage hoses. The odd think about the handle is that it was jammed against the bottom of the hatch floor and doesn't move at all. I tried twising and pushing but nothing happened. So, my question is, where is the dump vavle handlle supposed to be?

Steve

My sister lives in Sebring. Is that close to you?

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by sdiddy

So, my question is, where is the dump vavle handlle supposed to be?

Steve

On our Ohio-built trailer, the black tank is on the street side, and the handle is under the trailer's left rear area, directly under the toilet. If you have the access hatch in the back, and the toilet on the curb (right) side, you may have a California-built trailer. If you are sure you have a 63, the valve handle should be under the toilet area. An appearantly unrelated question: Do your light fixrtures have two light bulbs per fixture, one for 12 volts and one for 120 volts?
Sevring is North and East of us.

[overlander63]

I found a photo of where our dump valve exits, and the replacement valve for the hunk of brass you are working with now:

[sdiddy]

Hi Terry,

The handle I'm refering to is on the street side under the toilet. The hatch I was refering to is on the rear of the trailer spanning the entire rear end. I'll try to get a photo later today.

The SN for my Airstream is 223T113 and the nameplate has Ohio on it. Folks on the forum identified it as a 63 Safari manufactured in Ohio. It has the twin bed configuration in the front.

I do have two light bulbs in the fixtures. One is 12 volt and one is 110volt. I did have a hard time finding out where the battery belonged. The PO wired in an inverter and taped connections to the battery terminals in a little hatch on the street side.

Thanks
Steve

[sdiddy]

Here's a pic of the streetside rear and the hatch I'm refering to in previous posts. The handle is behind the wood in the hatch.

Thanks
Steve

[campbell]

Terry,
You've helped us before with some of our questions, and now I have another for you regarding this dump valve connection. We have the same arrangement of bolts on our blackwater tank as you show in your picture above, with a larger diameter bolt pattern on the older blackwater tank and a narrower diameter bolt pattern on the dump valve. How exactly did you attach the dump valve to the older blackwater system, given this bolt discrepancy? Ours was retrofitted by a PO, and we are attempting damage control.
Thanks,
Mariel