Moving rear bath to center split bath

[jrossingaul]

Hi, I'm new to the forum, and airstreams altogether! Recently bought a gutted 64' land yacht and trying to figure out where everything goes...I've read up about what a huge task it is to move the bathroom location, but its happening no matter what! Being a newbie, I might have some dumb questions, so bear with me! Is it at all possible to leave the black tank in the back and run plumbing to it? My husband is pondering the idea of using one tank for the black and grey water. Thoughts on that? We will mostly be using this trailer in a stationary location, hooked up to city water ect. Thanks!

[DKB_SATX]

The black tank needs to be directly underneath the toilet if you use a gravity-flush toilet (the typical RV type of toilet.) Personally I think it's a bad idea to use a combined tank for gray and black, because if you're not paying attention and it fills, it'll back up through the lowest drain, the shower. I don't want blackwater in my shower.

[ventport]

If you can hook up to the city sewer you will not need any tanks.

[mandolindave]

But it sounds like you are still deciding some things. Years ago when I was buying a truck, the dealer asked me if I wanted the tow package. I told him that there was no way that I would ever be towing a boat or trailer. Guess what? You never know what life has in store for you.
#1 You might decide that you want to travel
#2 Or stay at a friend or relatives driveway
#3 Or you may want to sell your trailer ( resale value )
#4 You may want to camp in a field, or woods, with no hookups
#5 You may want to go to a rally or festival ( no hook ups )

Bottom line....two tanks are better for a few reasons
#1 cleaner outcome when emptying tanks
#2 two smaller tanks will most likely be bigger than one big tank
#3 with one tank if you take too long of a shower, you could be standing
in raw sewage
#4 If the P traps dry up, sewer gases will enter the trailer

[jrossingaul]

Thank you guys! I think what we'll try to do is have grey and fresh water tanks and then a portable black tank for when we're mobile. Still working out the details on that.

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by jrossingaul

Thank you guys! I think what we'll try to do is have grey and fresh water tanks and then a portable black tank for when we're mobile. Still working out the details on that.

Actually, the normal way this is done with only one tank (besides the fresh water) is to have a black tank and use a portable tank for the grey water. The portable tanks are often referred to as blue boys. The Barker brand ones are blue, other people make them too.

The reason they are mostly used for grey water is that prior to having internal grey tanks Airstreams had black tanks. Back then grey water was simply allowed to drain onto the ground. With the tightening of regulations, a portable tank was a simple way of dealing with grey water.

Even with both tanks, most people generate more grey water than black. Dealing with a portable tank filled with grey water is usually a less objectionable task. They can be used to transporting black water too, but my first choice would be to try to make it till I could take the trailer to a dump station for the black water.

[reinergirl]

Also consider skipping the black tank altogether and putting in a composting toilet like Nature's Head. Then your grey tank can stay grey only. General consensus is that they work very well.

[utee94]

How "gutted" is it? If it's completely gutted, then there's no reason not to move the plumbing around, it's a simple matter of drilling holes in the floor. It can make venting more complex, since most people prefer not to put more holes through their roofs, but that's always something that can be worked around.

Just keep in mind weight distribution and try to keep tanks near the axle(s).

Plenty of good suggestions on this thread and others. Just for reference, modern RVs tend to have fresh tanks, gray tanks, and black tanks, all separate. That is what the majority of campgrounds/truck stops in the USA are geared toward. Moving away from that standard can change the way you dispose of waste compared to "the masses." That's not necessarily a bad thing, just different from the norm, and since you're new to RVing it's something to keep in mind.

Good luck!
-Marcus

[jrossingaul]

Our trailer is completely gutted, not even a floor yet! We are currently replacing and reinforcing pieces of the chassis. If we move the bathroom to the side, where could we fit all three tanks? We do still have the old black tank and it's pan (or whatever it's called), but we haven't tested it yet to see if it holds water. And from what I've been told, we have to have the black tank under the toilet.