Tank location

[badpaddler]

What are the ups and downs of relocating the tanks to near the axle, and then running the drain back to the rear of the trailer. We are doing away with the blackwater tank (Compomsting toilet) and upsizing the greywater tank. For the ribs going lengthwise down the center of the frame, would they have to be relocated?

Thanks,

Seth

[Lumatic]

There was no factory grey water tanks until 1973. If you have one it is a modification. It makes sense for a tank to be located near the axles.

[badpaddler]

I should have said doing away with the blackwater tank, an changing it to a greywater tank. I am not sure if the greywater tank will be full often enough for the weight to matter, but I figured that since we are doing away with the toilet anyway it would be easy to run the ABS up to the middle of the trailer.

[dbj216]

Many vintage Airstreamers have updated the waste water systems on their trailers. I did so on my old 66 Trade Wind 24', one size up and one year older than your Safari. The black tank under the rear of the Trade Wind was wholly inadequate in my view. The toilet was leaking and rotted out the rear subfloor. I had a lot of rebuilding to do.

I ended up with a new black tank, and a new gray tank; both have 27 gallons capacity. I drained the tanks under the frame rail and on the street side rear like many newer Airstreams do. It is a big project. The photo shows the tanks hung between the frame rails and the dump valves below the frame rails.

My 75 Overlander had a 10 gallon gray tank. The black tank was broken. The rear subfloor was rotted out. Deja Vu! The Overlander has this weird rear drain system. It ain't the best, but I'm going to make it work. The new gray tank is located one frame bay forward. I am draining it with a pipe all the way to the rear of the trailer.

I must add that the Overlander has 3" angle irons welded to the rear of the 5" frame channel. These act as skid rails. The old tanks occupied both the 5" frame rails and the 3" skid angle irons.

I'm not a fan of composting toilets. They seem like human litter boxes to me. It takes quite some time for waste material to compost judging from my Iowa hog lot experience. Bacteria takes its sweet time. I'd rather let the sewer plant at the end of the pipe do the composting for me. A new black tank and a new flush toilet is cheaper than a composting toilet.

This is just one Airstreamer's opinion. I'm just trying to share my experiences.

David

[badpaddler]

Yeah. I had thought about going with a new blackwater tank, but we are trying to make it as off grid as possible, and having to find somewhere to dump the blackwater is always a hassle. Water toilets also use a lot of water, but we will be putting in 2 seperate potable water tanks anyway.