'58 Flying Cloud Frame off, need advice.

[ddstech]

Last saturday the body came off without a problem. I have painted the front half of the frame with POR15, there was no major rust problem whatsoever, which is a great thing.

Now I am ready to modify the frame to accommodate the holding tanks. Not a single crossmember is evenly spaced, I guess thats normal? I want to do a grey water tank for the tub and back sink and can't decide if I should do a black tank above the floor or below the floor.

I'm looking for you experts to chime in and give me your advice. My concerns are having too much weight in the very back of the frame, but I suppose I wont be driving any farther then a hundred yards to dump in a state campground. But you never know..

Remember now, I have three little girls = lots of grey water.


Second question: Can I have a trailer place flip the axle to the underside of the springs to give it more clearance?

[r carl]

You could consider cutting off the spring brackets and putting a 6' long channnel under the frame to spread out the load and raise your trailer.

[pbearsailor]

I added gray and fresh tanks in my frame and a black tank above the subfloor. To add some structure to the frame, I used 2x4 tubing in the place of some of the original C channel on the crossmembers, including the rear one.

cheers,
steve

[utee94]

Yup, I like pbearsailor's idea. Here's what I would probably do, but please feel free to ignore it completely if you like, won't hurt my feelings a bit.

I'd use the "bay" immediately behind the axles for a gray tank slung under the floorboards. If you buy a stock tank, to get any reasonable size, you'll probably have to cut out one cross member to make a larger bay. To make up for that, you could replace the two remaining x-members with tube instead of c-channel, and you could also "box" in the main frame rails by welding a long plate into it.

Your new gray tank could be secured with additional bars/plates/steel straps to hold it up. If you don't mind it hanging below the bellypan, you can get a stock 30-gallon gray tank for something like $150 or so. If you don't like that idea, you can always have custom tanks made to your exact specs, like most anything else the only limitation is how much $$$ is in your bank account.

I re-used my original black tank that sits above the floor, with the throne mounted on top of it. It's something like 12 gallons and has lasted 4-5 days with no problems, I've never tried to go longer than that.

My freshwater tank is a 30-gallon polyethelene tank that fits under the SS twin bed, in the same location as the original freshwater tank.

You can check out the links in my signature below for pictures and descriptions of what I've done if you like.

Good luck!
-Marcus

[markdoane]

I'd like to recommend a gray tank just forward of the axle. I think it will provide better balance and stability.

Mine is a 28 gallon tank that sits below the stove and refrigerator. Here's a picture of the frame. The tank sits under the plates. The front spring mount is visible just behind the tank bay.

[ddstech]

Ok. I have decided to just go ahead and get a tank and place it near the axle as recommended. I am on a time constraint, so I need to move quickly. I have read enough threads to know that it will work out one way or another getting the tub water up to the gray tank. Worst case scenario I rig up a manual pump in the tub you operate while taking a shower.

Thanks for the advice. The plates make a lot of sense for stiffening up the frame. I am going to try to do the green thing and pick up a tank from a salvage yard tomorrow, but if I cant find one, I will order online and modify the frame according to measurements given from the manufacturer.

Thanks again.

[utee94]

Yup, the tank sitting fore of the axles can work too. I rarely drive any meaningful distance without first dumping gray water, so it really doesn't make much difference for me. Your mileage may vary.

[ddstech]

Things I have accomplished lately.

New floor down, shell back on.
New coupler welded on, new jack (What a difference)
Started polishing. Its coming along nicely.
Insulated under floor with rigid foam, working on belly pan.

Ran 12v wiring, need to finish 110v wiring and belly pan, then interior walls.