Protecting the trailer’s freshwater from road hazards and boondocking
Fresh water is essential when we are camping, especially if we are dry camping or boondocking. Many models carry 37 gallons or over 300 pounds of fresh water in their tank. Airstream designers understood that having a low center of gravity is key to a smooth ride so they put the freshwater tank in the frame between the axels with the drain spigot exiting between the two wheels in the wheel well.
When driving on pavement this is less of an issue but when driving on unpaved gravel roads there is a lot happening in that wheel well with one wheel shooting rocks up and a few inches away another wheel shooting them down.
I am aware of two cases of broken off spigots, both on a trip to Alaska and in my case while driving on the Lower North Shore of the St-Lawrence River where there was quite a bit of road work, a rock didn’t break it off but knocked the handle sufficiently to slowly start draining the tank. Thankfully I noticed it before the tank was empty (we were boondocking).
The first solution was to find some kind of cage to cover the spigot but finding none, I decided to build a little box of galvanized sheet metal. I made a cardboard model to figure out the size and the cut-out pattern with tabs for the rivets. Given there is a plate below the spigot (see first picture, click to see upright) the idea was to rivet the box to a hinge and rivet the hinge to the plate. I made it such that when closed (see second picture) it is tucked against the frame and I didn’t need any lock or catch. I used a woodworking vise to bend the sheet metal which I got from a hardware store's ventilation duct section.
Maybe JC will add a spigot protector as a standard feature in the future...
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2016 International Signature CCD, RBQ, Dual A/C, 28'
2018 GMC Sierra SLE 2500HD, 4x4, Crew Cab, Duramax Diesel, Leer cap
Lift kit, 16" wheels, Michelin Agilis CC LT
DIY Solar: 500W Renogy panels, AM Solar hdw, Blue Sky MPPT controller, 470ah Rolls battery bank, 2000W Renogy inverter.
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