Where is your freshwater tank located?

[Docsgsxr]

Originally Posted by EricW

Found one on eBay but am unsure. It's 100 gal and measures 81.25 in which is almost perfect but perhaps a tad big. In the picture on my first post in this thread you can see the back of the bus. The width of the inside is 84.25" from the stud to the coolant lines. I feel that is sufficient except for the fittings on the tank are not included in the measurement. I figure I could raise the tank up so the fittings are all above my coolant lines. The snug fit is rather appealing...

If the fittings on the tank are on the side, you can flip it upside down and put a 90 degree elbow and tube on the inside to reach the bottom of the tank itself, that way you can avoid the coolant lines and service the fittings if need be.

[EricW]

Originally Posted by Docsgsxr

If the fittings on the tank are on the side, you can flip it upside down and put a 90 degree elbow and tube on the inside to reach the bottom of the tank itself, that way you can avoid the coolant lines and service the fittings if need be.

Ahh very good idea. It has predrilled holes, I'm betting I would need to add a new hole? Otherwise getting the tube in and threaded to the fitting might not work?

[Docsgsxr]

Originally Posted by EricW

Ahh very good idea. It has predrilled holes, I'm betting I would need to add a new hole? Otherwise getting the tube in and threaded to the fitting might not work?

Normally those holes are already threaded. Most of the tanks you buy from surplus dealers on ebay come from a manufacturer that designed them for plumbing.

If you needed an extra hole, say for venting, id take a hole saw just smaller than a pressure relief valve, and manually screw that puppy in. That way you just flip the little lever and it's open, flip it back and it's closed.

The inside tube could be flexible plastic hose, or even pex tubing crimped on to adapt to a rigid plumbing fitting.

[WhiteWhale]

I also have been considering fresh water under the bed to protect from freezing/light/etc. But not sure on grey water... Seems to me it would need to be under the bus in order for the shower to drain to it. Not sure how I will keep it from freezing. Perhaps we will need to be more permanently stationed in the winter for direct grey water draining...

I am curious what other full timers in cold climates have done for grey water?

[Docsgsxr]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

I also have been considering fresh water under the bed to protect from freezing/light/etc. But not sure on grey water... Seems to me it would need to be under the bus in order for the shower to drain to it. Not sure how I will keep it from freezing. Perhaps we will need to be more permanently stationed in the winter for direct grey water draining...

I am curious what other full timers in cold climates have done for grey water?

If you have a 40 gallon or less grey tank, you can add 3 to 4 cups of salt into it to help keep it fluid. I dunno how much more you'd need for a bigger tank. (but then again depending on where you are.....the Bering sea freezes quite often....)

[EricW]

100 gal tank came today! And advice on framing it in? I was going to just do 2x4s around it... still deciding if I should run the plumbing along the floor with the coolant lines or on the other side... good news is it seems to be a nice fit. Also do people typically get the 12v waterpump from a place like lowes or menards or must I seek out an rv supply store?

[Tango]

I do hope that big sucker has baffles. And RV pumps are really what you need. There are a number of good ones (like ShurFlo & FloJet) that can be found at a discount with a little shopping around. Make sure it is self-priming and has "run dry" capabilities.

[Docsgsxr]

2x4's will be good to keep it from sliding, I'd use plumber's tape to fasten over the top.

[karrlot]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

I actually use two 55 gallon plastic drums for my fresh water. They're the perfect height for a counter top and they can be easily replaced if they get nasty at any point in the future. RV tanks are about 15 times as expensive as plastic food grade drums and I'll let you guess which one is tougher. I've dropped a full barrel of water and it didn't break. Could an RV tank do that?

How do you have those secured? That is exactly what I want to do. I'm trying to figure out how to secure 500 lbs from flying around the inside of the bus if I lay it on its side.

[Robin97396]

Actually I leave the barrels standing up because they're pretty darn hard to move when they're full. I have L-track covering my floors and one track above the windows. I put, for lack of a better word, cleats on the floor to prevent the base of the barrels from sliding. In addition the top of each barrel is strapped to the wall to prevent tipping. So far they haven't moved at all, but I can't say the same for the wood stove last trip. I did forget to strap the stove down last time I went to town. It just walked itself out into the bowling alley area.
I've considered other configurations with the barrels, such as mounting them sideways in a stacked configuration with the aid of a little framing. It seems to take up about the same amount of floor space so I'm not convinced I want to make that effort to something that may not work. My thoughts are barrels can leak sideways.
I seem to have water accidents inside this bus fairly frequently anyway, which isn't all bad. The floor is pretty darn clean after frequent moppings for one. Interestingly the L-track actually channels water spills from the floor to whatever end of the bus is lower. Kind of like 8 little gutters on the floor.
The barrels work quite well for me. I do use h2o2 to prevent any algae growth. Algae being a concern specifically because this is mountain spring water and it's going to have algae in it.
These food grade plastic barrels can freeze solid while full of water. I specifically filled four barrels last year as a test. Two were outside directly in the weather and two were in the back of a 2 1/2 ton truck. None were damaged which surprised me. Considering they were like $10 used food grade barrels, I'm impressed. I've even dropped a full barrel while moving it and it didn't break. I know it's not an RV tank, but this isn't an RV.

I find it interesting that there are a considerable number of people that seem to be vocally upset at the idea of my cheapo style of conversion. I reiterate that I can not legally make this into an RV. It's titled and insured as a van. Oregon will not insure a school bus conversion unless it was through a professional coach builder. This is my only option to maintain insurance. Yeah it's a little on the screwed side so I have to think differently, mostly modular instead of built in. I'm not interested in a bus as a tiny house that doesn't move. Since I can't have a bus/RV conversion this maxi-van will have to do. I figure I can legally modify this bus to the same extend as a normal conversion van. I'm going for insulation naturally. No shag carpet on the ceilings, walls or floors though.

[slaughridge85]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

I find it interesting that there are a considerable number of people that seem to be vocally upset at the idea of my cheapo style of conversion. I reiterate that I can not legally make this into an RV. It's titled and insured as a van. Oregon will not insure a school bus conversion unless it was through a professional coach builder. This is my only option to maintain insurance. Yeah it's a little on the screwed side so I have to think differently, mostly modular instead of built in. I'm not interested in a bus as a tiny house that doesn't move. Since I can't have a bus/RV conversion this maxi-van will have to do. I figure I can legally modify this bus to the same extend as a normal conversion van. I'm going for insulation naturally. No shag carpet on the ceilings, walls or floors though.

If they don't like it they can pound sand... We're doing a cheapo conversion too. The whole point of our build is to do it as cheaply as possible because we're trying to pay our daughters tuition as we build and live in our bus.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

I've got no problem with people doing things their own way... The only issue I see with barrels is the inherent wasted space a cylinder creates. FWIW I was originally leaning towards using the exact same kind of barrels you are.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Actually I leave the barrels standing up because they're pretty darn hard to move when they're full. I have L-track covering my floors and one track above the windows. I put, for lack of a better word, cleats on the floor to prevent the base of the barrels from sliding. In addition the top of each barrel is strapped to the wall to prevent tipping. So far they haven't moved at all, but I can't say the same for the wood stove last trip. I did forget to strap the stove down last time I went to town. It just walked itself out into the bowling alley area.
I've considered other configurations with the barrels, such as mounting them sideways in a stacked configuration with the aid of a little framing. It seems to take up about the same amount of floor space so I'm not convinced I want to make that effort to something that may not work. My thoughts are barrels can leak sideways.
I seem to have water accidents inside this bus fairly frequently anyway, which isn't all bad. The floor is pretty darn clean after frequent moppings for one. Interestingly the L-track actually channels water spills from the floor to whatever end of the bus is lower. Kind of like 8 little gutters on the floor.
The barrels work quite well for me. I do use h2o2 to prevent any algae growth. Algae being a concern specifically because this is mountain spring water and it's going to have algae in it.
These food grade plastic barrels can freeze solid while full of water. I specifically filled four barrels last year as a test. Two were outside directly in the weather and two were in the back of a 2 1/2 ton truck. None were damaged which surprised me. Considering they were like $10 used food grade barrels, I'm impressed. I've even dropped a full barrel while moving it and it didn't break. I know it's not an RV tank, but this isn't an RV.

I find it interesting that there are a considerable number of people that seem to be vocally upset at the idea of my cheapo style of conversion. I reiterate that I can not legally make this into an RV. It's titled and insured as a van. Oregon will not insure a school bus conversion unless it was through a professional coach builder. This is my only option to maintain insurance. Yeah it's a little on the screwed side so I have to think differently, mostly modular instead of built in. I'm not interested in a bus as a tiny house that doesn't move. Since I can't have a bus/RV conversion this maxi-van will have to do. I figure I can legally modify this bus to the same extend as a normal conversion van. I'm going for insulation naturally. No shag carpet on the ceilings, walls or floors though.

I'm all for the cheapie quick stuff, too! Well, except for old zephod's nightmare build.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by TheRainbowBoxer

I've got no problem with people doing things their own way... The only issue I see with barrels is the inherent wasted space a cylinder creates. FWIW I was originally leaning towards using the exact same kind of barrels you are.

Check out One Nation Under Goat's barrels. SWEET setup for sure. Looks great.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

I looked that build up... very very nice mounting.

[Versatile]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Check out One Nation Under Goat's barrels. SWEET setup for sure. Looks great.

Hello. Where can i find? Check out One Nation Under Goat's barrels.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

One Nation under goat's build:

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/bu...ats-11237.html

the barrels/tanks are near the end of the thread.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Versatile

Hello. Where can i find? Check out One Nation Under Goat's barrels.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/bu...-11237-19.html







I have some pics I took when they were in town. I'll look for them later. Their tank setup was nice! And cheap!

[Robin97396]

That is such a clever way to use plate to form an arch. Never seen it that way. Without that support from above, given by the arch shape, a barrel type container supported by some type of straps tends to swing a bit.
I can't hang the 55s under my skirt. Well, not if I expect them to retain water. 35 gallon fresh tanks hanging under seem kind of small, but a 35 gallon black tank does have some strong appeal even for a minimalist build like mine.
Sometimes it's a problem. Bad timing kind of problem.

[pat2549314526@gmail.]

It is mostly up to what you have to work with it put mine just past the wheel well told the back and place a bed over it with a service door to access the water pump also put a t and a valve on the suction side to use a funnel to add rv anti freeze in the winter