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Old 07-20-2008, 02:14 PM   #1
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Holding Tank Mounting

I got the holding tanks from my old Allegro RV and wanted to mount them on my conversion but the problem was how to hold them on. I solved my problem by using ladder hangers abailable from Tractor Supply or Lowes for about $1.49 each. It took me 10 per side. One on each end and four down each side. When in place the hangers gave me almost exactlly the right amount of hang distance to allow for plumbing and dumping. The hangers where screwed to the bus undercarriage supports with drill screws.
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Old 07-21-2008, 10:52 AM   #2
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

IMO, if there's any fore/aft movement of the tank, I'd be concerned that those screws (bracket->bus) could easily oval their holes. Just an observation.

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Old 07-21-2008, 01:35 PM   #3
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck Webb
It looks better than my bunji-cords and tie-downs!
Yeah I got ratchet straps holding my fresh water tank (55 gallon barrel) under my bus. I'm working on getting some actual metal straps to replace them with, but they're holding up fine. I've driven it down the road full of 50-55 gallons of water (about 450lbs) with no problems, each strap is rated at 1500 lbs so I think it will be fine.

Here's a few pics of my holding tank mounting.











This tank feeds my sur-flo pump - pump is self priming, and doesn't need a pressure tank.



Which feeds my fancy faucet. I only have the cold water hooked up (hot water side is capped so it doesn't back flow through the faucet)



For a drain I just have garden hose through the floor to the ground, it's just gray water. This would probably not fly in a high end campground - we usually use my bus for more rustic camping, and once and a while as a party bus.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck Webb
Could Steve add spellcheck to the boxes above this box? Just asking, thanks Steve for the already super job!
If you use Firefox rather than internet explorer spell check is included. http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

That's what I use, I'm a terrible speller.
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Old 07-21-2008, 06:42 PM   #4
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

I believe I used screws right to the floor and metal straps across the bottom of the tanks which are also screwed in. That for both black and gray water. Both tanks are 5 gallon.
My fresh water I made up a angle iron frame to hold it up since I believe it is a 30 gallon tank but it could be more or less.

I also use Firefox. Been using it for close to a year now. I like it for the spell check and a plug in that allows me to download youtube videos if I chose to. I don't even care for internet explorer anymore.
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Old 07-21-2008, 07:29 PM   #5
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

I used hurricane straping the kind they use to lash down mobile homes. If you cut them just right they act just like gas tank strap on your car..I used self tapping to line them up and then bolted them in...
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Old 07-23-2008, 09:55 PM   #6
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

I bought new RV tanks for $45 each, mounted them to the bottom of my cargo bay, they still have about 12" clearance to the ground....

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Old 07-24-2008, 01:18 PM   #7
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

Hey Cliff,

I have some all-thread and uni-strut laying around and have been thinking it would be a very good way to hang my tanks. I have also been looking at a pair of the same tanks you are using and am within a few days of ordering them. It looks like they are made to hang from the edges formed into them down the length of both sides which would be easy enough for cut outs in a sheet of plywood. How did you hang yours?
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Old 07-24-2008, 08:44 PM   #8
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

Thanks everyone for all the replies. Each one has merit and shows great ingenuity. I will try and post again after the ladder hanger holding tank brackets get a workout. It may be that some of you are right and the things crack or as we say in the south "waller out" from vibration. But right now they seem very sturdy. My 203 lbs can hardly shake them. Fore and aft movement is restricted by brackets on each end. I do not plan on traveling with anything in the tanks... I am curious as to how some of the other methods handled the issue of venting the tank as it filled. Lastly I will add this that most of you more experienced hands may know already. Lowes/Home Depot has a glue just for joining ABS piping to schedule 40 PVC it is in the GREEN label can. It seems to work well so far. All purpose PVC cement (RED) label and ABS cement (black) label does not hold well when the two pipes are joined.
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Old 07-24-2008, 08:49 PM   #9
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

I ran piece of strut material (the metal thing with all the holes in it) across from one side to the other, bolting it through the lower body rail. It actually need a couple of them and some welding but I didn't have welding equipment so I used a piece of 2x2 bolted to the strut all the way up through the cargo deck floor using carriage bolts. On the sides of the 2x2 I used some angle iron (middle section has an angle iron on each side facing outward) to create a lip to hold the tank flange...

I hope this drawing helps...



The only thing I can add to your plan to drop them into cut-out's in the plywood, you will still need to reinforce them underneath as 2 tanks at 36 gallons each have a potential of nearly 600 pounds when full...
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Old 07-24-2008, 09:10 PM   #10
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

Ah, got ya. I didn't see the angle iron in the photo. Yeah uni-strut is a great material and I have three lengths laying around left over from another job. Thx.

Hey, did you use any of the 1 1/2" or 3" rubber tank gromets that guy at Tri-State sells? If so what did you think of them, did they install satisfactorily?
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Old 07-28-2008, 09:03 PM   #11
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

Yes I did, and by all means get them!! I got one 3" for the toilet pipe, and three 1.5" for the gray inlet and a vent stack for each of the two tanks. You'll need a couple of hole saws, but these things are easy enough to cut through. I first got the tanks where I wanted them, then started with the hole saw, but once the pilot hole was started I pulled the tank out of the way, drilled the hole through the cargo deck floor first, then drilled the hole in the tank since the pilot hole was already started.



The key here, was to NOT have the tanks hard mounted, so I could slide them back and forth on their mounts.



The image above is the cut-out for the 3" toilet pipe, and those slip seals work really well, if you make the right size hole they will fit in there nice & snug, then the pipes just slip down into them and they fit snug too...



Next came the 1.5" hole for the vent stack, note you can see the floor cut-out material above the tank...



Slide the tank back into place and insert the piping...



The gray tank used two 1.5" slip gaskets, one for inlet and one for vent stack.... BTW, you can see the holes in the floor inside the cargo bay in this picture...





I also got the waste valves from somewhere on ebay too...



I sent the two vent stacks up to the roof, one straight up and the other I had to put a couple of 90º elbows in it. I did hower, run them up and over the top of the cargo bay so they wouldn't get in the way of things....



Those pipes are embedded in an 8" wall that holds all the bathroom plumbing, the 2 vent stacks, and most of the electrical feeds that go up that side of the bus. The holes were eventually filled in with "Great Stuff" after everything was run...





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Old 07-28-2008, 09:11 PM   #12
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

Ummm, as an addendum to the above, I made all the holes along the outside edges of the tanks, this was to keep the middle area of my cargo bay as "pipe free" as I could.

Also, once you work those slip gaskets/grommets into the top of the tanks, you may have trouble sliding the tank back into place. I wound up loosening the outside mounting struts so that there was enough clearance from the top of the tank to the bottom of the cargo deck floor to slide them into place, then re-tighten the strut back up to the deck...
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You just might be a Redneck if...
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...Your living room has a steering wheel!
...Your home has brake lights

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Old 07-28-2008, 09:22 PM   #13
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

Glad to here those rubber grommets work well, thx for the info.
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Old 07-29-2008, 08:37 PM   #14
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

I was tempted to tie the two vents into one stack, but wasn't sure about that. Hindsight being what it is, the next time around I'll use a single vent stack. I used two because I was emulating the way my TT was built, and they used seperate stacks. Be that as it may, it works just fine.

As for going through the roof, that was my choice. I thought about venting out the side a foot or two above the tanks, but then the thought of sewer oders wafting up into the window made me re-think that.
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...Your home has brake lights

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Old 08-09-2008, 07:20 PM   #15
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

i like the staps, i used old L brakets with metal straps and a diesel tank that had been sitting in the desert for ten years. barely fit and drilling holes in the frame was hard
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Old 09-16-2008, 09:45 PM   #16
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

Went camping this week and the tanks on the ladder hangers worked out fine. There are 8 hangers per tank. We did not have any need to haul around a full tank any farther than the dump site but we had no problems. (much to our relief)
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Old 09-17-2008, 11:38 AM   #17
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

I believe that another purpose of the vent is to allow air into the tank. If waste decomposes without air it STINKS much worse! I suspect using a trap with water or other "one way valve" will make things unpleasant if you're using the bus for any length of time. A proper vent is part of the system.
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Old 09-17-2008, 02:23 PM   #18
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Re: Holding Tank Mounting

Quote:
Originally Posted by wdbowers
Went camping this week and the tanks on the ladder hangers worked out fine. There are 8 hangers per tank. We did not have any need to haul around a full tank any farther than the dump site but we had no problems. (much to our relief)
Good to hear. Thanks for the update.
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