Chevy Step Van (not a bus, exactly) Black Water Problem

[the_inevitable]

Hi Everyone!

I'm new to skoolie.net. The RV Escapees folks told me to take my conversion crap over to this forum and leave them alone. Bunch of curmudgeons.

But really, the info here looks really awesome and I look forward to absorbing the great knowledge!

My wife and I just bought a 1973 Chevy Step Van. It's about 19 feet long and we're in the process of converting it over. Ran in to an issue yesterday with our plans - we have no place for a grey/black combo tank under the vehicle. The space I found that fits between the rear hitch assembly, side wall, and tailpipe that still gives me good road clearance is about 9.5" x 20" x 10". Not a lot of space, especially for a combo tank (6 gallons, I think, will fit). Right now it'll be for toilet and a sink only. Probably will never put a shower inside, just have it outside and put up a curtain. Cold days will make me question this decision, but whatever.

Here's the question: is it legit to keep the black tank inside the vehicle? I can't cut up the floor at all, but I have space in the rear to fit a 20 gallon tank that drains out the bottom of the vehicle between two of the floor ribs. I was thinking I could build a little pedestal for the toilet to go over top. Am I opening myself up to something really disgusting and problematic, or is this ok?

Thank you!

 

[GreyEagle-SKO]

Yes, you can put the tanks inside..... Just elevate the commode above the tank. The grey tank will be more of a problem... not so much for the kitchen sink, or bath room sink but for the shower.....
but then you could use a small tub instead.....elevated above the tank.. cut hole in floor and run your drain lines out to the drain valves....

 

[lornaschinske]

Hi Everyone!

I'm new to skoolie.net. The RV Escapees folks told me to take my conversion crap over to this forum and leave them alone. Bunch of curmudgeons. !

Excuse me, but I'm the one who told you to come here. You will get very little encouragement or good info over on Escapees for the type of questions you were asking. They are a very good site for campground related problems. I have pointed a lot of folks here over to that site to educate them on campgrounds & RV parks. But they suck big time when it comes to building an RV on a different platform. It's a different mindset. They can only point you towards RV stores. They do not understand nor are they inclined to either think out of the box or to do things "frugally".

After weekending in campgrounds for about 25 years (tents to pop-up), fulltiming in a popup for about 18 months, then fulltiming again in a Class C from 2006 thru 2011, moved into the bus as a "metal tent" in Dec 2011, I've pretty much seen or experienced all they have to offer. I get far more DIY info here. We will eventually join Escapees again for their mail forwarding ( & TX domicile) as they are one of the best and I've already had one mail forwarding service go belly up on me (not fun when your tax papers are being returned to sender!).

You will find that the skoolie folks are a tad ... different. We will squabble amongst ourselves but don't "dis" our buses! We also tend to "build it" before we "buy it".

Right now David & I are trying to see how cheap we can convert our bus and still have what we want and have it look good.

 

[bansil]

Depending on use, a portipotty might work better for you.
This may sound weird but.....use a portipotty for..ugh..waste removal :mrgreen: and when you wipe, fold paper over and place in a zip lok "snack" bag and toss in a can.
You can then dispose of the bottom "removable" part in a toilet or dump station
We've done that.

Oh....and post some pics in the ...well I guess short bus section or conversion section...we like pictures of projects.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Howdy TI...and welcome to the madhouse! --- Hard to imagine there is not more room under a step van but then I've never really crawled around under one. My "Shorty" bus is about as cramped as it gets and I managed to stuff a 44 gallon combination black/gray in one of its' few available slots. But, that said, another option you might consider in order to keep the toilet and/or shower down to a workable level would be to make a through space in the floor so that part of the tank is inside and the rest below deck. Might save a few precious inches of height that way. Nowadays it isn't all that involved to get a custom shaped tank made so you could build one that is big, wide and low above the floor and tapers down to fill the available area outside. Also, you can arrange multiple tanks linked together as long as you use large diameter tubing and maintain enough drop to keep the nasty stuff flowing downhill to the final tank in the series. But whatever route you go, the one hard,fast rule is that the toilet needs to drop directly down into the holding tank regardless of any other considerations.

Looking forward to some pix and expect that there will be responses from the folks here who have also converted step vans.

Best of luck and don't hesitate to ask about anything here. This forum is ripe with very knowledgeable and experienced folks who have taken on some pretty impressive builds.

 

[ol trunt]

Hey TI, Tango is right most of us are WAY ripe . Since most of us can't reed or whight, pics are nearly mandatory. Share your build plans and ideas with the rest of us and I'm sure you'll get lots of feed back. Ol Trunt

 

[GreyEagle-SKO]

Depending on use, a portipotty might work better for you.
This may sound weird but.....use a portipotty for..ugh..waste removal :mrgreen: and when you wipe, fold paper over and place in a zip lok "snack" bag and toss in a can.
You can then dispose of the bottom "removable" part in a toilet or dump station
We've done that.

Oh....and post some pics in the ...well I guess short bus section or conversion section...we like pictures of projects.

Pics of the van.......yea

somethings are better not seen....

 

[roach711]

We went with a porta-potti and a small grey tank for the shower and sink drains.

 

[the_inevitable]

Hi Everyone,

I HAVE been trying to respond, but I keep getting disapproved posts for linking to illegal software..... ???

Thank you for the input and verification. As crazy luck would have it, we found a shape that worked really well underneath the van, although it puts us uncomfortably close to the tailpipe. There will be insulation.

To lornaschinske, thanks for pointing me here! I was gently poking fun at the Escapees forum, but yes, you're right about the type of input you get. Skoolie has some mind-blowingly cool builds going on and I'm excited to be here!

 

[chev49]

your posts were probably in the middle of a whole bunch of spam posts that were bulk deleted... in that case its moderator error which occasionally happens.

 

[grummy]

Awesome ! Another Step Van Convert !

So, you have noticed that perhaps us "Steppies" have no real home when it comes to forums. You have your HDT and MDT sites, your schoolbus sites, coach sites, sportsmobile sites, sprinter sites...... No dedicated forums for STEP VANS !!! Oh well. We'll just hang out where ever we can as long as we can. My first step van intro in a forum was over at cheaprvliving.... They do have a "truck" section there.

Any how, it looks like you have a great start there. What do you have behind the seats, 14 foot ? Looks like you have a 125" wheelbase model.... I'm guessing you have a 350 chev with an auto ? I happen to love step vans over many other vehicle options. I started one this summer too. This one is the 4th Step I have owned, and I currently have two. Quite the rugged bodies they have in comparison to some other options out there.

You were talking water and waste tanks.....
I kicked around my options for water and holding tank issues too. I decided to go with a 21 gallon fresh water tank because it was the largest I could fit on the passenger side in front of a frame mount storage cabinet I have ahead of the rear wheels. I selected the largest ABS waste tank I could fit on my drivers side, leaving just enough room in front of it for an additional "hot tank", a super insulated tank of about 10 gallons that will be heated by Solar, Engine coolant via heat exchanger, and perhaps even a coil I can drop into a charcoal fire starter or fire pit when necessary. The hot tank is primarily for showers,,,,, I decided on a wet bath.

Your question about the tank being inside ? Well, if Your going to try to WINTER in that truck, it would get difficult to keep things warm under the truck, so inside IS the best option there. However, you know just how huge that space is under the truck outside of the frame rails and it is essentially the perfect spot for tanks. I figure I can use my truck in the winter all I want, but just would have to change my habits a bit by carrying all water inside where it is warm. Porta-pot would be fine as long as I keep the heat on. Then at least in summer, I can go back to using the frame mount tanks. It'd be a lot of room burned up inside with the tanks in there full time. Easier to alter habits for the winter.....

My holding tank is INTENDED to be a grey tank, but it has the regular 3" dump/slide valve in case it turns into a combination grey/black tank. As a grey only, I can dump it right here at my house with a garden hose into my sewer drain. As a black tank, its always a trip to the dump site. Having two tanks (black and grey) looked rather space consuming for the amount of room I had, so one tank it was!

I opted to go with the new Oval style Thetford Curve porta-potti. So far, it's been very nice. Even the wife likes it. Much taller than some of the square ones, and with a 4 gallon flush / 5 gallon waste capacity, its been surprising how long it goes before its full. I figure this whole aspect (grey tank only/portapot) is easier to deal with for the short trip/weekend use my truck is intended for. However, I will be leaving a 3" access port to the grey tank in the the floor of the shower area, so, if absolutely necessary, I could empty the porta right into the frame mounted waste tank.

Looks like your doing great ! Don't skimp on the insulation ! Can't wait to see more photos of your progress.

If you want a look at my project, you can find it here:
http://www.data-cut.com/grumliner.htm

 

[Crazy]

Awesome ! Another Step Van Convert !

So, you have noticed that perhaps us "Steppies" have no real home when it comes to forums. You have your HDT and MDT sites, your schoolbus sites, coach sites, sportsmobile sites, sprinter sites...... No dedicated forums for STEP VANS !!! Oh well. We'll just hang out where ever we can as long as we can. My first step van intro in a forum was over at cheaprvliving.... They do have a "truck" section there.

Any how, it looks like you have a great start there. What do you have behind the seats, 14 foot ? Looks like you have a 125" wheelbase model.... I'm guessing you have a 350 chev with an auto ? I happen to love step vans over many other vehicle options. I started one this summer too. This one is the 4th Step I have owned, and I currently have two. Quite the rugged bodies they have in comparison to some other options out there.

You were talking water and waste tanks.....
I kicked around my options for water and holding tank issues too. I decided to go with a 21 gallon fresh water tank because it was the largest I could fit on the passenger side in front of a frame mount storage cabinet I have ahead of the rear wheels. I selected the largest ABS waste tank I could fit on my drivers side, leaving just enough room in front of it for an additional "hot tank", a super insulated tank of about 10 gallons that will be heated by Solar, Engine coolant via heat exchanger, and perhaps even a coil I can drop into a charcoal fire starter or fire pit when necessary. The hot tank is primarily for showers,,,,, I decided on a wet bath.

Your question about the tank being inside ? Well, if Your going to try to WINTER in that truck, it would get difficult to keep things warm under the truck, so inside IS the best option there. However, you know just how huge that space is under the truck outside of the frame rails and it is essentially the perfect spot for tanks. I figure I can use my truck in the winter all I want, but just would have to change my habits a bit by carrying all water inside where it is warm. Porta-pot would be fine as long as I keep the heat on. Then at least in summer, I can go back to using the frame mount tanks. It'd be a lot of room burned up inside with the tanks in there full time. Easier to alter habits for the winter.....

My holding tank is INTENDED to be a grey tank, but it has the regular 3" dump/slide valve in case it turns into a combination grey/black tank. As a grey only, I can dump it right here at my house with a garden hose into my sewer drain. As a black tank, its always a trip to the dump site. Having two tanks (black and grey) looked rather space consuming for the amount of room I had, so one tank it was!

I opted to go with the new Oval style Thetford Curve porta-potti. So far, it's been very nice. Even the wife likes it. Much taller than some of the square ones, and with a 4 gallon flush / 5 gallon waste capacity, its been surprising how long it goes before its full. I figure this whole aspect (grey tank only/portapot) is easier to deal with for the short trip/weekend use my truck is intended for. However, I will be leaving a 3" access port to the grey tank in the the floor of the shower area, so, if absolutely necessary, I could empty the porta right into the frame mounted waste tank.

Looks like your doing great ! Don't skimp on the insulation ! Can't wait to see more photos of your progress.

If you want a look at my project, you can find it here:
http://www.data-cut.com/grumliner.htm

Not feelin' the love, huh? That ok, you're welcome here. LOL.

 

[lornaschinske]

... us "Steppies" have no real home when it comes to forums...

You cab be "stepnuts" here. We might learn from you as well.

My daughter has wanted a Grumman stepvan ever since she saw one in the movie "Sneakers". She has since shifted over to wanting a mid sized dognosed skoolie to fulltime in.

 

[the_inevitable]

Awesome ! Another Step Van Convert !

WHOA! I've never encountered such excitement! I'm happy to have something that's fun and unique. I'm not overly vain, but it's nice to have an interesting rig.

It's 19' total, about 14 feet of usable space. Not a lot, but it'll work. 350 auto, yep!

I was surprised with as much height off the ground how little space there was under the floor to mount anything. Going inside won't be too bad - we've got a 15 gallon single tank and we'll just need to keep an eye on it. Thankfully it's a short vehicle, so driving to a dump station is way easier than taking a bus out. We're going with a city water feed only for now, but can expand to a water tank if we have to. Just starting with the basics - figure we won't be boondocking much in the beginning.

Great to see another step van fan! I wasn't one, until I bought this, but now I love it. Very cool vehicle. Another bonus is the food truck industry is big right now, so unloading it would be easy, but a shame to do.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Just for the record --- We had the very first meeting of the Houston Area Skoolie Chapter yesterday evening! Met with Chris (The Rice University Blue Bird Project)...at Colin's place (the excellent, all aluminum Chevy Step Van) and looked over what he was up to. He is most fortunate to have a lovely lady-friend who can mig-weld (what else could a guy ask for in a woman!?)

They have a good start insulating and putting down flooring and are working on the black/gray water system. Meanwhile, Chris has made some progress de-rustifying the floors in the Bird (a process all Skoolies can most likely relate to). And me...I haven't had a chance to even visit my poor baby for weeks. Too busy working at paying her bills.

After looking and chatting, we headed over to a local joint affectionately known as "reHAB" for some tasty beverages and a little more bus & truck talk but it was Wednesday and once the house band cranked up, conversation got put on the back burner.

Was great to meet these folks and we plan on staying in touch.

In fact, it occurs to me that it could be very beneficial if this Forum also had some form of regional boards where Skoolies could trade local info and plot similar get togethers. If anyone else is interested in something along those lines, maybe we could get the folks who put this wonderful place together to add something like that. What'cha think?

 

[lornaschinske]

... In fact, it occurs to me that it could be very beneficial if this Forum also had some form of regional boards where Skoolies could trade local info and plot similar get togethers. If anyone else is interested in something along those lines, maybe we could get the folks who put this wonderful place together to add something like that. What'cha think?

There's no one near us. Sometimes Chadluc blows thru (a good description). As for traveling, we can't do any right now. Bad weather and need to spend any extra $$ on the conversion. I want to be insulted completely before it gets too cold for too long. After insulating/finishing galley, my next "project is to get the bus ready for traveling (minor repairs, rewire the tow lights, tag/title/insure). I get one week PAID vacation. Thinking of heading over to the Gila Cliff Dwellings near Silver City and basing the bus inRockhound State Park for a week in September. We would drive the Jeep where we want to visit. All this depends on how much $ I can save up.

 

[CargoSpace]

Colin and Allie were indeed considerate hosts. Their project is really interesting - I strongly suggest checking out their blog where they have lots of pictures. It helps when you have good bones - their Chevy step van is just a handsome vehicle to begin with. When they're done, it will be an enviable machine. OK, even more enviable.

The Rice semester is just starting up, but we'll be back onboard Cargo Space tomorrow, continuing the interior prep for paint and the new plywood subfloor.

 

[the_inevitable]

In fact, it occurs to me that it could be very beneficial if this Forum also had some form of regional boards where Skoolies could trade local info and plot similar get togethers. If anyone else is interested in something along those lines, maybe we could get the folks who put this wonderful place together to add something like that. What'cha think?

Seems like a good idea! It would be nice to have travel suggestions (where to go, camp), parts trade/for sale, local meetups, etc.

Great to meet both of you. I need to get over to see both of your projects - both sound pretty dang cool.