trillium water tank

[David B.]

Originally Posted by msinger919

I have a water tank from a 13' Trillium. I would rather have the storage space and removed the tank. Any interest?

I visited the Trillium Factory in Arizona last week, and saw where the owner is now having a custom water tank made to fit in a sub-floor pocket (he had his molds changed to accomplish this) to keep the trailer better balanced and to add storage space.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by David B.

I visited the Trillium Factory in Arizona last week, and saw where the owner is now having a custom water tank made to fit in a sub-floor pocket (he had his molds changed to accomplish this) to keep the trailer better balanced and to add storage space.

Can you expand on that a bit?

My '78 Trillium came from the factory with its water tank in a "sub-floor pocket", and custom-shaped to fit there. What's Trillium doing that's different now?

Thanks!

Francesca

[David Tilston]

My Trillium 4500 also has the water tank below the floor, under the dinette. It actually makes for a rather irregular shape to the bottom of the trailer.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

My Trillium 4500 also has the water tank below the floor, under the dinette. It actually makes for a rather irregular shape to the bottom of the trailer.

Could Dave be talking about the 1300? Where's the water tank on that model? I've only ever looked at one, and didn't think to find out where water is carried...

Francesca

[David Tilston]

On both of my 1300's the water tank is in the road side dinette seat.

[Raz]

Mine is under the rear dinette floor. Like most things on this trailer, it had to be repaired, hence the hole. Raz

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by P. Raz

Mine is under the rear dinette floor. Like most things on this trailer, it had to be repaired, hence the hole. Raz

Mine ('78 4500) is the same size as yours, I think- but it came with a removable cover over the tank...do the present-generation Trilliums like yours come with the tank glassed over?

It does sound like the earlier reference to the "new molded water tank place" must be on the 1300, if like David's older ones the present generation has the water tank under the dinette bench.

Francesca

[Raz]

Mine has a piece of carpeted plywood over the tank. One of the problems with this set up is that the drain valve is higher than the bottom of the tank. I added a piece of blue board to raise the tank to help drain. Also the tank is the low point at the rear of the trailer. A skid plate for the bumper?

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by P. Raz

Mine has a piece of carpeted plywood over the tank. One of the problems with this set up is that the drain valve is higher than the bottom of the tank. I added a piece of blue board to raise the tank to help drain. Also the tank is the low point at the rear of the trailer. A skid plate for the bumper?

Interesting...on the first-gen. 4500, the drain valve is a simple petcock inside, and at least on mine it's at the lowest spot on the tank. That setup in your pic definitely looks like it raises the drain point above that. Weird!

It looks like it's female threaded like a city freshwater intake- does it double as a fill tube or something???

Francesca

[Raz]

The original set up used pex tubing with pex to npt fittings at the tank and the valve. They used a T pushed into the pex to tap off the water line thus only one line out of the bottom of the tank. Nice idea but the T reduced the inside diameter of the hose down to 1/4". That and the valve location made draining the tank an all day affair. Further the pex tubing seen in the picture vibrated so that it distorted the threads in the tank causing a leak at the tank fitting. I redid the whole system with flexible 1/2" tubing, eliminated the inside the pipe T, and raised the tank. Having the drain valve by the wheel is very convenient. Here's a picture of the old set up. Raz

[cpaharley2008]

moving posts from other thread

[Francesca Knowles]

Resubscribing...my notifier took me to the old thread!

Francesca

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Resubscribing...my notifier took me to the old thread!

Francesca

We were hijacking Mike's thread so I asked Jim to move things. Raz

[Spanke]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

On both of my 1300's the water tank is in the road side dinette seat.

On my 1978 1300 the water tank is on the curb side (hope i'm saying this right, the TV passenger side) under the dinette seat. Pretty sure this is the original location because the filler is located on that side also. I always figured it was there to offset the weight of the fridge, heater, stove top and converter on the roadside. Probably about 10 gallons = 80lbs. There was a definite lean to the drivers side before I replaced the axle. The PO's may have not filled the tank very often!

Having the tank under the floor would really provide more storage.

HMMMMM, NOOOOOOOO NOT ANOTHER PROJECT!

Spanke

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Spanke

On my 1978 1300 the water tank is on the curb side (hope i'm saying this right, the TV passenger side) under the dinette seat. Pretty sure this is the original location because the filler is located on that side also. I always figured it was there to offset the weight of the fridge, heater, stove top and converter on the roadside. Probably about 10 gallons = 80lbs. There was a definite lean to the drivers side before I replaced the axle. The PO's may have not filled the tank very often!

Having the tank under the floor would really provide more storage.

HMMMMM, NOOOOOOOO NOT ANOTHER PROJECT!

Spanke

Well,.... after further investigation.. It seems I was only half right about that.
On the Cantaloupe, (1973?) it is on the kitchen side. Also pretty sure it is factory, for the same reason. The Wedding Gift, (1977) has it on the curb side. I wonder when they changed.
Good point about balancing the kitchen with the water tank. I had not thought of that. The tank on the kitchen side even looks larger then the one installed on the curb side.
I would never attempt to convert the 1300's to a bottom tank. Talk about major surgery! See next post.

[David Tilston]

The Trillium 4500's all seem to have a compartment, under the floor of the dinette, that houses its water tank. The underside of the trailer is much more irregular as a result.

The last inside shot is inside the hole, facing back. I have often wondered if a 12 VDC pump would fit there.

What I seem to miss on the bottom pics is where the drain cock is. You can kinda see it in the picture from the back. The hole is visible, but what is hard to see is a wedge shape that forms a conduit for plumbing from the tank compartment to the kitchen. This is also kinda visible in the picture of the interior detail of the drain cock.

Notice the mold in the lines! That is why I don't use the tank. Maybe some day, but it is portable tanks, that I can wash, for now.

[Raz]

The advantage of having the water tank in the floor is not just an increase in storage space. During the first winter of our ownership we discovered we had a serious leak (the belly band was improperly sealed) by the icicle hanging from the unsealed drain hose hole. Any water that leaks into the rear of the trailer will find it's way into the tank cavity and out that hole. No wood there so no rot issues. The down side is how low the tank cavity sits below the bumper.

[David Tilston]

Because I added a 4" HSS square tube for a bumper, so I could put on a hitch receiver, the water tank is almost flush with it.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by P. Raz

The advantage of having the water tank in the floor is not just an increase in storage space. During the first winter of our ownership we discovered we had a serious leak (the belly band was improperly sealed) by the icicle hanging from the unsealed drain hose hole. Any water that leaks into the rear of the trailer will find it's way into the tank cavity and out that hole. No wood there so no rot issues. The down side is how low the tank cavity sits below the bumper.

I do a lot of camping in rough country and haven't ever had an issue with drag/catching anything on the water tank part of the mold...

I'd like to say, though, that for sheer "I'm gonna break this" potential, it'd be hard to beat the black drain setup on the 2008 Casita Spirit Deluxe, which I saw close up for the first time yesterday- it's on the street side in front of the wheel and can't be more than eight or ten inches off the ground!

Francesca

[Raz]

Yea, Casita does seem to be a bit adventurous with it's plumbing. Photo courtesy of Kevin K.