Almost Screwed Up

[papa-t]

Decided to add a second 12 gallon fresh water tank under the other table storage area on my 19' 5er. Got the tank ordered and it came today with the fittings. Also ordered water fill hose and water inlet filler. Went to Lowes and picked up all hoses and clamps. Had to reconstruct my electric power cord storage box to a smaller size and began to insert the tank, hoses, tank supports, ect. I got everything hooked up and was about to drill through the floor for the drain and air vent/overflow hose. I marked the spots for the hoses and was about to drill; I stopped and thought I better check under the camper. Right where I was about to drill there was the grey tank. Crap, now what? I will have to make a trip to plumming store tomorrow and pick up some fittings and pex pipe to reroute to two drains away from the grey tank. Just glad I had enough sense to look before I drilled.

[Donna D.]

Oh wow, saved by the bell! Whew. Thanks for the reminder Ted to ALWAYS check: up, down and all around before drilling.

[Pam Garlow]

its a lot happier ending than if you hadn't looked first!!

[Jared J]

I drilled all of mine outside of the frame rails, between the tanks and back of the camper, for that very reason.

[rgrugg]

Norm Abrams says to "measure twice, cut once." Not exactly what you did but you did follow the spirit of his advice.

[carlkeigley]

Always follow the premonition.

[papa-t]

I worked on the Scamp some today after pressure washing on the house. I got all the water connections finished (had to replace the vent/overflow and drain fittings with elbow fittings, so I could run the drain hoses over to the edge and through the floor away from any obstacles), new tank installed, the filler hose hole cut on the outside rear and filler installed, also decided to do away with the cheep tank drains and installed new shut off valves under the camper for both tanks, (this way I can drain the fresh water tanks from the outside without the hassle of removing the dinette cushions and having to reach down into the storage every time). All I have left to do is replace the fiberglass seats and do the necessary calking and screw them back down. Here are a couple pictures after I got everything cleaned up; but before I replace the fiberglass seats. The new tank is on the right.

[carlkeigley]

Great Job!

[Mike Magee]

It would only have been "crap now what" if you'd drilled into the black tank. Gray tank is just "suds now what"... Lol. All's well that ends well.

[Cyndi B.]

Really stupid question. How are you getting the water out? And why put on that darn unsanitary fresh water intake that Scamp has?

[papa-t]

Each tank has a drain at the lower front corner of the tank to drain any unused water out. Attach a drain hose that goes through the floor underneath the camper. I put the shut off/ drain valves on the hose under the camper. All I have to do is reach under side edge and open valve to drain. (One on each side). The water intake keeps stuff out as long as you close the lid and lock it closed. I wanted to keep the look of the standard scamp filler to match the other one on the opposite side.

[papa-t]

Finally got time to fill tanks and check for leaks yesterday. So today I finished removing old caulking; replaced seats and recaulked. All finished and once again ready for camping.

[Kevin A]

Just a quick question for you: How do you get ALL the water out of the tank through the lower drain hole? Mine is located just above the bottom of the tank (about a half inch) on the end and some water is always left in the tank when draining. Is your drain outlet right at the bottom edge of the tank and is the tank tipped slightly that direction to get it all?

[papa-t]

In my previous campers the fresh water tank drains were in the bottom. So, you are right; the drain is about an 1/2 inch up on the corner. I usually drop the front of the camper so all the water is tilted towards the drain. If any is left at all it will only be a very tiny amount. When I fill the tanks I leave the drain open at first to drain for about 10 seconds just incase.

[Kevin A]

Thanks. Tipping the trailer sounds like a good idea.

[Donna D.]

Deck plates added to the top of the tanks allow you to get your hand/arm inside and thoroughly dry and wipe out the tank.

[Jared J]

I added deck plates to mine.