LITEPHIL
AZ
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Has anyone replaced their under trailer frame mounted 40 gallon fresh water tank? I bought my 08 25 ft Salem used and first time I used it I noticed a drip near the drain plug but it stopped and didn't leak on my second trip. Now I filled it up and it's got a pretty good drip going, so I will have to fix it when I get back. But looking closely at the leak, it looks like it has been repaired and is leaking above the drain plug and not the plug its self. I suspect it had a low hanging drain valve that got ripped off and then was repaired and now there is just a plug there. I can tell the tank had been out before since there's a unpainted weld. Anyhow, has any one replaced their under belly tank ? and if so, where did you find one. It looks like a pretty straight forward job, with a small amount of welding on the cross support.
Thanks!
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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Haven’t, but if it looks straightforward to you then it likely is.
The googler says there’s all shapes and sizes of tanks available.
I’ve “replaced” the tanks in our old TC. Not with new, but rebuilt the structure and support around them. Basically removed save for disconnecting the top side connections. It’s just a handyman project. Nothing technical or structural about it I’d imagine.
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Gdetrailer
PA
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Joined: 01/05/2007
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LITEPHIL wrote:...I can tell the tank had been out before since there's a unpainted weld. Anyhow, has any one replaced their under belly tank ? and if so, where did you find one. It looks like a pretty straight forward job, with a small amount of welding on the cross support.
Thanks!
You answered your own question.
Typical RV construction the tanks are dropped in before the floor is installed, the walls are installed over the floor and the roof installed on top of the walls.
Tank is at the very bottom of the entire pile and after the fact removal means you will have to cut and remove the steel cross members that the tank was installed on top of.
There are some specialized plastic tank builders out there that with careful measurements should be able to make you a replacement tank. Pricey and depending on size may require truck shipping.
Here is one that I bookmarked many yrs ago when I was considering a from scratch trailer build.. RONCO-PLASTICS Ended up finding a donor trailer that I rebuilt instead of starting from scratch so I can't attest to how good they are.
You could also try finding someone local to you that does plastic tank repairs. The best way to repair them is using a plastic welding technique. Plastic welding as implied means the plastic is heated then a filler material is added which adds and reinforces the welded areas. Might even wish to consider additional plastic reinforcement around the affected area in case of spider cracks that can't be seen.
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midnightsadie
ohio
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there,s also shops that can weld plastic.
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LITEPHIL
AZ
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I believe it's a standard size and hangs from the frame of the trailer. I want to get an exact replacement. Guess I should have made that clear that I want to replace it since it looks to have been repaired before. Don't want a custom tank just a replacement tank. My 2007 Forest River toy hauler had an identical set up and I remember the drain hung pretty low on that trailer.
My question is, has anyone replaced their underbelly tank and if so, where did you find it? If it's $1,000 I'll repair it but if it's $250-300 I'll buy a new one.
Thanks!
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WayneAt63044
St. Louis, MO
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I would suggest you go the plastic welding route for simplicity. An alternative would be going to http://www.ameri-kart.com for a new tank. Your tank may have numbers written on it that identify the manufacturer and tank model.
2012 Forest River V-Cross Vibe 826VFK
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Huntindog
Phoenix AZ
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Joined: 04/08/2002
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I weld, both metal and plastic.
There are two problems with welding plastic.
1.matching the rod material to the item being welded on. There are a ton of different plastics out there. The best match will be a matching donor item. Anything else is problematic.
2.Age of the tank. Plastic degrades over time. At the 14-15 years of this tank, it is a tossup as to whether it will work or not.
If it were mine, I would give it a shot. If it was a job for a paying customer, I would pass.. Too much risk of it not working , and having to refund the money. I don't work for others for free.
Other than that it is still probably a somewhat difficult repair as it would likely be an overhead repair. Doable, but not easy, especially if the rod material is not perfect
Huntindog
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midnightsadie
ohio
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both you men are AZ guys ,you should talk.
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Gdetrailer
PA
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LITEPHIL wrote:I believe it's a standard size and hangs from the frame of the trailer. I want to get an exact replacement. Guess I should have made that clear that I want to replace it since it looks to have been repaired before. Don't want a custom tank just a replacement tank. My 2007 Forest River toy hauler had an identical set up and I remember the drain hung pretty low on that trailer.
My question is, has anyone replaced their underbelly tank and if so, where did you find it? If it's $1,000 I'll repair it but if it's $250-300 I'll buy a new one.
Thanks!
I will make extremely loud and clear.
There may absolutely be no EXACT replacements unless it comes from your EXACT YR AND MODEL or trailer.
Even though the tanks "look" like they are "standard" they are often not exactly the same. Often the dimensions will be different in one or more directions enough to require you to make all kinds of modifications to your frame and hanging system.
RV manufacturers tend to change designs like folks change their shorts, when they cease production of a model or model yr any excess parts which do not fit the new model or model yr are sold off to third party surplus dealers. Manufacturer may only hold on to some parts for a short time just to deal with possible warranty issues.
If you really want to go down that road, contact the customer service department directly of your brand of RV, maybe you will find a sympathetic ear that will be willing to leap off the edge for you and find your old tank.
But in the mean time, HERE is another place that will ORDER your tank by dimensions via third party manufacturers (notice RONCO is one of their manufacturers).
HERE is another supplier which may carry some "standard sizes" but the ones I looked at were all non flange rectangular tanks.
HERE is another RV tank place..
HERE is another RV tank place..
HERE is a web search using "rv replacement water tanks" as the search key words (search engines are your friend!).
But, I will say this, the "repair" that was done on your tank, may not have been "welded" or "welded" correctly. Lots of folks don't wish to spend money on a broken tank tend to take the cheapest route possible and attempt to use glues which often work for a short time and then fail.
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mikey98e
Natick, MA, USA
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Joined: 06/24/2003
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You could try Trekwood RV parts. They carry RV parts. I found new cabinet doors for my unit that matched perfectly. I cut holes in the front of the bed frame so that we didn't have to lift the bed to store stuff and hung the cabinet doors to cover the holes.
-mike
Rose & Mike
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