FLAT Poly Water Tank for Underside of Trailer

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bluebruin

Adventurer
I am revamping my M416 trailer. I want to put a belly skid plate on it and a water tank in the void between the bottom of my tub and the bottom of my frame (this is at most a 4" tall space). I have seen a few poly tanks on plastic-mart.com but they are really expensive for the size.... and most are too tall.

Does anybody know of a US source for a tank like this: (all the ones I see are sold in Australia)

575_1.jpg

http://aussiervproducts.ezimerchant.biz/prod78.htm

If not, I am thinking of using a snake of 3" or 4" PVC pipe capped on one end, and with a fill/drain valve on the other. I have done some research and it appears most PVC is approved for potable water. I would only be filling and storing water at the start of each weekend trip, not long term, so I am not terribly concerned about chemical contamination of my water (no more than any of the cheap plastic most water cans are made of anyway).
 
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bluebruin

Adventurer
NotAMog said:
Try Ronco Plastics. They carry a wide variety of tank shapes and sizes -

http://www.ronco-plastics.com/
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thank you for the suggestion. they have a lot of tanks a lot closer in dimensions to what I was thinking. thinnest I see however is 5" and its $260 plus shipping. Man these tanks are all just so expensive. I'm going to price out doing pipe I think. I'd really like a belly tank, sure would be nice to keep my center of gravity down since I am now adding a rooftop tent.
 
X

Xterabl

Adventurer
Yeah, just do a bunch of 3" or 4" abs pipe lengths in a manifold configuration. Probably <$75 and about 50% of the volume of the high-priced tanks.
 
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bluebruin

Adventurer
Xterabl said:
Also, this is probably your cheapest "off the shelf" option:
http://www.plastic-mart.com/product/324/10-gallon-rectangle-poly-tank-rb323
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I must have missed that one. That's a decent price, but still a bit pricey, especially once you add in shipping. Yeah, I was thinking of a manifold/radiator type configuration with the pipe. Does anybody know if a vent is necessary? I see some holding tanks have them.... I suppose you need a way to displace the air in the tank when filling and vice versa when emptying.
 
Mike S

Mike S

Sponsor - AutoHomeUSA
I had a 40 gallon 3/8" welded poly FW tank under the floor of my trailer & protected by a 1/8" steel skid plate. Mounted an on-demand pump in the tongue box and routed the hose to an exterior spigot. Worked like a champ. The tank was pretty pricey.

I have a similar tank on a Bed Slide in the back of my F350 - drinking and dog water. Both were worth the money.
 
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bluebruin

Adventurer
Mike S said:
I had a 40 gallon 3/8" welded poly FW tank under the floor of my trailer & protected by a 1/8" steel skid plate. Mounted an on-demand pump in the tongue box and routed the hose to an exterior spigot. Worked like a champ. The tank was pretty pricey.

I have a similar tank on a Bed Slide in the back of my F350 - drinking and dog water. Both were worth the money.
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can you share where you got these tanks? thanks
 
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bluebruin

Adventurer
I crawled under the trailer out in the snow... due to the "V" shaped tie-backs coming from the tongue which extend all the way back to the frame cross member in about 16" in front of the axle, I have limited space to put a tank. I have about a 16x38" space to put a tank which would sit along the axle and forward 16". Its only 3.25" deep from bottom of the tub to the bottom of frame. I don't think my old leaf spring suspension articulates all that much, so I could probably get away with a 5-6" tank and then skid plate. Depends how much weight my tent will add.

A 3" PVC pipe is 3.5" OD, and with fittings to make a manifold shape, I could only get about 3 runs in there. So, that's only about 1 cubic foot of water, or 7 gallons. Not fantastic. But, that's the same as a 7 gal tank on plastic-mart that goes for $120. Its 24 1/4"L x 12 1/2"W x 5 3/4"H

If I go to 4" pipe, I get more like 12 gallons.

what about a skid plate and a flexible bladder above it? Anybody try that?
 
Mike S

Mike S

Sponsor - AutoHomeUSA
bluebruin said:
can you share where you got these tanks? thanks
Click to expand...

The one I use on my truck is this one: http://www.watertanks.com/products/0260-438.asp - 35 gallons - thought it was 40 when I made my original post.

The other was custom made by a manufacturer in Hollister, CA to fit exactly in the space between the frames and to the rear of the axle in my OR trailer. I no longer have the name and address of the company, but they specialize in RV equipment and make poly tanks to order - whatever you want.
 
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bluebruin

Adventurer
Mike S said:
Thoses are black water totes to drain the sewage holding tanks of RVs. You might check to see if they are rated for potable water :Wow1:
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don't know if they are "rated" for it, but they are polyethylene..same stuff the water tanks are made of.... I'm still thinking of going the PVC pipe route.
 
Mike S

Mike S

Sponsor - AutoHomeUSA
There are several types of poly - one is designed for use with potable water. Ditto for PVC.
 
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