Anyone interested in 83 Pace Arrow Tear down and Rebuild?

PastorCharlie wrote:
Aluminum will corrode, fiberglass or plastics will not.

I have built "touch tanks" aquariums that hold hundreds of gallons of salty brine water for sea creatures to live in where people can have hands on experience with them and they have not deteriorated over many years of use. Build a tank the size and shape desired out of exterior plywood and use chopped fiberglass and marine epoxy.

Am I better off using epoxy or is fiberglass resin do-able, which is also much cheaper?

Thanks for the info, folks. I really appreciate it. I thought that may be the case, but wanted extra input from someone who may have had experience, and ya'all came through again.

Another quick question, have you ever heard of or use a shower recycling system, which filters/purifies the shower water and re-uses it instead of dumping it in the gray tank?

Aluminum will corrode, fiberglass or plastics will not.

I have built "touch tanks" aquariums that hold hundreds of gallons of salty brine water for sea creatures to live in where people can have hands on experience with them and they have not deteriorated over many years of use. Build a tank the size and shape desired out of exterior plywood and use chopped fiberglass and marine epoxy.

Liberty Coach, the maker of million dollar + Prevost conversions, made the mistake of using aluminum holding tanks and they failed with time. Yes, it takes a lot of time, likely 10 years or so, but the owners had to replace the tank with stainless steel as the tank (yes, 1 tank for black and grey) was mostly vertical in nature so replacing with an appropriate plastic tank was not an option.

I would stay as far away as possible from Aluminum unless you can find some exotic alloy that won't corrode. As mentioned above Acid in any of the many products that can be dumped down a drain will cause problems, think urine, citric acid etc. I know you like to make things your self and many times that is the best way to get an exact fit. If you need the space filled to the max,I would go fiberglass then you have something to fit the space and a custom job as well. Just watch the resin you use as some types are more water proof than the others.

I have been a boater even longer than an RV'er. None of my boats have had aluminum holding tanks so I have no first hand experience but the forums , as expected, have proponents of aluminum tanks and foes of them. I'd say the vast majority fall into the second category claiming urine will have detrimental effects on the aluminum and welds.
You might want to look a bladder tanks as a possibility.

Well, I went out tonight and started to clean up/re-organize things a little bit.

Since I had the drawers all in place again, I returned some of my tools and left over wood to them, to get it all out of my way.

I also marked off some lines on the floor, on the drivers side for making a frame to cover the front area below the counter top, since I plan on putting the tanks inside under the counter.


Before I got finished, I was interrupted, and had to leave, so I didn't get any pictures.

I do, however, have a question for someone who know more about this that I do ... Will there be any reaction between aluminum and gray/black water, IF I would decide to make a tank/tanks from aluminum?

While we're at it ... Here's a little teaser.

These shelves are a great place to pre-bend some thin pieces of wood for an upcoming project!

With the shelves in place, the screws are not nearly as noticeable.

Ah, there we go. Both sides have had the screws replaced, and it looks much better.