This week we went to a local campground to join some friends who were on the maiden voyage with their new TT. Pulled into our space and got everything set up. Heard a pop come from under the trailer, but couldn't see anything. Few minutes later, heard another pop, but still couldn't see anything. The next thing I know, big pop and the fresh water take comes crashing through the bottom covering. It was about 3/4 full, as we had been dry camping on our last trip. I disconnect the hoses/wires, and pull it out. The tank is undamaged, but the rails it is suppose to sit on are bent. One is twisted, so the lip that is suppose to hold the tank is now vertical. This rail looks like its welded to the frame. The other rail has a nice bow in it and probably drops 3"-4" below where its bolted to the frame. Anyone ever had this happen? Any suggestions on a DIY repair?Luckily I'm 10 miles from home, and it happened after I stopped, not while we were moving.

There are several manufactures known that they did not mount the water tanks very well. If you need a new tank, try this website. Tank-Depot.com At least check out the site, so if the RV repair place says your tank is something like $850, you can say a replacement tank should not be that much, a tank at this site should be in the $200 - $400 range, depending on it's size.One guy posted he had to reinforce his tank by using some angle iron and flat stock steel, under the tank. What I did when I installed a new pair of batteries in my RV is put some unistrut under the storage compartment, with a bolt to the frame of my sidewall, and on the other side a L bracket and some all thread to keep the unistrut tight against the bottom of the storage compartment, to carry the extra 70 pounds of each battery.Fred.

I've heard tell that traveling with the tank 3/4 full is the worst case, since it's heavy and sloshing. A full tank doesn't slosh, and an empty tank is light. A 3/4 tank can hammer around.I used to drive farm trucks for my uncle and one day I had to drive a flatbed with a water tank strapped to it. The tank was 3/4 full and the slosh was so bad it overcame the brakes while I was at a stopsign and pushed me out into the intersection. I quickly learned how to drive that truck very smoothly.

bartlettj wrote:I've heard tell that traveling with the tank 3/4 full is the worst case, since it's heavy and sloshing...In Naval Architecture it is called the "Free Surface Effect." Shipboard tanks and voids have baffles installed and/or are required to be kept either full or empty.When you see a large tanker truck going down the highway be assured it has elaborate baffle systems installed.I am not an RVer, but I certainly can see not driving down the road unless your potable water tank is either full or empty.

The fresh water tank on ours almost fell out. The front rail was ok but the back rail was too far back for some reason, so the tank was hanging by not much. I noticed the extra bulge in the underbelly, thank goodness. The fresh water tank is made of flexible stuff for some reason to do with it being for potable water compared with the grey and black tanks with stiffer plastic. So the fresh water tank bulges down when full.In our case, it was after warranty, so I removed the part of the underbelly there and was able to shim the back rail tighter forward using more washers on the bolts (one rail is welded, the other is bolted--in this case the back rail was the one bolted) No problem ever since. :)The Komfort people said it was all Lippert's fault for not spacing the rails correctly on the frame they ordered for that trailer. My opinion was the Komfort people at the factory who installed the tanks must have noticed the rails were too far apart, but didn't say anything, just perched the tank there anyway. Whatever, it was after warranty. :)

SaltiDawg wrote:bartlettj wrote:I've heard tell that traveling with the tank 3/4 full is the worst case, since it's heavy and sloshing...In Naval Architecture it is called the "Free Surface Effect." Shipboard tanks and voids have baffles installed and/or are required to be kept either full or empty.When you see a large tanker truck going down the highway be assured it has elaborate baffle systems installed.I am not an RVer, but I certainly can see not driving down the road unless your potable water tank is either full or empty.Last I knew milk tankers are not allowed to be baffled.Dusty

Water tank fell out. | Good Sam Community

25 Replies

69_Avion
Explorer
Jun 11, 2013
I used unistrut to make a mount for my water tanks under the trailer that I built. I also put a 20 gallon gasoline tank under there.
CentralCoastCam
Explorer
Jun 11, 2013
mojoroo wrote:
What makes and models are people having issues with?

Mine is an '05 Keystone Challenger 34TBH.. My guess is it has more to do with the frame manufacture that the make/ model of the rig. I believe Lippert is the frame manufacture, though I'm not positive on that.
MegaJohn
Explorer
Jun 11, 2013
mojoroo wrote:
What makes and models are people having issues with?

I expect there are many makes & models with similar setups. It would probably be best to crawl under your camper and have a look at what is under there. Then make changes as needed.

Our camper (2006 Pilgrim International) has a support frame made from angled steel. Then there's a sheet of OSB covered with a vapor barrier type fabric between the tank & support to protect the bottom of the tank from damage and distribute the weight. The support frame is attached to the trailer frame rails over our axles.

Our support frame was fastened together with relatively small self-tapping screws which snapped over time. The screws were really not a good choice for the stress applied to the structure. I removed all the screws, drilled out the holes, and installed galvanized 3/8" carriage bolts. Some of the carriage bolts were a pain to get in place, but with a little grunting they are in there. I also used the same carriage bolts to attach the support to the camper's frame rails.

I don't think any modification would be fail-proof... that's a lot of weight to support. Inspecting the structure should be part of everyone’s regularly inspection.

Happy Camping!
John.
ktmrfs
Explorer III
Jun 10, 2013
Scottie Snare wrote:
I had my fresh water tank fall out on the highway which almost killed a guy on a Harley. a big rig ran it over and caused $6500.00 in damages to his truck. It is now bowing again, any ideas!

mine had enough clearance that I was able to put a piece of 3/4" plywood underneath the tank and then screwed the frame angle portion into the plywood . Kept the frame from bending and gives way more support for the water tank. so far so good.
mojoroo
Explorer
Jun 10, 2013
What makes and models are people having issues with?
CentralCoastCam
Explorer
Jun 10, 2013
I'm planning on installing a couple of nylon straps underneath it when I re-install it as a catch-all safety feature.will have the loose enough to not rub, but able to catch it if it happens again.

Of course the fiver going to be out of service for awhile so I can replace the brackets for the tank, r&r the Coroplast sheeting, and I'm going to replace all the leaf springs with 6 leaf springs.
Scottie_Snare
Explorer
Jun 10, 2013
I had my fresh water tank fall out on the highway which almost killed a guy on a Harley. a big rig ran it over and caused $6500.00 in damages to his truck. It is now bowing again, any ideas!
Gjac
Explorer III
Jun 09, 2013
In 2006 while in Alaska a guy next to me with a 5th wheel had something similar happen with a loud bang. When I went over to see what happened the tank was bowed , hanging down, with the c channels that hold it up bent very badly. I later found out he was loosing water every time he moved so he installed a check valve so the water would not siphon out while traveling. He forgot to open it while filling and it expanded and broke the supports. After a trip to Walmart withe some FG and resin myself and another fellow were able to fix it for him. I mention this only because I can't see why this would just fail on it's own while parked without something else causing it.
64thunderbolt
Explorer II
Jun 08, 2013
My Keystone Tail-gator 5th wheel toyhauler has the same issue. 122 gal. The framework is a little larger than the tank and the supports @ the rear are bending. But being a toyhauler it's in frt of the axles and easy to get at. Gonna get some C channel and angle and repair it soon. Just gonna use some 2X6's to support the empty tank and start welding in some new supports. Just gotta make sure the fuel tank is full. Empty tank is a bomb.
CentralCoastCam
Explorer
Jun 08, 2013
Inspecting the leaf spring, it had a pre-existing crack the was hidden by a bracket. My guess is that occurred when I broke a shackle a couple of years ago. Both are an example of poor design, and getting things put together cheaply instead of properly, in my opinion. I think I'm done with Keystone products...