1968 Travel Queen Resto Mod - 12. Waste Water
Part 12. Waste Water is pretty much self-explanatory. Is it black? Is it grey? And how is it done in this vintage resto-mod so that advantage is gained in such a limited space? These are issues both p...
Forum Discussion
For me, it's just as important to be willing to re-visit any given issue when new information comes to light as it is for others to hold fast to a long-held position.
Taking that philosophy into my grey tank installation brought me to yesterday's work - a better support for the tank.
The natural support of course would have been a full surface flat floor, and I decided against that so I could get a slope for draining - due to the nature of my custom tank and the exit fitting.
Alternatively, I could have elevated the forward edge of a flat support with spacer blocks to support it, but I kind of wanted the tank bottom more exposed to the air pockets beneath for reasons associated to freezing.
As AnEv (and perhaps you) had noticed, the single support at mid tank was probably not the best long-term installation solution. Upon point out, I had to agree. And I wasn't yet exactly happy with my first resolution, that of two extra supports that had a relatively narrow support surface.
Hey, I've knelt bared kneed on the narrow edge of an attic truss more than once and granted, letting your knee-caps and cartilage and soft tissue form around the board greatly enhances balance, especially when you have to lean waaaaay forward or sideways to press fiberglass batts into just the right position, but I'm here to tell you, THAT would not be a good long-term solution. And that's BEFORE I fill myself with 21 gallons of water, or whatever beverage I must drink to ever do THAT kind of job again!
So here's what I did.
And here's how I got there.
First I found the correct angle of the slope. The first attempt was 5 degrees off the 90 degree right angle on the table saw. Five was too much, so the next test piece was 2.5 degrees. Too little. The final angle was 3.5 degrees and that fit the slope on the level.
The boards were all cut from 1.5" scrap stock. The high point was 1.5" and the mid-point 3/4". So I made supports - each 1/4" higher or lower - and that gave me two additional supports between each original.
The two smaller ones were stapled to the floor, but the two taller were pre-drilled and screwed down.
One thing I'm not sure I like is the potential for dust, debris, etc to hide under here. But with it sealed good from the outside I'm hoping it will stay relatively clean and at least I can blow air back under to flush stuff out, or use a narrow attachment on a vacuum.
Here's the bottom of the tank surface with the slight inward bow. It's not very noticeably in the photo. In fact, if memory serves me, the inability of the photo to indicate the bow's severity was ONE of the factors that prompted me to use it instead of returning the tank. Overall I'm happy with it and I believe the bow will be of negligible effect.
The tank slipped right back into position and snapped in place.
I feel much better about that tank support now.
I raised the front of the camper with the floor jack about 3/8" to level it front to back. Then I used my 12" level with the 1/8" and 1/4" per foot graduations on the bubble scale to get the proper 1/4" per foot slope on the drain pipe - and projected it to the next board requiring a plumbing hole.
Now I'll need to transfer that mark to the back of the board so I can get the hole saw to cut it properly.
Taking that philosophy into my grey tank installation brought me to yesterday's work - a better support for the tank.
The natural support of course would have been a full surface flat floor, and I decided against that so I could get a slope for draining - due to the nature of my custom tank and the exit fitting.
Alternatively, I could have elevated the forward edge of a flat support with spacer blocks to support it, but I kind of wanted the tank bottom more exposed to the air pockets beneath for reasons associated to freezing.
As AnEv (and perhaps you) had noticed, the single support at mid tank was probably not the best long-term installation solution. Upon point out, I had to agree. And I wasn't yet exactly happy with my first resolution, that of two extra supports that had a relatively narrow support surface.
Hey, I've knelt bared kneed on the narrow edge of an attic truss more than once and granted, letting your knee-caps and cartilage and soft tissue form around the board greatly enhances balance, especially when you have to lean waaaaay forward or sideways to press fiberglass batts into just the right position, but I'm here to tell you, THAT would not be a good long-term solution. And that's BEFORE I fill myself with 21 gallons of water, or whatever beverage I must drink to ever do THAT kind of job again!
So here's what I did.
And here's how I got there.
First I found the correct angle of the slope. The first attempt was 5 degrees off the 90 degree right angle on the table saw. Five was too much, so the next test piece was 2.5 degrees. Too little. The final angle was 3.5 degrees and that fit the slope on the level.
The boards were all cut from 1.5" scrap stock. The high point was 1.5" and the mid-point 3/4". So I made supports - each 1/4" higher or lower - and that gave me two additional supports between each original.
The two smaller ones were stapled to the floor, but the two taller were pre-drilled and screwed down.
One thing I'm not sure I like is the potential for dust, debris, etc to hide under here. But with it sealed good from the outside I'm hoping it will stay relatively clean and at least I can blow air back under to flush stuff out, or use a narrow attachment on a vacuum.
Here's the bottom of the tank surface with the slight inward bow. It's not very noticeably in the photo. In fact, if memory serves me, the inability of the photo to indicate the bow's severity was ONE of the factors that prompted me to use it instead of returning the tank. Overall I'm happy with it and I believe the bow will be of negligible effect.
The tank slipped right back into position and snapped in place.
I feel much better about that tank support now.
I raised the front of the camper with the floor jack about 3/8" to level it front to back. Then I used my 12" level with the 1/8" and 1/4" per foot graduations on the bubble scale to get the proper 1/4" per foot slope on the drain pipe - and projected it to the next board requiring a plumbing hole.
Now I'll need to transfer that mark to the back of the board so I can get the hole saw to cut it properly.
