Starting on a project on the camper (Bigfoot 2500, 10.6) and as part of it, I needed to remove the bottom panels of the camper to see where the tanks are. I took some pics and stitched them together to give a rough idea of what the tanks and layout look like for anyone else that might want to know. The stitching isn't perfect, just working with the quick pics I could take.
Anyway, here are some thoughts...
1. The tanks are hung from the floor. This is a Bigfoot 2500 basement model. When the camper is sitting in the bed of the truck one would think the tanks would settle onto the bottom of the camper which would in turn be on the floor of the truck but that isn't really the case.
2. The tanks are actually suspended via the straps. The insulating foam (removed for pics) that was used is a low density foam and would compress easily with weight. This means, more than likely, your tanks are always being supported by the straps and not resting on the floor of your truck.
3. The straps, especially for the larger tank was insufficient. They also stretch it appears from years in service. The result is the tanks will bulge down where not supported thus leaving sections of the tank lower than the water outlet.
4. My fresh water tank and the way it was supported left ~20% of the water unusable due to first the straps sagging leaving the rear (where the hose connects) at a higher angle than the front of the tank. Also, the placement of the hose bib fitting means the tank will never be empty.
5. There is a LOT of unused tank volume available if one was to make their own tanks from aluminum or something. The tank height might be able to increase at least an 1" (maybe more if you weren't worried about having insulation between the tank and the fiberglass body). The front portion of the tank (L shape) could be widened maybe four more inches.
6. The grey tank (middle tank) could also be increased substantially. Additional strapping should be added and for some reason, the back strap actually goes over the sending unit wiring and fittings so it's compromised.
7. The black tank could also substantially be increased in size as well. Both in height and width.
For my current project, (and the amount of time I have) I'm just going to try to add more straps, address the budging and angles of the fresh tank so I get more usable capacity out of it.
For future projects, should I find myself with way more time, custom tanks could be made to increase the holding capacity for each of these by at least 15% if not 20%. I don't think I will ever get there myself but it certainly would be an interesting project.
Anyway, here are some thoughts...
1. The tanks are hung from the floor. This is a Bigfoot 2500 basement model. When the camper is sitting in the bed of the truck one would think the tanks would settle onto the bottom of the camper which would in turn be on the floor of the truck but that isn't really the case.
2. The tanks are actually suspended via the straps. The insulating foam (removed for pics) that was used is a low density foam and would compress easily with weight. This means, more than likely, your tanks are always being supported by the straps and not resting on the floor of your truck.
3. The straps, especially for the larger tank was insufficient. They also stretch it appears from years in service. The result is the tanks will bulge down where not supported thus leaving sections of the tank lower than the water outlet.
4. My fresh water tank and the way it was supported left ~20% of the water unusable due to first the straps sagging leaving the rear (where the hose connects) at a higher angle than the front of the tank. Also, the placement of the hose bib fitting means the tank will never be empty.
5. There is a LOT of unused tank volume available if one was to make their own tanks from aluminum or something. The tank height might be able to increase at least an 1" (maybe more if you weren't worried about having insulation between the tank and the fiberglass body). The front portion of the tank (L shape) could be widened maybe four more inches.
6. The grey tank (middle tank) could also be increased substantially. Additional strapping should be added and for some reason, the back strap actually goes over the sending unit wiring and fittings so it's compromised.
7. The black tank could also substantially be increased in size as well. Both in height and width.
For my current project, (and the amount of time I have) I'm just going to try to add more straps, address the budging and angles of the fresh tank so I get more usable capacity out of it.
For future projects, should I find myself with way more time, custom tanks could be made to increase the holding capacity for each of these by at least 15% if not 20%. I don't think I will ever get there myself but it certainly would be an interesting project.
Well, stage one of the camper project is complete. Added a bunch of additional strapping to get the tanks hanging in the right direction. Water tank now empties to about 90% empty which I'm going to call a win. I think the hose connection would have to be rerouted to underneath the tank to get another 5% drainage.
The grey tank which is the middle tank was hanging completely in the wrong direction. Hard to see from pics but the rear strap on it was nearly useless. I'm not sure what they were thinking but now that I have it orientated correctly, I probably picked up another 15% capacity, maybe even more.
The black holding tank was the only tank that the straps were actually tight on and was not hanging or sagging at all. I still added one brace to it but doing fine.
One thing I found surprising, I always thought the bottom footprint was 1" or 3/4" plywood behind the fiberglass. Nope, it's 1/4", then 1" of foam and then 1/8" plywood on the inside. The weight rests on a wood bottom rail that goes around the perimeter. This made finding solid wood a bit more challenging than I would have liked. In the end, a lot of screws and a few lucky hits but I don't think anything is going anywhere now.
Tomorrow is phase two (see last pic). We will be building a cradle out of aluminum. This will be secured to be bed and the camper will sit inside of it. The plan is to remove the jacks (they need to be serviced and painted in addition to the actual mounting brackets. I may end up leaving the jacks off, haven't decided just yet but it's been rolling around in my mind. A little bit of weight reduction. Then again, when it's windy, always nice to have jacks. Might just remove the fronts and leave the rears in place or just them cleaned, painted and put back on. Who knows.
Anyway, the whole idea is that once the cradle is built the camper won't move around at all. Aluminum tubing for those wondering is 3"x5" with .25" wall. Way overkill, something I didn't really realize until it was being loaded onto my truck after being cut. The 3"x5" was a result of them not having 3"x4". Had I done a little more homework before picking up the tubing, I would have gone with maybe 3"x3" with 3/16" wall thickness. But, it's paid for now so it is what I'm rolling with.
Before: Grey Tank was actually hanging in the wrong direction so it would never fully drain.
Front facing aft. Finished bracing water tank. You can see grey tank behind it. hard to tell but it's sagging in the corner so it would never drain.
I had to use a lot of screws because it was hit or miss on finding solid wood.
Full stitched underbelly shot.
Tomorrow's project:
The grey tank which is the middle tank was hanging completely in the wrong direction. Hard to see from pics but the rear strap on it was nearly useless. I'm not sure what they were thinking but now that I have it orientated correctly, I probably picked up another 15% capacity, maybe even more.
The black holding tank was the only tank that the straps were actually tight on and was not hanging or sagging at all. I still added one brace to it but doing fine.
One thing I found surprising, I always thought the bottom footprint was 1" or 3/4" plywood behind the fiberglass. Nope, it's 1/4", then 1" of foam and then 1/8" plywood on the inside. The weight rests on a wood bottom rail that goes around the perimeter. This made finding solid wood a bit more challenging than I would have liked. In the end, a lot of screws and a few lucky hits but I don't think anything is going anywhere now.
Tomorrow is phase two (see last pic). We will be building a cradle out of aluminum. This will be secured to be bed and the camper will sit inside of it. The plan is to remove the jacks (they need to be serviced and painted in addition to the actual mounting brackets. I may end up leaving the jacks off, haven't decided just yet but it's been rolling around in my mind. A little bit of weight reduction. Then again, when it's windy, always nice to have jacks. Might just remove the fronts and leave the rears in place or just them cleaned, painted and put back on. Who knows.
Anyway, the whole idea is that once the cradle is built the camper won't move around at all. Aluminum tubing for those wondering is 3"x5" with .25" wall. Way overkill, something I didn't really realize until it was being loaded onto my truck after being cut. The 3"x5" was a result of them not having 3"x4". Had I done a little more homework before picking up the tubing, I would have gone with maybe 3"x3" with 3/16" wall thickness. But, it's paid for now so it is what I'm rolling with.
Before: Grey Tank was actually hanging in the wrong direction so it would never fully drain.
Front facing aft. Finished bracing water tank. You can see grey tank behind it. hard to tell but it's sagging in the corner so it would never drain.
I had to use a lot of screws because it was hit or miss on finding solid wood.
Full stitched underbelly shot.
Tomorrow's project:
