Fresh water tank slipped, now has a bulge in bottom

[Domi]

We were out this weekend and I happened to be under the trailer and noticed that the cryoplast was bulging down between the wheels. I thought it might be water from rain but it was not. Turns out that the fresh water tank had slipped from it's mounting rails and was laying against the cyroplast on one corner. I drained the tank and was pretty sure it would not fall out on the way home.

Once home I dropped the liner and found that the left aft corner had slipped out of the rail. It was wedged in there good too. I have been able to get the tank back up on the rails but I see two issues now.

First the metal band that runs across the trailer that supported the tank has ripped from the attach point at one end. That should be replaced but is something better than the flashing that was used?

Second the bottom of the tank is not flat. It bulges down in the center. Is this a concern? If I get something stronger than the current flashing it might help this but I think the bulge will always remain. you can see the bulge in the tank on most of the pictures or at least I can.

Thanks for the help. I have included pictures.

John

 

[jnbhobe]

I put a piece of 1 1/2 X 3 tube under the tank from frame rail to frame rail and a piece of aluminum plate under the center of the tank

 

[jdfishing]

I put a piece of 1/2 plywood under my tank to prevent the bulging bottom. I often carry 1/2 to 3/4 tank of fresh water in the winter months when traveling so I don't have to worry about the water hose freezing up. My low point drain was damaged when my tank shifted, so you may want to check that.

 

[Bob&Patty]

The tank will bulge some when full and its normal. Falling out is a whole nuther story.

 

[Sierra66]

This happened just tonight as I filled the fresh water tank for our trip out tomorrow. The plastic belly pan bulged and the washers all but pulled out through the belly where they screw to the frame. The culprit was the tiny #8 screws they used the fasten the flat bar supports to the cross members, the heads sheared off.
I was very perturbed about the lack of engineering for this application. I mean comon, a full tank weighs over 300lbs. I thought to myself Jesus, if it had come out completely going down the road there could have been terrible results! This is just unexusable.

We've had it a month. It's a 2016. I'm going to see what the "powers that be" have to say about a warranty claim. Though I could probably do a better job in half in time. Just plain flabbergasted.

My worry is if any connection was damaged (there was a lot of water under the tank) then how will I know unless I have them do it? Now I worry about rust and mold possibilities.


Any suggestions guys?

 

[JohnD]

I've never traveled with more than a 1/3 of a tank of fresh water.

The only time I've ever filled the fresh water tank of our Prowler was when I sanitized it about a month ago.

I don't like to pull all of that extra weight (700-800 lbs), plus I've read here that a lot of the water will spit out of the overflows while bouncing down the road.

So far, when I needed a full fresh water tank I've been able to fill it either at or near the destination campground (haven't yet done this since we bought the Prowler).

I have two large water jugs with wheels that I can use to fill the tank, plus I have 200 feet of hose that I keep just for those campgrounds that don't have water hookups, but do have pumps around the grounds.

And a water thief (got it at Camping World) that allows a hose to be hooked up to those water pumps that don't have the hose threads on them.

 

[jbeletti]

Sierra66 - I can't speak for the factory regarding your situation, but I did want to let you know that for the first time in 12 years of RVing, this year we started traveling with water (lots of it) in our fresh water tank. I ended up replacing (fortifying) the fasteners for my tank's rear mounting bar. I know your tank is different than mine and the mounting is likely different as well but just wanted to share.

 

[Sierra66]

Hey Jim, thanks for your reply. I'm just wondering if I could get to the right person, something could be worked out to fix the issue. It's as easy as adding a few more inches to the flat bar tank belly supports and using #12 screws to fasten the to the opposite side of the crossmember. I see why they may have used 1/4" screws. The tank sits in the tray made by the flange of the cross member and they screwed right into it. Maybe it was done not to puncture the tank. Bottom line is, not only is it a major P.I.T.A for myself as a customer, but the problem could be a serious over the road liability.

 

[jbeletti]

Jonathon - assuming your coach is still in warranty, I'd think this would be a covered item. With regard to an external support bar below the tank, I'd recommend against using self-tapping (Tek style) screws. Rather, I'd used bolts through the I-beam flange. That said, you won't get that approved as warranty.

I suggest you work to get the tank put back properly by a dealer under warranty, then on your own, consider adding some reinforcement if you want to travel with a full tank of water. Here again, I'm not speaking for the factory, I'm speaking from my personal experience and what I would do.

 

[Sierra66]

I was able to take everything back so that the tank was completely exposed. I reset the tank back into place and added 4 new 3/16" flatbars across for support, (I happened to have some laying around). It looks much better. Replaced great stuff where needed. Glad I am finished.

 

[Capt7383]

How did you attach the flat stock to the I beam? It doesn't look like any room to work

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[Sierra66]

Hey guys we just got back and settled from our weekend trip. The new setup worked perfectly. Good as gold. I just have to not let the other two tanks ever get that full. For the record I don't travel with a full fresh water tank, I was in the process of cleaning all of them.

Capt7383, I went ahead and fixed it on my own because I had no time for the Cro-magnons at a dealer to fix it. And I knew it wouldn't be fixed right. I cut the flat bar to length at a tight dimention between the cross members who's inside angles face each other. As the tank was empty I worked from underneath to push the tank up, placing a bar in one at a time, at an angle to get between the joists then straightened it out. The fit ended up being snug but not so much it pushed the joists apart. They are flimsy. I didn't use any fasteners and welding was out of the question because of the vulnerable pp tank. But in theory the snug fit and weight of at least a 1/3 full tank full time will keep everything in place.

When I uncovered the belly I also found wires dangling everywhere. Some in pinch points just waiting to be compromised and short out. I zip tied everything up nicely and even found a 2-wire (blue/white) open ended with tape on the end. It was at the back and I'm hoping it is a power source for a backup camera not factory installed on mine. I didn't have time to trace it down. Maybe you guys have an idea...?

Overall, you know what they say and it's true, "it's always something" and you learn as you go.

 

[jbeletti]

Jonathon - good on you for making the repair yourself. You learned more about your coach and have more confidence in your work than you may have had in someone else's work.