# Fresh Water Tanks



## Brew (Apr 27, 2007)

Has anyone here installed a second fresh water tank? Mine is only 38 gal. and I have 72 gal gray and 28 black. I do mostly dry camping so more fresh would be nice. Also I have notice on both of the TT I have owned the vent hose on the fresh tank just hangs down off the side of the tank with a screen plastic cap on the end. So when you fill the tank the water will start to drain out if it when it becomes full. But seems the vent comes off the side of the tank and not the top of the tank you loose about 4 to 5 gallons capacity from your tank. Now up on top where you fill the tank there is a small screened flange to hook the air vent hose to but they do not use that, does anyone know why? Do the Outbacks use that or are they set up the same way as mine? The only thing I can think of is that is out in the open and maybe they figure you can get dirty water fron traveling in the rain down into your tanks.

Thanks 
Bruce


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

I'm going to have a thread on the freshwater tank once I complete my repair job. Right now the tank is sitting in my driveway waiting for reinstall.

One thing I learned is that the tank is held up on one side by a trailer frame crossbeam, but the support on the other side is kind of adjustable. It's a piece just bolted to the frame. So, if you wanted a bigger tank you could just reposition that support. On the 31 there is some room to spare on the length of the tank (width of the trailer).

So fitting a bigger tank should be pretty straightforward. however, there are a few concerns: I'd check with Keystone about adding another 100 or 200 pounds to that particular area of the trailer. Probably fine, but worth a check. Secondly, the bottom of the tank is supported by some thin metal strips. They look to be aluminum, and are apparently meant to flex with the bulging of the tank when full. There could be an issue there with more water to hold up and longer strips.

If that description isn't clear, I'll have pictures some time this week.

BTW, I have to call Keystone... turns out the water tank is 41-43 gallons per the manufacture. Keystone calls it 50. Hmmmm.

Oh, and you're right about the mounting of the connections. Fill and vent connections are on side an inch or two down, and the tank is only 7 inches high to begin with. Doesn't make any sense to me either.


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## jetjane (Feb 8, 2007)

BoaterDan said:


> BTW, I have to call Keystone... turns out the water tank is 41-43 gallons per the manufacture. Keystone calls it 50. Hmmmm.


BoaterDan...that 50 number they use includes the 6 gallons in the water heater tank and the water lines so make sure you fill those up too to get full capacity.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Can not really count the water heater as once the tank is empty the water in the water heat is trapped unless you plan on draining it from the drain fitting on the outside.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Actually a salesman at a RV show explained it just that way to me once, tank and heater equals total









Sorta like they do not build the TT without all the options, yet list the weight as without options


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## jetjane (Feb 8, 2007)

CamperAndy said:


> Can not really count the water heater as once the tank is empty the water in the water heat is trapped unless you plan on draining it from the drain fitting on the outside.


You are right, they shouldn't count the water in the heater tank for the reason you said but they do!


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## Humpty (Apr 20, 2005)

we use  THIS  portable one from CW. Works great if you have a water source near by.


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

Humpty said:


> we use  THIS  portable one from CW. Works great if you have a water source near by.


I can't find it now but I did see another water bag that fit in the bed of a P/U.
The company had several sizes I believe from 50 to 200gal.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

CamperAndy said:


> Can not really count the water heater as once the tank is empty the water in the water heat is trapped unless you plan on draining it from the drain fitting on the outside.


I tried to explain that logic to a salesman once..... It didn't work..... I just don't think he could grasp it....









That's an unusual trailer with a 72 gal grey tank????









Last weekend the gray tank measured full right as the fresh tank began measuring empty. Pretty perfect balance if you ask me (Black was measuring 1/3). I'd get an external water carrier (like the one for Piclup beds) if I were going to do too much dry camping.


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

I can't imagine putting almost 400 pounds of water on the roof of a car! The bed of a truck would be ok I guess. We just use several 7 gallon containers if we need extra water (and with two little kids, we almost always do). I use a spare pump and battery to transfer the water into the Outback tank and we're good to go.


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## Brew (Apr 27, 2007)

I have two 36 gal gray water tanks. One for the Kitchen one for the Bath.


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

You can maybe add a surge tank. It will help... a 5gal surge tank may net you another 3-4 gallons

Thor


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## aplvlykat (Jan 25, 2004)

This is a subject I was thinking about doing also. We do most of our trips in remote or desert sites, so water really becomes a issue. My thought on it to install a second tank like they did in my Class C we use to have. Start by purchasing a tank from keystone just like and size as the existing. I can't see it costing more than 100 bucks. Mount it next to the existing tank, in my case with a 25rss this would be almost above the rear axel. Connect the two togethere using the 1 1/4 fill and the 1/2 vent. Doing it this way both tanks would fill evenly and become one with double the capacity and the existing sensors would still measure correctly. I have already contacted Al-Ko and the springs in my unit can be upgraded to 25.25" eye to eye, four leaf springs with a 1750 rating per side per axel. This would turn the 6000 lb overall rating into 7000 lb. According to Al-Ko this is as big as the center shaft can handle and is rated for. To do it right you have to do both the tank and the spring upgrade. If you have the 3 leaf Al-Ko axel it can be done as I mentioned. If you have the Dexter axel you need to contact them and see if their's can be upgraded. In any case you want to keep the weight as close to the axels as possible for balance and weight distribution. Hope this helps, Kirk


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

aplvlykat said:


> This is a subject I was thinking about doing also. We do most of our trips in remote or desert sites, so water really becomes a issue. My thought on it to install a second tank like they did in my Class C we use to have. Start by purchasing a tank from keystone just like and size as the existing. I can't see it costing more than 100 bucks. Mount it next to the existing tank, in my case with a 25rss this would be almost above the rear axel. Connect the two togethere using the 1 1/4 fill and the 1/2 vent. Doing it this way both tanks would fill evenly and become one with double the capacity and the existing sensors would still measure correctly. I have already contacted Al-Ko and the springs in my unit can be upgraded to 25.25" eye to eye, four leaf springs with a 1750 rating per side per axel. This would turn the 6000 lb overall rating into 7000 lb. According to Al-Ko this is as big as the center shaft can handle and is rated for. To do it right you have to do both the tank and the spring upgrade. If you have the 3 leaf Al-Ko axel it can be done as I mentioned. If you have the Dexter axel you need to contact them and see if their's can be upgraded. In any case you want to keep the weight as close to the axels as possible for balance and weight distribution. Hope this helps, Kirk


I was originally thinking that way, but not any more. As I said in the earlier post, it is fairly trivial to upgrade to a larger tank, at least on the 31RQS:
There is significant clearance above the tank, so the new tank could be taller
One of the major supports of the tank (along the long side) is just bolted to the frame and therefore adjustable
The main question I think, which you're addressing, is whether the trailer can handle that kind of localized weight. The other question would be supporting the tank given a wider span. From what I can tell, Keystone intends to allow some bulging on the bottom of the tank as it fills (which may be contrary to the manufacturer's installation instructions), and at some span this would be a real problem I believe.

But going from a 40 gallon to a 60 gallon does not take a tremendous jump in size if you increase all three dimensions.

A couple of things I've thought of if you do go the two-tank route... you probably want to connect the supply lines (to the pump) with a T, so it truly is a low point relative to both tanks. I think just putting a T on the fill line might be a problem since you'd have water trying to get in the tanks potentially counteracted by water trying to get out to ballance them. You might have fill rate issues with the water blowing back out the fill hole because of the turbulence. Most of the tank manufacturer will custom-mount any connections you want, so a normal fill into one of them and then a separate 1.25 inch "balance" line between them may be better.

The tank prices seem to go up fairly steeply going from say 30 gallons to 45, but not so much from 45 to 60. In other words, replacing with a 60 gallon wouldn't be hugely more expensive than adding another 45 gallon tank. If you only want to add another 30 gallons you can indeed get the tank for about $100.

I'm guestimating the bigger tank would be $500 if you went through a dealer through Keystone. Thanks, but no. This is the manufacturer for the tank on the 31RQS - I expect they use the same vendor for all models. http://www.ameri-kart.com/rv.html


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## Brew (Apr 27, 2007)

aplvlykat said:


> This is a subject I was thinking about doing also. We do most of our trips in remote or desert sites, so water really becomes a issue. My thought on it to install a second tank like they did in my Class C we use to have. Start by purchasing a tank from keystone just like and size as the existing. I can't see it costing more than 100 bucks. Mount it next to the existing tank, in my case with a 25rss this would be almost above the rear axel. Connect the two togethere using the 1 1/4 fill and the 1/2 vent. Doing it this way both tanks would fill evenly and become one with double the capacity and the existing sensors would still measure correctly. I have already contacted Al-Ko and the springs in my unit can be upgraded to 25.25" eye to eye, four leaf springs with a 1750 rating per side per axel. This would turn the 6000 lb overall rating into 7000 lb. According to Al-Ko this is as big as the center shaft can handle and is rated for. To do it right you have to do both the tank and the spring upgrade. If you have the 3 leaf Al-Ko axel it can be done as I mentioned. If you have the Dexter axel you need to contact them and see if their's can be upgraded. In any case you want to keep the weight as close to the axels as possible for balance and weight distribution. Hope this helps, Kirk


 I was thinking of doing it the same way. I mean why get rid of a perfectly good tank? I think if the second tank is vented good and you try and use a "y" instead of a "T" to divide the filler hose it would work great. It would also keep the cost down as well. I have lots of clean space under my trailer so I would probably move the second tank back as close to the axles as possible.

Bruce


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

These ebay prices are a lot cheaper than what I found before. The difference between using "fresh water" vs. "freshwater" is amazing.









http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?f...&category0=

How about that 100 gallon job? Yeah baby!









Watch out for shipping costs though.


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

100gal tank. Think about the weight not to mention how long it will take to fill at some campgrounds.

thor


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