Plastic water/waste tanks in bay

[silversport]

Have started to up date my 4106, have removed all the tanks, the last owner had boxed the plastic tanks in 3/4" plywood on sides, front and back also put 1/4" ply in between them. Looking for in put if the tanks really need all that protection or strapping them down would be enough.

[John316]

FWIW, we wrapped our in 1/2" plywood. Is it needed? Nope, I don't think so. Do I sleep better at night knowing that those tanks are protected as best as I can? Certainly!

Would I wrap them again? Yes I would.

[silversport]

Do you think wood between the tanks is overkill?
Robert

[Lin]

I thought that wrapping the tanks in plywood was to stop them from bulging in the middle when full.

[John316]

Lin, you are right. That is what I meant, when I said "protected as best I can." I meant protected from damage in any way, including bulging. Thanks for pointing that out.

Robert, if it was just me, and if I had the space, yes I would put plywood between the tanks. I did that on ours. I know they aren't going to rub holes in each other, or anything like that. For me, it just gave me peace of mind.

FWIW

[chart1]

Depending on what part of the country you are in. I live in the Midwest so boxing them in with insulation and I used a waterbed heater is a must.

[MEverard]

I would be careful how you box them in. If the tank does bulge and is not totally secured, you do not want it to rub on the plywood. Just a thought.

Mike

[artvonne]

  How many have made their own tanks by plastic welding? I will need tanks, and custom sized would sure be great.

[Melbo]

I had my tanks made so I could maximize the volume and minimize the space taken up

I was not without some hassles --- the guy who made them went out of business

The guy who was needed to repair them was a little put off that he didn't get the first part of the job but was MUCH better at his craft than the first guy

Just a heads up on checking the SKILL level of the craftsman that you hire

HTH
YMMV

Melbo

[TomC]

Most plastic tank manufactures state that the tanks are made to be mounted on any side you wish.  When I was driving, my black and gray tanks were mounted on the fuel tank cross supports under the drive shaft.  They were mounted on 3/4" plywood with 2" angle iron mounted on top of the plywood to keep the tank from shifting and to stiffen the plywood.  Then the tank was held down by two angle irons on top with threaded rods down to the base.  Worked reliably for over 800,000 miles. Good Luck, TomC

[thomasinnv]

Had my tanks made to my specs by a company in CA. (Ronco Plastics) 120 grey, 120 fresh and 66 black. shipped to my doorstep in OK on a flat bed for a little over $400. When the shop foreman found out I was non-profit (minister) he cut the price in half. I think I did pretty well.

BTW, I believe Gumpy made his own tanks by plastic welding.

[Sean]

If you are using roto-molded HDPE tanks, they are supposed to be boxed above a certain size.  The manufacturer will not stand behind them if you do not support the tanks on all sides per their directions.

We bought our tanks from Ardemco.  We asked explicitly about whether plywood was also needed in between adjacent tanks, and were told that in our application with identical tanks butted together we did not need it.  But we have plywood on all sides of the complete assembly.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[luvrbus]

When I bought my tanks in 1992 I was told to strap around the tank and end to end with strapping I used S/S strapping one from end to end and 2 across the tank so far so good lol huh Matt

good luck