Fresh Water Tank Fixes

[snowman9000]

I just became the second owner of a 2004 Cruiser 28RL. Thanks to info suggested by posters here and on RV.net, I knew to check to see if my fresh water tank was sagging.Luckily, I guess,the dealer had put a lot of water in it, so there was no doubt:







I also read about problems with the gravity fill tube leaking. I didn't like what I saw so I decided to just drop the tank while I was working on it anyway. Here are a couple of photos:

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I'm guessing someone told the line workers to make it good and tight. And they made them so tight they crimped a waist into the tank fitting, and shredded the tubing:

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I did some research on the Smooth-Bor brand hose/tubing. It's not exactly smooth inside. It's almost impossible to seal. It is offered with pre-made lengths with smooth ends or in bulk.They used the bulk.



My fix in next post. Edited by: snowman9000

[snowman9000]

Part 2

I thought if I used two hose clamps, one above and one below the narrowed waist, it would seal. No luck, that hose just won't seal. I had read some people used teflon pipe dope. That's what the factory did. So I tried that. No luck. I also read some people used silicone sealant. I bought a tube of basic DAP silicone sealant. It says right on it that it is food safe. I put it on the lower part of the tank fitting and slid the hose on, and clamped it. It worked.

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I had read some people used alternative types of hose. This stock hose is FDA approved material. I know that the clear vinyl type will support mold growth, because there is some in my vent tube. So I wanted to stick with the stock one.



I have seen the posts about the water pickup, and using a copper line in the tank. I rummaged through my parts bins looking for the right fittings. Instead I found a plastic fitting that I could just force a 1/2" poly water line into. I mean it was tight, it should not fall out. The line had a natural arc memorized, so all I had to do was arc it the right direction to sit on the bottom of the tank. Poor picture, hard to see the tube:

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As to the tank supports, I had read various posts and all methods sounded okay. I decided to call Randy at the factory anyway. I'm going with his method, more or less. I switched to 5/8" plywood, and am going to run a brace long-wise (side to side)under the middle of the tank. This brace will be below and up againstthe Darco belly sheeting, and will be bolted to the outer flanges of the frame. Randy recommended two of them, C-channels. Well, the stab jacks are in the way, so I'm only using one, about in the middle. But it's plenty stout, especially combined with the 5/8ths plywood.



Be sure you orient the plywood so the grain runs across the 38" span of the tank. ie From front to back of the trailer, not side to side. If you are going to support the whole 60" length of the tank, that means you'll need two separate pieces, say 30 x 38 for example, side by side. If you didn't know this, and cut one 38 x 60 piece from a sheet, you'd be orienting it with the grain running the wrong way, and it would be very weak in the direction that you need it to be strong.



I remounted the tank but haven't put the support channel on yet. Anyway, hopefully the fresh water tank is up to snuff now.

[fixit5561]

My tank saggedtoo, same year same model,just 2 ft longer. Never heard abou the leaking hoses but mine havent ever leaked.



I did the opposite. I just put 3 pieces of 1" square steel tubing front to back under the tank and then screwed them to the existing framing and it worked great. I did not put the straps back on, I just trew them away.I used the stock 3/8 plywood too, and havent had any troubles since. Nothing got in the way either so I didnt have to move anything or sacrifice strength.Edited by: fixit5561

[snowman9000]

The hose should only leak when you overfill the tank. Or maybe a little if driving around with a full-ish tank. The water would run down into the belly space. My plywood piece was somewhat moldy so maybe some water had gotten down there.



I think your bracing sounds fine. My stock plywood was already cracked from sagging. (Maybe the water softened it up too.) I already had the steel piece I'm using for the brace. If I had some tubinglike you used on hand instead, I would have done it that way. Either way is a huge improvement. Gotta wonder what someone was thinking with that design.



I decided to write it up because repair info seems a bit scarce on this particular problem. There is a lot of general "I fixed it", but I couldn't find much in the way of specifics. Maybe this will help someone going forward.

[Lloyd]

I reinforced the supports under my tank also. Mine has 2, pretty light u irons holding it. I used 2, 3/4in. tubes set inside the u irons, screwed to the frame. I wanted to make sure the tank wouldn't come down, cause I travel with a full tank of water most of the time. As far as the fill hose leaking---that is a pain in the butt!!! Like you stated, that type hose is impossible to clamp off so it doesn't leak. The second time the tank came down, it got siliconed. That was the end of the leak. I also put the copper pipe in the tank for a pickup tube.

[r2millers]

Snowman,

Nice job on sending pictures and the detailed overview. When my black tank failed because the L-iron flexed out and allowed the tank to drop through, I resupported it with a gusset between that tank and my graywater tank to stabilize.

Crossroads really didn't use nearly enough support IMO, to consider long term possible failure when full.

Not sure about your plywood orientation as 5/8" plywood should be either 5 or 7 plys in alternating directions, giving you strengh either way you mounted it.

Thanks for sharing.

[avvidclif]

I also wondered about the plywood orientation as the ply's are alternating in every sheet I have seen...????

[r2millers]

They are always alternating unless you buy solid lumber core. Pretty unusual stuff.

[NH Horseman]

Why aren't the pictures visible for me?

[NH Horseman]

Forget my post. They finally came in.