Storage rack for wastewater tote under floor?

[eostew]

A friend of mine built this one. It's a duplicate of the TrailManor spare tire carrier. When the rack drops down, the rack telescopes (a smaller tube inside a bigger tube) attached on the other side of the trailer:

Thanks, also gives me some ideas, but for the amount I expect to use the tote I'll probably go with simple and strong as oppsosed to features like making it extendable... 

I'm also debating about buying a low profile tote like that one, but not sure I can stomach the pricetag... I can get a 12 gal smart tote for about 1/2 the price of the low profie, and I think I have room for the extra depth.

[Oz and Us]

I was wondering if anyone has built or considered building a storage rack under their PU to store a 12 gal waste water tote.

Well if you're still determined to do this rather than just drain into a couple of 7 gal Aquatainers sequentially connected together and since you have a 2003 Bayside I'd suggest you emulate what Fleetwood offered as an option beginning with the 2000 model year - a low profile 15 gal tank that secured to the underside of the trailer with a bracket that levered down to store the tank and to remove it.  The tank offered by Fleetwood was grey but it was manufactured by Barker Mfg and was exactly the same as this current Barker 15 gal Tote Tank.  The brackets themselves were manufactured in house by Fleetwood but if you search a few former Fleetwood dealers such as Beckley's Camping Center or Ketelson Campers it's possible they might still have the appropriate bracket, know where to get one, or be able to photocopy a picture of this bracket from a service manual so you'd then know what it looked like and how it secured to the trailer.  There's no sense reinventing the wheel if all the work has already been done for you.

[wavery]

A friend of mine built this one. It's a duplicate of the TrailManor spare tire carrier. When the rack drops down, the rack telescopes (a smaller tube inside a bigger tube) attached on the other side of the trailer:

Thanks, also gives me some ideas, but for the amount I expect to use the tote I'll probably go with simple and strong as oppsosed to features like making it extendable... 

I'm also debating about buying a low profile tote like that one, but not sure I can stomach the pricetag... I can get a 12 gal smart tote for about 1/2 the price of the low profie, and I think I have room for the extra depth.

This is simple, light & very strong. The slide out feature is simply 2 pieces of pipe, one inside the other. The inner pipes just attach to brackets on the other side of the frame. They are just straight pieces of 3/4" electrical conduit ~5' long. The curved side that actually carries the tote is made of 1" conduit that is bent into a 1/2 circle. Each side is also ~5' long and it just slides over the other smaller pipes. The entire thing can be made with ~ $8 worth of electrical conduit (2, 10' pieces) and a couple pieces of angle iron and a couple $ worth of fasteners. The most expensive part would be a little welding for the brackets but you will need to do that with whatever system you use.

[eostew]

since you have a 2003 Bayside I'd suggest you emulate what Fleetwood offered as an option beginning with the 2000 model year - a low profile 15 gal tank that secured to the underside of the trailer with a bracket that levered down to store the tank and to remove it. 

Thanks.  I was looking at the low profile tote before and had found some pictures of the factory version you are refering to on an earlier thread...  http://www.popupexplorer.com/forum/index.php?topic=72959.msg99640#msg99640
I will look into this more... do you or anyone know where these would mount on the PU?  As I have done some other mods underneath I'm not sure if they would interfere even if I could track one down.

I will look at the low profile tote again, I originally dismissed it as the cost of the low profile tote is about double the cost of a regular 12 gal smart tote, but I do like the extra ground clearance the low profile version would provide.  I'll try to get underneath and do some measuring today and see how low the rectangular tote would be, and making sure I have clearance for the lift cables. 

Anyone out there have the "real" dimensions of the thetford smart tote 12 gal?  The specs I see online indicate it is 10.5" high, just want to ensure that that dimension includes the wheels and the dran cap at the thickest point.

[Oz and Us]

Anyone out there have the "real" dimensions of the thetford smart tote 12 gal?  The specs I see online indicate it is 10.5" high, just want to ensure that that dimension includes the wheels and the dran cap at the thickest point.

Yeah, that's about right ... keep in mind also that if you store the tank with the bayonet cap removed that will shorten the overall height by ~ 1.25".

[eostew]

Just to complete this thread.  Finally put this together over the last week or so and got it mounted this morning...  Basically took some options from your posts and tried to keep the costs down...  Ended up using electrical conduit to build a basket that hinges down.





I will probably end up painting it black in the fall after we get back from our travels, but for now this will do...

[edit to fix the image links]

[HenryJ]

... Finally put this together over the last week or so and got it mounted this morning...Ended up using electrical conduit to build a basket that hinges down.

Well played! I like it.

[flash82]

That looks great!!! I want to do this for my awning mat (when it's a bit muddy) to keep out of the camper (even in a bag). Have an more pictures? Close ups?? specs?

[Spirit Deer]

Nicely done!  Thanks for posting the pics.

[eostew]

Thanks for the cudos... 

Have an more pictures? Close ups?? specs?

Just got home from a 2 week trip.  I'll try to take a few more pictures in the next few days.  Any particular areas you want close ups of?  Let me know then I can answer any questions you may have...   

As for specs, the sizing is based on the depth of the tank, to make it as shalow as possible, in fact I have to keep the lid off the tank to lift it up fully.  The width is based on the minimum radius of the curves made by the bender and the places I could anchor too on the trailer.  I'll post more details with the close-ups...

[flash82]

Hi, thanks. I was looking for the attachment points, both to the trailer frame and around the conduit itself. I see 'flat' spots on the conduit, does it come like that? Also, how I'd you get the radius bends?

[eostew]

OK.  I'll snap some closeup's this weekend. 

For the radius bends I used a conduit bender like this one http://www.homedepot.com/buy/klein-tools-1-2-in-aluminum-conduit-bender-and-handle-56206.html.  I was lucky enough to be able to borrow one, I did the bends first, then cut them to length...

To cut the conduit I picked up a metal blade for my chopsaw, was well worth the $10...

Where ever I was making connections I pinched one of the peices being connected flat using a Bench Vise and a cheater bar. 

[eostew]

Took a few closeups and posted them with some comments here --> http://s1155.photobucket.com/albums/p559/eostew/Wastewater%20Storage%20Tote%20Rack/

Let me know if there is any thing else you were looking for...

[94-D2]

I like this option.  How would the set up handle it if the tote were full.  There is some paces tht ave no dump available which would require transporting out of camp area.

Thanks

J

[eostew]

I like this option.  How would the set up handle it if the tote were full.  There is some paces tht ave no dump available which would require transporting out of camp area.

I did not design or build this to take the weight or stress of a full tank.   I'm not saying it couldn't be done, I expect the cage itself is probably strong enough to take the weight, but I like to error on the side of caution and would probably beef up the horizontal rails if I were expecting this to take a full tank.  I would think you would need to beef up the hinge and the connections to the trailer frame.  Finally you'd want to make it such that it held the tank very snugly so that the tank couldn't slide around at all.   I could just imagine the self drilling screws  I used to attach the cage to the trailer frame shearing off as the full tank slid around...

If you really wanted to carry your grey water any distance you'd probably be better off installing a permanent tank IMO.  That way you wouldn't be worried about the dynamic forces of a a full tank sliding around inside "the cage". 

The tank I used isn't that large ( I used a 10 Gallon as it had the lowest profile ).  I have to empy it appox every other day with our family usage.  The idea of using a portable tank is that you can take it and dump it any time it fills.  For me this tank is only for grey water, doing dishes, washing hands, brushing teeth etc...  I'd be worried that I wouldn't have enough capacity, even for a weekend, if I couldn't dump this tank...