adamis
Northern California
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Joined: 06/09/2016
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Starting on a project on the camper (Bigfoot 2500, 10.6) and as part of it, I needed to remove the bottom panels of the camper to see where the tanks are. I took some pics and stitched them together to give a rough idea of what the tanks and layout look like for anyone else that might want to know. The stitching isn't perfect, just working with the quick pics I could take.
Anyway, here are some thoughts...
1. The tanks are hung from the floor. This is a Bigfoot 2500 basement model. When the camper is sitting in the bed of the truck one would think the tanks would settle onto the bottom of the camper which would in turn be on the floor of the truck but that isn't really the case.
2. The tanks are actually suspended via the straps. The insulating foam (removed for pics) that was used is a low density foam and would compress easily with weight. This means, more than likely, your tanks are always being supported by the straps and not resting on the floor of your truck.
3. The straps, especially for the larger tank was insufficient. They also stretch it appears from years in service. The result is the tanks will bulge down where not supported thus leaving sections of the tank lower than the water outlet.
4. My fresh water tank and the way it was supported left ~20% of the water unusable due to first the straps sagging leaving the rear (where the hose connects) at a higher angle than the front of the tank. Also, the placement of the hose bib fitting means the tank will never be empty.
5. There is a LOT of unused tank volume available if one was to make their own tanks from aluminum or something. The tank height might be able to increase at least an 1" (maybe more if you weren't worried about having insulation between the tank and the fiberglass body). The front portion of the tank (L shape) could be widened maybe four more inches.
6. The grey tank (middle tank) could also be increased substantially. Additional strapping should be added and for some reason, the back strap actually goes over the sending unit wiring and fittings so it's compromised.
7. The black tank could also substantially be increased in size as well. Both in height and width.
For my current project, (and the amount of time I have) I'm just going to try to add more straps, address the budging and angles of the fresh tank so I get more usable capacity out of it.
For future projects, should I find myself with way more time, custom tanks could be made to increase the holding capacity for each of these by at least 15% if not 20%. I don't think I will ever get there myself but it certainly would be an interesting project.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/up3whjvl.jpg)
1999 F350 Dually with 7.3 Diesel
2000 Bigfoot 10.6 Camper
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notsobigjoe
southeast
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Joined: 09/15/2016
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This job is so Ludacris that I would do it, Actually I just did it. LOL I had an electrical short in my slide out room that would occasionally stop the progress of the room sliding out or in. Like you I went into it with 110% and did all of the problems that you are describing. I think I have some pics but can't post till tonight. Yes everything your describing was sagging to the point of not working efficiently. It was a ton of work but worth it. I'll get back after work. Cheers. Joe
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StirCrazy
Kamloops, BC, Canada
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Joined: 07/16/2003
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they are suspended so warm air can circulate under the tanks. The foam would be plenty to hold the weight, but you would have to put plywood down first to distribute that weight. Doing this would get rid of the air gap and not allow air circulation around the tank to help keep it from freezing if the foam were to break down or just be inadequate for the temperature you're using it in.
2014 F350 6.7 Platinum
2016 Cougar 330RBK
1991 Slumberqueen WS100
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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If the bottom of the camper perimeter framing allows, I’d suggest supporting the tanks with additional transverse purlins or joists. So that the tank(s) are also supported in a way that does allow them to bear on the truck bed to an extent.
The more support the merrier if you use the camper water while camper floor is unsupported (off the truck and no other supports or saw horses etc under it).
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold
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greenno
Clairemont Cal.
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Joined: 04/12/2018
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In for a penny in for a pound.
Yeah I think most properly supported tanks are actually held in suspension above the bottom panel as that section is fairly lightweight and would not be able to support the full fill weight.
Oh and thanks for the video amigo!
I did end up adding the Weboost cell booster thanks to you guys at our stop in Wash, took the afternoon and it works great.
Looking forward to hopefully next year.
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HMS Beagle
Napa, California
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Joined: 08/22/2003
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My Bigfoot looks the same. The straps support the tanks fine, but by the edges mostly, the tanks are thin enough material that the middle sags down under the weight of the fluid in the middle where the straps really can't support it. I doubt more straps will help. You would need something to make the bottom of the tank stiffer, either beams between the straps and tanks, or perhaps plywood under the whole bottom of the tank. The straps support the tanks fine off the truck, even when full. I will say that isn't how I'd have designed it, but it seems to work OK.
On the Bigfoot - and every other RV I've owned - there is tons of space wasted everywhere. This tends to be better on the European builds for some reason. I'd estimate that fully 1/3 of the available storage volume is inaccessible air space.
Bigfoot 10.4E, 2015 F350 6.7L DRW 2WD, Autoflex Ultra Air Ride rear suspension, Hellwig Bigwig sway bars front and rear
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adamis
Northern California
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Tomorrow I will be working to add additional strapping. I have a bunch of angled metal that is pre-punched with holes, can't remember what it is called. This should provide the support for the middle of the tank to avoid the sagging at least. How much I accomplish we shall see as I'm fully expecting a miserable experience of it with being on my back on gravel with no space for my hands or tools to secure anything.
Anyway, my plan is to raise the forward portion of the tank completely so the top of the tank touches the bottom of the floor. Then, I'll leave the angle so that the back portion of the tank (where it connects to the hose) is the low point. This hopefully will result in me recovering about 20% of the water that would not drain otherwise.
I will try to take some pics to show what the end result is.
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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If you read this before installing, I doubt hardware store holy angle (that’s what we call it) will span the 4’ or however wide and not bend under full tank of water unless you install more pieces than you think is necessary.
Depending on the vertical space you’re working with and the ledger or side attachment points, lumber or heavier gauge angle would be mo betta.
I redid my tank supports when one strap finally bit the dust (using camper off the truck, full of water) with scrap around the house which happened to be leftover 1x4 yellow cedar deck boards. I did re attach the straps just because and I did provide for airflow from to back even though I’d have never needed it.
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StirCrazy
Kamloops, BC, Canada
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Joined: 07/16/2003
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adamis wrote:Tomorrow I will be working to add additional strapping. I have a bunch of angled metal that is pre-punched with holes, can't remember what it is called. This should provide the support for the middle of the tank to avoid the sagging at least. How much I accomplish we shall see as I'm fully expecting a miserable experience of it with being on my back on gravel with no space for my hands or tools to secure anything.
Anyway, my plan is to raise the forward portion of the tank completely so the top of the tank touches the bottom of the floor. Then, I'll leave the angle so that the back portion of the tank (where it connects to the hose) is the low point. This hopefully will result in me recovering about 20% of the water that would not drain otherwise.
I will try to take some pics to show what the end result is.
be careful how high you move it also, when the tanks fill, they deform and if your vent is plugged and you over fill it that could raise the top also a bit. don't want it confined or it will break something (either the support or thr floor)
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adamis
Northern California
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Well, stage one of the camper project is complete. Added a bunch of additional strapping to get the tanks hanging in the right direction. Water tank now empties to about 90% empty which I'm going to call a win. I think the hose connection would have to be rerouted to underneath the tank to get another 5% drainage.
The grey tank which is the middle tank was hanging completely in the wrong direction. Hard to see from pics but the rear strap on it was nearly useless. I'm not sure what they were thinking but now that I have it orientated correctly, I probably picked up another 15% capacity, maybe even more.
The black holding tank was the only tank that the straps were actually tight on and was not hanging or sagging at all. I still added one brace to it but doing fine.
One thing I found surprising, I always thought the bottom footprint was 1" or 3/4" plywood behind the fiberglass. Nope, it's 1/4", then 1" of foam and then 1/8" plywood on the inside. The weight rests on a wood bottom rail that goes around the perimeter. This made finding solid wood a bit more challenging than I would have liked. In the end, a lot of screws and a few lucky hits but I don't think anything is going anywhere now.
Tomorrow is phase two (see last pic). We will be building a cradle out of aluminum. This will be secured to be bed and the camper will sit inside of it. The plan is to remove the jacks (they need to be serviced and painted in addition to the actual mounting brackets. I may end up leaving the jacks off, haven't decided just yet but it's been rolling around in my mind. A little bit of weight reduction. Then again, when it's windy, always nice to have jacks. Might just remove the fronts and leave the rears in place or just them cleaned, painted and put back on. Who knows.
Anyway, the whole idea is that once the cradle is built the camper won't move around at all. Aluminum tubing for those wondering is 3"x5" with .25" wall. Way overkill, something I didn't really realize until it was being loaded onto my truck after being cut. The 3"x5" was a result of them not having 3"x4". Had I done a little more homework before picking up the tubing, I would have gone with maybe 3"x3" with 3/16" wall thickness. But, it's paid for now so it is what I'm rolling with.
Before: Grey Tank was actually hanging in the wrong direction so it would never fully drain.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/NQPiuXGl.jpg)
Front facing aft. Finished bracing water tank. You can see grey tank behind it. hard to tell but it's sagging in the corner so it would never drain.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/uyh8dgbl.jpg)
I had to use a lot of screws because it was hit or miss on finding solid wood.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/qR7BNGKl.jpg)
Full stitched underbelly shot.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/fXuSj1bl.jpg)
Tomorrow's project:
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/oxY5fWTl.png)
* This post was
edited 07/09/23 08:46am by adamis *
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