Gray Water Tank Install done the Right Way (Van or RV)

[@benjaminwalker8323]

OG here! Another wonderful project! Thanks for what you do

[@LukaszGogolkiewicz]

Nice one! Being following for a few years. I would consider putting in a HepVo Valve to reduce smells coming back in through the drainpipe. Made a big difference in my van.

[@nmartin5551]

Glad you are adding the grey tank. I’m afraid the idea that grey water is harmless is one of those things that the vanlife trend decided, but I can tell you that more than a decade ago, campgrounds and other places took issue that grey water does need disposal in places other than just wherever.

[@406Campr]

OG here. 2017 Transit. And that was really cool. Thanks Ken!

[@ourkaravan]

Awesome, thank you for following along all of these years! -Ken

[@dougf94912]

OG subscriber Ken! It's always a pleasure to watch your thoughtful, detailed build videos! 😊

[@ourkaravan]

Thank you Doug, I appreciate you following along our journey the past many years. Hopefully I can catch you out on the road sometime.

[@EdClarkePC]

OG Ed here. Beautiful installation, and documentation! If you find your flow is restricted by the 90 bend below the van floor, flexible PVC will likely make the bend without kinking. Also, if you decide you want to leave the dump open for long periods, Solid makes a valve that remains open or closed in a de-energized state.

[@ourkaravan]

Hi Ed, thanks for following along! Even with the 90-degree elbow the system drains far quicker than my water system can provide it. And you're right, Solid makes a bunch of options, with the non-auto returning options requiring a bit more complex wiring. To anyone reading this I would definitely recommend this 1" valve as opposed to the smaller ones where the ball valve is substantially smaller than the pipe connected to it, slowing the draining process. Thanks for the comment!

[@ozmanfidaar6311]

Nice work, looks really clean and professional. For the unused hole, I attached a spigot in case of the seloid valve failure.

[@DaveParsons]

OG subscriber of 5-6 years. I did your factory speaker upgrade. You set the standard for high quality work for sure. I'm a galvanized strap gray water tank guy myself. :)

[@LiveLikePete]

Nice job, Ken! I love the electronic solenoid dump. Genius.

[@ourkaravan]

Thanks Pete...the solenoid dump has sort of become a standard now--sure beats crawling under the van to open a valve. I watched one of your sandrail videos the other day....fun stuff!

[@morgananderson9647]

I've been here for the whole ride! I was always impressed with the quality you've engineered into your "Getaway Machine"... I'm looking forward to more content in the future!!! All the best, M-

[@ourkaravan]

Thank you for the kind words and for following along!

[@stevehori673]

Ken, great to see your still improving your van. Another of many excellent van build videos.

[@ourkaravan]

thank you

[@leefinefurniture494]

Love your videos! 4 year subscriber- I have almost the same setup on our van. One thing I would highly recommend with these electric valves is to seal the horizontal case seam with waterproof sealant. They take a lot of abuse down there and I have had some fail. Once I sealed them it stopped. I also put sealant in and around where the wires enter the case.

[@ourkaravan]

Good to know, thank you!

[@brianchetelat6601]

Excellent information and video production Ken, well done and we fellow DIY builders thank you.

[@owenimholte3835]

Not OG, but following along for ~4 years or so. Your build quality is so impeccable every step of the way and it's something I strive to get close to in my own build, so it was validating to see the same valve I purchased a while ago show up in this video. =) Now I just need to put it in...Your presentation style is also comforting to watch. Keep it up, thanks for all the videos so far.

[@ourkaravan]

Thank you, I very much appreciate the kind words!

[@h00d000]

Very useful upgrade. Following you for close to 6 years.bought my sprinter 4 years ago, and slowly building it. Thanks for tips and tricks and great tutorial videos over the years. But mainly, thank you for the inspiration! Cheers!

[@boare3]

Excellent video and explaining the process!

[@weinvesthappiness4551]

Welcome back Ken

[@dmwi1549]

As always, thanks for sharing. Been benefiting from you video since the beginning.

[@kevinshea4776]

I've been here since the beginning and consider your channel one of the best camper builds. Hope to get my Sprinter some day. Thanks for the step-by-step videos!

[@ourkaravan]

That's a huge complement, thank you!

[@harryupmann]

OG subscriber here, first video I saw was your MaxAir fan install which I followed. Love your videos, just the right level of detail and explanation, and your work is great!

[@ourkaravan]

Such a nice comment, thank you!

[@DrRedive]

OG for sure. Built your galley cabinet for our van. About to install the gray water tank, so this is super helpful, especially th links to parts.

[@ourkaravan]

Great to hear! I would love to see photos of your galley install--if you feel like sharing there is a contact form on ourkaravan.com. Thanks for the comment!

[@corywadedavis]

Fancy solenoid drain! Well done!

[@ireloaded9]

Finally getting better angle shots after eight years heh....😂 van looks terrific 👌

[@ourkaravan]

Thanks! 😃

[@alanhat5252]

Tidy style without over-emphasizing irrelevances, thank you.

[@ourkaravan]

Much appreciated!

[@ManWander]

8 years! time has flown!

[@ourkaravan]

I know, crazy!!

[@timpresiado5808]

OG subscriber here. Your videos have been super informative and inspiring. I am adding this gray water solution shortly.

[@ourkaravan]

Thank you Tim, I appreciate the kind words and the support!

[@brianchetelat6601]

Also, the quiet giggling was quite cute.

[@Every_State_Park]

Still love the look of your van.

[@ourkaravan]

thank you

[@joesyard]

Thank you for this video! Tackling this will be so much easier now 😊

[@ourkaravan]

You're welcome and good luck!

[@raymondray8672]

Hey Ken, great to see ya👍

[@sethriddle7615]

Great to see another video!

[@TerryManitoba]

I was building my 2017 Transit about the same time you started showing your build. As much as I wanted to use this new fangled (to me) 80/20 in my build - I ended up not using a single foot of the stuff to construct my interior. (I've sleep in mine over the years a total of 25 months over 75k miles-:) BTW - still tweaking it a bit after each trip...

[@ourkaravan]

Sounds like you are putting your van to good use! I use the word "done" in quotes because the word implies I'll never touch it again, when I know that's impossible for me. Thank you for following along!

[@TerryManitoba]

@@ourkaravan Ya - it has been a super fun way to bump along. But can it be more fun? uMM - YES With a plan of "finally" going to Baja - this fall - a major tweak was I had the van lifted a/w ARB rear locker at Agile OffRoad ($$$) to make the rig that much more capable when off the beaten path (which is where I typically to travel a bunch)!!! To date that mod has made it so much more capable off-road than I ever expected a 2WD van to be.

[@ourkaravan]

@@TerryManitoba That's great. I know how effective a rear locker can be as my 4Runner has one. Good stuff!

[@TerryManitoba]

@@ourkaravan Since I "think" I bought the right vehicle platform - part of the Fun & Challenge is to continually Optimize the rig as I did lately with the lift & locker. That a/w the dozen of small things I optimized inside the van from the knowledge gained from the last trip👍

[@ourkaravan]

@@TerryManitoba Transit and Sprinter have proven themselves to be good platforms. I'd be shopping both.

[@billnalen]

Van still looks amazing after 8 years. Next week I'm moving my gray tank from inside to under the passenger side. I'm cheating a bit and using a tank from nwconversions that includes the straps for my Transit.

[@ourkaravan]

Not cheating at all; thanks Bill!

[@dmwi1549]

Been here since the beginning. Started my van build during Covid. Really appreciate all the great ideas and meticulous documentation. And, you were right. Few of us really need or use 4wd. The new locking differentials available will get most anywhere they want to go over stock. Stock RWD is all most need. How’s the plastic dip or application you put on the wheels holding up?

[@ourkaravan]

Thank you for following along and for the kind words! While I still find I don't need 4wd, I am so pleased Mercedes moved away from the old problematic third party 33/67% split system and made their own in-house 50/50 AWD, and coupled it with a nice 4 cyl diesel. :) Plasti dip holds up well until it's time for new tires. Most shops aren't careful with wheels and they usually come away with scuffs I have to tend-to. That said I'm on my second set of tires and one retouch in close to 8 years.

[@danvrana6758]

You could have also replaced the fuel tank strap bolt with a stud and nut. It would have been a lot easier to assemble. Thanks for all the great videos, I’ve been watching for years.

[@ourkaravan]

Certainly worth considering for anyone reading this.

[@MrBodi1]

You can dump grey water while driving in the rain so nobody can tell you

[@Sunshine-xv9vy]

Great video

[@ourkaravan]

thank you!

[@DuaneRonan]

Really great content my friend. Thank you so much!

[@ourkaravan]

Much appreciated!

[@magielacambra1567]

Welcome back! Love the detail of your videos, so I am happy to see you back while I am building my van. What type of switch did you use to control the ball valve?

[@ourkaravan]

Hi, I used a switch from Amazon that has a protective cover over it so it does not inadvertently get triggered. If you check the build section of ourkaravan.com, I did a complete write up with a parts list. I hope that helps.

[@magielacambra1567]

@@ourkaravan found it. Thank you for the prompt reply

[@FreeMissions]

Kennys back!!

[@BlackDogShores]

As always, I love and am eager to see what you are doing with your van. Last year I installed a grey tank and went to efforts to protect the bottom from being impacted by debris. I also needed to do this because I made a ‘cage’ to hang the tank vs straps and the protection took up the space on the tank where it is higher. Anyway, wondered if you felt any protection is needed?

[@ourkaravan]

Hi, the tank sits above the pinch seam and the fuel tank that sits right next to it, so I didn’t see where I would benefit from more. That said, the only real downside of protection is weight and possible build up of debris. Sounds like you did great.

[@dmytroriazanov5065]

might try to replace 90 with 2*45 later on

[@colesadventures8727]

Great job.Who makes the tank?

[@vincesvangoes866]

Perfectly done and great video! I did exactly the same thing, but haven't taken the time to figure out a good hose hook up that drains nicely and is easy to couple. Some campsites want to see an actual drain line to the dump. Any good advice?

[@ourkaravan]

Because the outlet of the solenoid valve is a standard 1" NPT thread, there are any number of adapters you could thread in to provide a hose bib or whatever else you need. Thanks for the comment!

[@wanderingzythophile9083]

One assumes you didn't just start drilling through your floor from above, but rather, picked a spot underneath and first drilled a pilot hole upward, to use as a guide for the larger hole coming down?

[@ourkaravan]

It took me a while to figure out the orientation and why the lower floor is so much different than up above. In short, I sent a small pilot hole down from the top once I had a good idea where it would end up. As it turns out, I was off enough that the nut would not have gone on the bulkhead. Luckily that pilot hole was within the size of the 1-3/4" hole.

[@dralusion]

what a great fit. my galley is on the other side. do you know if this will have the same fit passenger side? btw, what bug screen did you end up using and why?

[@ourkaravan]

This won't fit on the passenger side due to the indent for the step in the slider footwell. There is a company that I believe now makes one. My bug screen is from Quest Overland but I can no longer recommend them. The original owners sold the business in late 2023 and the new owner is completely unresponsive to calls and emails and many recent customers have had to go to their credit card companies to get charges reversed. I'd look elsewhere for sure.

[@KenLeonard]

Any concerns about the relatively few and small mounting bolts vs the tank full of water when you hit a pothole and generate a 2+ G load? 20 gal @ 2G is 352 lbs.

[@ourkaravan]

None at all. The mounting and hardware I used very much resembles what comes in some of the high-priced kits sold online, and is also what I’ve seen professional builders do.

[@AlexV89]

Seems like that solenoid is fairly levered and heavy. Do you have anything to support it (e.g. metal strapping of some sort attached to the van frame)?

[@ourkaravan]

Valve weight with packaging is 1.15 lbs. Not a chance at all of issues here.

[@AlexV89]

Sounds good - thanks for the intel!

[@ourkaravan]

@@AlexV89 you're welcome

[@jimbabwe1]

I have a new sprinter conversion and have the a 5 gallon container under the sink which fills really quickly and has overflowed once. My builder won't install an under floor grey tank for these reasons quote: "being winterization, mold build up/smell with food & toothpaste. Undermounted grey water tanks for sink grey water can get clogged up easily and clog up ball valves, it's a tank that will more than likely need to be replaced or at least washed twice a year if not more" Have you had any of those issues, I would love to know. Thank you.

[@ourkaravan]

Your builder isn't wrong per-se, but a lot of that can be mitigated by using a sink strainer, regular flushes and the occasional bleach application. Nothing on an RV is maintenance-free, but I can certainly advocate for why I would prefer to not have my gray water inside.

[@jimbabwe1]

@@ourkaravan 👍🙂

[@WaterFaucet24]

No gray water tank level guage? Nice install.

[@ourkaravan]

Easily added but not needed here. 10G of water, 15G gray water tank.

[@ginawhite3728]

Can you just put the Gray tank on and use gravity to drain it

[@OnlineReviews-bu8yl]

do you have any issues with debris clogging the valve?

[@ourkaravan]

I haven't yet, but if that were to occur the NPT plug on the other side of the tank could be used to drain, or the valve could be unscrewed and serviced.

[@ABusFullaJewz]

What's the vent? Just a sintered bronze air filter?

[@ourkaravan]

Correct. Full parts list here: ourkaravan.com/gray-water-tank/

[@leblancexplores]

So what’s the vent exactly?

[@ourkaravan]

It's a 40 micron copper breather. Full parts list with links here: ourkaravan.com/gray-water-tank/

[@poncedeleon61]

Og

[@mikewarner2285]

8 years? No way

[@ourkaravan]

Crazy huh?