How to Build a Cargo Trailer Camper Part 6 - Water Tank/ Battery Box/ Stabilizers

[@goddukee]

Looks great. Plenty of light to see what you're doing. Explanation on why and what. No unnecessary fancy camera work.

[@waysoutback]

Thanks! I try to think if I was watching this what would I like to see…. Then do that. Appreciate the comment 👍

[@MrJoey1570]

Man! You took the long way around the world on that tank plumbing!

[@waysoutback]

Hey give me a chance to explain myself... I haven’t released my plumbing video yet. 😅 I don’t know if you noticed in the other videos but all my water lines are slopped up to the taps. I do over 50% of my camping in winter when it’s freezing. I wanted to be able to... after camping open the drain and drain all the water in the system, no flat areas for water to pool. I can’t put RV antifreeze in then flush then go camping every weekend it would be a pain. Hope that explains the reason I went that way.

[@MrJoey1570]

Your plumb job is fine I get the pipe pitch and all it was the tank and the pex,my tanks had all the fittings and hose outdoor cap came complete and I used braided lines 5' and 6' long I came back here to delete my comment thinking I may have been a little hard on you! Mad props for the build I'm looking forward to watching your other vids!

[@waysoutback]

I got you... no problem at all. I think it’s good to be challenged a bit. How do we learn new things or make sure what I’m doing is going to work. 😁 Thanks for watching!

[@whopper88]

That cat at 0:20 scared the crap out of me. I'm like something black hovered by....

[@waysoutback]

Man very observant... I hadn’t even noticed. I think it might have been a squirrel. They were all over the place the little pests. 😄

[@frankmiller4167]

Hey i like your work, good job. Here is an idea i used on my cargo i put a valve before the pump then a tee with a valve and a short hose , so come winter i can drain my tank then shut the pump line, open the hose line so the pump will suck from the hose and stick the hose in a gal. of RV antifreeze, i then open my faucet untill pink antifreeze comes out, im now all winterized, just an idea if you live in a cold state. Keep up the good work, Take Care and Be Safe.

[@waysoutback]

That’s a great idea! I’m hoping to have enough slope that all the lines will drain but if I can’t quite get enough I’ll do that. The thing is I plan on doing lots of winter camping so I’ll be working all week then heading out on the weekend. So I don’t want to flush the lines each time, if that makes sense... Thanks for the info, anything else you notice please mention it. 👍

[@okatexoffroad1813]

You crafty SOB, man I'm glad I found this. Fixn to start a 28ft conversion for the family toy hauler

[@homehomeontheroad3003]

You should put some robber under the straps where they touch the tank to keep it from rubbing through the tank.

[@waysoutback]

That’s a great idea! Appreciate the input 👍

[@RVingwithG]

Great ideas!

[@waysoutback]

Thanks!

[@d-arts7139]

id stick some of that vinyl between those metal straps and the corners of the water tank... so they dont wear through! just a precaution. good work on everything. ive got all of this to do myself lol

[@waysoutback]

Right on…. I actually used rubber flooring underlay under the tank and on the sides… I should have mentioned that in the video. Thanks for mentioning it… definitely important 👍

[@georgecoffman377]

I have the same jacks and I threw away the goofy handle and welded a nut on the end of the screw shaft. Then I use a 3/4 socket on my impact driver to run them up and down.

[@waysoutback]

Yeah that stupid end… I think they did that just so you need to buy their handle…. Definitely going to modify it it the future. Thanks for the idea 👍

[@markcampbell3574]

I am loving your videos! Thanks for all of your time and effort in making them. I want to say though that I would be concerned a bit with the size of wood sitting in front of the water tank. I would have made it larger with more screws holding it down. A full tank will have a lot of momentum in an emergency stop.

[@waysoutback]

Thanks for watching! That's a great point, I hadn't thought of that. I will see what I can do to beef that up. Really appreciate the observation!

[@ranig2848]

Very cool. You might be ok since it's a fairly short trailer but it appears you're putting a LOT of weight at the rear (water + batteries) which usually increases sway and in windy conditions or if you need to make an emergency maneuver can cause the trailer to be uncontrollable. That's why most travel trailers have the batteries in LP in the front and have the fresh water in front of the wheels, then gray water and last black water (which is usually less full).

[@waysoutback]

Yeah no problem at all… sometimes I don’t even put the sway bar on and it tows great with my little ranger. I think what you have to realize is a cargo trailer is often designed much different then a full size rv trailer the wheels are further to the rear. So if you were to put all that weight like my batteries 240lbs, water tank 300lbs plus propane tanks 70lbs, black water, grey water and everything inside…. your tongue weight would be over 1000lbs. Right now my tongue weight is 375lbs with both propane tanks full. When looking at a lot of cargo trailer builds I think that’s a very big problem…. Professional built RVs with the big section hanging off the rear can balance out all that weight on the front but our cargo trailers are different. Hope that makes a big of sense I’m not sure if I explained that right. Also if you look at my batteries and water tank they are 2” forward of the axle… I was going to place them on centre but when I added up all the weight I had to shift them forward a couple inches.

[@miguelhgo2692]

I wish you have tell us where you got the fitting parts for the watter tank. But great job!

[@charleswoodley903]

Very good presentation, it would be nice if your panning the camera was a bit slower. Thanks.

[@waysoutback]

Ok will do... I’ll do a full walk thru once I’m done. 👍

[@kennethdale3298]

I love your video, I wonder don't you mind telling me what kind of standard 1/2inch ABS Fittings for the water tank? I can order one that you have.

[@waysoutback]

So I used brass 1/2 brass bulkhead fittings for the supply and vent and then threaded in pex fittings. For the Fill pipe I used a 1 1/2 uniseal and then used standard 1 1/2 ABS pipe. I added the links into the description. Let me know if that helps? Amazon has them listed 👍

[@youcanthide004]

Graet Video thanks / Can you please give me alink or part numbers for the PVC barbed fitting you inserted into the uniseal? thanks in advance

[@waysoutback]

Hey 👋 It’s actually not barbed but the slip fitting is used for smooth abs installation I believe it’s good up to 65psi here’s a link to the seal from my Amazon store front. amzn.to/3CJ3ZgG

[@youcanthide004]

@ perfect thanks 1 million

[@johntatman9168]

Just to put a thought in your head, I never use pex in any type of rv. Let me pose one question to you to explain why, would you use px to connect from your washing machine to the wall valves in your house? No would certainly be the answer and that's why I don't use it. Braided hoses are designed for this purpose and that's why I use them. Now everyone is going to say they are not approved for drinking water and that's correct but I always install either an inline filter system of a counter mounted Berkey for this purpose. Using a filter also allows for filling your tank from a stream if necessary when you're boondocking and don't want to leave to get water. Just a thought.

[@waysoutback]

Thanks for the ideas... I’m always open to different ways of doing something. We don’t ever drink out of the tank anyways always bring drinking water. I just used Pex because I had all of it from another job. I believe it’s used quite often in trailers I’ve seen. I’d definitely be interested in filling up from a lake or stream that’s something I’ve thought of but never came up with a concrete plan. Do you use a couple filters on a water hose to pre-filter it? 12v pump? That would be super handy.... tons of water where we usually boondock.

[@johntatman9168]

@@waysoutback Yes I have an extra 12v pump and hose and yes I use a seperate filter. If I'm too far from the water I pump it into a 5gal water jug and carry it. Not the preferred option however! Yes pex is frequently used and I've only heard of one person having a problem with it. It did not break but he burned a hole in it. However they were out of the country and there was nowhere to buy pex parts. Fortunately he was carrying some extra pieces and was able to fix it. I think any place you go would have washing machine hoses.

[@MrJoey1570]

Braided lines have been used for faucet supply lines for years,yes drinking water so much misinformation in the comment sections of these cargo build videos

[@johntatman9168]

@@MrJoey1570 That's correct and I'm not sure but I think those are slightly different. None the less if you use a filter you just add a little safety.

[@johntatman9168]

@@MrJoey1570 I just checked and the small lines going to sinks have a nylon liner where the washing machine lines are rubber like a garden hose.

[@danslater7566]

When i built my camper I put a four inch circular hatch cover in the top so I could get in to clean it out.

[@waysoutback]

Thanks that’s a great idea…. Ill definitely put that on the to do list 👍

[@georgecoffman377]

Where did you find the blue washers to hold your insulation under the floor ?

[@waysoutback]

Here’s an affiliate link of what I bought. It will help you get an idea. They are to install ridged foam on walls. amzn.to/3PngKzM

[@vindivergilio3482]

Did you install a gray and/or black holding tank(s)? If so, how big (gallons) and how did you distribute the weight? I am in the planning stage of building a 16x8x8 w/ a duel axle and am trying to figure the 'proper' weight distribution out. I plan on a 40gal fresh water, and 30 gallons for the gray and black tanks. Also, I hope to figure out a way to maybe heat the tanks to prevent freezing as we do a lot of winter camping in upstate New York and northern border states and a frozen tank or pipes can really suck.

[@waysoutback]

It’s great to hear you are starting with this is mind…. As you can tell…. I think it’s super important! Get a good solid plan. This is my suggestion. Find out the hitch weight right now before you start. That’s your goal don’t lighten it… a bit heavier is ok but definitely not lighter then the trailer was designed for… whatever you put behind the axle you will have to compensate with same weight in front. I think knowing your hitch weight and keeping it the same or a bit more, never less is key as your building. To get that… I’d recommend buying your tanks placing them inside your trailer in the area you want then fill them with water then check your hitch weight. Then do the same with the other heavy items, fridge, stove, batteries Keep moving them around keep checking your hitch weight. Also remember side to side weight. As for winter camping it really is a bit tough - The tanks you can heat with those heating pads but the lines really need insulation for when things sit especially at night. You could use that pipe wrap but my recommendation would be water tank and lines inside grey black tank outside. Then you could add a bit of RV antifreeze in the tank to assist in the cold….. Another option is what I’m planning…. depending on your style of camping and where you camp add a three way valve… like one they use for a pool (full flow) one way from sink, shower the other to the grey tank the other to the ground. Extreme cold weather run it to the ground no problem with any freezing. As for black tank I would use a composting or such toilet.

[@bryannorcross9352]

You might want to put some of your rubber insulation between the metal straps and the plastic tank.

[@waysoutback]

You bet! I ended up doing that. Appreciate the suggestion though!

[@RenaissanceSteve]

what size braided line are you using to fit the 1/2inch pex fittings? and are you using pex crimps on them?

[@waysoutback]

It’s 3/8 and I heat them slightly with my heat gun slip them on and then use gear clamps to secure them.

[@RenaissanceSteve]

@@waysoutback thank you

[@romanmartynenko3575]

what is your tank volume? How many days of camping would it support?

[@waysoutback]

It’s actually pretty small it’s a 20gallon tank it lasts us about 3days. I have a portable pump and filter so any body of water I can top it up 😁

[@OO-is9wn]

How's the heater work with out the muffler?

[@waysoutback]

Really good! I honestly don’t see the need for it. On high it can be slightly loud outside but inside you can’t hear anything over the fan. I think it’s helpful in preventing it from plugging up

[@MrTyroneweaver]

where did you get your tank from?

[@waysoutback]

amzn.to/4ctO7dP Our affiliate link. Hope that helps

[@tomangelini]

Where did you get the water tank?

[@waysoutback]

This is the tank I got www.amazon.ca/Icon-12455-WT2455-33X18X9-GAL/dp/B01MY7FEC5 But I bought it in the Amazon used return for 1/4 the price.

[@doingitwithnothing]

Neat

[@waysoutback]

Thanks!

[@plsadventures961]

Talk to much