John and Rita's excellent Grey Water Tank adventure

Onyrlef · 07-14-2021, 11:04 AM

The morning after setting up @ Chemin-a-Haut (pronounced Sha- many- haw) SP in North Louisiana I noticed a steady drip coming from the GW tank. On further inspection I found a hairline crack running longitudinally along the center and widest crease in the bottom of the tank. If I were home I'd weld it, but "if wishes were horses poor men would ride". So recalling those ads on television where the guy with the Australian accent is screaming in your face that Flex Seal would have saved the Titanic, I googled it and culling the fake reviews it seemed the stuff might be worth a try.
So off to town only to find the spray version in the cans needs several coats and you need to allow it to fully dry between coats (24-48 hrs.) And needs to cure for 48hrs to be fully waterproof (whatever partially waterproof is?). So plan B now, I discovered the flex seal tape can actually be applied to wet surfaces in low pressure applications, like the GW tank on the TM. Got back, drained the tank, cleaned and dried the crack, cut a strip of the tape about 3\8" wide and pressed it into the recess about 3"" beyond both ends of the crack, then cut a 5 \8" or so strip and pressed it on 3" beyond the ends of the first strip.
So far no leaks. Anybody know where I can find a pair of those real military tactical sunglasses Navy Seals wore to find Usama Bin Laden and regular people can wear so they can see that 18 wheeler coming at them head on? I'm all in now.

**Bill** · 07-14-2021, 02:37 PM

Your story made me laugh - probably more than you laughed - so thanks for sending it along.

First question. Why did you choose the tape rather than the slop-it-on-with-a-trowel thick goop? Was there a reason, or just what was available?

Second question. I have always been taught that if there is a crack in plastic, you should drill a hole in each end of the crack as a "stopper" before trying to fix it. I know that is true for rigid plastics such as polystyrene. But I don't know if it applies to the ABS of the tank. What do you think?

Incidentally, the factory sells an aftermarket tank support strap that is intended to prevent tank cracks.

Bill

Onyrlef · 07-14-2021, 10:19 PM

Wasn't aware of the tank strap, bit I will ck. it out for sure. Yep, it occurred to me to drill a hole in each end to stop the crack but I don't have the bits or the battery pack, so I ran the tape well past the ends of the current crack and hopefully it will hold for another few days. Once back at home I'm going to strip the flex tape and weld the crack. I used the tape instead of the brush on liquid or the spray because those require a clean and dry surface and two coats with a 24 hr. dry time between coats and a 48 hr. cure time before the repair can be stressed. The flex tape can be used underwater and therefore no wait time. I haven't seen the first drop of grey water since the, hold my beer, repair. Fingers crossed.

Shane826 · 07-15-2021, 09:19 AM

Unfortunately the strap that the folks at the factory came up with won't work on older TMs. They are using a new tank (polyethylene or polypropylene plastic) since they can no longer get the ABS one they had used for years. They found the new, softer plastic swelled quite a bit more than the ABS tank, which prompted them to come up with the support. We mocked it up to my 3326 (older ABS tank) when I was at the factory and it doesn't fit.

But after seeing what they did, I have a cardboard cut-out pattern for the older tanks. Trying to find out what they made theirs out of so I can try to get one cut, bent, and welded. If it works I will let you know. Now that I think about it I should check to see if the pattern works on both the 2007 3326 and 2000 2720. I believe they used the same tanks, so I figure it should work on both. Stand by, Houston.

Onyrlef · 07-15-2021, 12:39 PM

Thanks, I'll keep an ear to the Iron Horse tracks,until then, standing by Eagle.

JSShattuck · 07-20-2021, 06:49 AM

I had the same problem. I used EternaBond Tape. I used the 4" and had difficulty in making a completely smooth application since it was up in the rib. It did hold for about a year though. Now we are needing to redo the repair so we can take it out again. 2007 3124KS

Onyrlef · 07-20-2021, 08:26 AM

I kinda anticipated the difficulty in getting the flex seal tape into the recess so I cut a narrow strip ( it like eterna bond sticks to anything it touches) and pressed it into the valley with a wooden spoon ( all I could find as I was out in the piney woods), then I cut a wider strip and pressed it in on top of the first. I was out another 5 days and not the first drop of grey water. I'm thinking of selling the TM however, so I guess I'll remove the flex tape and weld the crack then install a strap to support the bottom. The buyer wouldn't know it had a crack, but I would. Otherwise, I might just strap the tank and let her ride just to see how long the flex seal lasts.