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Hi Eric,
I attended the Cherry Blossom event near
Washington, DC as a visitor and toured several vintage units. One was a
bambi, I think, that the owner had changed the bath to a center installation on
the streetside over the axle. I didn't ask about gray water/black water,
but it was a neat, personalized trailer with lots of crafted wood
cabinets. Think he created a rear bedroom. Really nice
polished outside.
Anyway, possibly he is on the VAClist and can tell
you how he handled the remodeling.
Without knowing anything about anything, I would
consider putting in an above floor black water tank if you have an existing
combo tank under the floor. Convert the under floor tank to the gray water
tank. My '74 Argosy has a rear bath and the toilet is centered against the
rear wall - the tank is above the floor. Uses a short style toilet to
achieve a reasonable seat height. The under floor gray water tank is
mounted in what would normally be the under floor black water tank. In
this case, the housing seems to be part of the support for the floor as a cross
brace isn't in the usual place. Another style, is for the toilet to be
located in the corner on top of the black water holding tank. The outlet
drops outside the main frame rail and through the banana curve. I think
this is optimal for an addition if you can tolerate creating a personalized
interior rather than restoring the original.
The combo tank in my '69 Safari is too close to the
rear frame to mount a centered black tank above the floor. However, a
corner installation would be a great modification as the toilet is near
that location in the original layout. The dump would be outside the main
frame rail.
My thought is that consideration of a new tank
above the floor is a definite plus. If you have to leave other
plumbing, you could put the tub/shower pan on a platform. My '69 Safari
tub is on a 5 inch platform anyway. Another couple of inches wouldn't hurt
a short guy like me! :) Seems that the modern Bambi has an
angled corner toilet and a bed next to it in the rear. I think the
toilet uses the above floor tank and an underfloor gray water
tank.
Past threads concerning this, plumbed the sink
drain into a closet tank, leaving the tub connected to the black water
tank. Most likely, this is the simplest approach next to the
"blue boy".
In the '69 Safari, I removed the 40#, six gallon
water heater and replaced it with a 10 pound, 6 gallon unit (both empty) and
saves 30 pounds at the rear of the trailer. Also trashed the old Univolt
at about 50 pounds for the 5 pound Intelipower. Saves about 80 pounds at
the rear. A 12 gallon black water tank above the floor would keep the
balance and not overstress the frame. Hmmm, I hate the below floor tanks,
the housings, the nasty installation/maintenance issues.
You can take all this tongue in cheek as the
ravings of a mad restorer!
'69 Safari,
'74 Argosy,
Joy
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