Vintage camper water tank questions.

[Val Tuna]

Hi helpful friendly people out there.!! I have some questions. I am the new owner of a '55 trailer camper, in really good condition but I cannot tell if the water storage tank is good, clean or safe because its black metal. It's about 8 gallon size( under seat) looks decent,but some of the clear plastic pipes do have mold. I do not know if I should just replace it with a new clear plastic one, or bother to try to clean it out, also replacing the pipes of course.

I am not planning on drinking this water but  may need it for dishes, hands etc. Any advice out there from you experienced camper owners?? 

Many Thanks.

[Jimco_W001]

Val,I would not want to drink the water even if I was in a 2 million dollar coach.We always bring bottled water with us when traveling.If you can get the system working and add some bleach it should be fine for washing dishes.

[Matthew Tritt]

Val,

Replace it with polyethylene and be done with it. There are several plastic tank companies out there that make an unbelievably wide variety of tanks, one of which should be nearly an exact replacement. I was able to find an excellent one for my 73 Hall GTC, and they only made 150 of them.

Matt

[Val Tuna]

thanks matt. yes, I think your right, even if I don't want to spend more cash just getting ready to roll.  Can I buy new hoses/lines at HD? The weird thing is the tank is all nailed into place with the wood slats that hold up the dinette seats..which makes me think no one anticipated removing the tank to clean it... hey also since I have you on the line......the inlet opening for the tank( on the outside)  has this strange round plastic pull out drawer kinda thing but it only pulls out about 2+ " and there is No way to bend a regular hose into it

and no pump and how the heck do I get water into the tank when I am ready?????? 

with an oil funnel kinda device and just let it gravity run into the tank??It doesn't seem to be high enough to fill the tank either. I  must be missing something here.   Call me baffled. but I am trying. Thanks. mucho. 

[Lakota Wolf]

That pull out is called the old trickle your water in. You stand there holding the hose, drinking a glass of sweet tea and not be in a great hurry. If your gonna travel its not feasable to fill your tank full,, your dragging roughly 8 lbs per gallon extra weight.The only pump you should have is the pump from the tank to the sink etc,, unless its an air pressurized tank, (which I dont recommend).

Poly replacement tanks are readily available online, and having close to clear tanks you can see how full or empty they are, if you don't want to install a water guage. Hose and lines are available at H/D, Lowe's and Ace.

[Val Tuna]

Many Thanks..Ok..that makes perfect sense..especially about sipping the sweet tea. It will be exactly that-trickle in and not full. dopey design in any case. 

the sink has a hand pump, works fine but leaks all over the counter from the handle connection.. and other blogs say those things leak no matter how new, something about easily cracked seals..but the pressure is fine.I disconnected it to find out why, now hope I can reset the pump to keep a hold of the water inline. I sure appreciate being able to ask these questions here as I do not know a single person who has a vintage camper and there is so much to learn. Thank you for your concise and experienced answer.