Custom Black Water Tank Clearance

[MosKrat]

Hi all,
I’m working on fitting a waste tank to the underside of the trailer.
When level (towing) I can only get about 7” clearance - I could raise it by changing to axle to under sling and raise the hitch , I’ll only ever achieve the axle clearance though.
Is there a minimum recommended ? I did a search and didn’t get a real answer.
Thanks,
Andy

[KCStudly]

That looks too low for comfort to me. Perhaps if it was closer to the axle and had a beefy shield/bump bar around the lower front corner it would be better.

Nearer to the axle it will only tend to get lower when the suspension compresses, but nearer to the ends, away from the axle articulation has a much bigger effect.

A conservative approach (no pun intended) would be to make sure the tank doesn't touch level ground when the coupler is laid on the ground without the tongue jack. Not fool proof, but at least some sort of guideline.

Then, of course, you have to worry about obstacles.

Otherwise a shallower tank would be better, IMO.

[MosKrat]

Thank you KC for taking the time to reply , I appreciate your valued input.
I do have a few ideas , before I butcher such a beautiful tank lol.
I’ll play with a few .dwg files in cad and see if I can change the clearance, I can lift the trailer by mounting the axle under the springs too.
I have electric brakes that need to be installed so I’ll be messing around there anyway. The Tank is only 8 1/2” deep and sits up against the underside of the floor , so it’s only protruding about 6”.

Best regards, and thank you.

Andy

[kd8cgo]

I was looking for low slung/low ground clearance trailers for comparison, and the first one I thought of was the Vistabule. In the spec sheet for that one it says it has 10" of ground clearance, so that could be a sensible minimum to shoot for with your axle/tire changes, perhaps.

[GTS225]

Am I seeing that correctly? It appears that it's already tucked up between the frame rails/crossmembers?

Roger

[MosKrat]

Thank you all for your replies , I do appreciate them.
I put the axle under the springs, removed the old hubs,installed the electric brakes and drums.
Once finished ,the tank has 11” of clearance, so that’s my limit.
I won’t be doing anything crazy or off-roading so I think we’ll be safe.
Once again, thank you all for your time.

A.