I have made a small but consequential mistake. When filling the water tank, I did not open the exhaust valve due to inattention. The tank thereby got too much pressure and burst. The complex repair brought incredible things to light.

Fresh water tank installation

The water tanks were installed before the bottom of the overlying bed was mounted. In order to disassemble a water tank, in our case the entire heavy load drawer in front of it had to be disassembled and dismantled.

The tank, however, is so big that it no longer fits through the flap door. This fact is unacceptable. I’ve heard of colleagues who did not bring their fridge through the front door. I laughed inwardly and thought by me that our walls stood before the furniture was installed. That was probably a too early joy. It was not missing much, but it was just missing space! We had to saw off the welded-in filler neck to bring the tank through the flap. No problem you could think, just weld it on again. But inside the vehicle, where the tank is located, there is no place to weld!

With a forklift and trolley in a well-equipped workshop this means two days of work, without that it needed a day more. The fact that such large and super complex work is necessary just for the dismantling of a water tank is somewhat acceptable to me. Not every day, such a momentous mishap happens to me – hopefully!

The horror behind the tank

After removing the water tank, on top of a lot of dirt and dust, which has accumulated there, a gruesome picture arose.

Water pipes, heating pipes, heavy and light power lines were thrown in a wild jumble just behind and over the tank. All not fixed and all mixed together. Unmounted wiring in a vehicle is actually a “no go” because they can move too much while driving. In an expedition vehicle, which should be able to drive over hill and dale, is such a fixing method of the devil. That water and power lines are not laid together in a bead and must be separated, should be clear to any beginner. As is known, power lines generate a magnetic field, therefore weak and heavy current lines should not be laid together. In our case, they were devoured together without control. Unfortunately, we have already experienced this special “quality” of work during our cable fire.

Conclusion

If you have a vehicle built, pay attention to such small details even if you are convinced of your builder at the time of planning, because you think he is the best.

Check and let you show the wiring. Thrown unfixed cables are unacceptable even behind the furniture and appliances!

Pay attention to easy maintenance and good access to all equipment. Most of the time you have to remove exactly that, which you can hardly dismantle. Devices that do not fit through the openings are a disaster!