RV FEATURE
Ready to put things back together .
The next job was to remove the ratchet strap and check the tank was in its correct position . We did this by using a small stool and a bottle jack along with some packing wood . Once everything was in place and able to take the weight of the full tank , we could look at getting the broken strap into position . As it turned out , the broken strap needed to be reshaped slightly . With a few blows with the hammer , it was right as rain .
FABRICATION TIME
With the broken tank strap reshaped , it was time to get fabricating . A bracket needed to be attached to the broken tank strap , which then allowed it to be bolted in its rightful position .
We thought a small off-cut of some aluminium plate we were carrying would do the job nicely . It was the type of thing that could easily be cut to size and shaped using a hacksaw , and we could drill through it for some attaching holes and fold it into shape using vice pliers and a hammer . We got to work with the aid of a large rock as our bench and a small G clamp as a vice .
With the new bracket made , the next step was to attach it to the broken water tank strap . After working out the best location for it , the bracket was held to the strap using the G clamp .
While a small bolt brought the two parts together , some holes were drilled on the tank strap where four small pop rivets were added . These would provide a super strong join for the new bracket to the existing tank strap .
Everything went to plan flawlessly . All that was now left to do was to add a new nut and bolt to the newly formed water tank strap . This allowed the strap to be bolted to the existing original welded camper trailer ’ s chassis bracket . With the bolt now securely done up , the tank strap had been returned to its original position and the makeshift jack stand could be removed to allow the full weight of the tank to sit correctly on the two water tank straps . Job done .
When we were ready to go , we were confident the repair was adequate and we could get on with our Kimberley adventure as planned . That said , we kept a watchful eye over the repair on a regular basis and found it worked faultlessly . We ended up travelling around 4000km of mixed road conditions before getting home . Now that we ’ re back , there ’ s no reason we
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