3820FK Grey Tank fell out - suggestions needed please!

[BandBmalin]

All,

On our final day of of a 4-night camping trip, we were eating breakfast outside the fiver when we heard a really loud bang. The front grey tank had fallen out of the trailer crashing through the coreplast (spelling?). Fortunately, the waste line remained attached holding the one side of the tank up. With the valve open, we were able to slowly raise the side touching the ground with a ratchet strap at first and then my truck's jack ultimately allowing us to empty the water from the tank.

I learned that the tank is molded with a "lip" around the top that allows the tank to hang between two pieces of metal, like C-channel. (imagine a capital "T" suspended with the top of the "T")

My guess is that the tank was nearing full as we had just finished washing a lot of dishes in hot water. The hot water must have softened the plastic tank just enough for it to slip down between the supports and drop. (Yep, no additional strapping, just the molded tank hanging there.)

My question for you all: I see that one of the pieces of channel has 3 nuts on one side where it attaches to the frame. My hope is that if I can unbolt that on one side, I can finish pushing it back into place and then add some additional strapping to reinforce the poor design - my opinion. Has anyone done this? Can I get to the other side of the bolts without unbolting large quantities of my skirting which may create another problem??

Yes, I'm a bit dissappointed that this is a 2-year old trailer and the tank dropped while sitting still at a camp site. (out of warranty of course!) Had I not been at a full hook up, I would have been screwed!! A 37 gallon tank that is full weighs in at just under 300 pounds so emptying it was a must!!!

I want to do my repair on Thanksgiving day as we are slated to go back out on Friday so any quick help or suggestions will be welcomed!!