D-tub Tank and Supports
The
D-tub itself is a ~500 gallon stainless steel tank, 5'3" in diameter
and 50" deep. It was acquired salvage, and was last used as a hot
tub in a warehouse in San Francisco, though it was almost certainly an
industrial processing tank before that. It is made of 12 gauge (.107")
stainless steel, and weighs about 350 pounds empty.
With
a mobile tub, I wanted a relatively narrow but deep tub, which will
reduce overflow problems when accelerating (water sloshing backwards), braking (water sloshing forward), or going up hills.
The rear part
of the tank was somehow pushed flat before I got it (perhaps by a car
bumper?), and I'm using this flat area as the seat back of the "rear
seats" of the vehicle for road-legal tubbing, as well as installing
detachable lap and shoulder belts.
The
tank is supported on a square subframe is bolted to the vehicle frame. There will be support struts front
& rear to make sure it stays in place in case of an accident,
mounted on force-spreading band so that the tank itself won't simply deform
on impact as the weight of the water moves toward the impact point.