Living in an RV Travelling the Country - Need a 1 size fits most solution for tanks.

[00wabbit]

I will be living in an RV starting next year. Because of this I will be extremely limited on the amount of weight I can carry. I've been trying to think of an adaptable 1 size fits most solution for diving.

Currently I dive steel LP108s with a drysuit up in Indiana. As I travel and dive all over the country I will need to be able to adapt to the conditions of the area. Everything from warm Oceans in the Keys, to Cold Oceans in the Pacific to the various quarries and lakes all over. Additionally because I will be travelling so much having a buddy that I know and trust is going to be more difficult so redundancy is very important for me. Now I use a slung AL40 for redundancy on deeper dives.

What would you consider the best one size fits most solution? I would really only like to take 2 tanks with me. There may be a few situations where I might just rent an AL80 because it will be easier, but for the most part I want to dive my own gear.

I already own a backplate and wing (and I have a larger wing for doubles) and I have a manifold and bands ready for tanks.

Here are some ideas that came up:

1. Back mount steel manifolded doubles
+redundancy
+compact package
- using doubles for every dive (wrecking my knees)
- too heavy for 3mm wetsuit diving?
2. Back mount steel independent doubles
+redundancy
+compact
+can easily unband tanks to dive single
-increased task loading on dives
3. Sidemount Steel
+ redundancy
+ can dive single or double
- Will these be a pain on boat dives?
- I need to buy a sidemount rig
4. Single Steels w/ Slung pony as needed
+already own all this
- Would like more bottom time on some dives where doubles would help
- carrying around a 3rd tank.

Right now I lean towards double HP100s and selling my 108s. This will allow me to cut 20lbs or so on the surface but have similar characteristics in the water.

What would you do? What am I missing?

Remember even though I know it's not completely possible I need a 1 size fits most solution.
Also all dives will be within NDL.

Let me know if you need more info.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

If you stay within NDL limits, stick with single steels. Add a 40 if you are solo or want redundancy.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4

 

[ajduplessis]

-Doubles can be dived in 3mm wet, use 2 wings. Down side is extra costs.
-I like the steel sidemount option, but as pointed out $$$ for sm harness. I would also add second wing when diving wet.

I live in a metric world and gave up on cu ft trying to understand cylinder weight, dimentions, capacity and so forth. I know 12l steel 232 bar (longs) make very good doubles and are compact (slim) with plenty of capacity (102cft per cylinder I think) They are also very good steel sm options and sling well too. I am planning on finding one to sling as bailout on deep dives.

Difficult to find one soltution for all applications.

 

[James R]

I would stick with single HP100 tanks, with my preference to Faber tanks as they are less negative, a bit taller, and much less "roll" in the water vs Worthington tanks (for me anyway).

It's super easy to sling an AL80 with your existing BP/W for extra bottom time (ie no deco extended range dives) when you need to. I have done this many times, even with an AL80 on my back. A few months ago in Bonaire we did a long range dive across the double reef off Plaza resort with three AL80 of EAN33 each (one back mounted on my BP/W like usual and one on each side with my sidemount rigging). 94min dive, plenty of gas left, no deco obligation, no issues with trim or buoyancy...works great!

BTW why would doubles "wreck your knees?"

 

[00wabbit]

BTW why would doubles "wreck your knees?"

I am sure there would be many dives (especially at quarries or shallow sites) where I don't need the capacity of the doubles, but walking around with the extra weight on my back would add un-needed stress to my knees etc. (that's my thought anyway)

 

[rx7diver]

00wabbit (or is it OOwabbit?),

Will you be trailering anything? Tow-behind vehicle? Boat? Trailer? If so, then can your dive gear travel inside whatever you're towing? If not, then can you?

rx7diver

 

[00wabbit]

I will be towing a car but we will be living fulltime in the rv so we have to be careful about how much stuff we carry. We are evaluating all aspects of our lives and cutting weight. The wife is cutting down her shoes clothes and kitchen. I need to reduce the scuba load. We are having an estate sale in a couple weeks.

Its double oh wabbit. Or just wabbit. I add the 00 if the username wabbit is already taken.

 

[jcaplins]

How 'bout double independent Al80's?

can band em back mounted independent, back mount single, side mount double, side mount single, back mount single with a 80 sling....


Might need to haul more lead with you.

 

[luscioman]

I would go with HP100s if it were me. Also if you are worried about weight limit the amount of water you store in the RV tanks when you travel.

 

[rx7diver]

Okay, 00wabbit, here goes:

1. An Al 30 holds more than enough gas to get one directly up to the surface from recreational, advanced open water depths. I would get one of these. Get the older, smaller cross-section type (if you can find one used). And ...

2. ... get two old-school Steel 72's. They're relatively skinny (6.9" cross-section, vs. an Al 80's 7.25" cross-section), not too tall (25" height, vs. an Al 80's 26" height), have a lighter land weight than an Al 80 (27 lbs, vs. an Al 80's 31 lbs), don't hold appreciably less gas than an Al 80 (71.2 cu ft @ 2,250 psig + 10% = 2,475 psig, vs. an Al 80's 77.4 cu ft at 3,000 psig), are rediculously inexpensive (cost of one of your 108's = two 72's plus quite a bit of change, probably), are practically indestructible, have favorable buoyancy characteristics for fresh water and for salt water (almost neutral in salt water when empty, vs. an Al 80's 3+ positive pounds buoyancy empty in salt water; nice tanks for diving dry in salt water or wet in fresh water), and can be assembled into a nifty set of light-weight independent doubles if a particular planned recreational advanced open water dive requires more gas. (More?) Downside: A single 72 will not last long at deeper advanced open water recreational depths.

- or -

... get two HP 80's (82 honest cu ft at their rated 3,500 psig; more if cave-filled to 4,000 psig—not that anyone would ever do this!). They're quite small (20" height, vs. an Al 80's 26" height), have a lighter land weight than an Al 80 (27 lbs, vs. an Al 80's 31 lbs), are practically indestructible, and are quite nice as single tanks when diving dry since they remain negatively buoyant even when empty in salt water. (More?) Downsides: They are quite negatively buoyant (perhaps too negatively buoyant) when diving wet in a thin wetsuit in fresh water, and some people find them impossibly unwieldy when doubled up.

What do you (and others) think?

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

P.S. If you take a look at my profile, you'll see that I love my HP 80's! And my Steel 72!
P.P.S. I wish I had your problem!