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Old 01-14-2017, 10:03 PM   #1
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Physics lesson needed

We bought our Forester 3011DS in July last year. We have taken her out on a number of trips but always, so far, to campgrounds that have water hook ups. Now we are prepping for a trip to Alaska this Spring and Summer where it will be necessary to do the occasional boondocking. We decided to sanitize our fresh water tank today and be sure that our pump is working and that all is working properly. We have a 50 gallon fresh water tank. It began filling ok, but as it registered about two thirds full, I could not get anymore water into the tank. I figured that it must be full and was just giving a bad reading.

After sanitizing, I decided to measure the water coming out, which was just 30 gallons. Measured careful and accurate, no leaks anywhere. Once the tank was empty I went to flush it with fresh water. It would not accept even a quart of water. I put a siphon hose down to the bottom of the tank which went easily. I tried again. Again it would not accept any water, just backed out immediately from the fill hole. I checked for an obstruction again, there was none. I then decided to see if I could force water in by force feeding as you would a person. I cut three feet off from another hose so that it could be attached to my fill hose. I ran it down the intake to the bottom of the fresh water tank and turned the water on. Voila, it filled and registered full. I flushed the lines and again measured the water in the tank as I emptied it. I measured 48 gallons coming out. I know that water has to push out air as it fills a tank and I assume that is what the filtered outlet is for to the top left of the fill port, however, I am perplexed and looking for an explanation for this. Unfortunately, there is a gap in my physics education but I would like to understand why I cannot fill my fresh water tank in a seemingly normal way. Obviously, I have a fix, but am I doing something wrong or misunderstanding the procedure? In my last unit, I had a simple diverter at the city water fill which would allow the fw tank to fill as needed. Can anyone explain what happened here? I am sure the answer will be obvious and that I will have a "duh" moment when it dawns on me.
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Old 01-14-2017, 11:18 PM   #2
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Can you see along your fill line? Might be sagging somewhere which could prevent a full fill. I have seen a number of posts where the fill hose was sagging or pinched. You could have cleared it putting a hose down it. Sure sounds like an obstruction either in the fill hose or vent. Tank is gravity fill only. No diverted valve like some campers. Good luck, will look forward to hearing the cause.


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Old 01-15-2017, 12:08 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Wandering View Post
Can you see along your fill line? Might be sagging somewhere which could prevent a full fill. I have seen a number of posts where the fill hose was sagging or pinched. You could have cleared it putting a hose down it. Sure sounds like an obstruction either in the fill hose or vent. Tank is gravity fill only. No diverted valve like some campers. Good luck, will look forward to hearing the cause.


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Good answer, had not thought of that. I can see about the first 8 inches from the outside. I'll look for this as a possible problem/ solution with an inside search. Will keep you posted. Thanks!
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Old 01-15-2017, 12:58 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Rokslinger View Post
Good answer, had not thought of that. I can see about the first 8 inches from the outside. I'll look for this as a possible problem/ solution with an inside search. Will keep you posted. Thanks!
I had the same issue with my 2861DS. Would not fill past about 1/3. Found that the fill tube had a large dip in it between the outside connector and the FW tank. Instead of trying to fix the dip I got about a 4-5' section of clear vinyl hose that was a smaller diameter of the fill tube and attached it to a female hose connector with a shut off valve to attach to my garden hose. To fill I now just push the vinyl hose all the way in past the dip and to the top of the FW tank. Fills all the way every time now and have the shut off valve right there for when the tank is full. No issues since.
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Old 01-15-2017, 07:28 AM   #5
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Same issue here (2017SS 3010DS, same fix. The fill port being under the bed slide and the tank sitting on the floor results in only the slightest angle for the fill line, so the weight of incoming water must force water uphill out of the droop. There is a strap that is supposed to straighten out the droop, but mine was broken and I am so used to just using my short section of hose inserted past the droop that I haven't bothered to replace the strap. Hope this helps.
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Old 01-15-2017, 11:24 AM   #6
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I have a 3011 as well and have found a few issues and things to look out for. First, the way the 3011's water inlet tube is connected and the position of the RV is critical to getting water into the tank. I encountered my first issue when the RV was not leveled. Turns out the the inlet is on the left side of the tank and when my RV is not up on the levelers in front of my house the inlet to the tank is significantly higher than the lowest point on the hose so water has a tough time flowing in. It also does not help that the hose is corrugated so the resistance of the hose folds further restricts the flow of water. For now I try to have the RV up on levelers when I want to put water in the tank in front of my house. Or I position the RV so that the tank inlet is lower than the outside water inlet. Also, I attached a 3-4 section of clear hose to my water fill valve that attaches to my fresh water hose and which is smaller in diameter that the RV inlet hose. I also secured the water inlet hose near the tank so that it does not droop as much. Bottom line, this all seems to have resolved the issue although it would help if FR paid a bit more attention to these details and did some design changes to make it a bit easier right up front.
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Old 01-15-2017, 06:18 PM   #7
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Seems to be a common issue. We have a 2017 2501ts and could not add any water. Took back to dealer and found that it was trying to add "uphill". Dealer removed about 8" of tubing and tied it all down. Seems better now. Will have to check actual fill versus capacity.
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Old 01-24-2017, 07:49 PM   #8
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I had the same issue with mine. The freshwater tank is under the bed in the rear of the rig. When I lifted the plywood decking to install my EMS unit I noticed that there was a pretty good dip in my fill pipe. I straightened it out, zip tied it in place and haven't had a problem since.
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Old 10-18-2018, 11:52 AM   #9
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Hard to fill FW tank solution

I had the same filling problem. Here my fix. I took a replacement cap and drilled a hole in the center and threaded it to 3/8 pipe thread. found a 3/8" hose barb and threaded it the cap. Took a piece of 3/8" ID hose about 3 feet long and put a female garden hose fitting on it and attached it to the bard. Now when I fill that tank I just install the cap , connect the garden hose and fill away till it comes out the vent. Works very good , just don't use excessive water pressure, it really speed up filling and gets the tank full.
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