Isata 3 FW OCCC - WOW!

[JEB1]

Originally Posted by Barch

1. From prior discussions I think the cabover adds 150 -200 lbs.

2. The freshwater intake has a one-way check valve just inside where the hose connects. My dealer showed me that if you remove that check valve with a needle nose, you can run water into your coach without pressure. He showed me this as an aid to winterizing if I had trouble getting the antifreeze started. So it seems you could remove the check valve, set the Anderson Valve to fresh water tank and fill with gravity feed. I have not tried this so others will need to verify. Others have added a direct gravity feed to their fresh water tank.

FYI. Before buying my Coach, I drove myself crazy worrying about the CCC of the ISATA 3. My CCC came in around 840 lbs W/O cabover. I have the sofa bed which also reduces weight and gives you a full double bed. I am very happy with the handling and I have run with the water tank full.

Thanks. This is helpful. I was looking at a 2019 w/o cabover and it came in at 927. I was still a little spooked. Two passengers will total about 300, a full load of water will consume another 292 (call it 300) leaving only about 330, give or take, for cargo. Since we carry two bikes and a bike rack on the hitch, we'll be cutting it very close to carry a week's worth of food and other camping gear AND haul a load of water. Currently, I have an OCCC of 1460, so I don't really need to think about it.

The check valve is an intriguing solution. I hadn't thought about that. Any negatives to removing it? Can the water system maintain pressure with the check valve removed? I remember I once broke a check valve on the city water inlet on my current coach and water would just shoot out every time I turned on the pump.

[Barch]

Originally Posted by JEB1

Thanks. This is helpful. I was looking at a 2019 w/o cabover and it came in at 927. I was still a little spooked. Two passengers will total about 300, a full load of water will consume another 292 (call it 300) leaving only about 330, give or take, for cargo. Since we carry two bikes and a bike rack on the hitch, we'll be cutting it very close to carry a week's worth of food and other camping gear AND haul a load of water. Currently, I have an OCCC of 1460, so I don't really need to think about it.

The check valve is an intriguing solution. I hadn't thought about that. Any negatives to removing it? Can the water system maintain pressure with the check valve removed? I remember I once broke a check valve on the city water inlet on my current coach and water would just shoot out every time I turned on the pump.

I've only weighed the coach once. It was 10,600 with two MB's on the back. No people. You are right. It's close. But does it really matter? I've seen ISATA 3's with motorcycles on the back! People are reluctant to talk about this, but based on other posts and my limited experience (5,000 miles) as long as you are within a couple hundred pounds of the 11,030 number, you will be fine.. Not legal, but fine.

The check valve would most likely need to be replaced once you gravity fill the fresh water tank.

[JEB1]

Originally Posted by Barch

I've only weighed the coach once. It was 10,600 with two MB's on the back. No people. You are right. It's close. But does it really matter? I've seen ISATA 3's with motorcycles on the back! People are reluctant to talk about this, but based on other posts and my limited experience (5,000 miles) as long as you are within a couple hundred pounds of the 11,030 number, you will be fine.. Not legal, but fine.

The check valve would most likely need to be replaced once you gravity fill the fresh water tank.

Having thought about it, I wonder if a gravity feed is even necessary. I noticed from various online pictures that the winterizing inlet valve has been removed from the Anderson valve panel, which means that you probably have to winterize by switching the selector to "city," and drawing antifreeze through the city water inlet at the rear of the coach with the onboard pump. If you switch the Anderson valve to "tank," can you similarly use the city inlet and onboard pump to draw fresh water out of a potable water container and divert it to the fresh tank? If you could, it would be easier than a gravity feed.