Micro Lite 23 Fresh Water Tank Draining

[thehossman]

I'm a newbie.
Bought a Micro Lite 23'. (4th TT I've owned)
Drained the hot water tank and water lines (2 drain tubes on right rear low-end)
Got about 6 gal. of water out.

Can't figure out how to drain fresh water tank. Dealer filled it w/20 gal. of water. I want to drain out and replace with only about 5 gal. for travelling. Can't find the fresh water tank drain-out tube.

[aufinger]

On my 2016 23LB, the drain for the FWT is on the right side. If you were advised not to travel will a full tank, it's because the cross supports that hold the water tank are not solidly built. I remedied that by bolting on 1/8" angle irons over the stock supports. I'm sure you will enjoy your camper, I enjoy mine. Larry G.

[thehossman]

Thanks. However, my 23 has an underbody cover and I don't see any drain spigots other than the HWT and the water system. Oh well. I can always just use the pump, fill the HWT and then drain it - - repeat -- repeat, etc.

[aufinger]

Originally Posted by thehossman

Thanks. However, my 23 has an underbody cover and I don't see any drain spigots other than the HWT and the water system. Oh well. I can always just use the pump, fill the HWT and then drain it - - repeat -- repeat, etc.

Sorry I could not help. I was wondering why you couldn't see it. There has to be a way, you might want to just call the dealer. Larry G.

[Harris85]

Ok we have a Microlite 23 FBKS and when looking at the slide, the valve is behind the left tire under the trailer. You will have to get on your knees to see it.

[thehossman]

Thanks so much. I kinda figured it would be over there somewhere. Unit is in storage so I have to go out to check on it. Will let you know.
Thanx again, Hoss

[thehossman]

Finally found it! Just in front of left tire.

Well, DUH ! Had I just looked at the side of the camper there is a sticker that says, "Fresh Water Drain". Glad I'm not a brain surgeon!!!

[Harris85]

Great! Enjoy your day!

[270S]

Originally Posted by aufinger

On my 2016 23LB, the drain for the FWT is on the right side. If you were advised not to travel will a full tank, it's because the cross supports that hold the water tank are not solidly built. I remedied that by bolting on 1/8" angle irons over the stock supports. I'm sure you will enjoy your camper, I enjoy mine. Larry G.

Garbage - That's like saying don't fill up your gas tank. I fixed mine on a 25Micro lite. From previous post on this subject.

FYI for all, defective Tank Design!!!!

MY PDI dealer left the fresh water tank apx 1/2 full. 20-25 gallons (8.35 x 20 = 167 pounds) of the supposed 43 gallon (359#s) tank. From the pictures you can see that my fresh water tank supports collapsed and the plastic tank "oozes" through.

The tank is designed with 2 lateral (front and rear edge of tank) and 2 fore and aft (apx mid tank) 1.5" x 1.5" x 1/8" angle iron supports. The fwd support is welded in and the rear is bolted in. The 2 fore and aft supports "slide" into a slot.

I contacted FR and they were 100% cooperative as they seemed to expect calls on this design issue. It seemed to me that the designers did not think anyone fills their tanks completely. FR offered to send me new replacement support parts, but the defect problem would just repeat itself!

I offered to R&R, Redesign and Install a proper solution. I cut out the collapsed fwd support and removed the tank. I installed Q2 - 4"x3"x1/4" aluminum T bar fwd and aft lateral supports and Q5 2"x2"x1/4" fore & aft tank supports. This eliminated all "oozing" and 100% supports the filled tank weight. It is also SS bolted vs welded it in allowing for future tank servicing and/or replacement. This solution only added a net of 20 pounds to the TT original supports. I could have eliminated some additional weight with "circles", but not necessary.

Additional Items:

• The water hoses have TOO few clamps and WILL pull out from the floor. Mine did. I installed additional hose clamps and Tie Wraps too.
• The waste tanks have this same design defect too. They do not even have fore & aft supports. Some Good news, they only have a 28 vs 43 gallon capacity. I will NOT exceed 10-15 Gallons when ever possible before dumping!!!! I will not drive with anything over 5-10 gallons.
• My R&R Design eliminates hose up and down nearly eliminating vacuum problems, but the tank is still only capable of being filled to apx 38 vs 43 gallons.

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[txredfish]

Poor support design or factory trying to save a buck. It seems that most TT, that I have owned, the fresh water tank drained very slow. In addition to the fresh water drain, I turn on kitchen and bathroom faucet and water pump. The inside faucets will drain into grey water tank and then just empty the grey water tank. Much faster than using just the fresh water drain. Also what I do, is hook up water hose on to the grey water cover, drain into 5 gal bucket as needed.

[Marcus80]

On our 2017 23LB its on the same side as the sewer drains and low point drains, but in front of the wheels. It's pretty small and white and drains very slowly.

[aeblank]

Why be in a rush? Open it and go do other stuff... It's slow because it's a short and flat tank.

[thehossman]

Thanx Marcus.
See my previous post. "DUH"! There's a sticker on the side of the unit. Didn't see it.

Yes, it drains slowly. I hurried the process by turning on the pump and refilling the HW tank (6 gal.).

Still took about 1 hr. to drain it completely.

Hoss

[Jhochst]

Originally Posted by aufinger

On my 2016 23LB, the drain for the FWT is on the right side. If you were advised not to travel will a full tank, it's because the cross supports that hold the water tank are not solidly built. I remedied that by bolting on 1/8" angle irons over the stock supports. I'm sure you will enjoy your camper, I enjoy mine. Larry G.

Were your angle irons bent before you bolted the new irons on?

[aufinger]

Originally Posted by Jhochst

Were your angle irons bent before you bolted the new irons on?

Yes. It gave out at one of the notches on the forward support. Larry G.

[Jhochst]

Originally Posted by aufinger

Yes. It gave out at one of the notches on the forward support. Larry G.

Thank you, I like this fix. I'll try it also

[Jhochst]

Originally Posted by aufinger

Yes. It gave out at one of the notches on the forward support. Larry G.

What did you do with the tabs? Remove til flush with bad angle iron? I have 2 1/8x2x2 angle irons im going to install

[aufinger]

Originally Posted by Jhochst

What did you do with the tabs? Remove til flush with bad angle iron? I have 2 1/8x2x2 angle irons im going to install

Attachment 136663

With the size angle iron I used I only had to make small cutouts for the tabs. I also put hairpin clips through the tabs to prevent them from coming out should I have a failure which I don't expect at this point. Larry G.

[Jhochst]

Originally Posted by aufinger

With the size angle iron I used I only had to make small cutouts for the tabs. I also put hairpin clips through the tabs to prevent them from coming out should I have a failure which I don't expect at this point. Larry G.

Just reinforced mine. Only cost $25. That was even splurging on stainless nuts and bolts. That fixed it real nice. Thank you