Drain on fresh water tank

[bclinton]

I have already winterized my 31B3 but was curious....do all fresh water tanks have a drain plug on them. I have looked everywhere under the RV and can not see of a way to drain it. I did open the low water taps and turned on the pump. That seemed to pump out the water from the tank. It would be great if there was a way to drain it with a valve.

[bubbles]

I do not have your model GT but my GT has only one low point drain and one holding tank drain. They are grouped together underneath along with the holding tank vent (overflow) tube. Of course the drains have removal plugs/caps and the vent is opened to ambient.

[bclinton]

Originally Posted by bubbles

I do not have your model GT but my GT has only one low point drain and one holding tank drain. They are grouped together underneath along with the holding tank vent (overflow) tube. Of course the drains have removal plugs/caps and the vent is opened to ambient.

Yes, that is what mine has. The tube coming from the fresh tank is on the side about an inch from the bottom. As far as draining it left a lot of water in the tank.

[Schvarak]

Originally Posted by bclinton

I have already winterized my 31B3 but was curious....do all fresh water tanks have a drain plug on them. I have looked everywhere under the RV and can not see of a way to drain it. I did open the low water taps and turned on the pump. That seemed to pump out the water from the tank. It would be great if there was a way to drain it with a valve.

Correct me if I'm wrong, your 31B3 is a MH? If so I'm fairly positive the low point drain is the fresh water tank drain by unscrewing the plastic cover? I installed a valve to make draining the tank/ or all the other hoses simple. The pump is to push the fresh water to any open faucet/ toilet water heater. Or when winterizing, pull the antifreeze from the gallon bottle(s) directly into those open faucets (one at a time) making sure your bypass valve is closed.
If it's a TT, then you should have a clear hose to drain the tank or not drain it to keep it pumping from the pump. I used to own a 31' TT and for the last 3 years a 31ft mh.

[Schvarak]

Originally Posted by bclinton

Yes, that is what mine has. The tube coming from the fresh tank is on the side about an inch from the bottom. As far as draining it left a lot of water in the tank.

I believe that's the overflow from the fw tank, not a drain. The drains are those capped hoses.

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by bclinton

Yes, that is what mine has. The tube coming from the fresh tank is on the side about an inch from the bottom. As far as draining it left a lot of water in the tank.

Then your write up was misleading as you said you could not find the tank drain. You did find the tank drain and unfortunately what you drained out from that tube is all you will get unless you drive around with the drain cap removed or use the levelers on one side to elevate for draining. Mine is the same way and I believe perhaps all GT's are the same.

[bclinton]

Originally Posted by Schvarak

Correct me if I'm wrong, your 31B3 is a MH? If so I'm fairly positive the low point drain is the fresh water tank drain by unscrewing the plastic cover? I installed a valve to make draining the tank/ or all the other hoses simple. The pump is to push the fresh water to any open faucet/ toilet water heater. Or when winterizing, pull the antifreeze from the gallon bottle(s) directly into those open faucets (one at a time) making sure your bypass valve is closed.
If it's a TT, then you should have a clear hose to drain the tank or not drain it to keep it pumping from the pump. I used to own a 31' TT and for the last 3 years a 31ft mh.

Ya, that sounds right but when I removed the caps nothing came out until I turned the pump on. That could be because my fresh tank was only about 1/4 full and the water level was near the drain point. The pic below shows my 2 low point drains. Now I am curious as to where the pump intake inlet is located. Hopefully it is at the bottom of the fresh water tank. On second look it appears the pump intake is at the top of the tank where the red dashed arrow is pointing.

[bclinton]

Originally Posted by bubbles

Then your write up was misleading as you said you could not find the tank drain. You did find the tank drain and unfortunately what you drained out from that tube is all you will get unless you drive around with the drain cap removed or use the levelers on one side to elevate for draining. Mine is the same way and I believe perhaps all GT's are the same.

Ya, you are right. I was assuming a drain for the tank would be located under it so it could actually drain the tank. My previous camper had a spigot under the tank that worked quite well. When I need to drain it I will use the pump to do that.

[Schvarak]

Originally Posted by bubbles

Then your write up was misleading as you said you could not find the tank drain. You did find the tank drain and unfortunately what you drained out from that tube is all you will get unless you drive around with the drain cap removed or use the levelers on one side to elevate for draining. Mine is the same way and I believe perhaps all GT's are the same.

Exactly! Thats why there are 2 blue hoses that are capped. One for the fw tank drain and the other??? I assume it's the low point drain?
My overflow is a big hose unlike the 2 blue capped hoses which I now have valves-- same with the red and blue hoses towards the rear of the mh.

[rlh1957]

I haven't run into a stock rig that doesn't have a FW tank drain valve. It is usually located near the lowest point on the side of the tank to drain the tank. Yes there will always be some water that can't be pulled out with the pump, or drained out with the drain valve. That is ok because the water is sitting on the bottom of the tank and not in a constricted area or water line where freezing and expanding do the damage. When long term idle or winterizing I always leave the FW drain valve open and tie some type of screen or cloth around it to keep anything from crawling inside.

[JimJay]

I agree Forest River did not install a fresh water drain at the BOTTOM of the tank. How do you get the extra water that lays on bottom of tank out.
The fresh water tank/low point drain is about 2" from bottom, on the side of tank.Why????

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by JimJay

I agree Forest River did not install a fresh water drain at the BOTTOM of the tank. How do you get the extra water that lays on bottom of tank out.
The fresh water tank/low point drain is about 2" from bottom, on the side of tank.Why????

You don't...

Don't know why other than there are probably several different ways to mount the same tank in a million different RV's or boats.

[2manytoyz]

A lot of water tanks have the fittings welded into the sides of the tank. Some room is needed for the process to work. Not sure they really needed that much room though.

I have flushed my tanks in previous RVs. Leave the drain open, connect the water hose to the inlet, let it flow for a while.

That doesn't help those wanting a completely dry tank for Winter storage. Short of putting a siphon tube into one of the tank's fittings, and drawing it out that way, don't have a solution.

I did want to add the user manual for this RV sucks. I had to climb underneath to discover where the drain was located for my tank. On the left side of the pic, a blue tube with a white cap.



Others told me to simply look at the water tank for the drain line.



Yep, there it is, completely hidden from view by the inverter. I could see the overflow tube though.

I do plan on moving the inverter, and adding a drain valve to the line. That will let me get out of the way before dumping the water.