Fresh water tank spills out

Lost_in_the_woods · 08-16-2009, 02:27 PM

Can someone help us with this problem...everytime we fill our fresh water tank before we take a trip, it spills out of the low drain fill. Is there a valve or plug that I need to check? Thanks in advance for any insight.

bad1032 · 08-16-2009, 06:00 PM

There is a thread somewhere on here about that, but on my 378 i took and put a valve from the tank over flow and close it after the fill up and that took care of losing about 20 gallons each trip.find the tank and get a hose and some clamps, I used a regular screw type valve that the hose fit over and put a screen on the very bottom of the open end of the hose to keep critters out, good luck

ronhanson · 08-16-2009, 08:07 PM

What is low drain fill? The vent? I usually lose water out of there.

It's just a bad design that will siphon off a lot of the water if you overfill. You can prevent most of it by not filling up all the way but If you want to get maximum capacity for dry camping, you need to put a valve in that vent hose or run the vent line very high. Close it while traveling but make sure to open it once you're parked.

tazzerbp · 08-16-2009, 09:16 PM

I put a cap at the end of my vent hose with a small vent hole in it. I lose very little water with the small hole. Just make sure it's unobstructed when filling tank due to air expansion.

NWJeeper · 08-16-2009, 11:19 PM

Yep, design flaw in the vent systems of most of the FR products. On our 378 the tube is a clear 3/4" hose. A standard 3/4" hose end will attach to it, I put on a male fitting then added one of those on/off valves for water hoses available at any hardware store. After the tank is full and before we hit the road, I close the valve. No water loss at all. Then when we get where we are going I open the valve so that tank can vent.

cfsoistman · 08-17-2009, 05:48 AM

I too have a 370 but haven't had any problems with loosing water. There's a tank drain line with a cap on it and the water line drain with a valve and plug on it and the vent line which is approximately 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" hose. Looks like the type used on swimming pools with a screen taped on the end. All of this is located in the same area as the propane tank. I usually fill my tank to full and haven't had an issue. Is it possible that they routed the vent line differently on units as they're built?

cfsoistman · 10-06-2009, 02:28 PM

Guess what! We camped at Paradise Lake in VA this past weekend. I filled my water tank about 2/3 full. When we arrived I checked the level of the tank and it was close to empty. DW used the facilities once during the 5 hour ride so I know it didn't run down the toilet. The entrance into the campground is a very winding, rough bumpy road and we rocked from side to side.
Well, I guess I've become the latest member of the Where'd Da Water Go Gang?

So, I'll be looking for a PVC valve to place on the vent line. I'll close it during driving and open when we need to use the water.

Man, I thought I had the one that worked correctly, curses.

NWJeeper · 10-06-2009, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfsoistman

Guess what! We camped at Paradise Lake in VA this past weekend. I filled my water tank about 2/3 full. When we arrived I checked the level of the tank and it was close to empty. DW used the facilities once during the 5 hour ride so I know it didn't run down the toilet. The entrance into the campground is a very winding, rough bumpy road and we rocked from side to side.
Well, I guess I've become the latest member of the Where'd Da Water Go Gang?

So, I'll be looking for a PVC valve to place on the vent line. I'll close it during driving and open when we need to use the water.

Man, I thought I had the one that worked correctly, curses.

LOL, welcome to the club. The cure for this problem should become a sticky in the tech section as it seems to be an issue for most of FRs products.

landofdixie · 10-07-2009, 12:52 PM

can someone post a picture of what I need to do or explain where this vent line is ? I hope to go dry camping and I sure dont want to end up with no water.
Thanks in advance, folks.

NWJeeper · 10-07-2009, 05:47 PM

Dixie,

Above your propane tank is a black plastic panel, it should have two white round portholes you can screew out. Behind the panel is your water tank and pump. The vent tube comes out of the top of the tank and will hang down through a hole in front of your propane tank. As the end of the tube is lower than the water tank if the water runs to that side while you drive it starts a siphon that will drain your water. I have removed both the porthole covers by unscrewing them and left them out so that I can visually inspect the level of water in the tank (I don't trust the sensors). I also pulled the vent tube up and through one of those holes as you can see in the picture to get it to a level above the bottom of the water tank. Since my tube was 3/4" diameter I went to the hardware store and bought a male garden hose end and a garden hose valve as you can see in the pic and attached them to the end of the hose. In between the male fitting and the valve I replaced the rubber gromet with one of the screened ones (also available in the garden hose sections) to keep the bugs out.

cfsoistman · 10-07-2009, 08:11 PM

My vent looks like a 1-1/4" swimming pool hose with a piece of screen taped over the end but in the same general location.

landofdixie · 10-07-2009, 09:10 PM

This is such a huge help. thanks!

landofdixie · 10-07-2009, 09:13 PM

big help. thanks so much

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