Sucking Air and Weird Tasting Water

codefoster

Senior Member
RV LIFE Pro
Joined
Nov 24, 2024
Messages
119
Location
Pacific Northwest
I put just 6 gallons in my tank for a one-night trip where I knew we wouldn't need much water and I didn't want to haul more weight than I needed to.

I parked a bit out of level but not enough to bother with putting Legos under the tires. The water in all taps ran choppy (more air than water) and the water tasted weird. I don't know how to describe it but maybe a metallic taste.

Next day I moved and leveled and the water is working. I am pretty sure the taste is going away but it's not entirely gone after running a few cups through.

Any idea what's going on? My first guess is that my angle meant that the water intake wasn't covered (though I would expect it to be with 6 gallons in a ~30 gallon tank) and the water pump introduced the flavor when it was running partially dry.
 
I have no idea what the problem was when you were out of level and you had more air than water.
Since leveling it solved that problem, the taste might be because you stirred something up from the bottom of the tank when you put water into the tank.

You might want to consider sanitizing the system again or buy rv water tank treatment...
 
Have you had water in your fresh tank before? If so, how long since you sanitized the tank? If not, have you ever sanitized the tank? What was the quality of water you put in?

As for sucking air, don't be surprised that just 6 gallons in an unlevel R/V didn't work out. Many pump pick up ports in the fresh tank are up on the side of the tank so it never gets all the water available. Many folks have plugged that port and moved the suction line to the drain port using a tee. If your fresh tank has the bigger 1-1/2" dump valve, moving that line will be much more difficult.
 
Have you had water in your fresh tank before? If so, how long since you sanitized the tank? If not, have you ever sanitized the tank? What was the quality of water you put in?

As for sucking air, don't be surprised that just 6 gallons in an unlevel R/V didn't work out. Many pump pick up ports in the fresh tank are up on the side of the tank so it never gets all the water available. Many folks have plugged that port and moved the suction line to the drain port using a tee. If your fresh tank has the bigger 1-1/2" dump valve, moving that line will be much more difficult.
The trailer is new to me. I've filled and emptied it 3-4 times and had great tasting water every time so I didn't think it needed sanitizing. I'll do that now though.
Thanks for the info that 6 gallons may be enough to make it suck air out of level. I do have the larger drain pipe so I'll just count on adding more water and keeping it level.
 
where is the tank in regards to the axle
if it is behind the axle you could probably fill it more
 
We NEVER drink water from the onboard tank. We carry bottled water. It’s a personal thing, but, given all the different sources we use to fill that tank, year after year, it’s a recipe I could never recreate. We bathe, cook, brush our teeth with onboard water, but that’s it.
To each their own, but be careful and sanitize often.
 
Forward of the axle will obviously add tongue weight.
Could be a good thing or a bad thing based on how it’s balanced now for towing. Only you would know.
 
The trailer is new to me. I've filled and emptied it 3-4 times and had great tasting water every time so I didn't think it needed sanitizing. I'll do that now though.
Since it's new to you, you don't know how it was cared for in the past.
When you empty the fresh water tank, not all of the water is emptied. There is always enough water left in the tank to cause bacterial growth in the tank.
Always sanitize before you start using it for the season and if the water develops a 'taste.'

We've started using a fresh water tank treatment that discourages growth and freshens the taste of water every time we fill it. That way, there is some treatment in the tank when it's stored. Several companies make it and it's not very expensive. It may be overkill and it might not work, but for minimum effort and expense, it makes us feel better.

We've reached the age where 'sensitive stomachs' can cause problems, so we use bottled water for drinking.
 
RVs of all types should always be level. That is the way they are designed to operate.

Put it into the camping spot; FIRST, level from left to right with blocks under the low side wheels, then chock wheels, fore and aft, on both sides. SECOND, level from front to back with the tongue jack. Deploy stabilizers.

As to the freshwater system, I add a tablespoon (0.5 oz) of laundry bleach for a 40-gallon tank with each fill up. Also, we use one of the blue in-line filters when filling up. We use the water for everything.

Bob
 
I'm in the middle of an electrical upgrade. When I'm finished, I'm going to find a truck scale to visit and get the whole rig weighed. In the meantime, I've been meaning to measure the tongue weight using the bathroom scale trick.
 
I'm in the middle of an electrical upgrade. When I'm finished, I'm going to find a truck scale to visit and get the whole rig weighed. In the meantime, I've been meaning to measure the tongue weight using the bathroom scale trick.
Weigh it ONLY when loaded for camping…..or there’s no point.
Including water.
 
We sanitize every spring.

As we travel long distances all over. We do not drink out of the plastic tank and hoses. The DW freezes gallons of water to help cool the fridge. Drink that. When we run out we get bottles from a grocery store.

But, we are spoiled. Dayton water is really good. Houston is awful water.
 
Ours is a 60-gal tank, I add 15 gallons for travel when we will have hookups and dump leftover when we get home. If boon docking a night or2 then I will put 40 or so in it.
I sanitize at the beginning of the year, so we only smell Clorine if I do not flush it well. We drink the bottled water but will make coffee and cook with tank water.
 
I've nothing to add to your water issue, but I would like to strongly recommend leveling your trailer every time you spot it for use. Especially if you are extending the slide. Deploying your slide when not level can cause enough misalignment to your slide mechanism to cause problems.
One of the wireless leveling systems (Beech Lane, LevelMate, etc) make leveling a snap.
Sorry for the thread drift, but an unlevel trailer can cause a lot of different problems.
 
Have you had water in your fresh tank before? If so, how long since you sanitized the tank? If not, have you ever sanitized the tank? What was the quality of water you put in?

As for sucking air, don't be surprised that just 6 gallons in an unlevel R/V didn't work out. Many pump pick up ports in the fresh tank are up on the side of the tank so it never gets all the water available. Many folks have plugged that port and moved the suction line to the drain port using a tee. If your fresh tank has the bigger 1-1/2" dump valve, moving that line will be much more difficult.
Pump pickup ports are not only often above tank bottom. They are also on one end. If tank is mounted below floor it's probably only 7" or so deep. Off level can easily move a significant amount of water to the end away from pickup.
 

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom