We just got back from a 3 day trip and we tracked water usage to help with future trip planning. To calculate how much we had left in the freshwater tank, i ran the pump to draw the fresh water tank down to loss of suction and measured the amount that pumped out. As a part of the whole process, I looked at the freshwater tank after the pump lost suction and noticed the water remaining in the tank was twice as deep at the side away from the pump pickup (and not incidentally, also away from the drain outlet which is next to the pump pickup). I measured the water level in the tank and found it 3/4 inch deep on the drain side and 1 1/2 inches deep on the opposite side. Since the tank is supported by aluminum brackets, I'm debating whether it's worth the effort to reverse the brackets and have the low side be the drain/pickup side. I calculated there was about 6 gallons remaining in the tank, so we'd probably get another couple of gallons during use and it would be easier to drain for winterizing. It might be a safe bet the brackets are made with hangers slightly shorter on one side and that the installer at the factory reversed them. As it is now, we have only about 32 out of a 38 gallon tank available, or about 16% less capacity.
Do you have a marked low point for the water on your unit?
Not that I've found.
We have a similar issue with accessing about 4 " of our water fresh water supply.
Our tank is fairly level but when we started loosing water pump suction I found it odd that we were running low on our water supply. Upon a visual inspection of the fresh water tank there was a substantial amount left? We were boon-docking with no access to potable water, so, I simply got a pot to collect the remaining water in the tank from the drain valve. What a piece of junk! The drain valve did not work at all! That is something that now has to be addressed. We had some extra drinking water but did not anticipate loosing gallons of our water supply!
After my frustration with the drain valve I continued to look for other issues. I discovered that there was a decent kink in the fresh hose from the tank to the pump. That would definitely contribute to the loss of suction. Also, that explains the massive water pump/ trailer vibrations when were at half fresh water levels. The pump was trying to pull water and just couldn't do it because of the kink. So, after a couple more days we headed to the closest Walmart to pick up a new fresh water hose and use that to cut up and replace the kinked factory hose. Simple fix, loosen the hose clamps and change out the hose. Not! Inspecting the hose clamp from the fresh tank, the factory installed it in a way that the clamp head was facing the frame, I could not get my screwdriver in there to loosen the clamp! I carry basic tools but I did not have a wrench that small to access the hose clamp. After that I returned the hose to Walmart and bought several containers of water. I was not a happy camper.
This was our first time using the water system, however, we did sanitize our system and de-winterized prior with no issues. The full tank of water when performing our rinses/ flushes gave enough pressure to mask the issues and we did not run the fresh tank close to empty.
All of this was happening in a spring time winter storm that left us with 6" of wet snow. Crawling around the tailer in mud and snow was not on my list of things to do.
Well that mess has all the makings of a bad day and trip. You're not the first with kinky hoses, so to speak. I found the hose for our black tank flush kinked badly as it passes around the tank; it obviously should have a 90 degree fitting. I hope you can get your hose replaced and get the fresh tank capacity back without too much more trouble. Next weekend I may tackle reversing the brackets on ours. Also, this is probably a dumb question, but are you sure you found the freshwater tank drain spigot? On our 16TBS it is completely hidden behind the cold and hot water line drain spigots and very hard to get to, let alone see.
I hope things go well with your little project.
Obviously they must have figured out that your spigot location maybe wasn't the best spot? Fortunately, I had good access to ours, it would rotate but nothing would drain.
Thank you for the heads up on the black tank flush hose, we opted for that as well. We have used it, water volume on the flush seemed fine but now I have to look?
Again, many thanks and post some information on how you make out with your brackets.
[quote source="/post/10991/thread" timestamp="1431906655" author="@sandroad"]We just got back from a 3 day trip and we tracked water usage to help with future trip planning. To calculate how much we had left in the freshwater tank, i ran the pump to draw the fresh water tank down to loss of suction and measured the amount that pumped out. As a part of the whole process, I looked at the freshwater tank after the pump lost suction and noticed the water remaining in the tank was twice as deep at the side away from the pump pickup (and not incidentally, also away from the drain outlet which is next to the pump pickup). I measured the water level in the tank and found it 3/4 inch deep on the drain side and 1 1/2 inches deep on the opposite side. Since the tank is supported by aluminum brackets, I'm debating whether it's worth the effort to reverse the brackets and have the low side be the drain/pickup side. I calculated there was about 6 gallons remaining in the tank, so we'd probably get another couple of gallons during use and it would be easier to drain for winterizing. It might be a safe bet the brackets are made with hangers slightly shorter on one side and that the installer at the factory reversed them. As it is now, we have only about 32 out of a 38 gallon tank available, or about 16% less capacity.[/quote]I have a 2013 13QBB. As a friend said about travel trailers in general, "They are not built like Cars"... meaning they have a different standard of construction. That being said. My fresh water tank does not drain completely when using the tank drain, even when I lower the front of the camper. I am thinking about putting in a plug in the bottom to drain it. This entails some risk obviously. I am concerned about the health aspects. (I bleach out the tank regularly, but would like to ensure that all of the residual material is drained out. I recently installed SeeLevel tank monitors. (This is another story.) The issue is the shape of the tanks. The fresh water tank is the only tank that by design is supposed to be a symmetric cube. It is however warped on all sides. They are just not built like Cars, and this applies to other manufactures also.
Having already dropped and messed with my grey tank, I know the tanks are hopelessly warped. What's the SeeLevel monitor story? That's on my to-do list next month and I have the parts ready to install. I think a drain plug on the bottom of the fresh tank at the lowest point is a good idea. It would be more sanitary to completely empty the tank after trips and it would make winterization easier. Check out plastic tank fittings at Tractor Supply Company. They have lots for farm tanks but I'm not sure they are ok for drinking water. More research needed on that issue. Glad to see you still have the 13QBB we saw you with at the factory last year!
As I had mentioned in another thread, I want to relocate the drain valve for the fresh water tank by attaching a short hose from the tank and attaching the valve on the side of the trailer, as to avoid crawling under the trailer and getting wet/dirty, etc. It looks as if the existing valve simply screws into the tank. If I can remove that valve without damaging the tank, and replace it with a nipple, the rest should be easy. My concern is that I may be opening up a can of worms. Any thoughts here, folks?? Happy Trails.....
[quote timestamp="1432607923" author="@sandroad" source="/post/11380/thread"]Having already dropped and messed with my grey tank, I know the tanks are hopelessly warped. What's the SeeLevel monitor story? That's on my to-do list next month and I have the parts ready to install. I think a drain plug on the bottom of the fresh tank at the lowest point is a good idea. It would be more sanitary to completely empty the tank after trips and it would make winterization easier. Check out plastic tank fittings at Tractor Supply Company. They have lots for farm tanks but I'm not sure they are ok for drinking water. More research needed on that issue. Glad to see you still have the 13QBB we saw you with at the factory last year! [/quote]I have leaned to accept the shape of the tanks. I will open a new thread on my experience with the SeeLevel monitoring system.
gleamb, I see no reason why it would not work to unscrew the valve and replace it with a hose connection to relocate the valve. Worst case: you mess up the tank, run out of water in the middle of a shower, your spouse leaves you, you have to sell the trailer for pennies on the dollar to pay the settlement, and pass away destitute. Best case: you have a convenient way to drain the fresh water tank and get to laugh at the rest of us who still get wet and dirty reaching under the trailer for the drain valve, which is not visible so we grope around and forget to close it properly, run out of water in the middle of a shower, our spouse leaves us, we have to sell the trailer for pennies on the dollar to pay the settlement, and pass away destitute.
I'll let you know how it goes when I get it back from fixing my grey tank problem. Promise to take my time.
[quote source="/post/11471/thread" timestamp="1432684724" author="@sandroad"]Worst case: you mess up the tank, run out of water in the middle of a shower, your spouse leaves you... [/quote]For some, spouse leaving might be a good thing,,, ;)
So, as I reported in my OP, the fresh water tank is not level. I was under there today and quickly found the problem. The straps that hold the trailer to the underbody have brackets that are different lengths. Sure enough, as I suspected, the end with the short brackets has been accidentally installed on the drain side, which means the shallow side of the tank is where the drain is. To make it worse, the brackets are fastened to trailer frames that are different sizes (heights), so it's all the more important to get the brackets installed in the correct orientation to have the tank drain properly. I'll reverse the straps and solve the problem. At this point, I'm becoming convinced that we got one of the infamous "Friday builds" because there are so many sloppy installation issues with our Camplite.
Nice detective work!
More than likely you got the new hires they turned loose on your trailer with little or no training; couple that with little or no quality control you got you problem plagued trailer. I have had tire issues, some missed welds etc but so far knock on wood, nothing like I read on this forum!
Just think of the positive side; look how your Handy Man skills have improved! You will never sell it because you have so much sweat equity invested. Dang if you want to go through it again with a new or different trailer!
[quote source="/post/11570/thread" timestamp="1432763604" author="@gleamb"]I'll let you know how it goes when I get it back from fixing my grey tank problem. Promise to take my time. [/quote][p]Hey gleamb - I'm wondering if you ever got around to making the FW tank drain valve mod? I've been wanting to do this myself but was hoping to learn from other's experiences so I can avoid their mistakes :) Thanks![/p][p]
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I did. If you go to livinliteforum.com you can see a picture. It is an easy fix. I put it there because it is easier to upload pictures on that site. I will post my fix when Sean fixes our site.
Thanks! Found it but can't view the picture. I wonder if I have to register to see attachments. Your description will probably suffice though. Appreciate the reply!
Yup, you have to register on that forum to see the photos.