ATF: ElkRidge - Fresh water filling

ogoodwin

Member
My 27rlss will take 30 gal of fresh water. I ran it out of water, and started filling a measured amount and it stopped taking water at 30 gal. Water began coming out both the fill line and the vent line. Just to be sure, I continued by placing a towel around the fill hose to force any water blocking the vent line out...no dice. A solid stream of water came out until I gave up. This means to me either the fill line and vent are too low in the tank or the suction line is too high and can't draw the last 27 gallons out. I'll completely drain the tank next time I have the time. In the mean time, what advice from the factory?

I already had the dealer in Colorado Springs attempt to remedy the situation, but if they did anything at all, they certainly didn't improve things. This seems to be a common and ongoing thing with Heartland products for a couple of years, so I assume (hope) the factory has a fix. Can someone please share it with me? I need full capacity since I dry camp mostly.

I've read all the posts suggesting slow filling, shoving hoses down the fill line, and so forth. I've even tried most of the suggestions. None worked. In any event, this is supposed to be a higher end trailer. To me that means things should work as advertised without lots of work arounds.

Thanks, frustrated.
Olen Goodwin
 

olcoon

Well-known member
Olen,
I'm no expert, but from reading other posts on here about similar problems with other models, I think it's got something to do with where the inlet/outlets are placed. You can never get all the water out of them. Also, another problem may be if the rig is sitting with the outlet up hill, and the pump can't get all of the water out. I know on my 2011 27RLSS, I dropped the underbelly this spring, and there were sags in the tank. Don't know if this will help or not. One other thing that I've had happen is that according to the gage, I was around 1/2-3/4 full & had water coming out. I made a fill tube with a shut off valve to use when I'm filling the tank. When this happened, I disconnected the tube from the shut off valve, and put the end of the tube up to the overflow, and blew on it hard several times, this "burped" it, and I was able to fill it the rest of the way.

BTW, we are work camping at the Jellystone Park in Larkspur this summer. Stop by if you want/get a chance!

Roy
 

ogoodwin

Member
I've been away for a while, so this is the first time I've checked this thread in several weeks. Olcoon, thanks for the advice. I was hoping someone from the factory would answer, since this is the "ask the factory" area. Is anyone there?
 

Cimriver

Well-known member
Doesn't appear anyone is tuned in. As Olcoon says try burping it. I had the same problem with our Elkridge.
 

olcoon

Well-known member
Olen,
Since no one from the factory has responded, maybe you could call them and possibly get some answers.
 

goodtruck

Well-known member
Most of the time that I need a answer I call Heartland and talk to a factory rep this way I get a QUICK reply.
 

ogoodwin

Member
Well, I finally bit the bullet and dropped the belly cover. It's a good thing I did...it appears the crossmember angle irons that are supposed to support the fresh water tank are spaced too far apart (or the tank has distorted) allowing the tank to drop through. The front had completely dropped clear and the tank was supported only by the rear angle and was wedged into the opening with the front of the tank about 4 inches lower than it should be, making about 25-30 gallons unaccessable when combined with the "belly" in the tank from lack of support. In any event, it was obvious that the structure is totally inadequate to support 57 gallons of water while driving. Unfortunately, many of us dry camp and actually need to move the trailer after filling up. I got two steel angles and spaced them to support the tank in 4 places instead of 2, and eliminating the chance of the tank slipping between the supports. This took most of the "belly" out of the tank and will now allow most of the water to be used. This is a fix that really needs to be adopted by the factory, since the current setup is not adequate. While in there, I used foam pipe insulation to insulate the suction line (which also straightened it out) and put the drain line (which is just a "T" off the suction line) inside the belly to avoid freezing in cold weather...another problem I had. I'll have to take out a couple of screws to access the drain line, but since I only do that once a year, it's no problem compared with waking up in the morning with no water. I plan to do away with the low point drains for the same reason: they freeze up and shut off the kitchen water. Since I use antifreeze to winterize, there should be no problems with that.

I have mixed emotions about Heartland quality control. I was impressed with Gary (customer service) when I talked to him about my problems. I was not impressed that such an obvious problem has been going on for years and the fix would be so easy and cheap: more structure to support the tank, insulate the lines, and keep the lines straighter. Somebody needs to pay more attention to the details instead of just connecting lines and throwing them into the belly.

Olen Goodwin
 
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