Dry camping water woes!!!

[terawatt]

I'll try to be as brief as I can but I am not very good at that. I have read every post on this subject that I could find and some appear to be close to my problem, but not quite.

I took delivery of my 3500RL on the 6th of May. We took it out for the first time to a lake here in Arizona (yes there is water in Arizona!!) We were dry camping so I filled my tank until water was coming out of the three vent hoses near the rear of the coach. I have learned from reading posts in this forum (from Scott, thanks by the way) that I should have been monitoring my panel instead of waiting for water to run from the vent tubes because of the reverse vacuum effect. That being said, water ran consistantly out of those fill tubes, according to friends following me, until I reached my destination which was about a four hour drive (mostly interstate, no mountains). When I stopped at the lake to begin setup, water was still coming from the tubes. I checked the panel and the tank was empty. I turned on the water pump to verify, and the system worked perfectly. I had good water pressure and most importantly, I still had water. The next morning; however, we had no water. After much thought and the help from three other friends we were able to get 12 gallons of water into the fill hole (the placement of this fill port is another issue). The system worked again and I was able to just wash my hands before water and air were sputtering out and I just gave up. Anyone have any thoughts??? Sorry about the long post.

 

[timk]

terawatt,

I suspect you did loose about 95% of your water while on the road. Our tanks are very shallow, ( I am guessing on the sizes) only about 8-9 inches tall. When your guage says full you only have about 6 or 7 inches of water. However the tank is quite wide and long. The hoses you see under your rig attach to the tank at each corner near the top. So, no matter which way its sloshing going down the road, some of its going to get out.

When you guage said empty, it proabably was, but you still had enough water in the lines to satisfy the pump, and that evenings usage.

If you do run out, there is an easier way to get some water to get you by. Take off the carpeted panel behind the docking box. (We put ours on with turn buttons, so you dont need a screw gun.) You should find a coiled up hose and a couple of valves, used to winterize the system. You can turn a couple of valves, and then just take that hose and stick it in your spare 5 gallon water bucket.

I would also consider putting some valves on those vent hoses, to keep the roads dry.

4 hours from Tucson ??, no mountains, hope your ac worked out ok.

TimK

 

[terawatt]

TimK,

Thanks for the response. The shallow nature of the tank explains so much except that when I put 12 gallons in, I certainly didn't get 12 gallons out, or even close. I probably retrieved only a gallon (engineering estimate).

I will certainly use your method of filling next time the need arises. That sounds so much easier than my way. It involved, a hose, a hill, three friends, and the promise of way more beer than I was willing to spare.

We went to Bartlett Lake because the fishing report said it was a bass fishing hot spot..........and it was. As far as the A/C goes, the temp was 100 degrees and, all I can say is, thank God for awnings that provide shade, a dry heat, and 70 degree lake water.

terawatt

 

[timk]

But its a dry heat..... Bartlett is on our list, but its the winter list.

The 12 in one out thing might be due to the leveling of rig. If your slightly tiping away from the pump outlet, it would take some water to get the water level back to the pump.
TimK

 

[terawatt]

I know that I wasn't completely level, but I was close. It makes sense though. I try it again in a few weeks using your tips to plug up the vent tubes. I can think of a number of ways to design the system better, but maybe it is that way to comply with some code. Who knows.

Thanks for your help and maybe I will see you on the road sometime.....Fool Hollow over the Fourth and parts unknown, as of yet, over Memorial Day.

terawatt