fresh water drain

[circusbear]

Greetings,
We picked up our new Big Country 3250 TS Sat. and have been looking for the fresh water and the other holding tanks. I have found a drain underneath beside the spare tire. Is this the fresh water tank drain or the low point drain for winterizing?
Also would love to know where the black and grey tanks are located. This will help us planning on how to load the trailer for travel. On our previous trailer we traveled with the fresh tank full as it gave us enough pin weight.
Any help on the above issues would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jmgratz]

You will probably have plenty of pin weight in the BC. In my opinion, you should only travel with a full fresh water tank if you are going camping where water is not available. Water weighs close to 8 pounds per gallon so you carry an extra 900 pounds if you fresh water tank is full. Extra weight=extra fuel consumption. We only travel with enough water to flush the toilet and wash hands while traveling.

 

[bwwalczak]

Great Question.

On the Big Country 3250, our tanks are arranged between the frame rails from front to back. Bathroom gray tank is most forward, followed by the black tank, followed by the galley gray tank and finally the fresh water tank. This puts the fresh water tank behind the axles. Running with a full tank will add weight behind the axles, potentially taking some weight off your hitch. You are already at 1,920 lbs on the hitch without adding anything inside.

I have certain family members who can easily add much hitch weight into our rigs with all the stuff in the front wardrobe (because it is so big).

Hope this helps. Thanks for your inquiry.

 

[circusbear]

Thanks so much Bryan.

 

[circusbear]

Thank you so much Bryan. That was the EXACT information I was looking for. I had been reading this forum for quite a while before buying our Big Country, and you guys demonstrated a real care for your customers. This one of the reasons I bought your product and not someone else's.

 

[crazycanuck]

Bryan,

Can you give me the tank locations on a 3490RB. We just recently picked this unit up and I had the same question.
My plan was to only carry a certain amount for flushing and washing of hands. My method to guesstimate the amount of water added was to time the filling of a 5 gal pail and then use that to determine the amount of water I would add to my tanks.

Cheers, Dale

 

[bwwalczak]

Thank you for your question.

The 3250 Big Country is our only Big Country model with the fresh water tank just behind the axles. The other models, including the 3490, have the fresh water tank above or in between the axles. Filling this tank will have little to no effect on hitch weight, so go ahead and fill as much as you need.

Hope this helps. Feel free to email me directly if you have any other questions.

bryanw@heartlandrvs.com

 

[Rinker]

Fresh Water Tank Filling Problems

We were going dry camping in our Big Country and I filled the water tank with my garden hose till till the water ran out, thinking that this filled the tank. Second day out we ran out of water. Our friends had a couple of cans and after 2 10 mile trips and trying to get water into the unit with a funnel we could only get 20 gallons in and again water ran out the fill tube. This continued to happen all during our stay. When we returned to civilization, I called the dealer where I bought my 2008 unit and they could offer no solutions other than I bring it in. We live 3 hours away and I made an appt., thinking I could pick it up the same day. They couldn't get to it right away and finally called to tell me there was no problem. They were able to put about 70 gallons in. I asked them how and they said that you have to put the water in under pressure. I asked what were we supposed to do when we ran out and they said that we would have to break camp and take it into a town and fill it under pressure with a special filler adapter to the water hose. Has anyone else had this problem? I have always been able to add water to my RV with a water can until I got this unit....Any comments on how to fill the tank while dry camping will be appreciated.

 

[travelin501]

Our 09 Big Country had the same problem, found a kink in the hose to the fresh water tank. No problems since.

 

[Rinker]

And did you have to drop the underbelly to find this problem? My repair shop just charged me 2.5 hrs labor @ $85 hr and told me the tank fills fine and it wasn't covered under my extended warranty. I just think that I should be able to add water in the field without breaking camp and coming to town to find a water hose/pressure hook up.

 

[caissiel]

In my old Trailer I carried a 6 foot garden hose piece. I put the hose all the way to the tank and fill that way. The problem in this one is that the vent line stretched and drouping down, and it fills full of water. When there is enough pressure in the tank the air will push out the water. I use the same hose to fill my tank with a jog when I need to fill while drycamping. I keep the hose clean in the large cooler that I use to also carry water. I just discovered the fill method while drycamping this summer, and also a reason to carry this large cooler, other then storing fresh lobster.