Fresh Water Tank

[vangoes]

Scott,
I have a 07 3055 and I have an issue that the tank will not take suction unless it is mostly full and it will not drain thoroughly. I have opened the gravity drain valve and driven 540 miles to discover that after arriving home that when parked on a serious nose down slope, water started to drain out again; although it did not drain when parked level prior to departing. The problem of not being able to drain the tank completely concerns me. This means that we can't sanitize the tank properly and that mold and/or disease is inevitable in the fresh water tank. I returned my unit to my dealer with this as an issue and the response I got was that it was probably an air lock preventing suction (no mention of the drain issue). They filled the tank and after several berps of air was able to get suction; however, the tank was apparently not drained completely and I was still draining water on every downslope after I left the facilities; although it did not drain when on a level plane. I am very concerned that this is a serious health issue and am questioning if the factory has communicated to their dealers about solutions to this problem. After reading various post on the forum it is apparent that this is not an isolated problem and several owners have resolved the problem with varing modifications. I want to return my unit to the dealer to get this repaired but obviously the dealers need direction as there was no resolution from my first trip for repair. Please advise as to recommended resolution. Thanks.

 

[Uncle Rog]

Howdy, my tank only takes / drains 45 gals, we are going for warranty on the first, Joe at J&l will let me come over to see the underside once it is all opened up. The tank / overflow also drains into the liner! And we need to get a lot better flow from the heater vents......We lose all our water during travel........

 

[Scott]

Let's get it in to the dealer and see what has happened. I can tell you this, the drains are located on the sides of the tank. That means they have to be up approx. a quarter of an inch to accomodate the fittings. When you have a large, flat tank, that means that there will be some residual water left in the tank that will not drain out of the drain lines. It will however, come out when you lift one part of the coach and force the left over water to the drain side. Its the way the tanks are designed and come to us - as they come to 98% of our compeition. In other words, this is a typical RV water tank. There are literally hundreds of thousands of RVs built each year with these same tanks - so before you go throwing around words like "health issues" and accusations of poor workmanship, I would do some more research.
That being said, as always, if there is something on your coach that is causing issues - beyond what is are the normal parameters of the tank design, then we will get it fixed right away.
ST

 

[M Hamilton]

Water Tank

Scott

I had the same problem with a 2008, 3055RL. I put in 75 gallons between the tank and the water heater and could only get 35-40 gallons out before the pump sucked air. I took a bottle jack and a 3', 2 by 12 and jacked the tank up the get the remaining 40 gallons out. I bought 2, 20' 3/4" (.60 wall) steel tubing sticks and cut them to fit in between the I beam and put four in the center of the tank and 2 spaced toward the outside of the tank. From the tank empty to full the tank sags 1", by the time 20 gallons is pumped out the sag is tattaly gone and I can get 67 to 70 gollons out of the tank. I used my trailer this past week end and the water system worked great. The steel for the job cost me $19, and I have a shop saw to cut he steel. I spent problally 2-3 hours on my time to do the job. I did the job myself, since I could and I didn't want to drag the trailer to a dealer and have it sit there, waiting to get it fixed. If you could get .120 wall 3/4" tubing I think 3 pieces would do the trick.
Mark

 

[vangoes]

Scott,
I'm not sure exactly where in my previous post I "threw out accusations of poor workmanship". I simply was asking if the factory has advised their dealers on corrective actions. As I mentioned I had taken the unit in for repair previously and there was no awareness of this type of problem. Before I spend my time and money again to haul it in I wanted to be sure there was acknowledgment of a potential problem. As far as "health issues", if we cant get the tank drained it is a potential. I did not mean to offend you in my previous post....I just wanted to know if customer services had been made aware of this issue.

 

[Uncle Rog]

Howdy, I am taking my 3600 in for the third time for the same water tank drain / leak problem, it is getting a little old....

 

[oregonrvers]

3055RL water system

We have an 06 3055RL. Just got back from 2 months in Mexico. Traveled with a group (fantansy) and alone. I would fill up the water tank knowing I was going to dry camp the next couple of days. People would see the water spilling out over the course of the travel. It was coming out the overflow inside the left side tires of the rv. I would arrive with just over a quarter tank to dry camp and then after a short time the pump would suck air and no water. This happened numerous times. Not an isolated issue.
So after 3 or 4 times, I wired shut the overflows. and then unwired them when I added water to the tank. It appears the water is siphoned out everytime, not now and then and it appears you generally can't use nearly 1/4 of the tank.
I am having the water tank replaced because of another issue but I think the 3055 has a design issue. Can the factory help?