creeper
Well-known member
My next Mod is the SeeLevel II by Garnet Industries at http://www.rvgauge.com/
I as many Rvers are pretty fed up with those lame in tank gauges. Plus the one that came with the RV only reads in thirds.
I ordered them from http://www.bestconverter.com/
They were great to deal with. I had to return the first set as not compatible and the return was no fuss, no muss.
When you open the box you will have 1 display ( you can order a second for your docking station if you want), a number of sensors (depending on what model you choose) and 1 pig tail. I choose the sensor that covers black, grey, galley, fresh and battery. A total of 5 sensors.
Sensors:
You have to program them. This consists of cutting off one of the little tabs at the top for the corresponding tank.
You will also have to cut the sensors to proper length. As you look at the sensor picture you can see a number of segments. 8 total. You cut in the space between the segments to get the length you need.
Display:
This is the first display I ordered. It wasn't compatible with the wiring, so I returned it and got a different model. A 709-4 to be exact.
DO NOT CUT the sensors until you have measured, measured again and then measured again. One they are cut that's it. You also can't cut them to less then 4 1/2 inches. For my 3400RL the grey, galley and black tank all got cut to 4 1/2 inches. The fresh tank got cut to 6 inches.
Installation:
To install the sensors the belly of the beast must come off.
You're also going to need some 18 gauge wire, the wire is not supplied in the kit.
You also need to gain access to the back of the switch panel. It doesn't come off the front, so you have to go in behind it.
I removed the cabinet in the bathroom it comes out with 4 screws and you can get to see what is behind the panel. You have to cut a pretty big hole for the display and you don't want to be cutting blind.
I also removed the breaker box and fire extinguisher. You can get away with just removing the extinguisher.
I dropped all the lines through the cabinet hole , along the curb side of the instrument panel and they dropped down by the extinguisher.
You can see the small colored wires attached to a clip,which I used as weight to drop the lines.
The piece of wood and sawdust was not me. They are left overs.
You have to snake the lines down through the frame and down to the bottom of the camper.
I started at the fresh water tank. I measured the correct length and then cut the sensor to correct length. I didn't have to program it as it defaults to the fresh water tank. I cleaned the side of the tank with alcohol repeatedly. They recommend that you sand it with 220 and a orbital sander if the tank is not smooth. Once that was complete I attached the sensor temporally with some blue painters tape. THIS IS A MUST......
I repeated for the other tanks and programed the other sensors by cutting off the appropriate tabs.
The need for programing is that all sensors will be wired together. This saves on wire, cost and time. Wiring is simple. Blue to blue and black to black. Fresh to galley to black to grey to ground to panel. It's all very simple and straight forward.
I tapped into the old sensor box for 12 Volt power.
With all sensors temporally installed and system powering up with no error codes, I started filling the fresh water tank. This is where you will might need to make some adjustments, which I did. Even though there was about an inch of water in the tank, the pump would not pump any water. I had a 5% reading when first installed. Not good if it reads 5% and there is no usable water. I raised the sensor until I got what I wanted.
When filling here are some of the readings I got. I also visually inspected the water level at different readings.
Old system: Empty
New system: 6% and pumping water. I pumped water for a while and it still had usable water.
Old system: Fresh 1/3
Seelevel: 44%
Filled some more,
Old system: 2/3
New system: 50% at this level I measured and it was nearly exactly half the tank.
The old system never went to 100%. Water came shooting out of the fill hose and it couldn't get the last 1/2 inch of the tank filled.
I repeated for each tank, testing, emptying and checking levels. For the other tanks you have to rely on tapping.
The black tank was a great improvement.
After filling it for a short period it shot up to 2/3 full on the old system. A level we would normally, frantically looking emptying. The SeeLevel read 0%.. As I filled the See Level slowly went up and the old gauges stayed. When my old gauge went to full the SeeLevel read 67%. I slid under camper and tapped on the sides. The SeeLevel was right and the tank was not full. I then watched the SeeLevel go to 75,83,and eventually 100%. The whole time the old gauges read 100%.
Now that I was satisfied with the gauge readings I had to mount the sensors permanently. I marked the position with a permanent marker and removed the temporary tape.
I once again cleaned the surface. I then heated to the surface with a hair dryer to promote glue adhesion. I peeled the backer off and carefully placed the sensor. I also taped the edges with some duct tape. Repeated for all sensors and then tested. Once everything was tested and working, I covered the sensor with some rubberized undercoating. This is recommended by Garnet to prevent corrosion from the elements.
Here is the completed sensor install:
Note: The tanks in the RV have curbed edges and the tanks bow when filled. This will give you a slow to first reading on the SeeLevel. You actually have to cut the sensors shorter then the tank measurement because you can't bend them around the curved edges. This is not a problem, because of the increased accuracy you know if you have room left in your tanks. You can also carry less water if you are like us and only carry enough fresh water to flush the toilets.
Completed panel install
Emptied all tanks for one last test and that was it. Buttoned up the cabinets and I'm very satisfied with the upgrade.
I as many Rvers are pretty fed up with those lame in tank gauges. Plus the one that came with the RV only reads in thirds.
I ordered them from http://www.bestconverter.com/
They were great to deal with. I had to return the first set as not compatible and the return was no fuss, no muss.
When you open the box you will have 1 display ( you can order a second for your docking station if you want), a number of sensors (depending on what model you choose) and 1 pig tail. I choose the sensor that covers black, grey, galley, fresh and battery. A total of 5 sensors.
Sensors:
You have to program them. This consists of cutting off one of the little tabs at the top for the corresponding tank.
You will also have to cut the sensors to proper length. As you look at the sensor picture you can see a number of segments. 8 total. You cut in the space between the segments to get the length you need.
Display:
This is the first display I ordered. It wasn't compatible with the wiring, so I returned it and got a different model. A 709-4 to be exact.
DO NOT CUT the sensors until you have measured, measured again and then measured again. One they are cut that's it. You also can't cut them to less then 4 1/2 inches. For my 3400RL the grey, galley and black tank all got cut to 4 1/2 inches. The fresh tank got cut to 6 inches.
Installation:
To install the sensors the belly of the beast must come off.
You're also going to need some 18 gauge wire, the wire is not supplied in the kit.
You also need to gain access to the back of the switch panel. It doesn't come off the front, so you have to go in behind it.
I removed the cabinet in the bathroom it comes out with 4 screws and you can get to see what is behind the panel. You have to cut a pretty big hole for the display and you don't want to be cutting blind.
I also removed the breaker box and fire extinguisher. You can get away with just removing the extinguisher.
I dropped all the lines through the cabinet hole , along the curb side of the instrument panel and they dropped down by the extinguisher.
You can see the small colored wires attached to a clip,which I used as weight to drop the lines.
The piece of wood and sawdust was not me. They are left overs.
You have to snake the lines down through the frame and down to the bottom of the camper.
I started at the fresh water tank. I measured the correct length and then cut the sensor to correct length. I didn't have to program it as it defaults to the fresh water tank. I cleaned the side of the tank with alcohol repeatedly. They recommend that you sand it with 220 and a orbital sander if the tank is not smooth. Once that was complete I attached the sensor temporally with some blue painters tape. THIS IS A MUST......
I repeated for the other tanks and programed the other sensors by cutting off the appropriate tabs.
The need for programing is that all sensors will be wired together. This saves on wire, cost and time. Wiring is simple. Blue to blue and black to black. Fresh to galley to black to grey to ground to panel. It's all very simple and straight forward.
I tapped into the old sensor box for 12 Volt power.
With all sensors temporally installed and system powering up with no error codes, I started filling the fresh water tank. This is where you will might need to make some adjustments, which I did. Even though there was about an inch of water in the tank, the pump would not pump any water. I had a 5% reading when first installed. Not good if it reads 5% and there is no usable water. I raised the sensor until I got what I wanted.
When filling here are some of the readings I got. I also visually inspected the water level at different readings.
Old system: Empty
New system: 6% and pumping water. I pumped water for a while and it still had usable water.
Old system: Fresh 1/3
Seelevel: 44%
Filled some more,
Old system: 2/3
New system: 50% at this level I measured and it was nearly exactly half the tank.
The old system never went to 100%. Water came shooting out of the fill hose and it couldn't get the last 1/2 inch of the tank filled.
I repeated for each tank, testing, emptying and checking levels. For the other tanks you have to rely on tapping.
The black tank was a great improvement.
After filling it for a short period it shot up to 2/3 full on the old system. A level we would normally, frantically looking emptying. The SeeLevel read 0%.. As I filled the See Level slowly went up and the old gauges stayed. When my old gauge went to full the SeeLevel read 67%. I slid under camper and tapped on the sides. The SeeLevel was right and the tank was not full. I then watched the SeeLevel go to 75,83,and eventually 100%. The whole time the old gauges read 100%.
Now that I was satisfied with the gauge readings I had to mount the sensors permanently. I marked the position with a permanent marker and removed the temporary tape.
I once again cleaned the surface. I then heated to the surface with a hair dryer to promote glue adhesion. I peeled the backer off and carefully placed the sensor. I also taped the edges with some duct tape. Repeated for all sensors and then tested. Once everything was tested and working, I covered the sensor with some rubberized undercoating. This is recommended by Garnet to prevent corrosion from the elements.
Here is the completed sensor install:
Note: The tanks in the RV have curbed edges and the tanks bow when filled. This will give you a slow to first reading on the SeeLevel. You actually have to cut the sensors shorter then the tank measurement because you can't bend them around the curved edges. This is not a problem, because of the increased accuracy you know if you have room left in your tanks. You can also carry less water if you are like us and only carry enough fresh water to flush the toilets.
Completed panel install
Emptied all tanks for one last test and that was it. Buttoned up the cabinets and I'm very satisfied with the upgrade.
Last edited:
