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CTRoadie's avatar
CTRoadie
Explorer
Aug 20, 2014

Fresh Water Tank Problem in Itasca Navion

My wife & I recently purchased a 2008 Navion IQ. We've rented RV's out west a number of times for 10-12 days at a time so we have some RVing experience. One of the key reasons we liked this unit is we prefer to do a lot of dry camping and this unit was supposed to have a 40 gallon freshwater capacity (according to the specs that came with the unit.) I fill the tank until it overflows each time we head out on the road, but by the time we arrive at our nightly destination the tank level reads 1/3rd full. I have looked for leaks and found none so I thought the problems might just be defect sensors. But this weekend we ran out of water after the first day having used maybe 10-15 gallons. After inspecting the tank after filling again (using a flashlight to view the tank level)it appears the tank never fills all the way. In addition, we seem to lose water through the overflow valve when it sloshes around on the open road. (you can see signs of this when we stop for refueling, etc.) I've checked after filling the tank until it over flows and leaving the unit sit for 2-3 days. There are no signs of leaks. I haven't been able to measure the tank yet to verify the capacity but even if it is a 32 gallon tank, as in the DL, we still aren't using anything close to that amount of water in 1 day. The only other things I can think of is the tank is not installed level and is tilting forward so the over flow valve is lower than it's supposed to be (hard to understand how this could occur since the tank sits on the floor), or there is a design flaw that did not raise the overflow valve high enough to avoid these issues. If it's a design flaw, someone else must have seen this issue before. The only fix I can think of if this is a design flaw is to create a "gooseneck" that raises the height of the over flow valve so we can force the tank to fill all the way and make it much harder for water to slosh out while driving & braking. Has anyone else had this problem? Suggestions?

6 Replies

  • I had the same problem with my 2014 View Profile 24V. Luckily I was still under warranty so the dealer fixed it. They just extended the overflow tube and re-routed from the bottom of the water tank and mounted it in a hole next to the gravity fill. Works great, and I think this could be done easier than the anti-siphon that some owners have done. Just my opinion.
  • A belated thanks to Old-Biscuit & bobojay5. There is a detailed post on this problem and a fix in the Yahoo View Navion forum (messages #72666 & #85739). I confirmed the problem is the tank vent was not properly designed. When overfilling the tank the overflow line creates a siphon that drains about a 3rd of the tank before it stops. In addition, the siphon effect occurs again while braking and on steep hills. The net effect is a tank that is supposed to hold 34 gallons ends up with about 12-15 gallons. It puzzles me that a company with Winnebago's experience would have overlooked such a design flaw. The solution seems pretty straight forward. I intend to install a anti-siphon loop with a check valve inside the service area below the refrigerator. This will effectively raise the outlet level and break the siphon effect. Thanks again for your help!
  • Community Alumni's avatar
    Community Alumni
    I had a 2011 Winnebago Class A motorhome with the same problem. The overflow line was poorly designed and it dumped most of the water out by sloshing or creating a vacuum/siphon that sucked most of the water out of the tank. I took it to the dealer to have it looked at under warranty and there was not much that could be done due to the location of the tank.

    If most of the water in your tank is disappearing is probably caused by vacuum/siphon from having the tank too full. I got around the problem by traveling with the tank 3/4 empty and filling it to the top when I got to my destination.

    Good luck!
  • A known problem with Views/Navions & Via/Reyo Winnebago models. It's being siphoned out as it goes down the road because of the placement of the tank vent hose.
    There's a known fix that's not that complicated to do but I can't tell you what exactly to do.
    You'll find much more and better info if you go over to the View/Navion groups over on Yahoo. Thousands of owners over there with some that can tell you how to reassemble one of these from parts if need be
  • Tank vent........
    It has to be free and clear and not have any dips in it.

    Air must vent out of tank as you fill it. And air must enter tank as you use the water.
    Vent plugged traps air in tank......creates problems with fill tank and then allows for a siphon event to occur draining water out of tank.