Jayco or KZ

camperforlife wrote:
Lynnmor, didn't KZ get away from the water console that was causing your problem? I know my 09 still had the gravity fill/city hook up and I thought they went back to that in '13.

I understood where your knot hole was, I have a big one in the dinette support, just making a point about lumber in general.

As for my KZ dealer, I needed a slide roller on my rear slide Jag (previous KZ trailer) and the item and trailer was discontinued so the dealer drove to the KZ plant to speak personally to the KZ parts guy and to get what was needed. The repair with part was $150.00 even with the 140 mile one way trip to the plant.

I once had a Starcraft (Jayco sister company) that all four tires rubbed the wheel wells because of improperly welded metal wheel wells. The dealer worked with Starcraft and had both axles replaced which had to be custom made at a length that wouldn't rub. Again a testament as to what a good dealer can accomplish.

Sometimes I believe the dealer is more important than the trailer brand.

The "console" wasn't the problem. The tank was vented with 2 pipes attached at the top edge and ran straight down toward the road. On a curve or hill the water would just spill out of those vents. On curvy PA mountain roads you can lose almost all of the water. To make matters worse the last 10 gallons are below the pickup port.

Many KZ trailers that were made approximately 2010 thru 2012 had this faulty design. All they ever had to do was run the vents up and out of the trailer well above the tank, but it was impossible to get them to understand that water runs downhill.

Now why did they do that? Lower cost. By eliminating the gravity fill port, the large fill hose and the labor to install it, they saved a few bucks. A valve was added to send water from the city water port into the supply line to the tank. The two vent hoses were needed so that the tank would not expand while pressure filling.

After two failed attempts by KZ to make the water in my trailer run uphill, they installed a gravity fill tank. I told them to leave the pressure fill plumbing in place and that I would take care of that.

What I did:
1. Replaced the water dish they just installed with a locking hatch type gravity water fill.
2. Modified the new fill by adding 2 vents, plugging the original vent and drilling 246 .041" diameter holes in the door.
3. Replaced the hoses they just installed with the correct type.
4. Made and installed a custom tee in the fill hose and attached a vent hose to one of the new vents.
5. Connected the vent hose to the other new vent.
6. Added two more straps to support the sagging water tank.
7. Replaced all the wet insulation with a fiberglass blanket.
8. Plugged the original supply port on the side of the tank.
9. Attached the supply/fill hose to the drain port on the bottom of the tank.

You can see all of this in my photos.

My system now has gravity fill, pressure fill and a protected inlet. It doesn't lose water and the tank doesn't sag. Nearly all of the water is now accessible. It is safe to fill and it is no longer a hazard to people following me.

You will not find another system like mine, so just call me a nut job.