Gravity fill water issue

Lantley wrote:

Me Again wrote:
You either setup an additional pump to force water in or add a couple valves behind the Anderson Valve to switch the on board pump to do it. Guys on the Heartland forum have instructions to do that. Chris

I would hope there is already a factory method to fill while boondocking. Having to do a mod for such a basic issue is ridiculous.

It is always nice for the manufacturer to provide good methods.

We have always had the gravity fill ability with our older fiver, but I quickly discovered many problems with doing it that way.

So.....I took a flow jet pump (which I replaced previously with a quieter pump) and with a couple of hoses I can pump a container of water into my tank. Don't have to manhandle the containers around either since they don't have to be elevated. I can just leave them in the back of the truck where I filled them from the faucet using one of the hoses, and the hoses are long enough to reach from the pu bed to the fill tube of the camper fresh water tank.

To make it more convenient I wired in a 12v jack on the camper close to where I place the pump on the ground, and I can just plug in the pump there and hook up the hoses from the container to the pump and pump to the fill tube of the fresh water tank.

I have 4-5gal containers so I just move the hose from one to the other as they empty. Quick and easy. When finished, I just coil up the hoses and unplug and pick up the pump from the ground and place in the fivers storage, or in the bed of the truck.

Sure, you have to diy this yourself, but if you are an RV'er then DIY is a way of life.

Me Again wrote:
You either setup an additional pump to force water in or add a couple valves behind the Anderson Valve to switch the on board pump to do it. Guys on the Heartland forum have instructions to do that. Chris

I would hope there is already a factory method to fill while boondocking. Having to do a mod for such a basic issue is ridiculous.

You either setup an additional pump to force water in or add a couple valves behind the Anderson Valve to switch the on board pump to do it. Guys on the Heartland forum have instructions to do that. Chris

Thanks for all the replies. I have emails into Starcraft to see what the options are. I will let you know how I make out.

Bumpyroad wrote:

IBcarguy wrote:
Do you think gravity feed is important? I've never filled my tank with a bucket or jug, always with a hose. Don't you use a hose?

I am not sure how water from the hose goes in faster if it is hooked to a city water port or a gravity fill one?
bumpy

This is a case where size does matter. When filling through the city water port it's going through small lines and valves at lower pressure. The gravity fill bypasses the small lines. And if you need to add water while not hooked to city water using the pump, slower still.

IBcarguy wrote:
Do you think gravity feed is important? I've never filled my tank with a bucket or jug, always with a hose. Don't you use a hose?

I am not sure how water from the hose goes in faster if it is hooked to a city water port or a gravity fill one?
bumpy

Do you think gravity feed is important? I've never filled my tank with a bucket or jug, always with a hose. Don't you use a hose?

Itching2go wrote:
As Bumpyroad mentioned, it is not unusual at all to not have a gravity fill. While my prior rig, a 2002 Cedar Creek, had one, my current rig, a 2008 Jayco Designer does not. While surprised and disconcerted at first, it's turned out to be not such a big issue. If I need to put water in the tank when attached to city water pressure, I simply set the control panel to tank fill. If I need to put some water in from a 5 gallon jug, I set it in the winterize mode which sucks water out of the jug. The only 'complaint' that that I have is the amount of time it takes to fill an 80 gallon tank via the smaller pex lines. Was faster with a gravity fill.

And a 100 gallon takes takes longer.

As Bumpyroad mentioned, it is not unusual at all to not have a gravity fill. While my prior rig, a 2002 Cedar Creek, had one, my current rig, a 2008 Jayco Designer does not. While surprised and disconcerted at first, it's turned out to be not such a big issue. If I need to put water in the tank when attached to city water pressure, I simply set the control panel to tank fill. If I need to put some water in from a 5 gallon jug, I set it in the winterize mode which sucks water out of the jug. The only 'complaint' that that I have is the amount of time it takes to fill an 80 gallon tank via the smaller pex lines. Was faster with a gravity fill.

My 2018 Grand Design does not have a gravity feed and I do not miss it. I filled it in May at a rally,no water hook up. We were on city water the rest of the summer. We had about 2/3 of a tank on our summer trip and when it got a little low from useage while on the road, I just added a little. I drained it all a couple of days ago for winter.