Tanks sizes?

Thanks for the info, alliemac! Very helpful to know that I won't explode the water system when I inevitably overfill it, and how you deal with it generally. Seems like an over-complicated and inconvenient system ...

I'll let you know about the antifreeze pump function--I think that the previous owners used it, as they gave me a short hose that they said they used (about 4 feet of plastic tubing with a hose attachment at one end). I'm planning on sanitizing the water system next week (it's in the shop now having a broken brake line fixed) so I'll report back on my results. My owner's manual says that when using the "winterize" function on the water panel, it does not put antifreeze into the fresh water tank.

How do you winterize your water system if you don't use antifreeze connection?

I have a 2007 Coachmen and the same valve/city fill configuration to fill my tank (I think they call it a WaterWorks panel). I think what someone said above re: the overflow is correct...I'm pretty sure you have to have a fresh tank overflow (or you'd end up with a vacuum in the tank as you used it). We try to keep an eye on the tank when filling, but sometimes I get busy prepping something else and space it for a minute. If it fills while I'm not paying attention, it just starts flowing out the overflow onto the ground under the RV. No harm done. We hear the splashing on the ground and turn the hose off.

Anyway, I know you're looking for data (which I unfortunately don't have), but I thought it might help to hear from another Coachmen owner about how we fill. We know we have a 50 gallon fresh tank (black and gray are each 28 gallons), but we don't base our actions while filling on that info.

Slightly off topic, I'd be curious if your system actually works to use the pump to draw antifreeze in like the manual says. I couldn't get that to work and when I asked our local Coachmen guys, they were baffled. They said based on the way it is plumbed, there's no way that could work. I got the manual out and asked "then why is the procedure described here?" and again...baffled. So, I would have liked to use that functionality to draw bleach in for sanitizing at the beginning of each season, but turns out it doesn't work. Hopefully yours does! I just pour the bleach in the hose before connecting it to the RV...

jillhop wrote:
wbwood, unlike most RV's, to fill the tank on this Coachmen, you have to screw the water hose into the vehicle (same connection as hooking up to city water) and move valves on the rig to fill the water tank. Not like most that you describe which have an open connection that will just overflow when full. That's why I'd like to know how big the tank is! Someone else suggested that there may be an overflow tube underneath the rig. When I get it back from the broken brake line repair, I will look for that tube!

Ahh...most I have seen (besides some larger rigs) have a city water inlet on one side of the camper and a fresh water fill on the other side.

I purchased my first RV last week (will use it to attend dog events with my whippets) and have lots of newbie questions! First off, I have been unable to find the sizes for my various water tanks (fresh, gray and black). I wonder if anyone here has that information? I have a 1998 Coachmen Catalina 22RK, Ford E350. TIA!

Welcome to the world of RV'ing to dog shows! You will wonder why you waited so long to do so. It is SOOOOO much nicer than working out of a car and having to stay at a motel when showing.

After your are done showing and you simply walk back to your MH right on the grounds you will be doing the happy dance.

>>Tank Sizes:
Look on the side wall in the clothes closet of your MH. You will find all the the Specs for your RV will be stuck up on the wall. That will tell you the size of your tanks and everything else you need to know.

BTW: In the premium list under RV parking always reserve coming in the night before AND check off the box that you are a handler. That gets you the prime spots up close to the building.:W

Albiet be prepared for some real outrageous daily rates for a lot of the venues having only asphalt parking lot RV parking with no hookups.

wbwood, unlike most RV's, to fill the tank on this Coachmen, you have to screw the water hose into the vehicle (same connection as hooking up to city water) and move valves on the rig to fill the water tank. Not like most that you describe which have an open connection that will just overflow when full. That's why I'd like to know how big the tank is! Someone else suggested that there may be an overflow tube underneath the rig. When I get it back from the broken brake line repair, I will look for that tube!

If you fill it up, it will fill up until it comes out the spout you are putting the water in. Just like if you are filling a water bottle. When it gets full, it comes out where you are filling it.

Thanks for the suggestion of the MH Hall of Fame Library--I just sent them a message.

I will look for an overflow under the rig near the freshwater tank. I'm just a careful person so I'm worried about exploding something if I overfill it.

I wish I had the type of fill that you just stick a hose into until it overflows, but no such luck. It does have a way to use the water pump to suck antifreeze out of a jug when you go to winterize it, so perhaps I could use that and some 5 gallon buckets to measure.

jillhop wrote:
According to the owner's manual (which doesn't say how big the tanks are ...) you are supposed to fill the fresh water tank until the gauge on the wall in the kitchen says it's full ... Since I'm alone, that will be difficult to accomplish. There is no overflow that I can see, and no visual at the fill point. I would really like to know how big the tank is ...

Sorry, don't mean to be difficult, and I'm a pretty smart and resourceful person, but I was really just asking if someone with the same model out there had the information ...

However, I will get the flow meter posted above, since once I know how big the tank is, that meter will help me with the solo, no-assistant water fill.

there has to be a overflow on fresh usually under where u cant see it,little tube sticking dn

On our class c and on the tt before hand, we would fill the fresh water tank until it started coming out the spout we were putting it in. We knew it was full. That is if we were gonna fill it. Yes you can check the guage inside, but the guages are never 100% anyway, especially on the gray and water tanks. I would imagine with that small of a unit, that your tanks are not over 30 gallons each. Our Class C shown below has a 30 gallon fresh and 29 gray and 29 black. The number for the size of the tanks won;t really matter for you. It depends on how you use it and how thrifty you can be with the water. Trial and error will be your biggest benefit. Go camping in it over a weekend. Use it and see how fast things fill up. Figure out how to cut back to make it last longer. Things like an oxygenics shower spa do help. With the shower head and learning how to manage our water better, we've been able to go an entire weekend on our tanks (if using fresh water, then yes we had to replenish some) in the Class C. Where as in the TT we had, which had tanks twice as big, we couldn't go an entire weekend. Main reason was because we did not manage well. Go to a park with full hook ups, but act like you're without hook ups. And see how you do. Get full fast? Dump and try to do better.

Contact the RV Hall of Fame and MH Museum in Elkhart. They may have the info in their library since they have many of the older owners manuals and info.