Water system for 1999 Coachmen Santara

Thanks all for the good information. I did get my water to work while hooked up to the city water inlet and I found my drain valve to the right of the panel. Making progress!

It would be quite unusual for there to be no tank drain somewhere (other than by running the pump for a long time).

On my unit, the tank drain valve is about a foot or so to the right of the "control panel", on the same wall of the big compartment across the back. I'm sure that detail may change for different floorplans, since the water tank would be in different spots.

It's not a great photo, but at least gives some idea of what's being talked about...as mentioned before, the right "operation valve" is the fill valve and the left "operation valve" I think controls the connection between the water tank and the pump inlet (so really only needs to be closed for winterizing or using the pump to fill the tank from containers).

Click For Full-Size Image.

I don't think there is a tank drain.You have to pump the water out. Your water tank is probably full and the water running out of the bottom is from the tank over flow. Figure out which way you need to turn the valves to make the pump operational,drain the tank if you want,leave the valves where they are,hook up the hose and you will have city water.

Thanks all for the quick responses. DrewE could you tell me where your nearby tank drain valve is . I don't see one anywhere in my compartment. I'm going to give it another try when it stops raining today.

I have a 1998 Coachmen Santara. On mine, at least, all the valves are in a sort of control panel in the back, and it sounds like yours is similar. I find it's a quite convenient setup, once figured out.

I have two valves labeled for the hot and cold low point drains. These need to be closed to use the water system (and of course open for draining it); it sounds like they may be open in your case. I also have a tank drain valve nearby but not on the control panel proper which, if open, will let the water tank drain out.

The upper two valves (labeled "operation valves" if memory serves) are for filling the tank from the city water connection (the upper-right valve) and, I think, connecting the pump to the water tank. There is also a middle valve that connects the pump to the winterize/suction fill hose connector. The little pictograms on the control panel are accurate for my unit, but maybe on yours some of the valves have been replaced or had their handles removed and reattached sideways or something.

At any rate, try operating the various valves and see what happens. You won't hurt anything by having them in odd settings; the worst possible thing that could happen is water comes out of various drain lines under the motorhome or through the winterize/suction fill port if you have one and if it is not capped with a plug or something.

I hope that's helpful. If you want, I can take a picture and try to describe a bit better what's going on.

Sounds like the caps are off the low point drains.

Is this a diesel pusher model? If so, there's a very brief mention of how to drain the fresh water tank on pages 24-25 of the 1999 Coachmen Santara online manual, as well as a diagram of the water systems valves and what they do. Beyond that, I'm not familiar with your year/make/model, so maybe someone else can help?
Link to manual.
https://coachmenrv.com/OwnersManuals/14140505.pdf