Can we travel with fresh tank full? We lose half on the way.

[chracatoa]

Every time I fill up my fresh water tank I lose half of the water on the way. So when I get to the campground I top it off.

My friend thought it was odd I had this problem until he ran out of water the next day. I think he lost water as well.

My guess is that the water spills out through the overflow hoses when we go up and down the hills.

Is this normal? Is there anything I could do here?

I wonder if the trailer is actually made to travel with the fresh water tank full.

[Lynnmor]

If you do put valves on the tank vents, please remove them before selling or trading the trailer. The next owners might be less than perfect.

I ran the vents uphill and out the side because, after extensive research, I found out that water runs downhill. The manufacturers just don't care because doing it right will cost a few dollars, and they can sell anything.

[HGL]

Having taken a long family trip where we needed to take the car along with our F-350/TT, I spent a lot of time following in the car and watching the "mist" hitting the ground with every bump and curve that the trailer took. It was fun to watch as during the 8 hour trek...it never stopped. Yes it was the water from the overflow valve and while we weren't too worried as we were dumping that water as it was full of bleach to sanitize the system from the winter, it was an eye opener to make sure that we fill or pack extra water when we dry camp. It was about 6 gallons of water from the 45 gallon tank.

[dewey02]

Lynnmor wrote:
There are folks that actually use a travel trailer to travel. Opening and closing valves every morning, potty break, lunch time, water fill time, drain time, setup time, might get old after a while. To modify a system so that serious damage may result may be fine for you, but to suggest that to others is something that I won't do.

No problem with your not recommending this solution to others. Your opinion is valid as an opinion. Installing valves is a solution that many have used and I haven't heard of many/any disasters. If you are simply doing a potty stop, one flush will not implode your FW tank, nor will using a limited amount during a lunch stop. Many/most people do not travel each day unless they are travelling to a destination. And even then, I put my tire chocks out at each stop. While I am installing or removing the chocks on my streetside tires, I'm already bending down right next to my overflow valves...not a whole lot of effort to simply open or close the valve. I'm not sure how often you fill your FW tank or drain it for that matter, but I've got 90 gallon tank and one fill lasts me a long time.

Any task related to a trailer might "get old after a while" but it doesn't for me as it is all part of the RV lifestyle. Simply turning a valve or two hasn't tired or stressed me out yet.

As they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat (I hope the cat owners aren't offended). And different strokes for different folks. So people can choose what they want to do, especially now that they've been warned that their FW tank could implode through a simple flush of their toilet. 🙂

[Lynnmor]

dewey02 wrote:
I think installing valves on the overflow tubes is the solution. This problem has been around for years and hundreds and probably thousands or tens of thousands of people have installed valves on their overflow tubes.

The only time the valves are closed is during travel. I open them when I fill (so the air can get out as the water goes in) and I open them when I arrive at the campground (so the air can get in as the water gets pumped out).

For those who say: "But when you forget to open them you will have big problems" well that may be true. But if it is part of your set up and take down, it becomes routine. I might forget to hook up my safety chains. I might forget to retract my awning. I might forget to put oil in my engine. I might forget to put on my pants before I go out for a hike. All these things might cause big problems but we routinely do them and they become second nature.

There are folks that actually use a travel trailer to travel. Opening and closing valves every morning, potty break, lunch time, water fill time, drain time, setup time, might get old after a while. To modify a system so that serious damage may result may be fine for you, but to suggest that to others is something that I won't do.

[dewey02]

I think installing valves on the overflow tubes is the solution. This problem has been around for years and hundreds and probably thousands or tens of thousands of people have installed valves on their overflow tubes.

The only time the valves are closed is during travel. I open them when I fill (so the air can get out as the water goes in) and I open them when I arrive at the campground (so the air can get in as the water gets pumped out).

For those who say: "But when you forget to open them you will have big problems" well that may be true. But if it is part of your set up and take down, it becomes routine. I might forget to hook up my safety chains. I might forget to retract my awning. I might forget to put oil in my engine. I might forget to put on my pants before I go out for a hike. All these things might cause big problems but we routinely do them and they become second nature.

[DanNJanice]

I have the same issue on my 2015 Jayco (lots of others do too). Mine has two vent/overflow tubes that stick strait out the bottom. Water "jets" out of these tubes while traveling. Jayco has had issues with this for years. I just put the shutoff valves on mine. Then I labeled the fresh water fill and the water pump switch so I do not forget to open/close the valves.

[Pangaea_Ron]

I just added a 3 foot length of clear vinyl tubing to my 1/2" PEX overflow tube. I cut the PEX and inserted 5/8" vinyl tubing with 3 loops over the PEX and attached it with hose clamps. I then attached the vinyl tubing to the ceiling of the storage compartment with zip ties. The added advantage is that I can easily see when the tank is full without water flowing out of the tank.

[Tvov]

Interesting thread! I did not know some campers have this issue. And some good fixes.

[bobndot]

I only travel with 10 gals of water in the tank. I carry 30 more in the trucks bed where I have a solid floor to support the weight.
IMO, you might have another water tank issue over time if you continually travel with full tanks.
I have seen dealers install metal crossmember straps with foam to cushion the 'metal on plastic' wear.

one of our members did a nice job on this:
water tank support pics

others have had this problem:
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28494869/gotomsg/28494882.cfm

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f7/fresh-water-tank-strapping-broken-6916.html

[biggerstaffb]

If you have one or two vents or overflow pipes under your fresh water tank plug them up and that will stop water loss. I have a 08 Jayco
and I had the same problem,

[avoidcrowds]

"Forget to open or close those valves just one time, and let me know how you made out."

So, I should always have water in my water heater? So, in case I forget to fill it before turning on the electric element, I won't burn out my element?

Gees, I guess I am living a very risky life!

I find it very simple to remember to open my vent valve after I get to my campsite. Just part of the setup process, like chocking my tires, or disconnecting my 7-pin plug before I move the TV. 😉

[Lantley]

Lynnmor wrote:

Lantley wrote:

RE Routing those vents and drain is generally not always a simple task.
However installing valves is an easy 5 minute job.

Easy is what some people find important. I prefer safety and common sense. Forget to open or close those valves just one time, and let me know how you made out.

You are correct. Kind of like putting gasoline into a diesel truck.
At some point whether I like it or not I have to trust my common sense.
I understand if I'm forgetful I may damage the tank but in the end it's a risk I'm willing to take.
Remembering the valves is not that difficult. I'm used to connecting to the CG water but since the spigot is not there it's easy to remember to open the valves as a substitute task .....Sort of like remembering my truck runs on diesel not gas.

[ford_truck_guy]

I put ball valves on my last trailer ( Montego Bay ) and that worked great... I put ball valves on my new trailer , and they also work great...
1-fill the tank with the valve open
2-once it is full and water comes out the ball valve on the overflow ,close it
3- travel to campground
4-while setting up, open the valve.. Some water left in line will come out but that's it
5- don't touch out again till your next trip....

Not everyone has a full blown machine shop in thier garage, or the time to completely rebuild a perfectly good trailer when a quick fix will do the same...

[Searching_Ut]

I've owned more than a half dozen assorted RV's prior to owning the supposed higher quality thing I now have, and it's the first one where I've ever experienced an issue like this. It's a pressurized fill system rather than the gravity I had on everything else, and it has vents coming out both sides of the frame which will dump as much as two thirds of my fresh water tank on a mountain road heading for the good hot weather spots. Of course there is no water available at most of the ones I prefer. Heartland did so many stupid things like this on my current rig to where It's almost worthless for actual camping.