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]

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.

[Lantley]

Lynnmor wrote:

smkettner wrote:
Find out where the water is going and put a cork in it.

This is where the water comes from, and no, you don't cork vents that are there to keep the tank from swelling during filling.

The answer is to route the vents so they exit the coach well above the water level.

In this photo, the blue pipes at the top are the problem. When installed, the tank lays flat with the vents pointing down towards the road. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that the water will spill out while rounding a curve or have the trailer on a tilt. As you can see, the tank will lose most of its water in a short period of time.

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

[Lynnmor]

smkettner wrote:
Find out where the water is going and put a cork in it.

This is where the water comes from, and no, you don't cork vents that are there to keep the tank from swelling during filling.

The answer is to route the vents so they exit the coach well above the water level.

In this photo, the blue pipes at the top are the problem. When installed, the tank lays flat with the vents pointing down towards the road. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that the water will spill out while rounding a curve or have the trailer on a tilt. As you can see, the tank will lose most of its water in a short period of time.

[eocamper]

chracatoa wrote:
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.

I did not read all 3 pages but here's my thoughts. You said you top it off when you get to the campground.
Why not just run empty or a couple of gallons of water for an "emergency" and fill it up when you get to the campground.
The less weight will help with fuel economy.

[TomG2]

First things first. Are you sure the fresh water tank is full when you leave home? I have had several that belched back water while filling that were only half full to start with. Just asking. Aside from that, check out how poorly the tank is supported to see if you really want it full.

[time2roll]

Find out where the water is going and put a cork in it.

[PAAK]

I prefer to dry camp so I fill the water tank full before I leave and I travel around mountains on every trip. To say that, I have never heard of a trailer losing its water while driving, have you checked for a crack in the tank? To test it, I would fill the tank and add some dye to it and start driving around and see if you see any leaks. The shouldn't hurt your tank but if are worried about it, just sanitize it. Would like to hear what you find.

[_40Fan]

djgarcia wrote:

chracatoa wrote:
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.

Unless you are boon docking in the desert, there is little need to fill the fresh water tank more than a
a 1/3 full. A full tank of H20 adds significant weight to tow around.

Not the desert, but when I go hunting for a week, I want all the water I can carry and even a couple of 7 gallon jugs.

[Drew_K]

I had a similar issue with losing a lot of water after filling up. We were going to a campground in Utah that only had electric, and of course it was at a higher elevation than where we started so I think the tilting of the TT lost us some water. So even if your vent is working properly, the natural motion of the TT, including going up and down hills, may be enough to lose some water.

In any event, I installed a valve on the overflow as suggested above and no problems since.

[BarryG20]

We have had the same problem on our Jayco unit. Lose half or more of the water in less than 100 miles. I took it to the dealer for some warranty work and mentioned this as an issue. I was told to just fill up when you get where you are going. Well that is great if you have water where you are going and even if water is avaialable it does not mean it will be easy to fill the tank as ours is a pressurized fill system (though it does have a "country fill" feature that uses the water pump to fill the tank just like when you are winterizing but heck you have to clear out the storage area, remove a large panel adjust valves etc then put it all back. It didn't even occur to me to check that out when we got our new trailer as our old one had a gravity fill. In any case after I told the guy unacceptable answer he said they would check into it and perhaps they could reroute the vent and or overflow lines. It seems to have worked as it worked ok last time we filled it at home.

[MarkTwain]

chracatoa wrote:
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.

Unless you are boon docking in the desert, there is little need to fill the fresh water tank more than a
a 1/3 full. A full tank of H20 adds significant weight to tow around.

[avoidcrowds]

I ran my vent tube out the bottom of my trailer (due to the design of trailer - not a standard setup). I have a ball valve on it, so I can close it after I fill my tank, and don't lose a drop on the road. When I arrive, I open the valve, just as part of my setup process. I am down there to lower the stabilizer, and at the same time I open my vent.

Never a problem, and always have all my water when I arrive.

[Lantley]

I have 2 1/2" shark bite ball valves on my vent and overflow lines. If I am going somewhere where that I need every drop I will close valves.
AS someone mentioned once the siphoning starts you can loose lots of water. Installing valves is a very easy solution.

[chracatoa]

darsben1 wrote:
Make the vent tube a big S that may stop it

I like this idea (kind of like the pictures below your post). Otherwise I may just plug them and hope to remember to open them later.

[Lynnmor]

I have mentioned this problem a number of times before. Tens of thousands of RV's were produced with this faulty design. If you have a pressure fill type system and no gravity fill port, you likely have the issue. As shown in the photos posted previously, the idiots attached vent hoses at the top corner allowing water to spill out when rounding a curve or have the RV leaning towards the vents.

I lost half of my water in 80 miles of curvy PA roads. The supply hose was attached up from the bottom and the pump would suck air when the water level dropped to the top of that port. First time dry camping, and I mean dry, I had about 10 gallons of usable water.

I totally modified my system to make it vent well above the water level, and moved the pickup to the drain port. I now have use of the full capacity of the tank.

DO NOT put valves on the vent hoses, forget to open them when filling or using will cause severe damage.

Because the vehicle cannot contain its load, I reported it to the NHTSB, as if anyone there gives a rats petutie. How would you like to follow one of these faulty trailers on a motorcycle and suddenly get sprayed while riding on a wet road around a curve?