Fresh water issue

[Ken and Susie]

We went out for the day with city water hooked up and turned on as we have done many times. When we returned, we found that the fresh water tank, which had been nearly empty, had filled and water was dribbling from the overfill drain pipe outside.
Our RW Sequoia has only an outside fill tube with a cap for filling the fresh water tank, you have to insert the hose and be careful not to overfill it. We do not have a knob we can turn to divert the city water to the fresh water tank as some RWs supposedly have. The manual says that when using city water, the water bypasses the fresh water tank, but in this instance it obviously at least partially did not bypass the tank.

Does anyone have experience with this issue? We’d appreciate any info on fixing this. Thanks.

[Jim & Mary]

Don't know specifically about Sequoia, but most of the Redwoods have check valves built into the 12V water pump that prevents city water from backfilling the fresh water tank. Of course, RV's generally use some of the less expensive components in their construction, and the pumps are no exception. Our Redwood has a quarter turn valve on the suction side of the pump that will close off the suction from the fresh water tank and allow suction from the winterizing line in the convenience center. I just shut off that valve and that prevents city water from leaking past into the fresh water tank.

[Jim & Mary]

Some on here have used this method, others have replaced the pump entirely, and still others have procured a rebuild kit for their existing pump.

[travelin' texans]

If You don't use the pump occasionally this happens if the valve at the pump is left open, usually running the pump a few times will in stick it & stop filling the tank.
Not to scare you, but I had my RW in the body shop & they had a nearly new toyhauler there that the fw tank wasn't vented & when overfilled ruptured & looked as if someone had exploded the center of the floor upwards inside the 5er totaling it. The body shop bought it for next to nothing to salvage parts, from the outside it looked brand new & other than the floor everything inside was good.

[Bob & Mary]

Jim and Mary are correct about the Redwood. Ours has the quarter-turn ball valve between the pump and the water tank. Turning it off will prevent your issue from happening again if Sequoia equipped with the valve like the Redwood. I found it last year when I was trying to winterize the RV and I couldn't get the pump to pull the anti-freeze. The pump was sucking air from the on-board water tank which was empty.

[Ken and Susie]

Thanks for all the replies on this. We do have the 1/4 turn shut off valve in that line on the suction side of the pump. I have closed that valve. After I sanitize the system again and replace the water filter cartridge, I’ll see how everything is working. I bled the system and think there may have been some air in the lines. I normally run the faucets until no more air comes out. We’ve frequently had temperatures in the mid 20s at night here in AZ, and have been using the fresh water tank and the pump to avoid leaving the hose hooked up to freeze overnight! And then it warms up and we hook up city water again, back and forth. I also just installed a 1/4 turn valve at the water hook up spigot so that we can easily turn off the water when we head out for the day. Thanks again, you have all been so good about offering helpful information. I’ll post again with an update in a day or so.