fresh water tank

[spindrift]

Extremely frustrated. Within the last day or two I recall reading something about a siphoning issue with the fresh water tank. I've searched and searched but have had no luck. Last weekend while filling the fw tank, I noticed water had begun to run out of a white hose on the underbelly of the coach. It eventually stopped but I'm wondering if this is a sign of that siphoning issue. Any thoughts or direction to a particular thread? Thanks.

[atom ant]

I believe it was one of Dave and Ginney's threads.

[5th_Time]

Tom, it was my thread (among others). Check the archive.



Anyway, after I picked up my '12 RL, I spent the next few outings at private campgrounds attached to city water. The first time I tried to drycamp and fill my fresh water tank, almost the whole tankful drained out the overflow. No one on the forum had noted anything about the problem yet.



It turned out that there was a problem with siphoning with the units and I had Redwood repair it at the service center last August. The fix was to extend the overflow hose above the floor behind the wall in the basement and put a loop in the hose before sending it back down through the bellypan. That breaks the siphon.Edited by: 5th_Time

[Buddy]

Do you think Redwood engineers read these forums and make repairs as they go. It would be nice if they did. It would keep everybody from going through the same problems and eventually Redwood would be the best RV made.

[lillyputz]

Originally Posted by Buddy

Do you think Redwood engineers read these forums and make repairs as they go. It would be nice if they did. It would keep everybody from going through the same problems and eventually Redwood would be the best RV made.

Are you kidding. That would slow the assemble line down about 90 sec. Can't have that.

Lillyputz

[Dave&Ginny]

They did fix mine but to be sure I put a valve on the end of mine. I just make sure I keep the valve open when I fill the tank. I haven't had any problems yet.

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Buddy

Do you think Redwood engineers read these forums and make repairs as they go. It would be nice if they did. It would keep everybody from going through the same problems and eventually Redwood would be the best RV made.

Your sentiments indicate some good thinking and logic, but, unfortunately the RV industry in general is extremely cost competitive. It would take a full time position to track, evaluate and analize the issues brought up on the forumsand determine which ones to respond to, or, which ones to ignore. My impression in discussing this first hand with a Redwood representative in 2011 was that they gave very little attention to the forum. That is unfortunate to say the least. This is not just a mentality singular to Redwood but rather one that pervades the industry. I believe that Redwood (when Brian Emmons headed up Customer Service)has tried to respond to specific customer issues up to now. I hope that the new Crossroads Service Center is as customer centric as was Brian Emmons.



The one forum that I have seen where company folks (including the president) did monitor their forumand respond to customers comments directly was the NUWA Owners Forum (Hitchhiker owners). Their product was at least as well made, if not better than, Redwood's product, but, those RVs cost$15,000. to $20,000. more thancomparable Redwood models (and by the way, their product still had their share of problems too). That company is now only in the service business. As of last fall, they no longer are building new 5th wheels; they just were not getting enough orders to maintain factory operations.

[subdoc4]

Originally Posted by 5th_Time

Tom, it was my thread (among others). Check the archive.



Anyway, after I picked up my '12 RL, I spent the next few outings at private campgrounds attached to city water. The first time I tried to drycamp and fill my fresh water tank, almost the whole tankful drained out the overflow. No one on the forum had noted anything about the problem yet.



It turned out that there was a problem with siphoning with the units and I had Redwood repair it at the service center last August. The fix was to extend the overflow hose above the floor behind the wall in the basement and put a loop in the hose before sending it back down through the bellypan. That breaks the siphon.

I guess I don't get it. When you filled up your tank, it ran out the bottom? Is there an obvious problem that I may not be aware of? I have filled the tank and "tested" without issues.
Thank you.

[spindrift]

What's the purpose of this drain hose? The fill port should act perfectly fine as a pressure relief...if this is the purpose of the lower hose.

[spindrift]

It's a white hose with no end that protrudes through the belly skin in the area of the service center. That's all I know and as I said above I don't understand what purpose it could serve.

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by spindrift

It's a white hose with no end that protrudes through the belly skin in the area of the service center. That's all I know and as I said above I don't understand what purpose it could serve.

For whatever reason, Redwood chose to add an overflow line in addition to the fill tube in the utility bay. I discovered the same siphoning issue last spring on my 2012 36RL that was built in late summer 2011. Redwood has subsequentlyfound a anti-siphon fix for the problemand has changed production.I had the Redwood fix put in last fall when I had my annual inspection done at the factory.



I agree with you that I don't see the need for the overflow other than to prevent water from overflowing in the utility bay area.

[atom ant]

Cap it maybe?

Is there a vent in with the fill?

[5th_Time]

The way it was explained to me, apparently, with the onlyvent beingthe fill line, when people would fill their tanks by sticking their80psi garden hoses into the fill line, it would saturate the fill lineand pressurize the tank. They put in a separate vent line, but depending on whether the trailer was level or not, the vent would occasionally be under water - creating a siphon that would end up draining a significant amount of water (again, depending on the tilt of the tank). Looping the vent line breaks the siphon... Edited by: 5th_Time

[jlandon13399]

I had a problem with siphoning the first time I filled my fresh water tank in my 2012 RW34SK. At least 1/3 of the tank siphoned before it stopped. I brought the rig to Lazy Days in Tucson and they contacted the factory. They were told to install a shepards crook coming out of the top of the fresh water tank. I liked Dave's idea best but wanted to avoid warranty issues in the futre so went with the factory plan. Redwood has known about this problem for some time.

[spindrift]

My vent "hose" is not the garden hose variety so I probably misspoke in earlier posts. It's the stiffer, water line material that is used in other applications around the coach, i.e. drain line, winterization lines, etc. This material can not be looped, at least not in a small loop, or it will kink. At least I know what's happening now and that's a relief.

[Dave&Ginny]

There is another vent out of the tank and if you look in your utility bay area you'll see it just above your fill line. It's about a 3/4 line that goes straight into your fresh water tank from the top. I was also told that there is another vent somewhere as well that I couldn't see. He didn't see any problem in what I did as long as I didn't use anything larger than a typical 5/8 hose to fill the tank. I also open that valve when I'm in a state park filling my tank to the top, until the tank is full.

For all the "Newbees" on here, I recomend everybody with an RV go to a "Lowes" or "Menards" type of store and buy yourself some "Pex" tools and clamps. Because these are the tools you'll need to fix any plumbing problems that may come up. You can go on "Youtube" for demonstrations. All these tools will cost about $120. The old days of hose clamps that can be removed with a screw driver are gone. It's like a fire extinguisher, you hope you never uses them but it's sure nice to have them should the need arise.

Edited by: Dave&Ginny

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

There is another vent out of the tank and if you look in your utility bay area you'll see it just above your fill line. It's about a 3/4 line that goes straight into your fresh water tank from the top.

Ya thats the one I was wondering if it had. That is all I have on my Montana, same fill, and its never been an issues.









So question is, couldn't a guy just valve off that overflow where it sticks through the belly and not use it, or even make a routine of opening it when filling and then closing it again?Edited by: atom ant

[spindrift]

Originally Posted by atom ant

Ya thats the one I was wondering if it had.Â* That is all I have on my Montana, same fill, and its never been an issues.Â*



Â*
So question is, couldn't a guy just valve off that overflow where it sticks through the belly and not use it, or even make a routine of opening it when filling and then !closing it again?

That's exactly what I did last night. Installed a shut-off valve in the closed position. Will be going out this weekend for another shake down and I'll test it again.

[mhs4771]

X2 on the shut-off. That was our cheap fix. Leave it open when filling the tank, but once water starts coming out, shut it or it'll drain the top 1/3 of the tank.

[jlandon13399]

There is a second fresh water tank drain on my 2012 RW34SK. When I filled my tank the "fix that Lazy Days installed worked but the second drain started to siphon. After a few minutes I did clamp that line and the siphoning stopped. I also used some water from the tank so that probably helped. The third overflow is at the fresh water inlet. You will see a mesh screen about 1/2" in diameter. One would think Redwood's engineers would have pickedup the siphoning problem during initial design. Go figure....