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Old 08-15-2010, 07:32 PM   #1
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80 Gallon Fresh Water Questions

Hi all,

I am the proud new owner of a Jay Flight 26BH, and we just finished our maiden voyage to a local mountain lake. Had a lot of fun, and am very happy upgrading from a 1994 18' Dutchman Duck. Our new unit is so much better with the DW, 3 kids and a friend or two.

My question is this... we "ran out" of water on our second day. I KNOW we didn't use all 80 Gallons. I did lose a little water from the overflow backing it up the first day (the driveway is on a bit of an angle), but the gauges said we were full.

This morning, we started to get a spurting popping noise, synonymous with being out of water. The gauges said we had 2/3 on the FW tank, and we were totally leveled. We popped and sputtered, and then got a weird "lighter hum" from the pump that didn't go away until I turned it off... tried again 5 minutes later, same deal. I was not worried, we were packing up, but still.... I took 5 gallons from the low point outlets, and then the gauges measured 1/3 on the FW.

Now we get home, I power up the pump, and we have water again. (the usual pops of air in the line before the water flows of course) It actually shows Full on the gauge! I poured 5 gallons into the sinks, and now the Grey water is Full... that makes sense, but what's with the Fresh Water?

Any ideas would be appreciated... phoning the dealer tomorrow, to find out if they need to see it. (maybe an air pocket between two 40 gallons tanks, bad pump, some weird valve thing?)

I do know the gauges can be sporadic, and battery power can make a difference, but weirdness ensues and we want to get camping again next weekend....
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Old 08-15-2010, 11:01 PM   #2
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Those gauges never work right-- did you check to see if your low point drain is closed?

I'd fill up the Fresh water tank-- and check for outside leaks first off.
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Old 08-16-2010, 05:28 AM   #3
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Could it be your water manifold stteings?
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Old 08-16-2010, 08:13 AM   #4
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Congrats on the new Jayco Steppenwolf, and welcome to the Jayco Owners Forum. Bummer when things go wrong but it comes with the territory when you buy new. The 2 year warranty is great though! Hope you aren't too far from the dealer if you have to bring it in for the fix.
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Old 08-16-2010, 10:38 AM   #5
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Ther is a screen/filter in the water pump; if the water supply that you used to fill the fresh water tank was not filtered OR if the tank had impurities in it from the factory, the screen can be clogged. Have the dealer check out the pump and it the screen is clogged, have the dealer also check the fresh water tank.

Also, if you fill your fresh water tank at home before traveling to the campground, it is quite possible that most of the water siphoned out during the drive. That was a problem with our last two Jayco trailers. Jayco authorized the dealership to fix the siphon problem as a warranty repair.
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Old 08-16-2010, 11:11 PM   #6
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Thanks All.

It seems like I have lots of water left, so I think it's not the siphon issue or a leak... dealer thinks it was probably garbage in the tank, temporarily clogging the filter (?), and maybe that the battery was getting low(er) --- we did run a few lights, a lot of fan and even the furnace a few times, to simulate an extra day.

We will see this weekend. Camping closer to home in a more civilized location this time, to be sure to work a few more kinks out.

Thanks again, it's good to be here!
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Old 08-18-2010, 10:44 PM   #7
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I have a 2010 26BH also. I'm about 1500 miles away from it and the manual, but I think it holds less than 80gal. I did run into a similar sounding situation the first week I had it in the driveway. It sounded to me that the water pump got full of air and couldn't prime itself. Made a different noise and the water coming out of the faucet was like a big waterpik toothbrush. The next morning I checked it before hitching up to go back to the dealer for another issue, and it was back to normal. Whatever the problem was, it hasn't happened since.

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Old 08-19-2010, 12:02 AM   #8
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That happened to me down in Mexico once-- the pump lost it's prime. I forgot all about that.
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Old 08-19-2010, 06:39 AM   #9
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According to the Jayco web site the 26BH has a fresh water capacity of 37 gallons including the water heater.
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Old 08-19-2010, 06:47 AM   #10
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I am almost certain you don't have a 80 gallon tank. You would be talking over 600 lbs of water and that is just wrong. I have had a problem with my 2009 Jayco where the water comes out of the overflow as if the tank is full and then when I get to the campground I have something short of a full tank. I now fill it until water comes out the overflow and then go back and top it off to make certain the tank is full.
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Old 08-19-2010, 08:02 AM   #11
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After filling the tank be sure to turn on the pump and run the hot water until no air comes through. Then top off the tank. This will allow the water heater to fill completely.
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Old 08-23-2010, 10:25 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JPBeck View Post
That happened to me down in Mexico once-- the pump lost it's prime. I forgot all about that.
There's a valve under the sink (actually under the bottom drawer) attached to the water pump. Turn the water on then turn the valve on, just a little, the water pump will fill with water (if you leave it on too long water will come out) and start functioning again.

On another note....
Place dense foam under the water pump and use hot water insulation foam on the water tubes (pipes) as it winds its way up to the sink. This will quiet the water pump to a nice hum instead of waking up the campground :-)
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Old 08-24-2010, 08:49 AM   #13
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Thanks for the tip-- I figured it out after a few minutes.

To make my pump less noisy
I wrapped all the water hoses in foam noodle and made a box out of sound proofing board for the pump. Now the water hitting the bottom of the sink is louder then the pump. I also installed a 3 gallon water ac***ulator-- so the pump doesn't even kick on until you run through 2 or 3 gallons.
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Old 08-24-2010, 05:09 PM   #14
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Does your RV have one of those STUPID Jayco overflow pipes in the tank? Mine did and it siphoned out half the tank when I filled it... I plugged the overflow pipe and now get full loads of water.
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Old 08-24-2010, 06:12 PM   #15
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Careful, when the tank heats in the sun the watervapor in the tank will expand and it could put 100+psi of pressure on your hoses. Possibly popping one of the connections.
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Old 08-25-2010, 09:11 AM   #16
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Sorry Jim but there is still the vent at the fill tube.. that is all that is really needed..
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Old 08-26-2010, 08:40 PM   #17
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Hi again everybody, thanks for the great info and advice.

My 2011 26BH does have an 80 Gallon fresh water tank, and the 699 lbs listed for weight on the vehicle decal (driver's side near front) confirms that.

I must have lost a lot of water backing up the driveway the first time and then driving up some extremely rough roads.

Also, it appears that either the take-off tube or the sensors (or panel) are not setup quite right. It says 1/3 on the panel, when we start to get empty.

At least I know the variables now, and how to quieten that pump... the dealer says it supoosed to sound like a gatling gun!?

Regards, Stephen
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Old 08-26-2010, 08:47 PM   #18
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Those sensors never work.
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