Fresh water tank question

[Alex 1963]

Hello everyone,

I'm brand new to campers, just having bought my first camper, a Jay Flight 174-BH.

My question is about the freshwater tank, in my case a 20-gallon tank. So I understand you can use it when you don't have city water, but what is the best practice when every time you camp you use city water? What do you guys do if you aren't using it? Should you fill and flush it every now and then or is it ok to just leave it dry if you don't use it?

Thanks in advance.

[dxrobertson]

Not being sure if the tank has/or has had water in it; you may want to initially sanitize the tank.

I would close the tank drain and plug the tank overflow line to keep the stink bugs and whatever else from harboring in the tank.

I suppose you could leave things as is, but may be a good idea to periodically fill/sanitize the tank and run the pump, to keep the onboard system operational.

[JimD]

I always keep mine filled. If there is a natural disaster it could come in handy. I do try to sanitize once a year. I also tend to use the tank even when I am at sites that have water hookups. At least I know the quality of the water I am using.

[Alex 1963]

That makes sense, thanks.

[Alex 1963]

I think sanitizing the tank makes sense, I'll just have to look through my manual to see where the overflow is.

Thanks!

[LuckyDuck]

We have always used city connect but I do fill my FW tank every spring and sanitize it and the lines. Should we need it, it will be clean and ready. I wouldn’t use it in a campground with city connect unless their water is bad. Our last trip to a nice RV park, the campers next to us used their tank with the annoyingly loud water pump. Constantly. All night, nothing but GRRRMMMM right outside the wall. The water was excellent there. No clue why they ran their pump.

[TMTEX]

I keep maybe a 1/4th in it for when we travel and need to use the bathroom or whatever

[TWP723]

I never use mine either but, I do keep it clean in case I ever need to use it. My drain is closed and the vent is opened and screened with a zip tie. Primitive but effective.

[JB13502]

We tend to keep water in our holding tank for a couple of reasons:

1. It allows us to flush and wash our hands if doing a quick roadside stop.
2. Sometimes at certain campgrounds, the water pressure is abysmal during peak times. Switching to the tank/pump provides a much more satisfying shower.