Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 05-20-2014, 09:59 PM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 59
17Z Fresh Water Tanks. Full or Empty?

hi all,
I just picked up my new-to-me 2012 Jayco 17z tonight.



I'm just wondering what everyone does, when it comes to the fresh water tank on the 17z when they camp.

I typically camp WITHOUT water hookups at my State Park campsites. But, I'd still like to be able to use water to wash hands, rinse dishes, shower, brush teeth, use the toilet, etc. I'm OK with drinking bottled water, and not the tap water.

My buddy, and former owner of my 17Z, never filled the fresh water tank, since they only camped at campsites with water/hose hookup.

What do you do with the fresh water tanks, if you don't camp with water hookups?
1. Fill up at home, and haul the water.(aka: added weight) (even though you might exceed weight rating)
2. Fill up at the campsite. (I don't know how this works. Where do you get the water from? Sit in line and wait to fill up somewhere?)

3. Other??

Thanks in advance for the feedback to a newbie.
__________________
2013 Jayco x23B
2014 Toyota Tundra 5.7
2012 Jayco 17Z (sold 7/18)
j_shoe99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2014, 10:50 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Livinglife2's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Olsburg
Posts: 348
You don't want all that extra weight going down the road.
Normally in the dump station area in the campground is a fresh water hydrant off to the side to fill up your tanks, but don't use the one next to the crapper hole it's to wash out your black water tank. Or in the campground in between the camp sites you will find a hydrant that you can use, you will need a long filler hose or stop on the road by it. But they have the auto off handles so it takes two people one to hold it open and one at the camper to hit the hole
__________________
2015 Eagle 34.5 BHTS FW
2012 Chevy 2500HD LTZ CC 4x4 DMAX
B&W Companion
TST 507 flow thru

Livinglife2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2014, 04:10 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Brownie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Greater Grand Rapids
Posts: 1,392
Quote:
Originally Posted by Livinglife2 View Post
You don't want all that extra weight going down the road.
Normally in the dump station area in the campground is a fresh water hydrant off to the side to fill up your tanks, but don't use the one next to the crapper hole it's to wash out your black water tank. Or in the campground in between the camp sites you will find a hydrant that you can use, you will need a long filler hose or stop on the road by it. But they have the auto off handles so it takes two people one to hold it open and one at the camper to hit the hole
X2. Make sure you sanitize and rinse your tank & water lines several times before you fill them. Several threads on here about doing that. Always use a potable water hose (not a garden hose) for filling your tank. I use a blue hose-end filter on the end of the hose when filling and water tastes great. I keep it in the refrigerator between fill ups, to help retard the growth of bacteria. At most State Parks, etc., the green water hydrant is the fresh (drinking) water, and the red hydrant is for flushing your black tank. The dirty little secret is, they both come from the same well, and both have back-flow preventers. You just don't want to insert a hose into your fresh water system that's been used for black tank flushing.

As for hauling water, I generally haul with a few gallons in the FW tank, just for flushing the toilet & washing hands during travel. It's also come in handy a couple of times when the CG fill station was either down, or too busy. I was able to overnight with what I was carrying. To be honest, a full tank of water in your unit would only weigh about 120 lbs. (about the weight of an extra person). It won't affect your gas mileage much (if at all), but with your limited CCC, I can understand your not wanting to travel with a full tank.

A ton of people here on The Forum have X17Z's. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. Someone's sure to come up with an answer.

Enjoy your camping adventures!
__________________
2013 Eagle 266RKS
2011 Ford F-150 w/3.5L Ecoboost & H.D. Tow Package
Brownie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2014, 03:16 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 224
I've pull it with the fresh water tank empty and tank full; didn't see any difference in how it towed, gas mileage, etc. The 17Z can hold 28.5 gal of water (including 6 gal in the water heater). 28.5 x 8.33lb/gal = 237.4 lbs, so it does cut into your CCC. Generally I fill the tank to about 1/2 for restroom stops when travelling.
__________________
2010 Jayco 17Z
2007 Jeep Commander Overland 4x4 HEMI
go wild is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2014, 03:52 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Boss Wagon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Forest
Posts: 634
I typically carry 1/3 tank of fresh water when travelling and have carried up to 1/2 tank and sanitize it before each trip. I never, ever put water from an unknown source into the tank. I only fill it from home.
__________________
2010 Jayco 17Z
99 Ford E-350 Chateau Super Duty V-10

"Roughing it Cheaply"
Albums:
https://www.jaycoowners.com/album.php?u=3163
Boss Wagon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2014, 07:47 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Allamuchy Joe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Newton, NJ
Posts: 174
We don't carry water on the road. We fill up at the campground. It only takes a few moments and it saves carrying the extra weight.
__________________
2014 Ram 1500 Quad Cab Big Horn
2015 Jayco X23B
Allamuchy Joe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2014, 08:43 PM   #7
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 59
next stupid question...

how do you fill the fresh water tank?
Stick in the white hose into fresh water tank, and turn on water spigot?
__________________
2013 Jayco x23B
2014 Toyota Tundra 5.7
2012 Jayco 17Z (sold 7/18)
j_shoe99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2014, 08:56 PM   #8
Junior Member
 
cmcfeters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Halifax, NS
Posts: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by j_shoe99 View Post
next stupid question...

how do you fill the fresh water tank?
Stick in the white hose into fresh water tank, and turn on water spigot?
Yes, put hose in fresh water hole and fill until water comes out. Just don't hook up to city water connection.
__________________
Jayco Jay Feather Ultra Lite X17Z
cmcfeters is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2014, 09:01 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 224
Yes, get one of these, works great...http://valterra.com/product/quick-fi.../?pcat_id=1227
__________________
2010 Jayco 17Z
2007 Jeep Commander Overland 4x4 HEMI
go wild is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2014, 09:45 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Big Sky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Clinton, MT
Posts: 895
We have a well on our home property that has great tasting water. So if we are traveling under 4 hours or so, we'll top off the fresh water with our well water. That said, on a long weekend, we'll also end up re-filling with the CG water, as we will this Memorial Day weekend. We tote along several empty 7 gallon water jugs and using a electric water pump we refill the 46 gallon fresh water tank. We never hesitate to take showers and use our fresh water tank to drink from.
__________________

2007 Jayco Jay Flight 26BHS
2016 GMC Duramax Sierra 3500 HD Denali
4 Crown CR-235 6-volt batteries - 470 AH bank
3000 watt Magnum Energy MSH-3012 Tri Metric 2025
Cummins generator
Winegard Traveler DirecTV slimline HD SK-3005
Big Sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2014, 08:41 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Allamuchy Joe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Newton, NJ
Posts: 174
[QUOTE=Big Sky;200610]We have a well on our home property that has great tasting water. So if we are traveling under 4 hours or so, we'll top off the fresh water with our well water.QUOTE]

The problem is that the X17Z does not have the cargo carrying capacity of the 26BHS trailer. The weight of the water is precious CCC that can be used elsewhere.

That said, we do carry 3 or so gallons of home well water in our TV for drinking and use only the CG water for washing/flushing, etc.
__________________
2014 Ram 1500 Quad Cab Big Horn
2015 Jayco X23B
Allamuchy Joe is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:43 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.