2019 Eagle HT 29.5BHDS Fresh Water Capacity

[HamHands]

Hello everyone. New owner of a Jayco fifth wheel here and I have a couple of fresh water questions that I am hoping you guys can chime in on.

On our first trip with the new camper we ran out of water with what I considered normal or even limited usage. Our previous fifth wheel had a fresh water tank with a 45 gallon capacity, in line with the 29.5BHDS capacity of 43 gallons, and in eight years of camping with the previous unit I only ever ran out of water once. After reading through a few posts my guess is I didn't have the tank all of the way full, despite water puking out the overflow valve while I filled it, and I lost some water in route to my destination. I plan to reduce the rate at which I am filling the tank and have bought a meter to ensure I am putting the full capacity of water into the tank, which should help get it topped off, but my first question has to do with transporting a full tank without losing a bunch of water. I saw some members of the forum suggesting shut off valves be placed on the overflow that can be closed when driving. Do I risk creating extra pressure and damaging the tank if the overflow is completely closed off while I am driving a full tank down the road? This question comes with the caveat that the owners manual says to never haul the camper with water, but it is something I have done in the past and I know others do as well.

My second question has to do with the size of the tank. For the 2021 and 2022 models I see the fresh water capacity has been upped to 81 gallons. Has anyone considered changing out the 43 gallon tank for an 81 gallon one? I would need to confirm it would fit and figure out how to rig it, but it seems like due to only minimal changes in the layout it may be possible. I recognize the black and gray tank capacity has been increased to accommodate the bigger fresh water tanks, but I believe the existing tanks for my camper have enough excess capacity to handle the bigger fresh water tank. Worst case scenario would involve the purchase of a toter to use during trips if the black or gray tank needed emptied.

My final question has to do with the fresh water tank dump valve. The only valve I can find for emptying the tank is a small half turn plastic valve on the passenger side near the rear stabilizer. It drains water at a rate of just better than a trickle. Am I missing another drain or is that the only one there is?

Thanks,
Matt

[Shokyle1]

That is the only drain. And yes it is pretty slow. If you figure out the fresh water tank replacement do a write up I would love to do this too.

[GHen]

Are you sure the new HTs have a 81 gallon tank? The regular Eagles have an 81. I guess I could check the specs.

I just confirmed, yes the specs say HT has an 81. The full size Eagles like I have only have a 75.

[HamHands]

I am pretty sure the new HTs have an 81 gallon tank. The spec page calls one out.

https://www.jayco.com/rvs/fifth-whee...eels/29.5bhds/

[SickDay]

I have a 2021 29.5bhds and it does have an 81 gallon tank. That was one of the reasons that we finally pulled the trigger.

[wed100105]

We bought a new to us 2021 Jayco HT 29.5 BHDS this past April, believing it had the 81 gal freshwater tank. Just like you, we went for a weekend and ran out of water one the second day. Were you able to switch out the water tanks? Were incredibly disappointed because the 81 gal tanks listed on all the 2021 info charts is what made us pull the plug. Lesson learned.

[Go-red-car]

I would also be interested if you have success replacing with a bigger tank. Our 2010 30.5 RLS has freshwater capacity of 46 gallons. In 2011 they moved to 82 gallons. When we bought the trailer it was billed as a 2011 and it was only later we discovered that it was a 2010. It turns out though that our holding tanks are massive. We have 2 x 60-gallon grey tanks and a 30-gallon black water tank. So we got the big holding tanks but the small freshwater tank

I called Jayco and they insisted that I should only have one grey water tank. Umm no, I sent them a pic... I have one for the galley and one for the bathroom. Anyway... our workaround is to carry three 5-gallon water jugs which I can easily refill. I use a drill pump to transfer from jugs to the water tank.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by GHen

Are you sure the new HTs have a 81 gallon tank? The regular Eagles have an 81. I guess I could check the specs.

I just confirmed, yes the specs say HT has an 81. The full size Eagles like I have only have a 75.

+ 6 gal in the water heater which is figured into the total capacity.

[HamHands]

Originally Posted by wed100105

We bought a new to us 2021 Jayco HT 29.5 BHDS this past April, believing it had the 81 gal freshwater tank. Just like you, we went for a weekend and ran out of water one the second day. Were you able to switch out the water tanks? Were incredibly disappointed because the 81 gal tanks listed on all the 2021 info charts is what made us pull the plug. Lesson learned.

That is pretty crumby of Jayco to advertise for an 81 gallon capacity for that model year and have it come with something different.

I wasn't able to replace the existing tank because it was fit in place pretty snuggly, but I was able to use the open space directly behind the existing tank and add a second tank (https://www.valterra.com/product/abs...-60-30-gallon/). The fit was pretty tight, but after adding a channel to support the new tank and plumbing the two together I was able to up my capacity to about 70 gallons (75 w/ water heater and lines filled). Haven't had any trouble running out this year during any of our trips.

I really wish I had taken some pictures to document the process, but if you would like more info let me know and I can try to provide some more details.