Can't Fill Fresh Water Tank to Save My Life

[Seann45]

Is this the first time you have ever tried to fill the tank?


Take a 10' length of CLEAN garden hose and gently put it into the freshwater fill. push at least 5' of it in if it wont go in there is an obstacle blocking the tank. I wonder if they forgot to drill open the hole for the water to go in and just put the hose on ..

[Todd Klassy]

After many excellent ideas about what might have prevented me from putting water into my fresh water tank, after a thorough search we discovered the culprit was...

::: DRUM ROLL PLEASE :::

The hose under the couch from the input to the tank was too long and it bent upwards, thus preventing gravity from doing its work and allowing water to flow into the fresh water tank. In other words it was the factory's fault.

We removed the input and fascia on the side of the trailer, trimmed the hose back about 6 inches, re-fasted it to the input/fascia, and re-fastened it to the side of the travel trailer.

Here is a photo of the input/fascia pulled back from the side of the trailer. The larger hose is the water input and the smaller/clear hose is the air duct for the fresh water tank.

Thanks for everyone's assistance.

[vboyd]

Good find. Glad you figured it out.

[scottraycraft]

ive been following this...glad you found the issue
how unbelievably frustrating these trailers can be at times...lol

[Iraqvet05]

I have read about this issue before. One guy removed his stove to get to the hose to shorten it. I wonder why the factory doesn't pay more attention to that hose or if it's done like that on purpose.

[Hitch Pin]

You know what this tells me? The dealer didn't fill the tank to see if the pump even worked or if there was any leaks.

[tjpolsin]

Originally Posted by Todd Klassy

After many excellent ideas about what might have prevented me from putting water into my fresh water tank, after a thorough search we discovered the culprit was...

::: DRUM ROLL PLEASE :::

The hose under the couch from the input to the tank was too long and it bent upwards, thus preventing gravity from doing its work and allowing water to flow into the fresh water tank. In other words it was the factory's fault.

We removed the input and fascia on the side of the trailer, trimmed the hose back about 6 inches, re-fasted it to the input/fascia, and re-fastened it to the side of the travel trailer.

Here is a photo of the input/fascia pulled back from the side of the trailer. The larger hose is the water input and the smaller/clear hose is the air duct for the fresh water tank.

Thanks for everyone's assistance.

While I never had an issue with filling my tank, I also found that my gravity fill line was too long and bent upward causing some water to spill out. I also found that the connection between the hose and the gravity fill fitting wasn't water-tight. The spigot fitting had been crushed/deformed when the factory put on the hose clamp.

Every time I filled my tank I would end up with a mystery puddle under my kitchen sink causing me significant panic and causing me to remove interference and hand over hand inspect all waterline connections.

I REALLY hate water leaks.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by Hitch Pin

You know what this tells me? The dealer didn't fill the tank to see if the pump even worked or if there was any leaks.

And it wasn't done as part of the PDI with the new owner.

It was one of the things my PDI sheet that I skipped over. I did ask and was told that it was OK. We'll see...

[Quahog]

Originally Posted by Hitch Pin

You know what this tells me? The dealer didn't fill the tank to see if the pump even worked or if there was any leaks.

X2

[Iraqvet05]

Originally Posted by Hitch Pin

You know what this tells me? The dealer didn't fill the tank to see if the pump even worked or if there was any leaks.

I don't think that is the dealers responsibility as that should have been checked at the factory. I suspect the factory checks the plumbing system for leaks with compressed air, not by adding water to the system.

I'll add that checking this was not preformed at my PDI but I did take delivery of the unit in February (freezing midwest temps) and the unit was winterized.

[Filthy-Beast]

My dealer say they prep and sanitize, if other do as well they should have found it.

[Scoutr2]

A good dealer will check over all systems to ensure everything works and that you enjoy trouble-free use from your camper the first time you use it. Is the factory responsible? Yes! But I'm sure Jayco relies on their dealers to ensure basic things like this are checked out and in proper working order when the customer takes possession of every unit.

It's just good business . . . and customer appreciation!

[Quahog]

IMHO Jayco should have installed the hose correctly at the factory. BUT, the dealer should have checked and sanitized the system before the customer PDI. They both failed if you ask me.

[Iraqvet05]

My guess is that some dealers in the midwest and north don't do this year-round because of outside temps...just a theory anyway.

[Scoutr2]

My dealer, here in central Illinois, did not check this out either. However, my trailer was delivered to them in winter. It came winterized from the factory, with anti-freeze in the system. And since I took delivery in mid-March - when the temps can easily (and did) dip well below freezing still, they did not de-winterize.

So I would guess that it depends where you live and when the trailer is delivered as to whether the dealer checks out this kind of stuff.

That does NOT, however, excuse the factory from not paying attention to these basic details. More than one person there did not do their job! The guy(s) who installed the fill tube and the guy(s) who inspect and ensure quality control dropped the ball, for sure!

[ddrueckh]

I had the same issue with my trailer. I removed the stove to shorten the hose as I didn't want to remove the part on the outside of the trailer. The type of hose they use is hard to seal on the barbed fitting. I tried multiple times and it kept slowly dripping as the tank was being filled. I finally added some silicon sealer to the fitting and then put the hose on and clamped it. Let it dry over night before filling the tank. I noticed that Jayco had used some sort of sealer on the connection as well. Glad you figured out the issue.

[Todd Klassy]

Originally Posted by Hitch Pin

You know what this tells me? The dealer didn't fill the tank to see if the pump even worked or if there was any leaks.

You're right, but I'm in northern Montana and it arrived in early April and was winterized. I don't think the dealer necessarily should fill the tank with water when it still gets well below freezing at night.

I had a leak with the hoses connected to the water heater, too. The factory should be checking this stuff some how before these units leave the factory.

[Charleydawn]

We just had the same problem, but we found a work around. Inside the trailer under the couch that sits above the fw tank, there is a hose which connects the tank to the outside fill nozel. The hose was bent up, so water couldn't travel uphill to fill the tank. We put some weight to bend the hose down and viola it started filling!!