Filling the Freshwatwr Tank

BaconLover · 02-17-2021, 10:35 PM

So I don’t know if all TMs are this way or just ours, but our freshwater inlet has a hose that goes slightly down and back up to the freshwater tank, causing the water to back out of the inlet as opposed to all going in the tank. I had purchased that little Camco yellow filler adapter for a hose, but found out that I actually have to get another vinyl hose fed into the inlet, into through the corrugated hose and into the tank in order to actually fill the tank without spewing water out of inlet.

Is there some other trick to getting water into the tank? I saw a mod on this site that looked like they connected a hose somehow to the tanks drain outlet? That drain spigot seems pretty small though, so it seems like it would take a long time to get water up via that spigot.

Anyway, please let me know how you all do this. The TM that we just bought originally was ordered with a 20 gallon tank because the guy always had hookups, but Custom RV who we bought it from changed it out to a 40 gallon tank since that’s what we wanted so we could go dry camp. I don’t know if that is causing this issue or if all TMs are just this way since it doesn’t look like the inlet could be much higher on the wall. Thanks!

ThePair · 02-18-2021, 07:05 AM

There are several answers to the question.

Hooking up a hose to a spigot, you can definitely add a hose adapter to the end of the drain hose and backfill that way. I do that when I first pull into the campground so I don't have to open the shells.

Once set up, to refill the tank many of us have added what's called "the ultimate water bridge" which is a way of reversing the flow of the water pump to get water into the tank using the onboard pump and a hose to the city inlet.

https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...ad.php?t=10458

**Bill** · 02-18-2021, 10:13 AM

This is my cheap/quick/easy solution. Works like a champ, although the TM does have to be open to use it. It works whether you are filling from a pressurized hose, or a water jug using a kayak bilge pump (or other pump) and a short (4 or 5 feet) piece of hose. The long snout gets past any bends in the TM's fill pipe.

https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...&pictureid=446.

Bill

**Kidkraz** · 02-18-2021, 05:49 PM

Are you saying that you can't get any water into your fresh water tank? The overflow hose should be a bit higher than the fill hose. Have you tried to reposition it? Any chance you could post a picture?

BaconLover · 02-18-2021, 10:59 PM

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Since we’re new to TMs, I’m not completely familiar with the terminology. So are you saying that the low pressure fill is considered the water inlet on the side wall? I would have assumed that would be more high pressure since it’s an official inlet for the the tank, but that helps me to understand the terminology you all use.

And yes! I’ll post pictures this weekend. KidKraz, your inlet looks way higher than mine, but I think we both have that 90 degree bend - mine just dips below the outlet into the tank which was why I thought the water was coming back out, but after checking out Bill’s photo of the water adaptor and the associated thread, I see that others have a problem too with filling the tank.

I’m not really clear how the 90 degree PVC adaptor you all made works? Does it just replace the existing hose or do you shove it into the existing hose? I was able to get a 5/8” ID vinyl hose to snake through the hose and into the tank. Then I connected the Camco EZ filler hose to the vinyl hose with a hose connector made for sprinkler hoses. It definitely wasn’t ideal, but at least I could control the flow of water with the EZ filler.

**Bill** · 02-19-2021, 09:28 AM

Terminology can be confusing. The terminology often used here on the Forum says there are two fill ports. There is a high-pressure garden-hose port, and a low-pressure bucket-fill port. The high pressure port does not fill the tank - only the bucket fill port does that. Perhaps this diagram from my Tech Stuff Album will help.

https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...&pictureid=435

Assuming you are asking about my 90-degree PVC adapter, its purpose is to enable you to fill the the tank through the bucket-fill port, using any piece of hose with a garden hose fitting on one end. That hose can come from a high pressure source (a spigot), or from any low-pressure source that can have a piece of hose attached. For example, this low-pressure source might be a hand-held funnel into which you pour water, a siphon from a water container set high up on a stepladder, or a kayak bilge pump drawing water from a bucket on the ground. I did the funnel thing (hated it - the container of water is heavy and you need at least three hands), then the siphon thing (hated it less, but you still have to hold the heavy bucket up high), and finally went to the bilge pump approach (not too bad, since the heavy container doesn't have to be lifted). The right-angle piece does two things when you push it into the port. It holds the device in place so it doesn't fall out, and it straightens out the first few inches of the slinky hose inside the TM so water doesn't splash back at you.

Hope this helps.

Bill