larryo
Weekender RV’er
Posts: 82 
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Post by larryo on Jul 24, 2015 10:00:11 GMT -5
We picked up our first TT last Saturday (Sportsmen Showstopper) and are trying to figure out how to use the systems.
I have read the owners manual regarding the water system but cannot find an answer to my question.
When connected to city water, does the on-board water tank automatically fill with water or is it bypassed? (I realize there is a separate port for specifically filling the tank using gravity)
I do not wish to travel with a full tank of water if I don't have to, so if it is automatically filled while using city water, I will have to drain it before I travel.
If it is not filled while using city water, I am going to assume that the hot water heater will operate off of city water pressure. Is this a correct assumption?
Thanks for any assistance.
Larry
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Post by lynnmor on Jul 24, 2015 11:22:37 GMT -5
Usually if you have gravity fill that is the only way to fill the tank. I modified my water system so that the tank can be filled by gravity fill, pressure fill, or draw it from a container using the onboard pump. I always fill the tank, that is why I bought self-contained travel trailer.
Yes, the water heater will fill on city water, just be sure that you have a steady stream of water at each fixture before turning it on.
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larryo
Weekender RV’er
Posts: 82
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Post by larryo on Jul 24, 2015 11:33:17 GMT -5
Usually if you have gravity fill that is the only way to fill the tank. I modified my water system so that the tank can be filled by gravity fill, pressure fill, or draw it from a container using the onboard pump. I always fill the tank, that is why I bought self-contained travel trailer. Yes, the water heater will fill on city water, just be sure that you have a steady stream of water at each fixture before turning it on. Thanks. Since this will be our first time out, and since city water will be available, we will use it. Don't want to try too many new things at once. Hopefully by the time we take a longer trip w will know more about what we are doing. |
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Post by joecamper on Jul 24, 2015 11:57:53 GMT -5
I generally only carry just enough water to flush the toilet, etc as long as I know I'm going to a campground that has hookups for water. In my case 52 gallons of water is a lot of weight to carry around. Like lynnmor stated, once hooked up to water, make sure your hot water faucets are running freely before turning on the hot water heater.
An additional point, make sure you carry some sort of restricted device for water pressure, some campgrounds have too much water pressure for the camper's plumbing. Most newer campers can use pretty high pressure, but some older ones (most likely not yours) could only be safely used with about 30 PSI. When in doubt consult your owners manual or ask your dealer.
Joe
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Post by johnr on Jul 24, 2015 12:22:20 GMT -5
Yes, you generally have to fill the holding tank on purpose, it's not done automatically. Plus you usually have to flip some switches or valves and turn on the water pump to get your RV to draw from the holding tank.
When pulling using the water pump and holding tank, you'll probably find that you have to prime the system before it works correctly by itself. To do that, flip the proper switches or valves (how to do it depends on your RV), turn on the water pump, and then open a single cold water tap in your RV. If it's quiet, you can hear the pump and you'll be able to tell when it starts pulling water. Wait until water is flowing from the faucet. Turn off the tap and listen, you should be able to hear the pump turn off. If it keeps running, there is still air in the system preventing normal operation. Open faucets one at a time until water is flowing, turn off and listen. Do the same thing with the hot water taps.
Once the pump shuts off when you close a faucet, the system is primed and ready to go (until you run out of water, which almost always happens when the wife is in the shower).
You don't want the pump to continue running for any length of time without pulling water. It will heat up and can cause damage to the pump if left in that state.
Good luck!
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Post by wolftrax on Jul 24, 2015 13:11:30 GMT -5
Hi Larry,
Coming from the RV world and having just purchased a Sportsmen Showstopper as well, I had the same question. On my old RV there were a series of valves that I had to turn to send water to either the tank or directly to the faucets for a city connection (not filling the tank). This was so that only one water connection was needed.
On this unit there are two filler connections (and no valves), one for city and one for the fresh water tank. The pump that provides water from the fresh water tank has a check valve on it so that when you are connected to the city water connection, no water can flow into the tank.
i was able to find this on page 48 near the bottom of the Sportsmen Showstopper manual that came with my unit. Hope this helps! I'm still learning about things on this trailer at it is our first TT as well.
Bob
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larryo
Weekender RV’er
Posts: 82
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Post by larryo on Jul 24, 2015 16:39:24 GMT -5
Thanks for all the good advice. I have already purchased a brass pressure regulator as well as an inline water filter. We have our white water hoses so I think we are getting there.
I am fortunate to be able to park the trailer in my back yard, so we had a 30 amp outlet installed below my house circuit breaker box (on an outside wall) so I can now run the A/C while I am out there setting everything up (it's been near 100 degrees every day the last week or so here in central Arkansas.
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Post by campiowa on Aug 3, 2015 17:12:56 GMT -5
You will not have water going into your fresh water tank if you are hooked to city water. Two separate systems.
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Post by joecamper on Aug 3, 2015 21:54:37 GMT -5
You will not have water going into your fresh water tank if you are hooked to city water. Two separate systems. That's not entirely correct. It depends on how your valves are set up. When my Durango is hooked up to city water, I can select to either use the city water or fill the fresh water tank. You are correct that you can't do both at the same time. |
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larryo
Weekender RV’er
Posts: 82
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Post by larryo on Aug 6, 2015 9:25:43 GMT -5
You will not have water going into your fresh water tank if you are hooked to city water. Two separate systems. That's not entirely correct. It depends on how your valves are set up. When my Durango is hooked up to city water, I can select to either use the city water or fill the fresh water tank. You are correct that you can't do both at the same time. We had our first outing in our new TT this past weekend. It was a huge success. Regarding the fresh water tank, I have not put any water in it since we got the trailer almost 3 weeks ago. We were hooked up to city water here at home before we took this trip and at the campground over the weekend. When I was checking the levels of the grey and black tanks before we left the campground, I noticed that the monitor panel indicated that the fresh water tank was half full. When I got home, I opened the fresh water tank drain and sure enough, there was water in it. I did not measure how much came out but it was significant. I know that the fresh water tank should not fill from the city water port, but my guess is there is a check valve in the system that separates the tank from the city water port. If this check valve were to leak, it could be possible to get some water into the tank from the city water port. Note: my TT has no water valves to manually open or close to separate the two sources. Has anyone experienced a leaking check valve before? Thanks Larry |
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Post by johnr on Aug 6, 2015 10:11:38 GMT -5
Hi Larry, glad you enjoyed your trip!
Do you have separate fresh-water fill and city water connections on the outside of the RV, or do you have the city/fresh water panel with the A/B switches?
Did you buy it from a dealer or from an individual? A dealer may partially fill the tank to make sure the pump system is working properly. An individual may have left some water in there.
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larryo
Weekender RV’er
Posts: 82
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Post by larryo on Aug 6, 2015 15:41:02 GMT -5
Hi Larry, glad you enjoyed your trip! Do you have separate fresh-water fill and city water connections on the outside of the RV, or do you have the city/fresh water panel with the A/B switches? Did you buy it from a dealer or from an individual? A dealer may partially fill the tank to make sure the pump system is working properly. An individual may have left some water in there. Thanks for the quick reply. I have separate fills. The city water fill is on the same side of the trailer as the electrical cord and dump valves. The manual fill is on the opposite side. I bought it new from a dealer. You may be correct in saying they partially filled the tank to demo it. I'll have to ask them. At any rate, I am going to completely drain it, sanitize it and see if it happens again thanks again |
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