Question about filling the water tank

[kelleyfam]

Hello campers! This is my first post, so be kind

My husband & I just bought a used '98 Coleman popup and we're taking it out today for the first time. Last night my husband was trying to fill up the water tank with no luck. It wasn't letting him put much water in it at all, it was acting like it was full. Are we doing something wrong? Can you not fill it up while it's folded?

Thank you!

Jenny

[wavery]

First:

WELCOME TO PUT!!!

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The water tank has a vent hose. It is designed to let the air out while you are putting water in. Water and air cannot occupy the same space at the same time .

You might want to find that hose and be sure that it is clear. My vent hose is located right next to the fill hose at the top side of the tank. They can get mold in them and it will grow and plug up the hose if the camper sits for a long time. NEVER store the camper with water in the tank.

The best thing to do is to disconnect the hose at the tank. Try to force air through it (from the top). If it is clogged, run some bleach down the top side of the hose and let it sit. Bleach will dissolve the mold and kill any other spores that are still in the line.

You might want to check the tank to see if it has mold in it too. It's a good idea to flush the water tank with a bleach solution anyway. You don't know if the previous owner has ever flushed it.

[kelleyfam]

Wow, thank you very much for the information! I will tell my husband to try this. This is all trial and error at this point! By the way, I love what you did with your drawers/shelf. I need to buy some of those drawers.

Thanks again!

Jenny

[Recumbentman]

Hello Kellyfam and Welcome to PUT  :U
How was your husband filling up the water tank ? on the side of the PU there is a hose connection that you screw a water line onto. this is only used during full hook-ups. to the side of this you will find a closed cap. when you open the cap you will see a fill hole that you have to pour water into. this is the one you use to fill your water tank by hand. hope I didn't confuse you.
and yes flush out your tank with the beach solution. Do a search on beach solution here and you will find a lot of hits.

[wavery]

Hello Kellyfam and Welcome to PUT  :U
How was your husband filling up the water tank ? on the side of the PU there is a hose connection that you screw a water line onto. this is only used during full hook-ups. to the side of this you will find a closed cap. when you open the cap you will see a fill hole that you have to pour water into. this is the one you use to fill your water tank by hand. hope I didn't confuse you.
and yes flush out your tank with the beach solution. Do a search on beach solution here and you will find a lot of hits.

Gee!! That didn't even dawn on me :eyecrazy: . I guess if you are not used to having a camper, it would be easy to get confused about that.

Kellyfam.....
Thanks for asking that question . It was a good one.... no matter what.

Thanks for the compliment on the drawer modification. I get a lot of compliments on it. It's the best mod that we have done. It really increases the usable space in our PU and cuts down on the mess. We use the drawers like suite cases. We fill them at home before we leave. We install them at the campsite (2 minutes flat). When we get ready to tear down camp, we just put them in the tow vehicle with all of the stuff that we take out.

BTW, you can fill the water tank with the PU folded down. It is best to fill the tank at the campgrounds before you PU, if there is no water available at the site. Try not to tow the PU with water in the tank.

[lushy]

Just another suggestion on filling....

If you are using a water hose to fill the tank, you have to turn on the water valve just a little bit otherwise the water will start pouring back out of the fill hole....kind of like when the tank is full.

I know this because I did the same thing!   :confused:

Good luck!

[kelleyfam]

OKAY, I feel DUMB!

The water tank was FULL. DUH!

We had a successful first time out with the trailer. It was so nice to have a fridge! It did get cold but we were nervous about using the heater. I think we'll try it out at home before we take it out again.

THANK YOU for all of your advice!

Jenny

[wavery]

OKAY, I feel DUMB!

The water tank was FULL. DUH!

We had a successful first time out with the trailer. It was so nice to have a fridge! It did get cold but we were nervous about using the heater. I think we'll try it out at home before we take it out again.

THANK YOU for all of your advice!

Jenny

Thanks for posting Kelly. We all learn something from others mis-haps

BTW, I'd still flush that tank if I were you.

[AustinBoston]

The water tank was FULL. DUH!

There is nothing in the tank that works to keep the water safe.  Think of the water in your tank as being just like water that sat opened on the counter for several months.  You wouldn't want to do anything more than water plants with it.  You want to sanitize & flush the whole system before the next time you use it.

It did get cold but we were nervous about using the heater. I think we'll try it out at home before we take it out again.

This is good advice for a lot of things.  How I have seen campers struggle with stuff they never tried at home (and were missing a $2 dodad or some silly thing easily fixed at at home).

Austin

[Steve-o-bud]

I second the advice on not towing with water in the tank. We have a '98 Coleman Bayside. Unless properly loaded, i.e. not too much weight aft of the rear axle, the trailer will sway quite a bit. The tank on my trailer is aft of rear axel, the 160 pounds of water in the tank can make a real difference in the way the trailer handles.  This is serious, and can be quite scarry, or at worst, could cause loss of control.:yikes:
 
 
I did it once, and darn near wrecked, and will never, ever, do it again.