Community Forums

ezdays · 05-20-2011, 10:42 AM

I have read some of the posts for this but still am puzzled. I have never used the "gravity fill" before when camping. I'm going to a state park that does not have any full hook-ups available but only electric sites. Since I do need water and have never used the gravity fill, do I just take one end of the hose and connect to the gravity fill connection, then put the other end in a bucket of water, then turn the water pump on and it will suck the water into the fresh water tank? Then when finished just turn water pump off and disconnect everything? I have a 2011 Jayco Swift SLX. Everything posted sounded so out of the way to get water. I sure don't want to ruin anything since the TT is brand new. Thanks.

Clay L · 05-20-2011, 10:47 AM

I have never seen one work like you said.
Usually you connect a hose to a faucet and then run water into the gravity fill opening from the hose.

lostagain · 05-20-2011, 10:49 AM

To fill your fresh water tank at the gravity fill you connect a hose up to your house or campground faucet then put the other end into the gravity fill location. Turn the water faucet on and wait until you see water coming out of the fresh water tank overflow under the RV.

ezdays · 05-20-2011, 11:45 AM

Do I turn the water pump on from inside my TT while it's filling up or after it's full? Only reason why I said what I did is from the Jayco manual but then again I could be reading it wrong. Thanks.

Coached · 05-20-2011, 12:16 PM

nope, no pump, just pour - as much as she'll hold ... gravity fill is also a great way to get a bleach / water solution into the tank for sanitizing ... we do this on a regular basis ... good luck

ezdays · 05-20-2011, 01:50 PM

No pump? The manual says after the water is full in the tank that it has to be pressurized which means turning the water pump on. After the water starts flowing quickly out of the hot and cold faucets and after the hot water tank fills up then the pump automatically turns off and then will turn on when there is a need for water -- whatever that means. My goodness, can they make this any harder for the new RV'er? I guess I'll never boondock!

Triker56 · 05-20-2011, 02:03 PM

Follow the manual after the tank is full.

336muffin · 05-20-2011, 04:36 PM

The gravity fill option can be water out of a bucket or a gallon jug or whatever, you just pour the water in, hence the name "gravity fill". Yes you can also run a water hose in it to fill it to capacity. The pump is used to pump the water to your faucets inside.

H. Miller · 05-21-2011, 05:20 AM

AND if as stated, "the vehicle is brand new" for safety sake you MUST sanitize the water tank. That procedure should be in the operators manual.

Rich and Cork · 05-21-2011, 08:19 AM

Here is a link to Camping World page for information and an attachment to a hose to fill the water tank:

Search - water fill - Camping World

When you say gravity fill, do you mean the telescopic fill on the upper right of the page? If so, the hose attachment would work for you.

CD · 05-21-2011, 10:50 AM

It's not a good idea to just put the end of a hose into the gravity fill. You should use the short attachment hose like shown in CW ad. That allows air to escape from tank and not over pressurize the tank. It also has a shut off on it. Much more convenient

Luckiest Dreamer · 05-22-2011, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezdays

No pump? The manual says after the water is full in the tank that it has to be pressurized which means turning the water pump on. After the water starts flowing quickly out of the hot and cold faucets and after the hot water tank fills up then the pump automatically turns off and then will turn on when there is a need for water -- whatever that means. My goodness, can they make this any harder for the new RV'er? I guess I'll never boondock!

It is not as hard as you seem to be making it! I suggest that you find someone that is famailar with the procedure to step you thru it the first time. The dealer that sold you the camper may be where you want to start if you cannot make friends with another camper owner.
Although the manul may say the pump will stop (and it should) I suggest that you may want to turn the pump on only when using it. The reason for that is it will continue to attempt to pump water if there is a leak or the tank is empty. That would soon ruin the pump as it may also pump water thru the leak into an area you do not want water.

Dutch Star Don · 05-22-2011, 11:10 AM

ezdays.....I'm guessing that you read about filling your tank by using your winterizing hose connection on your RV to suck water out of a bucket with your RV water pump. Others on here are talking about the way a gravity fill is used.

First.....There was a post recently where someone said they could use the winterizing connections built into their RV to suck water out of a bucket into your tank instead of anti-freeze. I've never had to winterize and I don't know if this will work on all systems. You would still have to carry the water in a bucket to your site, the same as if you're using the gravity fill opening.

Second...The gravity fill on most RV's is a half round looking cup with a cap on it. In the truest sense of using the gravity fill, you fill a five gallon water container and pour it into the gravity fill opening. You do this until the coach is full.

If your RV has a valve in your water hose bay that allows you to run on "CITY" water or "FILL" the tank, you would just connect an available hose and turn the valve to "FILL". If your RV doesn't have this, you would take the hose and place it in the gravity fill opening and fill it SLOWLY. On my previous RV's I took a one foot piece of hose, cut on one end and a female hose fitting on the other and connected it to my water hose so that it would fit/stay in the gravity fill opening.

We always carried about a 100' feet of water hose and camped with others with similar lengths of hose. If a campground placed water along the roadway every few sites, we could usually hook up enough hose to top off our tanks.

ezdays · 05-22-2011, 03:21 PM

Thanks everyone. I did find a nice camper next to me and he showed me what I needed. He also made me sanitize it. It's so great to have this thread for people like me just starting off. Plus such great people who camp and are willing to take time to help. Now I know why I enjoy camping so much. Again, thanks.