How much water do you REALLY have left? - Dutchmen Owners
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Old 04-14-2019, 01:08 AM   #1
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How much water do you REALLY have left?

We boondock in our 2015 Voltage 3800. The limiting factor on how many days we can last is water. We make our electric from solar, and go into the nearest town after 4 or 5 days to refill a propane tank. So how much water do we really have left?
- Our specs say we have a 160 gallon water tank
- I stuffed it full before we left
- We dry-camped for 8 days in the desert
- the 4-led idiot gauge was down to 1 red light (supposedly “empty”)
- when we returned today, I refilled the water to full - with a gallon meter gauge
- it only took 70 gallons
- that means I really had 90 GALLONS LEFT!
- bottom line - the 4 red idiot lights between E and F only measure the top half of the tank!
- someone PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong!
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Old 04-14-2019, 11:31 AM   #2
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Hard telling what they measure. If they measure anything at all.

I would completely empty the tank via the drain down valve, then use the meter to check the actual fill amount. Camp, then refill. I have a 41-gallon fresh tank, it will get us through a 3-day weekend if we are careful. We carry drinking water separately. They do make a proper gauge set, my preference would be the ones from SeeLevel. There are at least two others on the market that are similar, in that they actually work and indicate what is in the tank.

Aaron
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Old 04-14-2019, 05:41 PM   #3
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When our tanks are totally empty. One green lite is still lit. Always been that way. So, flip a coin


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Old 04-21-2019, 12:59 PM   #4
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I'd be interested in how much water you end up filling via your gauge. I had one trip where I topped off the tanks and I ran out of water a lot quicker than I expected.
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Old 04-21-2019, 01:23 PM   #5
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not any kind of genius but at 8 pounds a gallon, if your water tank is 160 gallons, that is 1280 pounds... alot of weight to haul around along with trailer weight, y 300 has a 60 gallon which is 480 pounds. might drain it and gauge how much water actually goes in, dont know what they were thinkign at the factory but my water tank drain is underneath mid way and had to crawl under it to uncap.. pure genius on Dutchman,, NOT..
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Old 04-21-2019, 01:33 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rich2481 View Post
not any kind of genius but at 8 pounds a gallon, if your water tank is 160 gallons, that is 1280 pounds... alot of weight to haul around along with trailer weight, y 300 has a 60 gallon which is 480 pounds. might drain it and gauge how much water actually goes in, dont know what they were thinkign at the factory but my water tank drain is underneath mid way and had to crawl under it to uncap.. pure genius on Dutchman,, NOT..

The drain is where it is because that's where it most likely comes out of the tank. No one says it can't be relocated for one's convenience.
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Old 04-21-2019, 03:11 PM   #7
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I actually have an extremely unreliable fresh gauge as well. 3 or 4 trips ago it showed empty after my first shower. I knew I had only used maybe 5 gallons but assumed I didn’t fill it correctly or somehow there was a leak. Supposed to be 100 gallons. For the rest of the weekend we stressed the entire time and after getting home I pulled the fresh drain valve and I would guess at least 50 gallons drained out if not more.

This is the first trailer I have ever had with a bad fresh gauge and none of my camping buddies have ever had this either. I am pretty sure it is another case of poor assembly by Dutchmen. I would almost guarantee that a wire is shorting or coming loose somewhere, which was also the case with my fuel tank gauge too. That was an easy but time consuming fix as I just disconnected all wire nuts and splices at the fuel tank and reconnected myself. Probably need to do that here as well but I have no idea where the connections are but guess somewhere on top of the fresh tank that would only be accessible if I dropped the tank—which I am not going to do and risk having the supports bend or break!
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Old 04-21-2019, 03:43 PM   #8
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Yea I bought a valve and hose extension for mine, I had to laugh though when the walk through the tech got on his knees and said "there it is"
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Old 04-21-2019, 06:50 PM   #9
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One of the determining factors with me getting the voltage was the water capacity. We were deciding between a fuzion, 106 gallons, and voltage and the fact that we could camp longer with water was it. With a 20k rig, the 100lbs of water is not an issue. My gauge with the in command system seems to be pretty accurate. When the gauge was on the last indicator, I still dump a lot of water.
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Old 05-13-2019, 03:21 AM   #10
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5th wheel

The fifth wheel in my TV has the main latch that is showing some wear,, would it be safe to build that up with weld. My concern is the heat
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