Filling on board water tank

[peruvian]

I've had my '89 Westy for about 7 years now and every summer I just put up with the hassle of filling the on-board water tank. I use a length of hose with the male end cut off so it fits in the fill connection. It seems that the fill hose from the side of the van to the tank must simultaneously let in water, while letting out the air from the tank. As a result, half the water runs down the side of the van to allow this 'burping' to take place.

I could unscrew the cap under the well, but the well is usually filled with pots/pans/etc and seems rather inefficient. I've even tried sticking a chop stick into the fill hole to push the rubber gasket aside for better 'breathing' with only minor success.

Other than fill it real slow, has anyone come up with a better solution?

[HerrBGone]

I’ve yet to fill Thunder’s water tank, but his PO said he used to remove the hatch that’s normally used to clean the tank and fill through there. That means emptying the locker the hatch is in. But it may be less hassle than you’re having now trying to fill through the hookup in the side of the van. And the opening should be big enough that you can actually see how much water is in the tank.
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HerrBGone
(AKA: Dave)

A fellow wanderer on the road less traveled

Fritz, '71 Superbeetle
Galileo, '98 New Beetle
Thunder, '85 Vanagon Westfalia (full camper)

[peruvian]

[mog555]

I just used it this past weekend, and had no real issues using the hose at the campground. It did have a male end on it and I just held it up to the opening but keeping the bottom part of the hose above the filler hole and letting breath out the top.

As for th level indicator, mine is an 83 but the tank has 4 electrodes in it and as the water reaches the second the red light turns on up to the green third light, no floats involved. If it is the same as mine, a multimeter should be able to find your short easily. I had a bad connection at the very bottom with it reattached, it's work great since.
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10 Patriot
82 Westy (I-4 Digi II)

[msinabottle]

I spilled water all over the place filling his water tank, but the solution should be pretty simple--I'm going down to Ace to get a hose end fitting, the kind that clamps onto the hose, get a length of hose or a quick connector male end--and attach at the other end a short length of smaller hose, say, 1/2" inner diameter, and stick that down well into the filler neck.

I might have to turn down the water pressure a bit, and I think I'll put in a cut-off valve in the assembly, so I can turn the water off with one finger--but that should allow air to vent up and out, although I think there's a valve or tube in the fillter throat for that--and spill less water while filling him. It'd be nice to get a fitting with an auto-stop float ball in it, but it's not really necessary.

VW suggests not filling the tank until you're ready to camp, just to save weight and gas. I'll send along a picture of the gadget when I've made it.

Best!

[jaunck]

I just hold the cover open and point the hose at the hole. It fills up well enough. If I'm away on a trip, I have a filler funnel purchased from Kragen that is the perfect size to put into the filler hole. It wedges in place well enough and it holds the cover open. That combined with a one gallon water water jug lets me get water from a tap to the tank without any spillage. We seem to use 4-6 gallons per day andI make sure to dump that much in before we get parked so I don't have to walk so far!

[peruvian]

[msinabottle]

I went out to Winston and looked. There's just a plastic hose running from the connector on the body panel down to the tank, no cross piece or obstruction besides the little locking cap. The bleep gadget I've desribed should work as I'm planning.

Best!

The censorship software must be the product of modern education. The word above 'bleeped' was p u t a t i v e, meaning, 'under consideration.'

Sheeze

[r39o]

I had my tank out of the van. Seems it may have an air bleed hose, but I am not sure. I'll have to go look. I don't think they would have done it so you could not fill it. My van has two water connections. Tank fill and external water. To fill the tank you stick a hose in. To run off city water you use a hose with a fitting and a pressure reducer (Walmart.)

Am I missing something?

BTW: I asked before about why there one of the external connections is down low on a Canuck Westy. Is this part of the story? I just don't know why the Canadian and US Westy is different in that respect.

Anyone?
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[Wellington]

On a Canadian Westy the power cord is permanently wired in and must be pulled out through the door. On U.S. models the power cord is like an extension cord. In the camp ground I have noticed this to be true on all Canadian R.V. equipment, must be something to do with CSA.