Water Pump Operation Issues?--Newbie

[pdavila]

We just picked up our FFX 189FBS. The water pressure seems low and sputters as if air is getting in. Here's what I did to try to figure out what is going on:
SITUATION #1
--Turned the bypass valve for the winterization tube (clear plastic tube used to put in anti-freeze) over to the bypass setting briefly to see how that affects the pressure. As expected, water to the pump stops because it is now trying to get supply from the little tube.
--Switched it back over and let it run with water to get air out of system.
--Water pressure still low and sputtery.
--While water and pump running, put thumb over end of winterization tube. This caused the water pressure to improve greatly and stop sputtering. That tells me the little bypass valve must be faulty(not fully closing off).
--So, is it easy to just replace this little valve, or since the camper is brand new, should I have the service dept. do it?

SITUATION #2
--Water pump seemed to act as if water tank was getting empty-even with the sputtering problem listed above-but the tank fill indicator showed 2/3rds to 1/2 full.
--Looking at the water "basket" (clear cap on inlet line with a strainer in it), it would fill up almost all the way, but then drain back to be empty. When the tank is full, that basket fills up and the pump stops, having reached 40 psi.
--Is this an issue of where the tube is sitting in the fresh water tank, and if so, is that an easy fix?

New to all this, I need help!!

[profdant139]

If this is new, the dealer will take care of it -- are you far from the dealer??

[pdavila]

Luckily, the dealer is fairly close by. I am hoping to understand the system better, though, and to see if others have had similar issues and what the fix was for it.

[profdant139]

Well, here is what happened with my system -- I think that igt may not be your pump but rather the pickup end of the intake line, coupled with the tilt of the tank. I discovered that I could only get 20 gal out of my 30 gal tank --- the pump would run dry but there was plenty of water in the tank.

I took it to the dealer and suggested that they move the end of the pickup to the deepest part of the tank. Instead, they installed a new drain point at the deepest part of the tank's belly, plugging up the old one. And then they ran a new pickup line from that new drain point to the pump.

So now I get a full 30 gal before the pump runs dry.

I also tilted the tank a bit, on my own. The water tank on my trailer rests on two crossbars, which support the forward and rear top edges of the tank. I milled a piece of lumber, roughly 1 inch by 1.5 inch, and placed it under the forward edge of the tank, between the tank edge and the forward crossbar.

Now, the tank tilts slightly toward the back, draining better toward that new drain point.

I secured both the front and back edges of the tank to the crossbars with 4 inch C clamps. Under the top edge of the clamps I put a thin, long piece of angled steel bracket, so that the clamp pad would not dig into the plastic of the tank.

The purpose of the clamps is to hold the tank in place -- I do a lot of rough road towing in the national forests, and it can get very bumpy, even though I go slowly.

Finally, I added a thin piece of steel bar under the tank, screwed to the side frames, and also added some plumbing straps running fore and aft under the tank. Again, the purpose is for more support on those dirt roads.

Probably a longer explanation than you wanted, but there it is. Good luck!

[pdavila]

Thanks profdant139! That's good information to have. I'll definitely have the dealer look into that as a possible fix. I also like the idea of more securely holding the tank to the trailer; might have to rig up something similar.