1984 Chieftain - Drain Fresh Water Tank Without Running Pump?

mojak · August 23, 2015, 06:20 PM

Hello everyone - I'm very excited to have joined the ranks with the purchase of an awesome 84 Chieftain 27' w/ 65,000 miles. So far so good as I get to know the beauty. After changing the oil and bleeding the brakes I took it up over the Tahoe pass from the San Francisco Bay Area to its permanent base in Reno and it did great. All internals (propane fridge, pump, control panel, AC etc...) seem to work fine except the heater and hot water, neither of which I have tested. very pumped to learn more and enjoy it!

Anyway, quick and simple question - being a strong adherent to the RTFM philosophy in other walks of life, I have only found references in the manual to draining the fresh water system by basically turning on the faucets and running the pump.

Is there a way to simply "unplug" the fresh water tank using a valve and let gravity do the work of draining the fresh water tank? If so, would somebody be able to explain how? Where does the water drain from if so?

I searched around but couldn't find an answer to this (admittedly embarrassingly simple) question. To be totally honest, after filling the tank using the regular (non-pressurized) water fill valve and testing the pump/faucets/toilet, I couldn't really figure out exactly where the tank is at all!

Thanks in advance.

DaveVA78Chieftain · August 23, 2015, 06:29 PM

My 78 has drain valves at the system low points. You pull up on the ring and the water drains out onto the ground under the rig. Look in the area of the water pump for a valve in the floor.

mojak · August 25, 2015, 07:37 PM

@DAVEVA78Chieftain Thanks to your reply and some other posts, I think I know where to look. Cheers!

dickcarl · September 16, 2015, 10:18 PM

If you can't find them, crawl under the rig on your back with a flashlight. You'll eventually see some little pipes pointing straight down out of the floor. There may be more than one -- my 32' actually has three points where you can drain the water from it.

mojak · November 11, 2015, 12:36 AM

Thanks for the responses. As a follow-up, turns out my '84 Chieftain has a single drain valve located at the low point next to the water pump, accessible from the rig interior behind a pop-off panel near the floor directly to the left of the refrigerator. The water drains directly to the ground from a small pipe located on the underside of the vehicle. The single pipe on my plumbing set-up means a gravity drain of the 40 gallon fresh water tank takes over an hour.

Rickf1985 · November 11, 2015, 10:30 AM

Mine has no drains at all, at least that is what it say's in the manual and I have never seen anything under there. I run the pump until it is dry and then I take the hose off of the outside hose bib and open the valve for that and it continues to drain for a while with all the faucets open. I open the drain on my water heater and open the safety valve on top to let air in and that drains that all out. Once I drain my waste tanks I leave the valves open so no water can collect in them and dump a little RV antifreeze in the shower drain and sink drains.

legomybago · November 11, 2015, 12:18 PM

Sounds like your outside hose bib is lower than the rest rick, that would be nice to have vs getting down on your hands and knees, removing a large heavy drawer, then reaching deep inside under the bed to reach the two pop up valves that are always down under the heater ducting by the water pump to drain the lines!

Bnova · November 11, 2015, 01:57 PM

Quote from: Rickf1985 on November 11, 2015, 10:30 AM
Mine has no drains at all, at least that is what it say's in the manual and I have never seen anything under there. I run the pump until it is dry and then I take the hose off of the outside hose bib and open the valve for that and it continues to drain for a while with all the faucets open. I open the drain on my water heater and open the safety valve on top to let air in and that drains that all out. Once I drain my waste tanks I leave the valves open so no water can collect in them and dump a little RV antifreeze in the shower drain and sink drains.

Rick, I've got a "1988 Winnebago/Itasca All" owners manual and all of the 1988 Chieftains have drains. What particular model is yours?

Rickf1985 · November 11, 2015, 03:57 PM

WCN31RT, Mine is absolutely smooth under the tank and everything else is basement storage bins. I just realized I have to uncover it and take it to state inspection this month so I will look again. Nothing froze last year and it went down to the minus numbers and stayed there for quite a while. It was below freezing for all of December through the first week of March so I am thinking I must have gotten all the water out.

Bnova · November 11, 2015, 04:18 PM

Well just in case you're curious about the drain locations of the 88 Chieftain 31RT, this book says 2 locations with the option for three: Beneath galley; beneath shower tub (behind access panel); beneath ice maker (optional). I'm actually curious.

M & J · November 11, 2015, 06:14 PM

When I want to drain our water tank quickly I remove the drain plug from the water heater and turn on the pump. Dumps 40 gallons quickly and also serves to help remove sediment from the water heater tank that should be done annually anyway. If we're heading home from a trip and not going back out for a while l'll open the tank drain (slow) and let it slosh around and drain, which helps remove sediment from the fresh water tank which should also be done annually.

Bnova · November 11, 2015, 06:18 PM

Quote from: M & J on November 11, 2015, 06:14 PM
When I want to drain our water tank quickly I remove the drain plug from the water heater and turn on the pump. Dumps 40 gallons quickly and also serves to help remove sediment from the water heater tank that should be done annually anyway. If we're heading home from a trip and not going back out for a while l'll open the tank drain (slow) and let it slosh around and drain, which helps remove sediment from the fresh water tank which should also be done annually.

Good ideas, thanks.

Rickf1985 · November 11, 2015, 08:21 PM

Quote from: Bnova on November 11, 2015, 04:18 PM
Well just in case you're curious about the drain locations of the 88 Chieftain 31RT, this book says 2 locations with the option for three: Beneath galley; beneath shower tub (behind access panel); beneath ice maker (optional). I'm actually curious.

There is nothing at all beneath the galley but a closet, no access to the shower except to the drain underneath. That my be the drain they are talking about for that location, the shower trap. And I do not have an ice maker. In the manual specifically for that unit it tells me that there are drains on models with the gravity fill tank but the pressure fill tank has no drains in the system. I will try to find that manual and scan it.

Bnova · November 11, 2015, 10:00 PM

Certainly there could be some changes from 88 to 89 also.

And do scan that manual if you can, I'm not sure I know what a pressure fill system is and would definitely enjoy looking at a schematic of the system.

Pressure fill, is that the same as the city water hookup?

DaveVA78Chieftain · November 11, 2015, 10:25 PM

Well on page 4-4 (pdf page 32) of the 1989 Operators manual it says for the 31RT:
Under the fridge and the water tank power drain (described on page 4-3 & 4-1)

Rickf1985 · November 12, 2015, 09:19 AM

That is what it says but try finding that drain. I will be back under there later.

beaverman · November 12, 2015, 11:06 AM

My 88 Superchief 31 has a drain at the back of the tank, the hose comes through the floor of the basement at the rear center about 8" in behind of the rear bumper, in order to actuate the valve you have to literally crawl into the drivers rear compartment and pull up on a pin, takes forever to gravity drain, will be changing that this winter and re route the hose so I can simply open the rear door and turn a 1/4 turn gate valve to drain, btw the way it's also a gravity fill, let us know what you find Rick !

Rickf1985 · November 12, 2015, 11:55 AM

Quote from: Bnova on November 11, 2015, 10:00 PM
Certainly there could be some changes from 88 to 89 also.

And do scan that manual if you can, I'm not sure I know what a pressure fill system is and would definitely enjoy looking at a schematic of the system.

Pressure fill, is that the same as the city water hookup?

Yes it is, but that is all there is. You hook up the hose and open the valve on the side of the tank and turn the water on. 55 gallons later it is running out of an overflow behind the entrance steps. There is no way to add water without a pressurized hose, it is sort of a pain when boondocking. I plan to reroute some of the plumbing so that the onboard pump will pump from a five gallon can or tank and directly into the holding tank so I can refill from a portable tank. Basically I will set it up for pumping in antifreeze and use it for both that and water.

legomybago · November 12, 2015, 12:39 PM

"There is no way to add water without a pressurized hose, it is sort of a pain when boondocking".

That's a bummer. No fresh water tank fill port outside of the rig? Lame

Bnova · November 12, 2015, 01:13 PM

Quote from: Rickf1985 on November 12, 2015, 11:55 AM
Yes it is, but that is all there is. You hook up the hose and open the valve on the side of the tank and turn the water on. 55 gallons later it is running out of an overflow behind the entrance steps. There is no way to add water without a pressurized hose, it is sort of a pain when boondocking. I plan to reroute some of the plumbing so that the onboard pump will pump from a five gallon can or tank and directly into the holding tank so I can refill from a portable tank. Basically I will set it up for pumping in antifreeze and use it for both that and water.

That sounds like a good plan.

HamRad Mobile · February 17, 2016, 11:35 PM

Good morning, Rick, et al;

Two things:

On the 1987 Winnebago Elandan WCP31RT, there are three (3) gravity drains for the low point drains, plus the cap to remove to drain the hot water heater. The low point drain under the shower is accessed by removing a thin plywood panel held on with four screws down at floor level. The other two low point drains are in the very back where the water pump is located under the left side or driver's side twin bed, along with the 54 gallon fresh water tank. These two drains are for the fresh water tank and the water pump. I could not see any way to get to those drains, but I could see the two drain tubes underneath the motor home at that point. It turns out that to get to them, you lift up the mattress for the bed, and there is an access hand hole in the 1/2 inch thick plywood base under the mattress. The Winnebago Owner's Manual was remarkably cryptic and somewhat incomplete in describing how to find them.

You have rain? So? May I remind you that there is a reason why God gave us Goretex. And, for us out here in the Pacific NorthWest with all of our grey clouds, we save a lot of money by not needing to buy sunblock. Consider the plight of the poor people in Southern California and Arizona and Florida and Hawaii.

Enjoy;

Ralph
Latte Land, Washington

Rickf1985 · February 18, 2016, 09:07 AM

I met and worked with the guy who developed Gore-tex. He worked for Dupont if I remember correctly. I was working at a printing shop where we did die cutting and I helped develop a system that would feed the Gore-tex roll material into the press to be cut for filters for military suits. I applied for a patent for that setup and the damn company I worked for got the patent! I got screwed!!! I quit shortly after that. I can remember the guys face and voice like it was yesterday but I cannot remember his name for the life of me.

87Itasca · February 18, 2016, 11:06 AM

Quote from: HamRad Mobile on February 17, 2016, 11:35 PM
Good morning, Rick, et al;

Two things:

On the 1987 Winnebago Elandan WCP31RT, there are three (3) gravity drains for the low point drains, plus the cap to remove to drain the hot water heater. The low point drain under the shower is accessed by removing a thin plywood panel held on with four screws down at floor level. The other two low point drains are in the very back where the water pump is located under the left side or driver's side twin bed, along with the 54 gallon fresh water tank. These two drains are for the fresh water tank and the water pump. I could not see any way to get to those drains, but I could see the two drain tubes underneath the motor home at that point. It turns out that to get to them, you lift up the mattress for the bed, and there is an access hand hole in the 1/2 inch thick plywood base under the mattress. The Winnebago Owner's Manual was remarkably cryptic and somewhat incomplete in describing how to find them.

Ralph
Latte Land, Washington

Thanks! I wondered what that ugly access panel by the shower was for. Just never took it apart to check.

legomybago · February 18, 2016, 12:25 PM

We have that same panel on our 86' Komfort, I've never looked behind it, I thought it was just to have access to the plumbing for the tub? I never thought of it to also be a low point drain access. Now I'll have to look.

BrianB · April 04, 2016, 10:13 PM

Rick,

Not sure of the layout of your 89 Chief 31, but my 86 has the sink/stove/fridge on the driver side. Sink is in front of you as you come in the entry door then the others as you head to the back.

So, under the stove, right next to the fridge, is an access cover where the furnace is. Take that off and you should see three water lines come up from inside the floor (from the tank right behind the entry door). They are "between" the furnace and the AC/DC power converter.

Then on mine (I have the Q model with queen bed) the shower is on passenger side right before the bedroom. Small access panel under the shower (you can look at it while on the throne) which should also have a couple drain valves in it.