Water pressure regulator/tank fill valve mystery solved

[Richard Gideon]

On our recent visit with Ralph and Charolette in our 89FC35, Ralph and
I performed the obligatory 'walk around' of our coach. I opened the
utility hookup door, (street side rear) and Ralph immediately spotted
the non standard piece of garden hose added by a PO. Ralph's comment
was "get rid of that" as I tried to explain I was not the guilty party
responsible for this re-engineered method for filling the pure water
tank via a 1/2" hose protruding through a 1" hole bored through the
backside steel bulkhead of the utility compartment.

Now settled down after our South Texas travels, I'm doing preventive
maintenance on the bird, 3208 & ZF service, AD4 dyer rebuild, new D2
air governor.

We've had this 35FC 18 months now and that dangling piece of fill hose
has bugged us long enough...previous owner told me that's the only way
to fill the fresh water tank. Turns out, the first night we spent in
the coach when bringing it home from GA, the regulator /fill valve
leaked like a sieve (through the 2 small holes where you insert snap
ring pliers for service) and the first repair I made to the coach 18
mos ago was replacing that regulator assembly. This fixed the leak.

Previous owner related he did not ever hook to 'city water' but in lieu
always filled the tank through this stupid hose and like a dummy I've
continued to use the "hose thru the wall" instead of filling by
flipping the fill switch to energize the sporlan valve. Hose is gone
now and I plugged the hole with a chrome plug purchased at Lowe's.

My lesson here is simple; try to keep the original systems fully
operational when practical! This case of the water hose added to
bypass the factory regulator could have been avoided by merely doing
the preventive maintenance on the regulator and the city water function
as well as the electric fill function could have remained intact.

Ralph, thanks for helping us keep the Blue Bird systems working; also
thanks to all who contribute to the forum.

Dick Gideon
Freedom Bird
1989 35FC
Rolla, MO