new owner water tank questions

[norver]

I'm sure this has been beat to death here but I been reading about emptying black and grey water tanks and sometimes they say fill them 3/4 full or full etc. How do you tell how full they are? I don't see any gauges. BTW I have an '05 38ft Jayco Designer. Any advice is welcome as I have no experience w/RV's
Cheers,
Warren

[Doug]

You should have gauges somewhere on a control panel.
Otherwise, look down into toilet, you will see when black tank is near full.
Grey tank will back up into shower.

[norver]

I looked for gauges and didn't see any. My wife was doing dishes the other day and said the drain was clogged and the water wouldn't go down. I went out and pulled the black tank handle first then the two grey tanks and that fixed that anyway. I'd still like to have some gauges so it's not hit or miss guess-work thing

[JFlightRisk]

There won't be gauges, like we're used to, but there will be indicator lights on the monitor panel. Just press the area under the corresponding tank, and if your sensors are working, the red lights will light up. Not extremely accurate, but better than none at all.

[norver]

Well I looked and I have no lights, no gauges, etc. All I have there is a diagram on how to turn certain valves for city water etc. I can't believe a manufacturer would not make a more precise system for something that important. I can't believe the epa etc would let them put something in the public's hands with such a potential hazard for spillage.

[steveb285rks]

Originally Posted by norver

Well I looked and I have no lights, no gauges, etc. All I have there is a diagram on how to turn certain valves for city water etc. I can't believe a manufacturer would not make a more precise system for something that important. I can't believe the epa etc would let them put something in the public's hands with such a potential hazard for spillage.

Look around inside your camper.

[dewey02]

Originally Posted by norver

Well I looked and I have no lights, no gauges, etc. All I have there is a diagram on how to turn certain valves for city water etc. I can't believe a manufacturer would not make a more precise system for something that important. I can't believe the epa etc would let them put something in the public's hands with such a potential hazard for spillage.

It will be wherever your water pump switch is located.
I googled your model and year and found this photo.
It shows the indicator lights are in this closet right beside the entry door.

[norver]

Thank you so very much. Now everything is making sense. When I push fresh water it says empty. Blaack water says 2/3 full as do both grey water tanks. So should I empty it now pulling the blackwater lever first, then the grey water levers next?

[kayakterp]

It really depends on preference and how long your trailer will be in that spot.
Also depends if you are at a "Full-hookup"?
If you're leaving soon you might want to wait because the black water flushes out better (IMHO) with more liquid in it. Also nice to have alot of grey water to wash out the drain hose.

[sennister]

I agree it depends on how much longer before you leave. You want the black pretty full when you dump.

Also note that the sensors very commonly fail so don't place 100% trust in them. All it takes is a bit of toilet paper up against a sensor and they go haywire. Looking down the toilet when flushing works better but it takes time to figure it out with a new camper.

You are right that you want to dump black first. Then dump grey to rinse out your hose.

[Witt74]

After a while, you will get a feeling on when to dump your tanks. The tank sensors are notoriously inaccurate, as trash and debris affect their readings. I usually camp with full hookups. I can go 5-7 days without dumping. I dump the black water, flush the tank, then dump the kitchen grey water, flush the tank, dump the shower water, and flush the tank. I then put about 5-8 gallons of water back in each tank, along with the tank treatment/deodorizer.