320 RLDS Black Tank Questions (2009)

[bananney]

I am new to this black tank thing. We know to keep the gray tank closed and empty the black tank first. The problem is that the black tank never wants to completely empty. We have used the pills and lots of water in addition to a hose from the outside to clean it. Should it be this difficult? The gauge will move from FULL to 2/3 FULL or 1/3 FULL but not to EMPTY without a lot of extra effort (like using the outside water hose). Any suggestions?

[jeeperx2]

Welcome to the site!

Is it really not empty?? thats the problem I Usually have , Its normally empty but my monitor always says different! from what I have read the tank monitor system they use is not the highest of quality or accuracy.

[clutch]

Black tank monitors rarely work after your first time out. When you dump you might try driving the trailer up of some wood or linex blocks to get the one side of the trailer a little higher. Most dump stations do not slope toward the drain.

[Terry]

Hey Bananney- welcome to the forum. If you get a chance, come on over to the new member forum and introduce yourself.

Hate our first conversation is about black tanks..lol...

Yep...pretty much and camper you get is going to have the same kind of sensors on the tanks and they are not very accurate. When they get splashed with water or have tp stuck to them, they don't work well.

I do a couple of things - if I am on full hook ups, I just fill my black tank again to give it another good rinse. They make a device called a Johnny Chauk that will hold the toilet open..I gotta get one of those! I also installed a Tank Tornado - it is amazing what it gets out even after you think it is clean! I got a small clear coupler so I can see it - yeah kind of gross sounding, but necessary.

If you don't think it is empty, you can crawl under and tap on the tank and it should be obvious if it has that hollow sound.

Don't be too concerned though about the whole black tank thing overall. It is really not bad and you will be a pro in no time.

[rodro123]

Originally Posted by bananney

I am new to this black tank thing. We know to keep the gray tank closed and empty the black tank first. The problem is that the black tank never wants to completely empty. We have used the pills and lots of water in addition to a hose from the outside to clean it. Should it be this difficult? The gauge will move from FULL to 2/3 FULL or 1/3 FULL but not to EMPTY without a lot of extra effort (like using the outside water hose). Any suggestions?

Well if it has truly not unloading all you could take a flash light and look down the toilet and see if you see any water inside if not its just the gauge thats misreading.

I have the 2011 of your TT, my black tank is 37gals when full. We get normaly 5 full nights and never fill the tank but I do keep flushing to fill the tank before dumping and I use the black tank sprayer for 5 full mins after I think the black tank is empty then I do the gray tank. I spent 20 mins at the dump site.

[cekkk]

I've got the same unit. Give it a month or two. It will show 3/4 full after you dump and flush using the outside flushing system. The gauges get gunked up. Not meaning to get nasty, but look at the stuff that sticks to your home toilet. It can be hard to get off when you actually scrub it directly with a bowl brush after it dries. So it's understandable that the inside of these black tanks are probably not very pretty no matter what we do to clean them.

[Seann45]

Blackwater gauges.. a waste of time having them in the RV. When I go to a dump station I always put a couple of 2bys under the passenger side tires to lift that side and help with a full dump.. it does make a difference getting everything out

[RustyFairmount]

Originally Posted by Seann45

Blackwater gauges.. a waste of time having them in the RV. When I go to a dump station I always put a couple of 2bys under the passenger side tires to lift that side and help with a full dump.. it does make a difference getting everything out

I'm having a similar problem with the black tank on my brand new X23b. I believe it's because the tongue height is slightly high, and the black drain (and sensors) are on the front of the tank. When I dump, the tanks read empty, but as soon as I decouple and level the trailer, it says the black tank is 1/3 full.

I cannot lower the tongue of the trailer. So...I plan on the next trip to drive the camper up onto boards so that the rear is slightly higher than front. We'll see what happens in 2 weeks.