plugged tank

[stans02]

I go to drain my waste tanks, at the camp dump sight. very little comes out. I suspect a plug. I see the end cap has a hose fitting. Problem no connection. I hold the fresh water hose to the opening, while opening the large tank valve. That does no good, except I got a shower from the poor connection. I came home with all tanks full. I will make a better connection on the end cap drain pipe fitting, while opening each tank valve. Now how will I know the plug is cleared? I guess I can drive to the dump station to see what happens, or dig a hole in the dirt at home and see if I get a flow, then to the dump station near me. Have you ever had this happen? Stan

[oldmanAZ]

Your grey tank drains without a problem, doesn't it? You said that you came home with "... all tanks full ..." makes it sound like the grey tank isn't draining either.

I'm assuming that it is only your BLACK tank that has a problem. It's hard to know what's going on in your tank, but odds are it's one of two things: A tower of 'poo' and paper has built up below your toilet or a mass of 'poo' and paper is plugging the tank's outlet.

Sometimes, if you are lucky, sloshing liquids in the black tank as you drive down the road will breakup solid masses. You'll have to try dumping again to know if that happened. Sometimes pouring hot water down your toilet may break up masses of 'poo' and paper.

Trying to force water up, into your tanks with the hose connect on the sewer cap is usually not successful unless you have a very straight run. You also need to worry about contaminating whatever hose you connect to the sewer system.

You may need a 'wand' that connects to a water hose and then is inserted down through your toilet. Water pressure can then be used to breakup the clogs.

I'd suggest as a first step would be to get a clear sewer hose adapter that you connect between your sewer hose and your waste outlet connection. This allows you to see what is flowing through your sewer connection. Not pleasant, but it provides you with important about what is, or is not, flowing out of your tanks.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

We had the black tank get plugged on our 2007 Jayco 232 hybrid on one of the first trips out. What we found was the piece of the tank they drilled with a hole saw had fallen into the tank and was left in there. We could see it floating when looking into the toilet. We eventually got it emptied and flushed out at home and took it to the service department for a repair. They were thankful we had not gone #2 in there!

[Brownie]

I second AZ's recommendation of a clear fitting on the dump hose. I have a 45* that works well for me. That way, you can see what's coming out (ie., your paper isn't breaking down), or if the flow stops suddenly before the tank is empty. I use to have a problem with TP plugs, too; before I switched to RV Toilet Paper. It's not as soft as Charmin, but it sure breaks down faster. And be sure you use a black water tank treatment. It not only breaks down "stuff" faster, but also helps minimize odor.

To take care of your current problem, make sure your black tank valve is closed, drop a triple dose of tank treatment into the tank through the toilet (or a household dose of Rid-X), and let it sit overnight. Next day, drive to your nearest dump site, remove your cap, install the clear fitting and hose, open the valve and see what happens. Chances are good that the chemical and the sloshing around that occurs during your drive to the dumpsite will clear the plug. You might also try "rocking" your trailer 10-20 times, by pushing against the sidewall.

If that fails, you can call an RV sewer dump company that can "suck" out most plugs. Don't know what they charge; but at this point, does it really matter?

To prevent future plugs, use only RV paper and plenty of black tank treatment. Dump your tank when it's at least 3/4 full. And use your blank tank flush (or wand-style rinser) every time you dump!

That's just my 2c worth. Hope it helps.