Black Tank valve failure scenarios

Mine leaks now after a hundred miles. I have already had it in under warranty once and have an appointment to drop off the trailer on Monday for a second try. It is horrible. After we get to a campsite, I will go to connect the sewer and find that it has opened a little. I push it closed and then put a bucket under the cap to catch everything. I usually get a couple of inches in the bucket. Then connect the hose to the fitting. The worst part is there is no where to get rid of the "everything" so I have to dump it back into the toilet and make a couple of runs cleaning out the bucket. I am so sick of this that I am having them replace the valve and will be testing it as much as possible before our next trip.

Mine sprung a leak last season. The 30-year-old O-ring had finally had enough. It was a pretty significant leak that I had to hold back with the cap. Ultimately I had to release the flow by removing the cap in order to make a repair. It was not pretty, but I was prepared with gloves and kept as much distance as possible when I removed the cap. I hosed everything down into the dump station and did a complete dump and rinse. Replacing the valve wasn't hard or particularly unpleasant - it's kind of what you sign up for when you get an older RV.

My gray water valve failed when the handle pulled out of the gate, leaving the blade closed behind a full tank. Had that happened to the black tank I'd have a whole different story to tell.

A few years ago we were in Hot Springs, Ark and because it was the middle of summer it was hotter than Hades so we decided to stay at the KOA which offered not only electricity so we could run the A/C but also an inviting pool. We rarely camp on sites that also offer water and sewer but in this case it was full service, whether we wanted it or not. I also very rarely ever drain the tanks with a stinky slinky, instead normally use my FloJet waste macerator, but for whatever reason I decided to try it this time. We'd been on the road for quite awhile by that time, the tanks were getting full, the sewer inlet was right there so I thought "What the heck". BAD idea :S ... I no sooner hooked up and pulled the BW waste gate when "stuff" began back flowing out the connection and all over the ground ... yikes! :E :E We called park maintenance who immediately sent around a guy with a long snake ... turns out they'd been having serious problems just like this all over the park and he spent a couple of hours trying to unplug the line. Eventually he did and I was a Happy Camper again, 'though the lingering smell never really did go away ... and I never did see that pool!

We had a faulty valve which allowed about ten gallons of black water to spill into our campsite. I gloved-up and scraped the solids either into the sewer drain (no stick and gravel contaminants), or into a trash bag.

I sprayed the area with odor-eliminator spray that I had with me. I hosed the area down thoroughly and then sprayed it again.

I notified the office of the accident and the actions I had taken. They flowed with gratitude, and to my knowledge they never came around to check my work.

I have replaced valves during trips a couple of times. Ideal scenario is an empty tank, no breeze or wind, the usual nitrile gloves, and a dab of Vicks or etc. under the nose. Even a thoroughly flushed tank stinks, so just go to the work methodically. Doing it right the first time is MUCH BETTER than doing it quickly and twice.

Good idea ScottG. Some years ago, it took my dealer 3 tries to fix a leaky valve. It was a warranty repair, maybe they were billing Thor for every attempt.

Many years ago I bought a used TT that had a leaky valve. It would just trickle a bit and I found it during the first trip (of course).
It was very hot (Ks area) so I let the tank dry for a couple of weeks and then lifted the drivers side of the trailer so any fluids would run back towards the tank.
When I removed the old valve everything was dry and there really wasn't anything nasty. I just slid the old valve out and slid the new one in.
The key was letting everything dry out and tipping the trailer.