I am personally not a fan of sites that are not full hook up. There are two campgrounds that do not have full hook up, but have either honey truck service or dump stations.At the last campground this weekend (which did not have full hookup), I actually used our plastic levelers and have the camper tilted towards the dump station's drain. I sat there till I didn't here anymore "waste" come out of either the tanks.When we got home, I typically empty the tanks into a 5 gallon bucket and for whatever reason, I got 10 gallons of "waste" out of the rig. Not sure how this could be possible since at the campground both tanks should of been emptied. Any thoughts? Or am I magically gaining water as I drive home? lol

Get a clear adapter for the end of your sewer pipe so you can see when the flow stops instead of listening for it.

Have you looked to see whioh side of the tank has the drain? My tanks on my TT have the drain on the rear side of the tank so jacking from side to side would only trap the "waste" on one side of the tank and not reach the drain. Its more effective is I use the tounge jack to raise the front to drain the tanks completely.

waste tanks are not very deep but are wide and long usually sloped from entry to exit. But the drain line comes out the side so there is a lip.Tilting the rig side to side is not necessary. Tilting front to back can help when dumping.Completely draining of tanks down to the last drop is not necessary. Fact is you should put some water back into waste tank especially black tank so bottom of tank stays wet.....that way 'stuff' left behind doesn't dry out and stick. Can be very hard and difficult to get that dried stuff out later on. Also with a wet bottom new stuff doesn't stick.I always flush 2 full toilet bowls after dumping/rinsing of black tank.Leaving a bit of water in tanks won't hurt.it'll help.So no need to do that bucket draining routine at home.

I leave the grey tank dry, but the black tank I will add about two gallons with some deodorant/odorizer to help the "smell". I will have to try using our tongue jack to help out.Our slide prevents me access to our bathroom, our old unit I would pull the hose thru a window and use a toilet wand to ensure it was clean. Unless I have a full hookup, I am at the mercy of the dumping station gods... lol

Our old camper didn't have a flush on it, new one does. I was amazed at how much "stuff" I was leaving behind simply by draining the tank. As said before, get a clear adapter. After having a camper with a black tank flush on it, I'll never have one without it.

Empyting black/grey tanks | Good Sam Community

19 Replies

Passin_Thru
Explorer
Jul 03, 2014
1st of all use logic. That is not a term for some fancy thing, Put 10 lb of ice in your tank everytime you dump it and add some water. Drive furiously for 10 min, thus sloshing the icecubes around and breaking down the solids in your blackwater tank. It's very cheep and will stop stink in it's tracks or whatever stink does. Use your toilet for what it was designed and if you want add 1/4 cup of Aqua chem to drains and toilet. I can guarantee this method will work having owned TTs for the past 28 years and using the exact same method.
MitchF150
Nomad
Jul 03, 2014
Just because the drain is on one side, that's not necessary where the outlet of the tanks are.. ;)

On my trailer the tanks are at the rear and the outlets on them are in the center of the tank, but are plumbed to go out the side of the trailer of course.

In my case, front to back level determines how much drains out.

My guess is you tilted to the drain side, but your tanks actually drain in the center, so it left some stuff on the sides..

Mitch
Mr__C
Explorer
Jul 03, 2014
I like the flush king...It's more expensive, but it's got the valve to do a backflush...
dadmomh
Explorer
Jul 03, 2014
Another ditto on the clear adapter. Usually available at Walmart, but you may have to check further depending on your store. Amazing that you think you're empty, but with the adapter, you can see all sorts of stuff still coming through. Also very helpful if you're trying to give the tank a really good cleaning....when the water runs clear, you should be pretty good. Around $20.
HappyKayakers
Explorer III
Jul 03, 2014
whiteeye42 wrote:
here watch this video http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27764441.cfm and it will explain a lot about dumping the tanks those clear adapters don't work in the video it explains why they don't work or if the link does not work you can go to the general rv'ing issues and look for the post which says it's back tank flushing tests in the clear RV black tank very good video

The clear adapters work just fine for seeing what's coming out of your tank. If you get one with the backflush attachment, that may be a waste of time/money depending on your pipe configuration. If all you're trying to do is dislodge something stuck at the valve it may work.
whiteeye42
Explorer
Jul 03, 2014
here watch this video http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27764441.cfm and it will explain a lot about dumping the tanks those clear adapters don't work in the video it explains why they don't work or if the link does not work you can go to the general rv'ing issues and look for the post which says it's back tank flushing tests in the clear RV black tank very good video
dtzackus
Explorer
Jul 03, 2014
When I get home, I typically add about a half gallon of water to all my drains for the grey tanks (outside kitchen, both sink drains, bathroom vanity and shower drain). Then I add about 4 gallons thru the toilet and let both tanks drain. I live out in the country, I have a sand mound and dump the waste into it. Then once all is drained, I add about 2 gallons to the black tank and add deodorizer to it. Mind you, I only have to do this after I camp where there is no full hookup.
GaryWT
Explorer
Jul 02, 2014
I am like you in that I like full hook ups. When making a reservation if they don't have a full hook up I do not camp there. Not sure why you dump into a bucket when you get home though. At the dump station did you add water after the first dump? Sometimes you get a clog and it seems empty but dumping more water gets the clog. I have the flush system but generally only use it once or twice a year.
Huntindog
Explorer
Jul 02, 2014
If you are going to use the tongue jack to promote drainage.. Know your TT. Placement of the tanks varies.
My TT has two black tanks, and two grey tanks.
Raising the tongue would help some of them drain and hurt the others. Lowering it would reverse the problem. I aim for a level TT when dumping.
skipnchar
Explorer
Jul 02, 2014
It SOUNDS like you have a habit of leaving tanks completely empty when the trailer is not in use. This promotes clogs and odors and clogs can prevent them from draining completely when trying to flush them out. AS soon as you dump it's time to set up the tanks for the next use. Regardless of how well you flush the tanks there are always solids remaining and letting them dry out makes them permanent. Good luck / Skip