Forum Discussion
opnspaces
Jul 10, 2014Navigator II
I would start by looking carefully at the screws holding the bottom on. Mine looked like phillips screws, but on closer inspection they were square drive with a phillips on top of that. I bought a little packet of screwdriver bits that included a square drive from Walmart.
You may not have to pull the whole cover down, just pull enough screws out that you can pull it down enough to work on it. On mine I had to unbolt the two rear stabilizer jacks. There was also a propane line to the water heater that was punched through the bottom cover on one of the edges. I just used a razor knife and made a straight slit from the hole for the pipe to the edge of the cover so I could slide the cover off without disconnecting the pipe.
Once you can see the valve and the tank you can tilt the trailer using the tongue jack or leveling boards to make any remaining contents in the black tank run away from the valve.
Open the valve to let the residual drain into a bucket for about 10 minutes and then crawl under with I believe a 3/8 inch wrench and socket and pull the four bolts from the valve.
Flex the drain pipe enough to remove the valve and slide the new valve in it's place. Replace the 4 bolts and button the bottom back up.
If the bolt holes in the bottom don't line up, try using a piece of plywood and a floor jack to lift the center of the cover up as they can sag in the middle and pull away from the bolt holes.
You may not have to pull the whole cover down, just pull enough screws out that you can pull it down enough to work on it. On mine I had to unbolt the two rear stabilizer jacks. There was also a propane line to the water heater that was punched through the bottom cover on one of the edges. I just used a razor knife and made a straight slit from the hole for the pipe to the edge of the cover so I could slide the cover off without disconnecting the pipe.
Once you can see the valve and the tank you can tilt the trailer using the tongue jack or leveling boards to make any remaining contents in the black tank run away from the valve.
Open the valve to let the residual drain into a bucket for about 10 minutes and then crawl under with I believe a 3/8 inch wrench and socket and pull the four bolts from the valve.
Flex the drain pipe enough to remove the valve and slide the new valve in it's place. Replace the 4 bolts and button the bottom back up.
If the bolt holes in the bottom don't line up, try using a piece of plywood and a floor jack to lift the center of the cover up as they can sag in the middle and pull away from the bolt holes.
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