Sonic by Venture 190

BarneyS wrote:
You can hook up the hose anytime before you dump. Waiting until you are ready to leave prevents anybody stepping on it or a campground employee cutting grass with a weed wacker from cutting slices in it.

When finished dumping and ready to go home, I usually put three complete commode bowls full of water in the tank along with some laundry detergent. This does two things. 1. Keeps any solids left in there (and there will always be some left unless you spray the inside of the tank) from hardening into concrete, and 2. Is enough to cover the bottom of the tank and allow the detergent to splash around while travelling and help clean the tank and sensors. It stays in there until the next time we dump the tanks.
Never store your trailer with dry tanks. Doing that will allow anything in there to dry and harden and will also allow the seals to dry out.

I have followed this routine for many years and have never found the need to use any toilet chemicals except if we were going to store the trailer for an extended period of time (month or more). Just make sure to use plenty of water for every flush. Put some extra in the bowel before using the toilet.
Barney

Barney, thank you so much for clarifying the amount of water to leave in the tank and also to not hook up the sewer pipe till leaving the park. So I guess you leave your city water hooked up till after you are through dumping the tanks and flushing them out. Thanks again for answering a new owners questions. It is very much appreciated.

You can hook up the hose anytime before you dump. Waiting until you are ready to leave prevents anybody stepping on it or a campground employee cutting grass with a weed wacker from cutting slices in it.

When finished dumping and ready to go home, I usually put three complete commode bowls full of water in the tank along with some laundry detergent. This does two things. 1. Keeps any solids left in there (and there will always be some left unless you spray the inside of the tank) from hardening into concrete, and 2. Is enough to cover the bottom of the tank and allow the detergent to splash around while travelling and help clean the tank and sensors. It stays in there until the next time we dump the tanks.
Never store your trailer with dry tanks. Doing that will allow anything in there to dry and harden and will also allow the seals to dry out.

I have followed this routine for many years and have never found the need to use any toilet chemicals except if we were going to store the trailer for an extended period of time (month or more). Just make sure to use plenty of water for every flush. Put some extra in the bowel before using the toilet.
Barney

Also if you are not going to dump the tanks till you are ready to leave, why hook up the sewer hose when you arrive?

EA Williams wrote:
As long as they're hooked up when you dump(the TT) it doesn't really matter lol. You only make that mistake once. Keep the grey tank valve closed and dump it after the black. Cleans it out. I add chemicals and a few gallons of water before the toilet is put in use and after each dumping(of the tank) This explanation should have been part of the delivery process, especially for a newbie. Dealer?

Thank you for your reply.

mtnbbud wrote:
Put the chemical in the toilet right away with enough water to cover the bottom of the tank.

Don't drain the tanks until you're ready to leave. You can hook up the drain hose, but don't open the valves until you're all done using the facilities on that last day. Drain the black water first and then the gray water to help flush the black water. I like to do some serious flushing of the black water tank afterwards if the hookup is at the site to try and get it as clean in there as possible. After you're done, leave some water and chemical in the tank.

I'm learning myself, I'm on about a year and a half of using a trailer. My family is really enjoying it. It took me a trip or two to realize to fill the bowl with some water first before a BM.

How much water would that be to cover the bottom of the tank? Also the water and chemical you put in the tank after you are finished flushing the tanks does that stay in there till your next trip or should the tanks be dry when you are storing it? Thanks for your reply.

Put the chemical in the toilet right away with enough water to cover the bottom of the tank.

Don't drain the tanks until you're ready to leave. You can hook up the drain hose, but don't open the valves until you're all done using the facilities on that last day. Drain the black water first and then the gray water to help flush the black water. I like to do some serious flushing of the black water tank afterwards if the hookup is at the site to try and get it as clean in there as possible. After you're done, leave some water and chemical in the tank.

I'm learning myself, I'm on about a year and a half of using a trailer. My family is really enjoying it. It took me a trip or two to realize to fill the bowl with some water first before a BM.

As long as they're hooked up when you dump(the TT) it doesn't really matter lol. You only make that mistake once. Keep the grey tank valve closed and dump it after the black. Cleans it out. I add chemicals and a few gallons of water before the toilet is put in use and after each dumping(of the tank) This explanation should have been part of the delivery process, especially for a newbie. Dealer?

I'm a little confused on when to hook up the drain hose to the sewer. One video shows hooking it up when you arrive and leaving the gray tank valve open. and one shows hooking it up right before you leave and opening the black tank valve first and then the gray valve to clean out the sewer hose. Also when do you put the chemical in the toilet? Thanks for any help you can offer about this.

Congratulations!

The Sonic was on my list, in addition to the Rpod and Aliner Expedition. I just have a thing for the lower profile towing of the pop-ups and went with the Aliner.

BarneyS wrote:

tex wardfan wrote:
I was wondering what you experienced rvers think about the extended warrantys? The one they offered was 1600 dollars to extend it to 5 years. Is it worth it or not?

Keep your money! Put into an RV savings account and use that if/when you need any out of warranty repairs. Chances are you will not need to touch it. Those things are a cash cow for the dealers and a wallet lightener for an owner in most cases. Plus, usually they have so many "wiggle room" phrases in them that most things are not covered when the time comes to get something repaired. This is all in my opinion/experience, as I fell for the sales pitch many years ago.
Barney

Barney, thank you so much for your reply. We did not buy the insurance thinking it would not be necessary. Your reply validated our choice. Thanks again.