Black tank odor

[rooney77]

So I bought a new to me Minnie Winnie DL 29WU yesterday (it's an upgrade from our slide in Lance)and the drive home was horrible. The previous owner apparently didn't use any chemicals to help with odor and seems like every slosh of the tank (yes the gray and black tanks still are over half full :M)filled the whole thing with terrible smells.

I plan to dump the tanks today but is this a problem typical to motorhomes? I never noticed any odors in the truck camper.


Sorry if it's a noob question but the Lance is my only RV experience.

Also, when I filled it with fuel the next few miles the whole interior reeked of gasoline and I couldn't find any visible leaks. I don't know if there's a valve or something I was supposed to shut of on the genset or something. Any ideas where to begin diagnosing that issue?

[rooney77]

Mich F wrote:
Check the drain lines from your sinks for those valves. 😉

I looked all around yesterday and didn't see them anywhere near the sinks. Just the one in the nightstand behind the toilet (for the shower drain). Of course the galley sink has to have all the drawers pulled out just to see anything in there. But now I have drawings from Winnebago confirming where they should be so I'll check again.

[Mich_F]

Check the drain lines from your sinks for those valves. 😉

[rooney77]

Mich F wrote:

rooney77 wrote:


I was going to see if cleaning all the crappy caulk off and tightening things would button it back up and then re-caulk it.

Can't tell too much about the vent until I get the cover off of it.

I would suggest totally cleaning the roof and skylight of all caulk and putting on fresh caulk. Otherwise there could be a problem with the old sealant and new caulking sealing properly, since you don't know what's been used before. After removing all the caulk, it's not that big a deal to remove the skylight to look for any issues in the opening.
As for the black tank vent you shouldn't see much after removing the vent cover, since all it does is cover and seal the whole in the roof, where the vent pipe protrudes, which naturally could be a source of any ceiling leak. I'd suggest cleaning the roof area around the vent pipe also and installing a new vent cover - they're cheap enough to just install a new one.

The vent I was referring to is the roof vent with the fan in it. All my flip up vents have AE covers over them. But yes, I'll be inspecting both roof vents for both leaks and to be sure they aren't clogged somehow as well. And I've been looking over the plumbing diagrams and parts lists to find the locations of the 3 air admittance valves. I'll need to pull one to take with me to be sure I get the right size.

As disheartened as I feel about this, I can't even sell the thing like it is. I don't know what the dealer did but it didn't smell like this when I looked at it. And I really don't want to sell it either. I hate getting beaten by something.

[Mich_F]

rooney77 wrote:


I was going to see if cleaning all the crappy caulk off and tightening things would button it back up and then re-caulk it.

Can't tell too much about the vent until I get the cover off of it.

I would suggest totally cleaning the roof and skylight of all caulk and putting on fresh caulk. Otherwise there could be a problem with the old sealant and new caulking sealing properly, since you don't know what's been used before. After removing all the caulk, it's not that big a deal to remove the skylight to look for any issues in the opening.
As for the black tank vent you shouldn't see much after removing the vent cover, since all it does is cover and seal the whole in the roof, where the vent pipe protrudes, which naturally could be a source of any ceiling leak. I'd suggest cleaning the roof area around the vent pipe also and installing a new vent cover - they're cheap enough to just install a new one.

[rooney77]

Mich F wrote:

rooney77 wrote:
I got on the roof at lunch and it looks like an abominable snowman sneezed all over the joints and seams. 😞

Guess I'll pick up a few tubes of self-leveling, grab a scraper and get started. You can see where the bubble over the tub is loose so I'm assuming that's the source of the leak but the caulking definitely needs attention.

Assuming your your roof skylight also has an "inner" skylight, I'd suggest removing that inner one, to get a better idea of what's going on around your roof skylight opening.
My newer Itasca had a leaking shower skylight from the time it was new. It was resealed 2 or 3 times and still leaked. We finally had to remove it, totally clean off the roof and skylight, reinstalled and resealed it, and it hasn't leaked since.

I think it does have an outer and inner. And the edge closet to the rear of the RV is loose on both inner and outer. I was going to see if cleaning all the crappy caulk off and tightening things would button it back up and then re-caulk it.

Can't tell too much about the vent until I get the cover off of it.

[rooney77]

ron.dittmer wrote:
I hope your odor is not related to the found water leak. That could require a much more involved solution.

I was hoping it was leak related and that the spray down with bleach and vinegar would cure it. Mainly because I hate dealing with plumbing issues. Either way, I'm getting pretty disheartened with the whole thing over this. There's no way the wife or I would be happy using the RV with the odor and definitely no way we'd bring our 1 month old into that kinda environment.

[Mich_F]

ron.dittmer wrote:
It's just what my wife and I practice. That is "just us". I am sure there will be a time where one of us just can't wait for a public toilet, but that day has not happened yet in the 7 years we've owned the rig.

My family has done the same in every RV we've owned over the years. (At least I think we have). :B

[Mich_F]

rooney77 wrote:
I got on the roof at lunch and it looks like an abominable snowman sneezed all over the joints and seams. 😞

Guess I'll pick up a few tubes of self-leveling, grab a scraper and get started. You can see where the bubble over the tub is loose so I'm assuming that's the source of the leak but the caulking definitely needs attention.

Assuming your your roof skylight also has an "inner" skylight, I'd suggest removing that inner one, to get a better idea of what's going on around your roof skylight opening.
My newer Itasca had a leaking shower skylight from the time it was new. It was resealed 2 or 3 times and still leaked. We finally had to remove it, totally clean off the roof and skylight, reinstalled and resealed it, and it hasn't leaked since.

[ron_dittmer]

rooney77 wrote:
I have to able to #2 in it, with crohns, the toilet has been the biggest selling point and most commonly used room for me. 😄

I do not suggest RVers avoid doing #2. It's just what my wife and I practice. That is "just us". I am sure there will be a time where one of us just can't wait for a public toilet, but that day has not happened yet in the 7 years we've owned the rig.

Please do what works for you. Our adult son has Crohn's so we know what you deal with.

I have heard of people installing a kitchen sink sprayer next to the toilet, used to hand rinse the toilet bowl better than it can do on it's own. That seems a handy feature.

I hope your odor is not related to the found water leak. That could require a much more involved solution.

[rooney77]

I got on the roof at lunch and it looks like an abominable snowman sneezed all over the joints and seams. 😞

Guess I'll pick up a few tubes of self-leveling, grab a scraper and get started. You can see where the bubble over the tub is loose so I'm assuming that's the source of the leak but the caulking definitely needs attention. Man I hate being up there.

Wish I could get eternabond locally.

As for the mildew/mold or whatever, I can't do much besides clean the panel. There's no taking it down to inspect behind it, unless I want to start taking out the bathroom walls. So I grabbed some vinegar and bleach and I'm gonna give that a go.

The air admittance things, I only found one. Looking at the plumbing diagrams there should be one for the fresh water tank as well but I can't for the life of me locate it. Anyone have any ideas?

[garyhaupt]

rooney77 wrote:


Edit: FYI, I have to able to #2 in it, with crohns, the toilet has been the biggest selling point and most commonly used room for me. 😄

My partner has this as well and yep, the bathroom is a blessing.


Gary Haupt

[garyhaupt]

I would not expect to find an aluminum frame on a Minnie Winnie. However, one step at a time, eh. If the leak has been been the skylight, with luck, the water has not migrated but rather just dropped straight down. Start with getting the leak found and repaired.


Gary Haupt

[rooney77]

Just went to look again and confirmed there's a leak either from the skylight over the tub or the vent, or both. Hoping mildew is the source of the smell. I'd rather deal with that any day. Gonna grab some bleach and vinegar tomorrow and clean it then try to find and repair the leak.

So can anyone confirm whether or not the structure is aluminum or wood? The dealer said aluminum but we know how honest they can be.

[louiskathy]

here are 2 ways .... from previous posts

Ok guys this came directly from the Fleetwood factory and it works.

Mix distilled water 50% with plain old household bleach, spray it on the stained area, let it sit for maybe 1 minute them blot with a absorbent towel. 75% to 80% of the water stains will come out with the first blotting. Repeat the process again and more will come out I had to do it three and four times to get it all. Don't saturate it just fog it.

Next fill your spray bottle with just distilled water and do the spray and blot routine a couple of times to rinse out the bleach.

Finally, mix 50% white vinegar and distilled water and spray it again and blot then just fog it and leave to dry.

One other thing, be sure you wear a mask as the over spray of bleach is real tough to take and the vinegar ain't much better.

If you want to see some B4 and after photos go to picasaweb.google.com/rchonly look in "Roger Photos" - "View Files" for my file entitled "1991 American Eagle - Water Damage". Don't let the date on those photo's fool you, my camera decided to default itself back to day one and I didn't notice it until those were published. I took those in May and have just finished the restoration of the Eagle about 10 days ago. I'll put up some new photos in about a week. I found me a jewel as it has 6,011 miles on it.

You will be surprised how fast this works and pleased with the end results.

Roger

11/21/2010
Before you try painting, mix plain old Clorox bleach & distilled water in a spray bottle at a 50% solution. Spray it on leave for about 30 to 45 seconds and wipe it off with an absorbent towel if it's going to work you'll see it right away. If it works keep applying that way until the stain is gone. Once the stain is gone spray a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and distilled water and wipe off a couple of times and you will have nuetralized the bleach, finally just spray and wipe with distilled water and it should be cured.

If that doesn't work go with the paint job.

OH YEAH, WEAR A DUST MASK WHEN YOU SPRAY THAT STUFF (the bleach & the vinegar) OVERHEAD IT IS REALLY NASTY TO BREATH.