Full black tank, high winds, and 100 miles

[EXTremist]

I've driven with a full black tank a few times after dry camping...in fact last year from the same place in Crandon Wisconsin. I'm not sure if it was the super high winds or what but for whatever reason the tank decided to vent inside somehow while we were moving.

Wow!

My poor 9 year-old son looked like he was going to pass out. I pulled over right away to try to figure it out and couldn't localize it. Aired it all out and then set off again. About 10 minutes later same thing. The dump station I use is about 100 miles away at a truck stop right on the way so we just rolled the windows down and toughed it out. Wasn't really bad with the windows down and it wasn't too hot out. After we dumped everything was fine again, but not sure what I'll do next time. Hope it was because of the unusually high winds.

On the positive side, the improvements made by Precision Frame here in Minnesota (alignment, ball joint work, removing stabilizer, and rear trackbar) made driving in that wind almost enjoyable as I easily passed several other RV's, campers, and 5'ers struggling with sway etc.

The only other issue I had was during the weekend when it was hot out and I needed it most the Onan generator began to idle down and back up and then down after a bit causing havoc on my AC compressor so had to shut it off. Only seemed to happen in the heat of the day otherwise ran just fine all weekend. Already had the fuel pump replaced once so now what?

[RamblerGuy]

You may have been overloading the generator. A/C plus water heater and refrigerator on electric at once will bog it down.

[RamblerGuy]

Even with the water heater on gas the electric element could still come on if the switch was still on. This plus A/C plus tv etc could overload the generator.

[ATVer]

Concerning sewer gas getting into the coach, my guess is the vacuum vent valve on the flusher line may be leaking. Mine is under the bathroom sink but not sure where yours is. However to pull any significant amount of air from the black tank you would need to cause a negative pressure in the coach. One easy way to do that would be to have a roof vent open. If it was a forward vent it would draw stink thru the coach and gas out your son. The only other path I can think of would be a leaking toilet seal. I had a travel trailer that had a broken toilet flange due to poor service by a dealer. It only leaked smell but not water.

Generator sounds like a governor problem or possibly a mild vapor lock in the fuel system. Fuel pressure could be low.

[EXTremist]

Thanks guys. The generator still idled down with the load off. I suspect the supposed good replacement fuel pump is just another from the same bad lot they had on the shelf.

I may have had the forward vent open but I'm sure I closed it after the first time. Bathroom vent may have been open whole time though.

[bgilly]

The black and grey tank are plumbed to the same pipe to the roof. If and of the P-traps are dry you will get odor through the dried trap. One that is often missed is the tub drain - if you haven't used it in a while.
Also, you do need water covering the toilet flush gate or odor silk come up through that.
When we dry camp I don't leave the waterpump on when we are on the road - sure enough, someone flushes forgetting the water is off and loosing the water seal.

ATVer is right about the negative pressure. We gotten into the habit of shutting the bathroom exhaust fan off for toilet business.

On the generator, one pump replacement is not always the final fix. Some have gone through several.