Bad discovery!

Tracey · 09-03-2012, 09:13 PM

hello..a few weeks ago we picked up our 2011 FR Surveyor from the dealer. We brought it home and parked it in anticipation of our first trip. Dad came to check the thing over for us this weekend because next weekend is our maiden voyage! We have made the discovery that the DEALER never emptied the BLACK water from the tank! I cannot belive this is not a general check that every used camper would receive as soon as a dealer receives it! I feel very stupid and naiive for not asking that specific question before we brought it home! Believe me, the dealer is getting a call tomorrow from a NOT so happy camper! How would you handle it with them? If this dealer decides to shirk his responsibility about what is right and we have to take care of it ourselves, will it be ok if we do so at the campground we are going to which is about an hour away? That is certainly not what I want to do but we may have no choice as there is no place to take the thing that we are aware of....any thoughts? I'm Furious about this situation! I may end up with problems if this has been sitting all summer like this!

VinceU · 09-03-2012, 09:26 PM

As unpleasant as it may seem, its not really a big deal to rid of it. Most homes at least where I live have 3" clean-outs in the front lawn. Usually located between the sidewalk and street or just 2' away from the street edge. It serves as a clean out connection for the house main line. Otherwise septic tanks have vents if lucky enough to be reachable from the camper. Worst case take it to the campground, when grey fills half way dump the black and then grey and enjoy your trip! Its really not that toxic and there's noting in the tank to deteriorate.

**Herk7769** · 09-03-2012, 09:33 PM

My concern is "how long was the camper on the dealer's lot with a tank full of poo?" It may be like concrete in there.

OldCoot · 09-03-2012, 09:35 PM

As VinceU said, it's not a major problem. If you want, when you get to the campground, just hook up the slinky and empty it and start the black tank flusher and let it run. It will probably take at least 30 minutes before it start running clear. Also, the tow to the campground will help break things loose in the tank. If it were me, I would dump a quart of Super Klean in the toilet along with about 2 gal of water and then tow to the campground and dump and flush.

camper1999 · 09-03-2012, 09:42 PM

Hopefully the reason it is full and had not been emptied Is because the valve is bad and/or stuck

OldCoot · 09-03-2012, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camper1999

Hopefully the reason it is full and had not been emptied Is because the valve is bad and/or stuck

Are you kidding? I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Can you imagine having to replace the valve with the tank full!

camper1999 · 09-03-2012, 09:49 PM

Yep that would be crappy

Mountainmanbob · 09-04-2012, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracey

will it be ok if we do so at the campground we are going to which is about an hour away?

that would be more than fine
if
there is some room in the black tank
I would add some plain water to it before take off
not sure how long that stuff has been in there
might be a good idea
to lossen it up a little
your ride there should work perfect
Mountainman

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunnnc

As VinceU said, it's not a major problem. If you want, when you get to the campground, just hook up the slinky and empty it and start the black tank flusher and let it run. It will probably take at least 30 minutes before it start running clear. Also, the tow to the campground will help break things loose in the tank. If it were me, I would dump a quart of Super Klean in the toilet along with about 2 gal of water and then tow to the campground and dump and flush.

I should have looked at the other posts first
may I say that I agree
Mountainman

Hoo Dad · 09-04-2012, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracey

We have made the discovery that the DEALER never emptied the BLACK water from the tank!

May I ask how you determined the black tank has never been emptied? If you are using the level indicator light as your guide, then keep in mind that it is normally not very accurate. Hope this is the case. Good luck.

Hoo Dad · 09-04-2012, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoo Dad

May I ask how you determined the black tank has never been emptied? If you are using the level indicator light as your guide, then keep in mind that it is normally not very accurate. Hope this is the case. Good luck.

BTW, if this is the case, then we can walk you through some steps to determine if your tank is actually full.

Witch Doctor · 09-04-2012, 05:02 AM

Before you get to upset, I agree with Hoo Dad and Herk's comments. Also they make a chemical that will clean and break up the pancake if someone before you did not do any maintenance on the system. I remember when we started to use full hook-ups, I said great I can just leave all my gray and black water open while camping. Well I learned you DO NOT LEAVE YOUR BLACK TANK OPEN. After about 2 weeks in hot Florida I could not understand why my black water tank was full. I called a mobile RV repair person. As soon as I told him what happened he told me that the only thing that will run out would be the liquid and the waste would stay in and turn to concrete. He suggested that product to use, it is sold at all RV stores I put it in and it took about 24 hrs to work. I still had to use a snake to break it up by the valve area. It was lesson I did not want to learn. He also stated if that did not work my only option would be to replace my tank. Let's hope for the best with you and it only a false reading...

**Herk7769** · 09-04-2012, 06:47 AM

I use RV-Digest-It (but have used Rid-Ex in an emergency to help a fellow camper) to dissolve dried crud.

RV-Digest-It.com - RV-Digest-It

RID-X® Tank Septic System Treatment Products for Septic Maintenance - Official Site

dump 1/2 bottle in the black tank and fill it slowly.
wait 72 hours or up to a week then flush for as long as it takes to clear the clogs.

If it is really bad you may need to redo it with the other 1/2 bottle, but if it works then repeat on the gray tank to get rid of the grease in there.

As to the probes, this same treatment will clean your probes.
A FULL indication means there is less than 188K Ohms of resistance between any probe and the ground probe. (IE more current flow)

Sludge across the bottom probes (ground and 1/3 full) WILL indicate FULL.
It does not take much sludge to do that.

DDC · 09-04-2012, 07:06 AM

If it's not too far to the dealer I'd just call him and say " I'm coming in so you can empty the tank, it seems you forgot to do this, you should instruct your employee's to do this all the time on a used trailer." All in one breath.

MtnGuy · 09-04-2012, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoo Dad

May I ask how you determined the black tank has never been emptied? If you are using the level indicator light as your guide, then keep in mind that it is normally not very accurate. Hope this is the case. Good luck.

I agree....the tank may be empty and the indicators are just showing full.....my monitor shows full sometimes when the tank is empty. The easy way to tell is to shut your water off, get a flashlight, open the toilet valve, and look into the tank. Even if you see liquid, it might just be a little at the bottom of the tank....some tanks are hard to get completely empty. Judge the depth by comparing the liquid level with the bottom of the toilet pipe. These tanks are only about 6" or so deep, so if you have that much distance between the toilet pipe and the liquid level, you tank might be as close to empty as practical.

arlee453 · 09-04-2012, 07:49 AM

We purchased a 'new' TT recently. We knew the dealer had used it a couple times for a rental, which didn't bother us, as it was pristine on the inside, but when we took it out and flushed the toilet for the first time, there was a bit of odor coming back at us - not bad, but definately 'there', which we had never had with our previous TT.

I think they did dump the tank, as the sensor showed "'E" but I know they sure didn't clean it. Just laziness as it has the black tank cleaner hookup on there - I mean how much time does it take to hook up the tank cleaner and let it run for a few minutes while they were doing the other clean/prep on the unit?

We ran the tank cleaner probably a good 20-25 minutes before all the chunky stuff stopped coming out and the water was clear (GET A CLEAR CONNECTOR SO YOU CAN SEE WHEN THE WATER IS CLEAR!). Went inside and did the smell test (turn on the fan in the bathroom and flush, holding open the toilet seal for a few seconds) and no odor at all so no permanent harm, but still unexpected that this wasn't done already before we took delivery. Seems like a simple thing to do...

Tracey · 09-04-2012, 09:13 AM

Thank you all for your comments! This site is great especially for a newbie like myself! I have camped since I was very small but have never had a camper all to myself! Been tenting most recently...these kind of things dont happen with a tent!
The gauge in the bathroom was showing the tank as full. Originally I thought it was a mis-reading and the gauge could be wrong. (certainly, a dealer would not let a camper go with a full toilet!)
We thought only water should come out and intended to drain it before traveling the weekend. What came out was NOT only water!
So from what I am hearing here....it may not be full and may only be residual at the bottom of tank...which still should have been flushed very well but probably was not....and that my best bet is to toss in some water and treatment solution this week to help break things up so when we get there, we can empty out.....sound like a good plan? I still think the dealer should have fully cleaned and flushed the thing out before ever sending it out to to a customer!

Road-King · 09-04-2012, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracey

I still think the dealer should have fully cleaned and flushed the thing out before ever sending it out to to a customer!

Yes they should have... It has to make you wonder what else didn't they do? I would still call the dealer and let them know...

MtnGuy · 09-04-2012, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracey

I still think the dealer should have fully cleaned and flushed the thing out before ever sending it out to to a customer!

Agreed.

Gas Mans · 09-17-2012, 09:46 PM

One last suggestion any time one suspects solid desbris in the black tank. On the way to serviced campground we put 2 - 3 gallons of water and a couple of bags of ice cubes in the balck tank for the ride to the campground...the sloshing around can really help. The superlight trailers have some very shallow, very wide tanks...hard to flush etc.

Tracey · 09-18-2012, 08:36 PM

Thank you again. We flushed it very well when we got to the campground and believe me, it was full! If I were that dealer I would be embarassed to have sent something out like that. There goes his chance of ever having me recommend him! The black tank is still reading as full but I intend to flush it out again very well before I close her up for the winter.

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