Black tank valve leak by?

[klarowe]

I just took my 2015 XLR 24HFS through it's first true shakedown trip (other trips were only a quick overnighter... this one was for the weekend). One major issue I had right off the bat was that when I went to remove my stinky pipe cap, there was roughly 1/4-1/2 gallon of some really nasty water (no visible solids though) that came out. The valve was completely closed during our travel, but the tank did see some use while on our way to our destination.. but I would think the valve would prevent any of that wonderful water from getting into the small section of pipe between the valve and the cap. Is some leaking of that valve normal? If so, is there anything I can get that would help prevent the water from leaking out before I am able to get my slinky hooked up? I really don't want to dump a bunch of nasty water every time I hook up my slinky...

[meandmylabs]

My black tank valve leaked exactly like you describe for the first few months but the problem went away. My theory is some shavings were caught in the valve during the contruction process but cleared after several uses.

[davel1971]

I put an additional waste valve at the sewer connection

[klarowe]

Originally Posted by davel1971

I put an additional waste valve at the sewer connection

I thought about doing this as well.

I will probably give it another shot. I did not actually flush my black tank prior to this past use, so it's possible that something prevented the valve from fully sealing. If it still leaks, then I'll deal with installing an additional valve.

[Ida Ratherbe Camping]

Mine also had a shaving caught in it when delivered.

[davel1971]

luckily mine is just one of the grey tanks that seeps a little, but for only about $20, the extra valve sure reduces chances of making a mess

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by davel1971

I put an additional waste valve at the sewer connection

Me too. It also assists in back flushing the tanks; extending stay times at no hookup racetrack camping by allowing both tanks (and the connecting pipe to be used to capacity; and prevents "wet feet" in the event a valve does not fully close after dumping.

[Silverback Iowan]

Having same problem with new Silverback. Something needs to be done.

[Hutch333id]

I had/have the same problem with my Cedar Creek. Took the rig back to the dealer and they fixed the black tank leak but I still have leakage from the grey 2 tank which, thankfully, is just the bathroom hand wash sink. At the moment I have a twist on gate valve to save me getting covered. At the end of the season it back to the dealer for this and other snags to be fixed. I did contact Cedar. Creek Customer Services about their lack of workmanship and quality control but so far, no response.


Richard & Diane
2014 Cedar Creek 38FL
With a F350 dually
2014 29nights and 3300km.......so far

[JRPhotoNut]

Since I had to repair two of the underbelly plastic panels that fell off and dragged beneath my 2008 Silver Back during my last camping trip, I had the opportunity to address a leaky grey water valve and a hard-to-move black water valve. In replacing both valves, I found ABS cement in the gate of each valve. The grey water valve itself was worn out of it's track. The black water valve was "glued in." In following the instructions for replacing the valves, I noted that the factory did not allow a 24-inch radius between the valve and the handle, thus making the cable bend more sharply than it should have. I'm taking the time now to reroute the cables. Frankly, I'm very disappointed to see the "mess of cables and wires" hidden under the panels.

Your grey and black waste valves should not leak or be hard to open/close. If you can't install secondary valves as the others did, I'd replace the valves.

[Silverback Iowan]

Took to the dealer but had to pay for something I think warranty should cover. A flaw in design caused the water problem we had and had to pay for that . Warranty did not cover. Next time we will skip dealer(225mi rt) and get it fixed ourselves closer. A 2014 used 4 times and at dealers 2 time so far. Something wrong!!

[JRPhotoNut]

I totally agree! Had I known earlier what my problems were, I'd be on the warranty issue as well. It's unfortunate that getting warranty work for poor workmanship is a hard battle to win. Forest River seems to fight any claims for warranty work; I"ve heard friends of mine with other brands have far more positive experiences when obtaining repairs.

Good luck to you!