Help with bubbling toilet

[MAC2014]

We have a 2014 Rockwood 5 th wheel. This season we have had some stool issues we never had before. 2nd time out the stool started bubbling when I flush, we checked the roof vent and found it to be clear. Any suggestions?

[rockfordroo]

Does the problem seem to only happen after you've got a certain amount of "water" in the tank? Sometimes the vent pipe can drop down and the bottom end is now under "water." Might want to check the vent on the roof and see if it looks like it's dropped down.

It's also "possible" that a floater ended up in the vent pipe and got stuck there as the level rose, but didn't drop out when the level subsequently dropped.

[MAC2014]

We did check the vent, but only to see if something built a nest in it we will check to see if it has dropped, but how will we know?

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by MAC2014

We did check the vent, but only to see if something built a nest in it we will check to see if it has dropped, but how will we know?

Not sure. Caulk that looks like it's been pushed down, maybe.

[MAC2014]

Thank You So Much we will check that. We are planning a trip to the UP of MI is it ok to put some water in the black tank and use the cleaner and let it slosh, then dump when we get there?

[Crusadernoob]

Ours did the same thing this year. I could only figure my wife doesn't use enough water to flush and the TP gets stuck as our drain isn't a straight shot to the tank. I just kept flushing with large amounts of water. Yes, you can add water and a waste water break down cleaner then empty upon arrival.

[TandSH]

Make sure to turnoff thee vent fan before flushing the toilet if all of the camper's doors/windows are closed. That can cause your bathroom to become the tank vent with smelly and/or messy results.

[Chuck.C]

I had the same problem. Finally figured out that "stuff" was clogging the pipe to the black tank. Lots of flushing didn't clear it, neither did the external back flush. I finally got one of the water flushers that works through the toilet itself and that did the trick. Mine is a Camco Flexible Swivel Stick, but others probably work as well.

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

Not sure. Caulk that looks like it's been pushed down, maybe.

I know a lot of people don't know how a vent is supposed to work. On your gray water tank it should be attached to the drain pipe from the sink between the P-trap and the tank. When you pull the stopper to empty the sink, the pipe from the P-trap to the tank is never full of water allowing air to come up the vent, thus braking the suction at the trap allowing the water to remain in the P-trap and the air inside the tank to equalize.
When you drain the tank, air will come down the vent, helping push the water out of the tank and equalizing the air in the tank.

If you glue the vent to the tank, which it should be, and then have it going up through the wall or other space, then use sealant where the vent goes through the roof, then you will have problems with the expansion/contraction that differences in ambient temperatures cause. The movement of the roof could pull the vent loose from the sealant, cause the glued joint to fail or both. Even movement from traveling down the road could cause the same problems. If the vent pipe is fastened to a wall with a clamp and that clamp is too tight that it doesn't allow up/down movement then the same thing could happen. If you take the vent cap off the roof you will find that the pipe that comes through the roof is a smaller diameter pipe than the portion that is sealed to the roof.

The BW tank works on the same principal except that the vent only equalizes the internal tank pressure allowing the odor to go up the vent instead of up the toilet. If you have your bathroom vent fan running sometime the equalization action of the vent pipe can be over ridden allowing the air to come up through the toilet along with the odor.

In my TT the vent for the kitchen is under the sink T'd off between the P-trap and the elbow going down to the GW tank. The bathroom sink vent is T'd off after P-trap as the pipe goes down to the GW tank. The shower has a trapless fitting as the pipe goes to the sink drain below the T'd vent pipe.

The same principals work for your stick & brick home.

[drstimpy]

I fixed same problem by running a hose down my black vent pipe for a few minutes

[MAC2014]

Thanks to everyone, we are headed out Fri for a week stay close we may need more help we have checked out everything you have suggested.We are not new to this we have been in pull behinds and fifth wheels for 30 Plus years but this unit has been a real challenge water issues from day ONE. But I love the floor plan and Forest River has been Great.
Just wish we didn't have all these problems.

[MAC2014]

Well thanks again to everyone who posted ideas, we just got back from a two week outong and didn't have any issues. We did the soap and ice in the black water tank not sure if it fixed the problem or if just a bandaid on it but for the first time in 3 years, fourth season with this unit Everything Worked ��������thanks again MAC