Black water tank isn't black

[jas0420]

Hi all, we purchased a new 2012 Roo 21SS a few weeks back and were finally able to take it out this weekend. We camped with some friends, one of whom used to sell RVs.

Long story, but we got to talking about the holding tanks and I mentioned that our black tank was the translucent white one that we could see from where we were sitting. She quickly argued that I was wrong and that the black water tank is "black". I agreed that it was my understanding that they usually are, but that ours was white just like the gray water and fresh water tank.

Not believing me, she had to get up and see for herself, and reluctantly agreed after inspecting. Unquestionably and without any doubt whatsoever, our black water tank is the same material as the gray and fresh tanks.

My question is....... Is this by design or a slip in manufacturing? (Found three other "issues" so far that I don't think should have made it past quality control). The black and gray tanks are side by side, so if it is a mistake it is a pretty blatant one. In hindsight, the gentleman who was doing our makeready commented that he had never seen a "white" black water tank, but he didn't make a big deal about it and I certainly didn't know any better at the time to question something that came from the factory.

I honestly don't care if it's not black, but our friend was telling us that the black tanks are usually of a thicker material and that I should inquire about it.

Thoughts?

Thanks!!

[newtsx3]

I could be totally wrong, but I believe the terms "black water" and "gray water" refer to the type of waste water contained within each tank and really has nothing to do with the actual "color" of the tank. Black water is pee and poop, gray water is from the sinks and shower. This doesn't mean that there are not some black water tanks that are actually black, but I think most FR products use the translucent material for all holding tanks whether it is fresh, gray, or black. I also have a 21SS and my black water tank is like yours. My father has a FR 5th wheel and all his holding tanks are also translucent. Isn't the location of the 21SS's black water tank lovely? I don't recommend setting up the loungers near the rear of the camper. You get a wonderful view of that tank and it's contents! Its especially fun when someone uses the potty as we found out the hard way! BTW....why is it called "black water"? I guess it sounds better than brownish greenish murky water!
Anyway, hope you like your 21SS. We have had ours for just over a year now and love it. What are some of the issues you mentioned? Quality is pretty low in all RVs, but if you are handy most problems are easy fixes.

[nailit]

Our old '86 Prowler TT had a translucent black water tank. It was great for for flushing out the tank after a long weekend of camping, you could see if I had flushed it out completely or not. Plus, we didn't have the sensors, so looking at the tank would show what level we were at. Of course I thought all black water tanks were translucent until we got our 5er...it's black along with the gray water tank.

[jas0420]

Thank you for the quick replies... That is pretty much what I wanted to hear (that I wasn't a fluke!) Like I said, I don't really mind that it isn't black... Our friend just had me freaked out a little that the translucent ones were somehow a lesser quality and we'd be dealing with an unpleasant rupture sometime in the future. That would pretty much be the end of my RV'ing, I think. Yeah, that is kind of an unsightly place to have a translucent black water tank. Nothing that a can of spray paint can't fix if worse comes to worse!

Two of the three other things are fixed... The first one was when we were picking up the camper and going through the demo. When the slide was fully extended, it would blow a fuse that was feeding most of the circuits. There's a hot 12v wire that extends out with the slide, and they had mounted a hook to keep the slack from dragging the ground. It was misplaced jussssst enough that the last inch of extending the slideout pulled the wire so tight that it was getting pinched there, had split the cover, and was shorting out. Luckily, that was caught at the dealer and fixed, but it was the first time I asked "don't they have a quality control check at the factory??"

The next one was when we got home. We were starting to flush the antifreeze from the system and were filling the fresh water tank for the first time. When my wife was holding the hose to the inlet port, I happened to notice that there was some pretty serious dripping coming from the underside of the trailer in that general area. I peeked underneath and sure enough, it was coming from the floor somewhere. Stopped filling and traced it back to a leak where the "water hose" goes through the floor. They had screwed a zip-tie to the floor to keep the cables snug, but had pulled too hard and it had ripped the hose for the fresh water tank. It was a vaccuum cleaner looking hose and had a brand stamped on it, so I went looking online for a replacement, and it turns out that it is really some sort of exhaust hose for sawdust. Sigh. I replaced it with some flexible PVC from Lowes, but wasn't exactly happy about it.

The last one is a leaky skylight that we just found the other day when we were loading up for the trip. Luckily it is right over the shower, so I'm hoping that most of the water went into the shower and not down the walls/celing. No telling how long it was on the lot though, so it probably wasn't it's first rain. Haven't fixed that one yet.

I know that any RV is going to make sacrifices for weight and affordability/profit, but it is still a little disheartening to drop $19k and instantly start questioning the workmanship of the product. At the same time, I know anyone that is reading this is probably thinking "welcome to RV'ing"... But still.

Anyway, thank you again for setting me at ease that we didn't somehow wind up with a tank that we weren't supposed to. I'll take that one off of the grudge list and have another talk with our RV friend.

Jason

[punkaccountant]

My previous Jayco had a "black" black water tank. My new Rockwood has a "translucent" black water tank. I actually prefer the translucent one as I can look down and see how well it was flushed out (as unpleasant as it may be.)

[donn]

The terms, I believe are from military days.
Potable (not portable) water= water safe to drink
Gray water= water containing no sewage, but not safe to drink
black water= sewage water. Definitely NOT safe to drink

[LadyWindrider]

As others have mentioned, black is not the actual color of the tank, but instead, the color of the contents.

My real question though, you bought a new camper, in the summer, but when you got home you were flushing the antifreeze out of the water lines. What kind of dealer is this, and what did they charge you for prepping the trailer??? Most want 4 to 6 hundred for prep and then time for the PDI, which should have operated every faucet, had hot water on, refer on, ......., plenty of list on here to search for. Not only should be checked with city water, but then hose removed, pump turned on and checked again with the pump and tank. Last thing dealer does, after hooking up, is drain all the tanks before you leave.

[jas0420]

Yes, in hindsight, I worded poorly... I was really more concerned about the tank material (based on our friend's concern) than the actual color. It sounds like we'll be ok in that department though.

As for the PDI.............. I'm afraid that I have myself to blame on that. We are in Texas and have tent camped for quite a while. We went out several weeks ago and were talking about how that was pretty much the last time we would be able to (comfortably) camp until fall. The conversation turned to "we should consider gettting a camper". The next weekend, we were signing papers. So it is a very safe statement to say that 1) I should have done more homework so that I knew the right questions to ask and 2) things were definitely learned along the way. Yeah though, I did wonder why there was antifreeze in it... I was actually wondering why they didn't ship from the manufacturer dry... Didn't really see the point in them sitting on the dealer's lot with water in the lines.

All in all, we love the camper, made a good decision, and are looking forward to the new experience, so I don't mean for the thread to sound overly negative. In the scope of things, what I mentioned above were just bumps in the road.

[LadyWindrider]

Glad you like the camper, and hope you make many lasting memories with it, as we have ours. Most campers come with antifreeze in the lines, even in July. In case it doesn't sell, the dealer doesn't have to worry about winter. Imagine having 50, or more campers on the lot, and having to winterize all of them? Would be over 100 gallons of antifreeze for starters, not counting labor.

[jas0420]

Thank you!

So with it being June in Southeast Texas, I haven't researched winterizing too heavily yet. Is it not possible to fully evacuate the lines and hw tank of water? I assume that the answer is "no" since antifreeze is so common.

[rjshiflet]

Originally Posted by jas0420

Thank you!

So with it being June in Southeast Texas, I haven't researched winterizing too heavily yet. Is it not possible to fully evacuate the lines and hw tank of water? I assume that the answer is "no" since antifreeze is so common.

I live in North Texas (west of Fort Worth) and I have previously had a Sandpiper that I winterized by opening the inside valves...inserting an air "blow plug" for lack of a better term.

How I Winterize my RV

Upon completing that...I have used anti-freeze to pour down the drains and prevent any water remaining anywhere from freezing.

Now, I have a new Columbus that has all the fancy winterizing valve and hot water bypass - so it's going to be a new learning curve for me this winter because unfortunately our "trainer" at delivery was totally unfamiliar with how those work.

[jas0420]

Originally Posted by rjshiflet

I live in North Texas (west of Fort Worth) and I have previously had a Sandpiper that I winterized by opening the inside valves...inserting an air "blow plug" for lack of a better term.

How I Winterize my RV

Upon completing that...I have used anti-freeze to pour down the drains and prevent any water remaining anywhere from freezing.

Now, I have a new Columbus that has all the fancy winterizing valve and hot water bypass - so it's going to be a new learning curve for me this winter because unfortunately our "trainer" at delivery was totally unfamiliar with how those work.

Thank you Robert for that link! We get 2 - 3 light freezes a year down here. I can already tell that I'm going to have a hard time convincing myself to go through all of that. I know that if I don't though we'll get the deepest longest freeze on record.

Off topic, but do you have any favorite camp grounds in your general area? My parents are in the Denton area and have kind of been hinting that they'd like to dip their toes into the camping experience with us.

[wiesenbornk]

Hickory Creek Corp. of Engr. Park is In the Denton area. It's on Lake Lewisville. It would be a good place that is close to home to test the camping waters! We were surprised how nice it was considering how close to the city it is. We like to go there when visiting family in the Denton and Lewisville area.

[jpetrey]

Originally Posted by jas0420

Thank you Robert for that link! We get 2 - 3 light freezes a year down here. I can already tell that I'm going to have a hard time convincing myself to go through all of that. I know that if I don't though we'll get the deepest longest freeze on record.

Off topic, but do you have any favorite camp grounds in your general area? My parents are in the Denton area and have kind of been hinting that they'd like to dip their toes into the camping experience with us.

Also try Lake Ray Roberts State Park.

[jas0420]

Thank you both! Now if they could just invent a teleporter to transport the camper past Ft. Worth on I-35W....

[rjshiflet]

Originally Posted by jas0420

Thank you Robert for that link! We get 2 - 3 light freezes a year down here. I can already tell that I'm going to have a hard time convincing myself to go through all of that. I know that if I don't though we'll get the deepest longest freeze on record.

Off topic, but do you have any favorite camp grounds in your general area? My parents are in the Denton area and have kind of been hinting that they'd like to dip their toes into the camping experience with us.

First - on the winterizing...RESIST that temptation to not winterize. One year on our Sandpiper I waited later than usual...then the next spring when we got down to the coast and I hooked up water we had a torrent of water flowing out of the underbelly. I wound up having to replace the entire outdoor shower assembly because of a crack where the water supply feeds into the shower. I'm not 100% positive it was caused by freezing - but that's the only logical explanation.

As far as places to camp around North Texas...as has been mentioned the Corps of Engineer's Hickory Creek Park is very nice and pretty quiet (although you can at times hear the roar of the traffic on I-35-E.

Just a short distance away also on Lake Lewisville is Pilot Knoll Park. A bit more secluded...scenic...more trees - but we love both of them.

There are also LOTS of State Parks (and like the two mentioned above...sewer DUMPS only - not sewer hookups at the sites). One of our favorites is out west by 75 miles or so - Lake Mineral Wells State Park.

[wiesenbornk]

Originally Posted by jas0420

Thank you both! Now if they could just invent a teleporter to transport the camper past Ft. Worth on I-35W....

I agree with that! Our very first time to pull the Roo was for a wedding in Lewisville last November. We drove from just south of Houston and got to Dallas just in time to be towing through rush hour traffic. Then trying to find a campground we had never been to in the dark. After that anything else seemed like a piece of cake!

[jas0420]

Originally Posted by wiesenbornk

I agree with that! Our very first time to pull the Roo was for a wedding in Lewisville last November. We drove from just south of Houston and got to Dallas just in time to be towing through rush hour traffic. Then trying to find a campground we had never been to in the dark. After that anything else seemed like a piece of cake!

It's horrible, isn't it! I dread going through there with just the car or truck.... I cringe at thinking of having a trailer in tow. I need a lotttttt more towing experience before I would even remotely consider getting within 50 miles of either side of Ft. Worth on I-35!

"South of Houston" is where MY favorite camping area is... Brazos Bend State Park. LOVE that place. I was supposed to be there right now actually, but had to change plans at the last minute this week.

[wiesenbornk]

Originally Posted by jas0420

It's horrible, isn't it! I dread going through there with just the car or truck.... I cringe at thinking of having a trailer in tow. I need a lotttttt more towing experience before I would even remotely consider getting within 50 miles of either side of Ft. Worth on I-35!

"South of Houston" is where MY favorite camping area is... Brazos Bend State Park. LOVE that place. I was supposed to be there right now actually, but had to change plans at the last minute this week.

We love Brazos Bend. We also really like Huntsville State Park. Let me know what you think of other parks in the area! You are fortunate to be further north. It takes us an entire day to get out of the state. Arkansas has some beautiful state parks! You could get there quicker than we can.

[OldCoot]

Me thinks this thread got hijacked. Nothing in the last 10 or 11 posts has anything to do with the OP's question on Black Tanks