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Old 09-26-2021, 09:58 AM   #1
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2018 3011DS Fishing the black tank

Oh Boy,
I wonder if any one ever had this happen.

My daughter borrowed my rv to tailgate at a football game. She just emailed me that she heard that saving the dish water and dumping it into the black tank was a good idea before the long ride home. My problem is she didn't see the fork that was in the bottom of the wash bowl and she watched the fork go down the hole.

I asked her to check the forks in the drawer and see if they would stick to a magnet that I have in the rv.
The answer is - Yes. T.G I didn't buy good stainless.

She has a five hundred drive today and that will stir things up.

My question is: does anyone know if the Black tank drain attaches to the bottom of the tank (I hope not) or does the drain go out the side?

If it goes out the side then I have a good chance the the fork will stay on the bottom of the tank and I should be able to fish it out with a magnet from the top.

If it drains from the bottom then I will have to take off the valve and get up close and personal with my system.

Woe is me. Let me be first to say that this is a Sh___y job.
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Old 09-26-2021, 10:21 AM   #2
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My trailer tank drains from the side -- easy to see underneath. Unless that fork is a family heirloom it may become a permanent resident in your black tank. Ain't gonna hurt anything in there but I'd not use a maceration pump.

May be possible to fish it out with a strong magnet on a flexible rod or cable from the drain area AFTER the waste has been emptied. Not sure the fork will remain directly under the "inlet" after several hours on the road.

There are enzymes that claim to liquidfy a complete tank of waste overnight after which it may be possible to drain the liquid thru a small opening or hose so this heirloom isn't flushed out. I recall even Walmart sells this in their RV section. Maybe fill the tank with clean water after the waste is drained and before sticking something up there.

Lots of guesses on my part including using a big hose clamp to secure hardware cloth (1/4" mesh screening) over the outlet to catch the fork.

-- Chuck
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Old 09-26-2021, 10:53 AM   #3
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Forked

The holding tanks are made with a little trough that becomes part of the round 3” fitting on the side so you get good drainage when you dump. There is nothing on the bottom of the tank that would inhibit the utensil from being flushed out. However, if it gets sideways it can span the opening and become a blockage. The tines can also hang up on a joint in the plumbing or on the blade valve. If it gets stuck in the blade valve you will know it because the valve will not close. At that point you will most likely have to remove the valve to clear it.

On the subject of your DD’s dishwater tip, it is never a good idea to drive long distances with a full tank. Too much weight.
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Old 09-26-2021, 03:44 PM   #4
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Dishwater in a little tub is probably no more than a gallon and hardly too much weight.

-- Chuck
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Old 09-26-2021, 04:28 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Chuck_S View Post
Dishwater in a little tub is probably no more than a gallon and hardly too much weight.

-- Chuck
It all adds up. Football game + tail gate party = more than just a gallon of dishwater. 39 gal black tank on a 3011. So assuming that the tank was empty, then yes, I agree. I’m not willing to make that assumption based on the narrative. Besides, I said full tank.

What does FR say about holding tank load in transit?
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Old 09-26-2021, 06:49 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Duckogram View Post
What does FR say about holding tank load in transit?
I've never seen anything published by FR regarding the maximum tank load while in transit. Since folks carry a full load of fresh water when boon docking I'd "assume" that it is fine.

Maybe Kary or BC can answer that one.
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Old 09-27-2021, 08:32 AM   #7
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I routinely tow my Roo with full waste tanks and pump out at home.

Obliviots at the dump site spend endless amounts of time dumping and then flushing their tanks and then washing up and putting everything away before pulling forward for the next obliviot who hasn't bothered to get his hoses out while waiting.

I prefer to dump at the campground but it there's even a hint of a line I just go home.

YMMV.

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Old 09-27-2021, 01:20 PM   #8
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Old 09-27-2021, 02:07 PM   #9
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This same thing happened to me. I had an endoscope and I could see the fork laying in the bottom. I taped a strong magnet to a straightened clothes hanger and poked around until it stuck. Then eased it out. It had never moved from where it initially fell, at least not much and we had used the camper several times before I attempted to remove it.
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Old 09-27-2021, 02:20 PM   #10
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3011 DS 2018 The fork is out.

The operation was a success.

I went out and bought a strong magnet from Harbor Freight and attached a 1/4" rope. For a half an hour I played fishy-fishy with the magnet down through the toilet, I used a dowel rod and pushed the magnet as far from the drop hole as I could. I had no contact with the missing fork.

On to plan B, I rounded up several 5 gallon buckets and hooked the discharge hose up and put the loose end in bucket #1 running through a 1" mesh screen. I filled bucket #1, #2, and half way thru bucket #3 I heard a metallic tink and that was the sweetest sound I've heard in a long time. There in the mesh was the kitchen fork. Total elapsed time working maybe 1 1/2 hours, total time planning and worrying 15+ hours

I was very happy to find that the bottom of the tank had almost no build up, I did a super power flush a month ago and I use nothing but enzyme tank treatment - never any of the blue stuff.

I also set up a fan in a window blowing in and everything else closed. This gave the interior of the rv a positive pressure and pushed the smells down the pipe rather than up in my face/nose. But it didn't do anything for the view looking down through the toilet with a super bright led spotlight.
Enough said...

Ducky, you were spot on as usual, the drain was in the bottom with the plastic contoured towards the hole. Thanks
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Old 09-27-2021, 04:05 PM   #11
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Un-forked

That is a great outcome. Just as a sidebar to the tank “quantity” question. I was not able to find any definitive numbers. Only the recommendation or advice from Forest River that appears in both the Forester and Sunseeker Owners Manuals. (photo copied below). The consideration here is mostly for the 30’ + units and the specific numbers are for the E-450 configuration. Given that the rear axle weight rating is 9,600 and using a rounded 8.3 lbs/gal for water.
So here is the math of what I consider:
My scale weight was 9340 fully loaded, full fuel and 10 gals of FW.
All of my holding tanks are aft of the rear axle. That leaves me an effective additional load capacity of <260 lbs. That is about 31 gallons. So full or near tanks would, as eluded to in the owners manual, cause an over weight capacity condition for the rear axle.
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Old 09-27-2021, 04:06 PM   #12
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Yep!

I pour my dishwater down the loo. I dumped a spoon down. Yikes I freaked but got it out by fishing with a magnet. Your DD surely could stop at Wallyword and get a magnet.
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Old 09-27-2021, 10:01 PM   #13
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A good earth magnet on the outside of the tank would be able to move and/or hold the fork in place (possibly forever?). It also could have been used to "grab" the fork as it passed through the plumbing during a dump sequence. Thumbs up to getting it taken care of!
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