Question Regarding Draining the Tanks

[Semperfi24]

This may not be the right place to post this, and I apologize if I am in the wrong spot here.

I have been to 3 camp grounds recently that had full hook up, but the sewer hole in the ground (perhaps there is an actual name for it?) was actually higher in elevation than the drain pipe on the trailer. Is there some kind of secret to emptying the tanks when you are literally going the opposite direction of gravity?

When I say the hole in the ground was higher, I should have taken pics but I never thought to, I would describe the set up as similar to pulling into a gas station where the pumps are on the island. The island is already 6" above the ground (and in the case of the campground, more like 10"). And then there is a sewer pipe that sticks up from the island another 6". When I look at my trailer parked on a level spot and the trailer is level, the drain pipe is only about 12" from the ground. But the sewer pipe is 16+" off the ground. So I looked around the campground and they were all like that.

I have the clear attachment so I can see when the tanks are empty and clean, so that lowers the drain pipe on my trailer another 4" or so. How do you get 60 gallons (combining both gray and black tanks) of water (and other unmentionables) to go up hill???

The gist of it for me was, I had to lift the hose above the sewer pipe to drain what was in the hose, then lower the hose to let it fill again, then lift the hose to drain, then lower to fill and lift to drain, over and over to get it all empty. And as I am pulling off this maneuver, all I can imagine is the scene from RV when he is holding the "Y" coupler above his head, lol.

Is there some way to create suction or something in order to accomplish the gravity defying dumping?

[youroo]

Build ramps for more elevation or (Sawzall)! Youroo!!

[Kaadk]

You're describing one of the issues I face all the time. One of the things I did was to buy a swivel elbow, (RhinoFLEX Clear Swivel Fittings - 45° Fitting - Camco 39847 - Sewer Fittings & Adapters - Camping World) and a hose support (15' Flexible Sewer Hose Support - Four Corners 48565 - Sewer Accessories - Camping World). Between the two, I can fine tune the angle of discharge for those places where I'm near the same height as the sewer hole (as you put it, I don't know what they're officially called either). In most cases, this leads to me having an almost flat run.

Next, when it's time to dump, make sure you dump full tanks. I fortunately have the black tank flush installed on mine, so I use that to fill the black (if it's not already full) and then let 'er rip so the most pressure as possible from the weight of all that rushing water is going to overcome the fact I don't have gravity helping me. When it looks like it's running clear, or the elbow shows it's just not moving anymore, I close up and let the tank fill a second (and sometime third) time.

If I'm close enough to level that my elbow drains, I'm done with the black once it runs mostly clear from a fill'n'dump. If I really have to go uphill (like you described) then I'll remove the hose support and 'walk the slinky' as I call it to do what you did, fill the hose, lift to dump, fill the hose, lift to dump. It's important to start near the tank and work the 'lifted' portion towards the drain. I've seen people who just lift in the middle. All that does is dump 1/2 the hose back into the tanks.

Once that's done, I put the hose support back into place (if removed) and dump the grey. I don't bother doing any flushes on the grey, except for my end of year shutdown where I'll run a couple of taps to refill it a few times. Again, if the hose isn't draining well enough, then I have to do the 'walk the slinky'.

An alternative I've been considering is a macerator pump, but really, with the process above, I don't have to 'walk the slinky' all that often, or at least not more than one or two times, so it hasn't been inconvenient enough to look into one.

[B D HOWie]

Originally Posted by youroo

Build ramps for more elevation or (Sawzall)! Youroo!!

I like the Sawzal idea! lol


Paul
Big Dog House On Wheels
2013 Coachmen Freelander 28QB
on 2012 Chevrolet 4500
Using FR app

[Aussiecat]

Sewer Solution overcomes this problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[mark0224]

Never had that problem, even when I had my old trailer that was low to the ground. I know this is the hard way but in that case I would hook up to my blue tank and dump the trailer into it then move it to high ground. Would also say something to the CG that their plumbing sucks you paid for a full hook up and that is not a full hook up.

[Semperfi24]

Update

As suggested, I went out and got my hands on the sewer solution and it worked as advertised. No issues setting it up and using it. No more concerns with trying to defy gravity while dumping my tanks