Black Water won’t drain- brand new!

[MeyerRanch]

Morning all, camping up in the Northern Cali mountains with the family and our brand new Alpha Wolf’s black Water won’t drain. Never been used so shouldn’t be clogged. Grey drains fine. Pull the valves and it’s like it’s not attached to anything. 2 bathrooms. Back one drained a little but no nothing, front tank is full! Any advice or help out there? Thanks in advance.

[Thomas ho]

rod end came out of slide valve plate. might screw back in. may be yanked out of slide. 4 bolts hold it together , do it yourself ,will be in rv dealer forever. valve cheap , may be messy "Real messy!!" i wouldnt do it in my driveway!!! is the rod wabbly at full pull? if YES csme out of slide. pull it open if nothing comes out ,push garden hose up in drain opening and see how far it goes . slide plate should be less than 12 " from sewer hose attatchment prongs. more than afoot or 2 of hose up it you have a TURD VOLCANO in tank.

[MeyerRanch]

I tried to make sure the valve handle was threaded in, all the valves (grey and black) had the same feeling and I couldn’t make any progress the handles just spun. Our valve is above the sealed undercarriage of the trailer but below the flooring on the inside of the trailer, so I would have to peel that underside covering back to access it I guess? I’m not sure if there is some secondary release or something I am missing. Our wildwood we just pulled the t-handle and they drained.

[PopFla]

If there is a toilet on the "passenger side" of your rig, chances are good there's a second black valve on that side. When there needs to be a pipe crossing from that side to the dump valves on the "driver side", they install that second valve to keep....solids.... from building up inside that pipe and hardening. It also prevents spilling....solids....all over the road if that pipe gets damaged.

So take a good look underneath the passenger side to see if there is a second valve on that side. If so, with the sewer hose hooked up, open the black valve on the driver side, then the one on the passenger side, and see what happens.

[NMWildcat]

Are you sure there is not another valve somewhere else? I have seen several RVs that have 2 bathrooms that also have separate black tank drain valves in completely different places underneath.
If not, calling a mobile tech is an an option. If there is actually something wrong, most can get it covered under warranty.
The other option is to remove the bottom covering and determine the problem yourself. Could be any number of things, but it is all just guessing until you actually lay eyes on it.

[Thomas ho]

my doctor said a colonoscapty is like shoving a garden hose up your R. V. sewer pipe. something is going to come out of it ,good or bad. well have the results SOON.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Thomas ho

my doctor said a colonoscapty is like shoving a garden hose up your R. V. sewer pipe. something is going to come out of it ,good or bad. well have the results SOON.

Then your doctor must give a very different kind of colonoscopy

[Bama Rambler]

Originally Posted by MeyerRanch

Morning all, camping up in the Northern Cali mountains with the family and our brand new Alpha Wolf’s black Water won’t drain. Never been used so shouldn’t be clogged. Grey drains fine. Pull the valves and it’s like it’s not attached to anything. 2 bathrooms. Back one drained a little but no nothing, front tank is full! Any advice or help out there? Thanks in advance.

Which model RV do you have?

If it has cable operated valves, the center rod could have came loose from the blade. If you have an enclosed underbelly you'll need to open up a section (or have your dealer do it) to get at the valves to see what's going on.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by MeyerRanch

Morning all, camping up in the Northern Cali mountains with the family and our brand new Alpha Wolf’s black Water won’t drain. Never been used so shouldn’t be clogged. Grey drains fine. Pull the valves and it’s like it’s not attached to anything. 2 bathrooms. Back one drained a little but no nothing, front tank is full! Any advice or help out there? Thanks in advance.

Did you know that you can use an independent RV shop or mobile RV tech for warranty work? You just have to get pre-approval from FR and be willing to be reimbursed.

[5picker]

Some black tank valves are operated by a cable from the handle to the valve and some have a rod in between the handle and the valve. Since you mention when you pull the handle it seems nothing is happening, that would lead me to think you have cable actuated valves and something is amiss.

There have been lots of reported issues with the cables being misrouted , binding, or unattached. regardless, you are going to need to get to the black tank and see what is going on.

There have also been reports of construction debris (tank hole cut-outs) blocking the opening to the valve and the tank won't drain.

Best of luck.

[JimMorrell]

Its a long shot, but our brand new at the time Wildwood wouldn't drain. Cut short our trip and came home. Finally hired a "honey wagon" to pump it. Turned out there was a plastic plug lest in the tank from when they cut and installed the clean out mechanism for the tank. Never had trouble again. I was told this is not an infrequent problem

[831 BHDS Flagstaff 2015]

Just take lots of pictures if you use a mobile tech. Will make the process go easier as Forrest River will ask for them for warranty.

[nvs4602]

Our motorhome has 2 valves for the black tank. One on passenger side and the other on dump side. We had the same problem our first time out.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by PopFla

If there is a toilet on the "passenger side" of your rig, chances are good there's a second black valve on that side. When there needs to be a pipe crossing from that side to the dump valves on the "driver side", they install that second valve to keep....solids.... from building up inside that pipe and hardening. It also prevents spilling....solids....all over the road if that pipe gets damaged.

So take a good look underneath the passenger side to see if there is a second valve on that side. If so, with the sewer hose hooked up, open the black valve on the driver side, then the one on the passenger side, and see what happens.

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Are you sure there is not another valve somewhere else? I have seen several RVs that have 2 bathrooms that also have separate black tank drain valves in completely different places underneath.
If not, calling a mobile tech is an an option. If there is actually something wrong, most can get it covered under warranty.
The other option is to remove the bottom covering and determine the problem yourself. Could be any number of things, but it is all just guessing until you actually lay eyes on it.

There's only one tank apparently. This page shows the Alpha Wolf product line and every model has one 35 gallon black tank.

[TxRockwood]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Did you know that you can use an independent RV shop or mobile RV tech for warranty work? You just have to get pre-approval from FR and be willing to be reimbursed.

Yes, and make sure you get the repairs approved once the tech is onsite to determine the extent of the problem. I had an issue with the wardrobe slide on my Rockwood 2511S and I called RW warranty ahead of time. They asked me to have the tech call when he was at my location, so they could verify what he was planning to repair.

I also had the mobile tech take pictures of the issue, along with the new parts he replaced. It took about two months of back and forth on email/phone tag, but FR finally paid me in full for the work. (Minus the taxes...)

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

There's only one tank apparently. This page shows the Alpha Wolf product line and every model has one 35 gallon black tank.

That page also has a slew of videos on that model. I don't know if the waste tank management video is specific to that model, but seems like straight forward T-handle waste valve. It is of concern the valve rod seems sloppy/unattached.

I tried to make sure the valve handle was threaded in, all the valves (grey and black) had the same feeling and I couldn’t make any progress the handles just spun.

I thought you said grey valve worked fine.

[dave1650]

Originally Posted by MeyerRanch

Morning all, camping up in the Northern Cali mountains with the family and our brand new Alpha Wolf’s black Water won’t drain. Never been used so shouldn’t be clogged. Grey drains fine. Pull the valves and it’s like it’s not attached to anything. 2 bathrooms. Back one drained a little but no nothing, front tank is full! Any advice or help out there? Thanks in advance.

Do you have two separate black valves one for each bathroom and two separate tank level indicators? You stated the back one drained a little. Does the level indicator still show it not empty? Since you had a previous Wildwood I am sure you know to use a lot of water in the tanks to keep the solids flowing and not clogging? If you have a number for Forest River give them a call for advice. Hopefully it is something simple and you can finish your camping trip.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by dave1650

Do you have two separate black valves one for each bathroom and two separate tank level indicators? You stated the back one drained a little. Does the level indicator still show it not empty? Since you had a previous Wildwood I am sure you know to use a lot of water in the tanks to keep the solids flowing and not clogging? If you have a number for Forest River give them a call for advice. Hopefully it is something simple and you can finish your camping trip.

Dave, apparently you didn't read Post #17 before creating your post.

[NMWildcat]

Well, the OP talks about a front one and a back one. What the "one" refers to is a little vague Guess we won't know for sure until they return and tell us what they find......

[dave1650]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Dave, apparently you didn't read Post #17 before creating your post.

I looked up the Alpha Wolf line and the OP apparently has an Alpha Wolf 33BH-L. It is the only one with 2 bathrooms. It has 70 gal black tank listed while others have 35 gal. Does that mean it has two 35 gal or one 70 gal? One 70 gal would be a huge tank. It appears that post 17 missed this model. Since the OP implied he had a front and back tank with the back tank draining a little I was trying to confirm if he also had a separate front tank. I guess we won't know unless he comes back.