Grey water not draining.

leemar78 · 10-30-2018, 07:35 AM

I have a wildcat 375 mc and a full tank of grey water.
Before I start tearing into the underside to get to the main grey dump valve, is there a second valve on this unit that I'm overlooking ? I see 3 valves, one for the rear bath, bath 1, and 2 for bath 2, grey and black. I'm sure hoping I'm missing something here.
Thanks for any input you may have.

LEEMAR

brookstone345sa · 10-30-2018, 07:57 AM

If you have 3 valves you probably have 2 Grey tanks. My galley tank valve is behind rear tire up on the frame. Check that area, it would be on drivers side.
Most newer 5th wheels and TT's have 2 grey tanks , one for bathroom, and one for kitchen sink

leemar78 · 10-30-2018, 09:42 AM

Well, went to the dealer this morning, they're as clueless as I am. I don't have the luxury of parking my 5th wheel at home, so, I drove out and gave it another look, my bad, I have 4 valves on there, two up forward and two for the rear bath, which is only stool and sink. I opened every valve on this thing, nothing. However, I see a yellow mark on the frame, actually there's yellow marks by every dump handle, but this one is to rear of the forward black water handle. You don't suppose there should be another handle installed there for a galley dump do you ? I'm lost, guess it goes to the dealer later this week.

**Iwritecode** · 10-30-2018, 10:00 AM

How do you know the grey water tank is full? If you are going by the indicator lights, they are notoriously inaccurate.

leemar78 · 10-30-2018, 10:06 AM

The kitchen sink wouldn't drain. Pulled the vent cap off below the sink, standing water up to the cross pipe to the trap. I ran a fifteen foot snake down that thing, nothing, snaked up from the sewer outlet, nothing, been on the roof looking at vents, looks good to me. I'd sure like to see a schematic of these campers, the dealer doesn't even have one.

**Iwritecode** · 10-30-2018, 10:10 AM

Might be worthwhile to put a clear elbow on your sewer connections and run some water through all your faucets and toilets one by one so that you know exactly which one is connected to which drain.

It's possible your drain is plugged up somewhere. Although it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that they forgot to add a drain as well.

dustman_stx · 10-30-2018, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

Might be worthwhile to put a clear elbow on your sewer connections and run some water through all your faucets and toilets one by one so that you know exactly which one is connected to which drain.

It's possible your drain is plugged up somewhere. Although it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that they forgot to add a drain as well.

Only way it would be holding water without a valve is if they capped the drain. Thinking either there is a valve not yet found or a blockage.

leemar78 · 10-30-2018, 10:59 AM

I appreciate all the replies, Thank You, at the moment I'm thinking the grey water valve is not opening, hard to tell with the enclosed underbelly, I sure can't find another valve on there. Dealer said to bring it in Thursday and they'd get to it as soon as possible, hoping before it freezes

.
Warranty ends tomorrow, so hopefully they will extend it for this repair, if not, well, it's got to be fixed, their pocket or mine.
I'll let you know what they find and Thanks again.

Chuck.C · 10-30-2018, 01:24 PM

Hopefully you've documented the appointment as being made prior to warranty expiration. If they have to open it up for service it could be expensive.

rlh1957 · 10-30-2018, 01:24 PM

Schematic? What's that? If they exist they are in a guarded and no one has access. None have leaked and surfaced.

MilCop4523 · 10-30-2018, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leemar78

I appreciate all the replies, Thank You, at the moment I'm thinking the grey water valve is not opening, hard to tell with the enclosed underbelly, I sure can't find another valve on there. Dealer said to bring it in Thursday and they'd get to it as soon as possible, hoping before it freezes

.
Warranty ends tomorrow, so hopefully they will extend it for this repair, if not, well, it's got to be fixed, their pocket or mine.
I'll let you know what they find and Thanks again.

My nickel worth (since in Canada we no longer have cents)
You should be fine warranty wise as long as you do the following:
Bring it in the day the warranty expires though and take a couple pics of it on the lot waiting for service of a noted issue.

Have them draft a work order with the last day of warranty printed on it with the diagnosis.
it takes them like 10 minutes to go out and pull the T handles to see it is not working.
get a copy of the preliminary work order for proof it was taken in before the warranty expired and that they were on it.

Wishart · 10-30-2018, 01:43 PM

We had a similar event on our Wildcat 5th wheel this summer. It seemed that there was not enough air getting to the tank, at least in part because the dump hose went across the ground, but had to rise to the output at the park tank. I lifted the dump hose, which was full of water, and as it emptied, the galley tank emptied as well. On the rest of our trip I just had to make sure that the dump hose flowed well. We also put a couple of dish pans of water down the sink to be sure that the galley tank got a good flush. It is now at the dealer having it inspected to be sure there is no additional problem.

cavie · 10-30-2018, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leemar78

I have a wildcat 375 mc and a full tank of grey water.
Before I start tearing into the underside to get to the main grey dump valve, is there a second valve on this unit that I'm overlooking ? I see 3 valves, one for the rear bath, bath 1, and 2 for bath 2, grey and black. I'm sure hoping I'm missing something here.
Thanks for any input you may have.

LEEMAR

Based on your floor plan you will should have 2 gray tanks and 2 blacks. The axels are between the 2 baths. All four can be connected to a single dump.

Chuck.C · 10-30-2018, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlh1957

Schematic? What's that? If they exist they are in a guarded and no one has access. None have leaked and surfaced.

Actually, they do exist. That's what they (should) build to. The question is whether or not the manufacturer will give them out. I called my customer service rep at Coachmen, and he emailed me a full set of engineering drawings in a PDF. It cost them next to nothing and they made this customer very happy. Give it a try.

rthomaslyons · 10-30-2018, 02:17 PM

On one of my trailers when it was new, the black water tank was really slow draining. I took a hose and shoved it into the dump valve and voila out came a circular piece of floor sheeting. It appears when they cut the toilet hole the tank was already mounted and the cutting went into the tank. Could this be a possibility?

WhiteEagle · 10-30-2018, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leemar78

I have a wildcat 375 mc and a full tank of grey water.
Before I start tearing into the underside to get to the main grey dump valve, is there a second valve on this unit that I'm overlooking ? I see 3 valves, one for the rear bath, bath 1, and 2 for bath 2, grey and black. I'm sure hoping I'm missing something here.
Thanks for any input you may have.

LEEMAR

Just a thought, as this has happened to me before..... my wife likes to throw the coffee grinds from our French press down the drain! On one occasion, and after sitting for awhile, the grey water tank wouldn't drain. It took awhile to figure it out, but the coffee grinds were blocking the drain. I used a snake and was able to clear it. Not fun, but it did work.

Needless to say, my wife has been instructed to NOT wash the coffee grinds down the sink! Better yet, I'm thinking of getting a drip coffee machine so we can just throw them in the garbage instead.

I'm not sure if this is your issue, but it's something worth thinking about if you use a French press for making your coffee. Good luck.

markb422 · 10-30-2018, 05:04 PM

Is the trailer set up for cold weather. Like with tank heaters. The reason is, is because if there is a long drain pipe from the tank to the dump location there could be valves at each end of the pipe. This is so no water/waste is sitting in the drain pipe that could freeze. With a valve right at the tank the tank heater will keep the water/waste from freezing. So if there are valves at both ends you should keep the valve at the tank closed when temps get near freezing.

Chuck_S · 10-30-2018, 05:16 PM

Going out of warranty? How many times have the tanks been dumped in the past year? Any 8-year old boys around sticking things in drains?

-- Chuck

Wishart · 10-30-2018, 05:44 PM

We also use a french press for coffee. When it is cooled after use, we use the thin plastic bags our newspaper comes for the coffee grounds, turning the bag into a glove to dig them out. Those few that are left get rinsed out and flushed down the toilet, since the black tank gets its own flush. Camping in National Parks without electricity, and some boondocking sort of rules out a drip machine.

**ES_FR** · 10-31-2018, 08:07 AM

leemar78,

We would be happy to assist you with this question regarding your grey water tank. Please contact Nesa Wilson in our Customer service department through the following personalized and direct link: Forest River RV Direct Service Contact - Forest River, Inc..

This direct link is provided for your convenience in order that we may resolve your concerns as quickly as possible. We will strive to respond to you within 24 hours of receiving your correspondence.

Respectfully,
Forest River

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