Sewer line/ holding tanks questions

[Stikman]

Hello all. We just got our 2nd travel trailer, but this is our first with holding tanks. I've read several threads about emptying and cleaning the black and gray tanks and I understand all that. But I need advice from others who know more about this than me. We are weekenders with the occasional weeklong trip. We have a 2016 Palomino 318tshbk and the gray tank valve is near the front of the trailer while the black tank valve is near the rear. When at the campground, do I hook up the sewer hose to the gray tank and then hook it up to the black tank when I'm ready to empty it? Or do I get two hoses with a Y connector. I've seen both, but not sure which to do. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[hankpac]

Originally Posted by Stikman

Hello all. We just got our 2nd travel trailer, but this is our first with holding tanks. I've read several threads about emptying and cleaning the black and gray tanks and I understand all that. But I need advice from others who know more about this than me. We are weekenders with the occasional weeklong trip. We have a 2016 Palomino 318tshbk and the gray tank valve is near the front of the trailer while the black tank valve is near the rear. When at the campground, do I hook up the sewer hose to the gray tank and then hook it up to the black tank when I'm ready to empty it? Or do I get two hoses with a Y connector. I've seen both, but not sure which to do. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

My rig has only one outlet. I would guess that yours has tanks widely separated.
Leaving the grey hooked up allows you to simply leave the gate valve open and drain as you go. Not many issues with that, although I like to have the flushing action of several gallons to carry any food particles out. Not too big a deal.
On the other hand (and drain) the black should remain closed until it needs emptying. Look up the subject regarding the brown pyramid, etc. I don't like the idea of hooking them together, since the black will back-flush up the grey hose when you drain it. Whether that presents a problem to you will be a function of how much slant you have in your drain lines.

[bob caldwell]

You could always plumb the front to the rear and only hook up hose once, as I've done

[Ford Idaho]

I think I would just buy a Y fitting and the extra hose needed to make it work.

http://www.googleadservices.com/page...QvhcIJQ&adurl=

I'm kind of lazy that way..

[rockfordroo]

Plumbing the front to the rear, ala Bob Caldwell, would be best, but it isn't always possible.

If you're somewhere for a week, I'm guessing you'll drain your grey tank two or 3 times in that week. You'll probably just drain the black before you leave. So I'd hook the hose to the grey and use as necessary. When you're ready to leave, let the grey tank fill. Then put the hose on the black tank and drain and flush it. Then move the hose back to the grey and drain it. This way the grey will flush out the "crap" in the hose from the black tank.

If you use a wye fitting, then
1) you'll need THREE hoses rather than 1 (and somewhere to store them), and
2) the one from the wye to the black tank won't get flushed.

Just my thoughts.

[Stikman]

Thanks a lot! This gives me some guidance on what I can do. I like the idea of using one hose, I just didn't know if it was feasible. I just wanted some feed back from more experienced rvers .

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by Stikman

Thanks a lot! This gives me some guidance on what I can do. I like the idea of using one hose, I just didn't know if it was feasible. I just wanted some feed back from more experienced rvers .

Be aware that you may need a LONGER hose, though!

[campingbaba]

Our 5er has the black and grey tank in front and a galley tank in the rear I use a y fitting . You will need one long hose and one short one . That's what works for us . Both hoses fit in the rear bumper .

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by campingbaba

Our 5er has the black and grey tank in front and a galley tank in the rear I use a y fitting . You will need one long hose and one short one . That's what works for us . Both hoses fit in the rear bumper .

If you're using a wye, that implies THREE hoses. Or are you putting the wye right at the sewer?? I guess that would get you down to 2 hoses.

[campingbaba]

The wye goes into the sewer pipe

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by campingbaba

The wye goes into the sewer pipe

You can do it that way, I saw a three hose setup in Riverside RV Park outside of Oregon City, Or. it seemed to work well enough.




Or

[youroo]

Originally Posted by Stikman

Hello all. We just got our 2nd travel trailer, but this is our first with holding tanks. I've read several threads about emptying and cleaning the black and gray tanks and I understand all that. But I need advice from others who know more about this than me. We are weekenders with the occasional weeklong trip. We have a 2016 Palomino 318tshbk and the gray tank valve is near the front of the trailer while the black tank valve is near the rear. When at the campground, do I hook up the sewer hose to the gray tank and then hook it up to the black tank when I'm ready to empty it? Or do I get two hoses with a Y connector. I've seen both, but not sure which to do. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Stickman instead of this Mess of Big hoses and Y's,just buy a Sewer cap that has a garden hose outlet and a 90 that also has a garden hose thread as well as the Standard hose connection for the final termination! Valterra Gray Water drain adapter # SKU T1020-5 and Valterra EZ Coupler Sewer adapter# SKU F02-3103 and a 5/8 garden hose for connection! Youroo!!

[bob caldwell]

I have that option as well

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by campingbaba

The wye goes into the sewer pipe

OK. Two hoses is still one more (actually, two more -) than I want to deal with!!

[Stikman]

The three hose set up looks neat, I'm just not sure about all you'll need to get a good fall to make sure it drains ok.

[Retired JSO]

We stay for 7-10 days during most outings. When sewer is available, I leave all valves closed watching our gray gauges. I'll empty my gray when needed but our 38 gal black tank is never close to full. I try to have at least 1/2 tank of gray before we depart. I drop the black, rinse and then drop the gray. Been doing it this way for 12 years without a problem.

[Stikman]

I also found this handle next to the gray water valve. The specs say I only have one gray water tank and I can't find any info in my paperwork. Any ideas? Sorry the picture is upside down . Not sure how that happened. Dang technology!!

[twoclaws]

Originally Posted by Stikman

Hello all. We just got our 2nd travel trailer, but this is our first with holding tanks. I've read several threads about emptying and cleaning the black and gray tanks and I understand all that. But I need advice from others who know more about this than me. We are weekenders with the occasional weeklong trip. We have a 2016 Palomino 318tshbk and the gray tank valve is near the front of the trailer while the black tank valve is near the rear. When at the campground, do I hook up the sewer hose to the gray tank and then hook it up to the black tank when I'm ready to empty it? Or do I get two hoses with a Y connector. I've seen both, but not sure which to do. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

We have owned a few trailers with one connection for grey/black tanks. Currently rig has 2 sets of grey/black - one set at midship and other at rear. Bought the Y and extra hose extra elevator to support hose, used it one time. Not worth the time to set up or$$$ expenditure unless your going to OFTEN be in one place 2 months or more. Also takes up storage (extra hose) Easier to move hose from one discharge outlet to the other. It takes time to fill the tanks up to dumping level. I ll not dump after each trip - this depends upon the level of tanks, the time to next campout and what dump facilities will be available there. Use common sense. Just my thoughts. Keep it simple. Use your unit a while and you will find your answer

[ProfChuck]

youroo has the right idea for an easy setup. We have a front kitchen grey water hookup and the usual bathroom black and grey tanks. The front kitchen is separate and I did the same thing. Found an old piece of hose that I wasn't using for the garden anymore and cut it to length to fit from my front outlet to the rear tank outlet. Didn't realize there was a 90 connection with a regular sewer and a hose connection, so I used the Y connector and added the cap with a hose connection to it. Put another cap with a hose connection on the kitchen outlet and put the garden hose between them - but at the Y where the grey water and black water meet, I put one of those plastic ball hose shutoffs in between the hose and the inlet cap. When I drain the black water, I just shut off the valve to the kitchen (my actual kitchen valve on the trailer is under and in the middle of the living room slide out so it is very hard to reach) drain the black water and after closing the black water valve again, open the kitchen valve. Everything is in one spot and it only takes a couple of minutes. I also put a Y in the water hose with shutoffs and a short hose up to the cleanout inlet and the other to the fresh water filter and then to the city inlet. Since we usually stay a week or more at a time, the couple of extra minutes it takes to set this up is well worth it. Hope that makes sense.