Toilet will not drain

[HESN22]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer1954

Sewer vent on roof open ?

It is ...

[Rocknoids]

I had the same issue. I have a 2016 Rockwood 5th wheel. It has an elbow in the pipe on the way to the black tank. Turn off the water, prop the peddle so the toilet valve stays open. Go take a break and let the water slowly drain. When the water is down, shove a garden hose down as far as it may go. Have someone turn the water on and be ready to yell if the water starts backing up. Pump the hose up & down trying to get further own the drain. Wait for the water to drain and start again. Once I cleared the blockage, I filled the black tank and drained it several times. My issue turned out to be too much toilet paper. Blame the G'daughter. I hope you this fight.

[BillyBass]

Maybe there a cobweb in the vent pipe that the eye cant see> Have you run something down thru it BC it can block the air to go thru it . That happen to my HW tank I had to run a brush thru it and it was find. Please let me know if when you find out .

[MikeInRaleigh]

Originally Posted by Rocknoids

I had the same issue. I have a 2016 Rockwood 5th wheel. It has an elbow in the pipe on the way to the black tank. Turn off the water, prop the peddle so the toilet valve stays open. Go take a break and let the water slowly drain. When the water is down, shove a garden hose down as far as it may go. Have someone turn the water on and be ready to yell if the water starts backing up. Pump the hose up & down trying to get further own the drain. Wait for the water to drain and start again. Once I cleared the blockage, I filled the black tank and drained it several times. My issue turned out to be too much toilet paper. Blame the G'daughter. I hope you this fight.

Ditto on the Rockwood. I had the same problem and fortunately was able to clear with a snake. I was using the "safe for septic" toilet paper instead of the RV paper. I also trained females to use a full flush when going #1 to make sure the paper clears the pipe and elbow on the way to the tank, which is several feet away from the toilet.

[smitty31093]

I have not read all the responses to this thread but I have a friend that had this problem. First question; is this a new to you camper? My friend had only used his camper one time before his problem occurred. As it turned out, his camper has two black tanks with separate drain valves. He had emptied and cleaned out what he thought was his only black tank. Once he looked further back he saw the second black tank pull handle. Viola! Once this tank was emptied his problem was solved. No trying to be a smart ***** but this has happened to others as well.

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by HESN22

Thank you all for your responses ... truly appreciate it ... have tried everything regarding snaking, poking, prodding ... and yes, pulling the black tank lever ... but as that is not the problem does not really matter ...

Tech is coming in this week to take a look ...

Has the tech shown up yet?

[HESN22]

Originally Posted by BillyBass

Maybe there a cobweb in the vent pipe that the eye cant see> Have you run something down thru it BC it can block the air to go thru it . That happen to my HW tank I had to run a brush thru it and it was find. Please let me know if when you find out .

Thank you

[HESN22]

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

Has the tech shown up yet?

29 sep

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by HESN22

29 sep

Holy crap batman! That's a long time to go without a toilet.........

[HESN22]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Holy crap batman! That's a long time to go without a toilet.........

Mhm ... means friends cant use their 5th during this beautiful indian summer weather ...

[SunNRain]

Well I'm surprised only Dmbrons (post 57) has suggested the following, because I've had exactly the same problem as the OP, and have done the same. Mainly because:

1) Not all RVs have straight toilet to black tank drains. My '07 Carriage Cameo 5th wheel has at least 4 hard right angle turns between the two, and so
2) Not all blockages can be effectively reached with a hand snake due to sharp edges in the pipe joints, or just too many angles or length, and
3) Simply opening the toilet flush valve doesn't guarantee the water will drain in any reasonable amount of time, and
4) The "pyramid" and/or vent are not always the cause either.

I think the OP has satisfactorily given enough evidence of what they are experiencing.

After THREE full days of a non-functional toilet not draining, and trying all the other tricks and tips mentioned, I ran to Home Depot and picked up a drain bladder like that shown below. It screws on to the end of a water hose and is pushed into the sewer drain pipe below the toilet to a straight part of the drain pipe. Have somebody else slowly turn on the water and the bladder expands to fill the diameter of the sewer pipe generating its own self-sealing "clog" and only then, the pressurized water in the bladder begins to spray out of one or more slots in the leading edge of the bladder. If it's a direct hit on the clog source itself, it may dislodge it, otherwise the water continues to fill and pressurize the sewer pipe between it and the clog source until it "blows" the clog into the black tank. As soon as the clog is discharged, have the other person turn the water off, and pull the hose and bladder back up the toilet.

Best $8-$12 I ever spent, and it stays in my rig(s) full time. I will advise that they come in three sizes based on the diameter of the pipe being used with, and I would choose the type that are intended for 1.5 - 3" pipe. The smaller ones are too small for sewer, and the largest size probably won't make any bends very well in the interior pipe.

[HESN22]

Originally Posted by SunNRain

Well I'm surprised only Dmbrons (post 57) has suggested the following, because I've had exactly the same problem as the OP, and have done the same. Mainly because:

1) Not all RVs have straight toilet to black tank drains. My '07 Carriage Cameo 5th wheel has at least 4 hard right angle turns between the two, and so
2) Not all blockages can be effectively reached with a hand snake due to sharp edges in the pipe joints, or just too many angles or length, and
3) Simply opening the toilet flush valve doesn't guarantee the water will drain in any reasonable amount of time, and
4) The "pyramid" and/or vent are not always the cause either.

I think the OP has satisfactorily given enough evidence of what they are experiencing.

After THREE full days of a non-functional toilet not draining, and trying all the other tricks and tips mentioned, I ran to Home Depot and picked up a drain bladder like that shown below. It screws on to the end of a water hose and is pushed into the sewer drain pipe below the toilet to a straight part of the drain pipe. Have somebody else slowly turn on the water and the bladder expands to fill the diameter of the sewer pipe generating its own self-sealing "clog" and only then, the pressurized water in the bladder begins to spray out of one or more slots in the leading edge of the bladder. If it's a direct hit on the clog source itself, it may dislodge it, otherwise the water continues to fill and pressurize the sewer pipe between it and the clog source until it "blows" the clog into the black tank. As soon as the clog is discharged, have the other person turn the water off, and pull the hose and bladder back up the toilet.

Best $8-$12 I ever spent, and it stays in my rig(s) full time. I will advise that they come in three sizes based on the diameter of the pipe being used with, and I would choose the type that are intended for 1.5 - 3" pipe. The smaller ones are too small for sewer, and the largest size probably won't make any bends very well in the interior pipe.

Thank you for taking the time... have passed this on to my friend ... hopefully they sell at home depot in canada ...

[HESN22]

Originally Posted by Electra glide

I had a similar problem. There was a clog at the bottom on the toilet side. I bought a section of pex tubing and used it to clear the issue out. That in turn created another problem. Whatever was causing the blockage broke free as a whole piece and blocked the black tank drain. I had to have a sewer truck come out and he suctioned it right out. I think our problem came because we used different tp than normal for a while due to the covid hoarding. Cost me about $70 to have it cleaned out.
So if hers was clogged and you used the snake the clog may have moved to the black drain like it did in mine?

Never thought of getting sewer truck ... and believe it or not, there is actually a port-a-potty company just down the road ... thank you

[HESN22]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer1954

Sewer vent on roof open ?

Yes ... and not clogged

[HESN22]

Originally Posted by Rocknoids

I had the same issue. I have a 2016 Rockwood 5th wheel. It has an elbow in the pipe on the way to the black tank. Turn off the water, prop the peddle so the toilet valve stays open. Go take a break and let the water slowly drain. When the water is down, shove a garden hose down as far as it may go. Have someone turn the water on and be ready to yell if the water starts backing up. Pump the hose up & down trying to get further own the drain. Wait for the water to drain and start again. Once I cleared the blockage, I filled the black tank and drained it several times. My issue turned out to be too much toilet paper. Blame the G'daughter. I hope you this fight.

Toilet will not drain at all ...

[TGR]

The “Drain Bladder” recommended by SunNRain has worked for many people and should at least allow your toilet to drain into the black tank. However, the Poop Pyramid initially is only disturbed and not completely removed, so keep working it to break up the poop pyramid. Once open, adding one of the several chemical cleaners, e.g., Unique Holding Tank Cleaner, to “eat” away the pyramid will, over time, cause the pyramid to go away if the drain bladder didn’t fully do that. A holding tank cleaner will likely also work by just adding it to the toilet. However, if there isn’t time to wait for this, a toilet wand is another way to break up the pyramid faster.

My 5th wheel trailer has a 90 degree elbow below the toilet, then runs for about 4 feet to another 90 degree elbow that drops down to the holding tank where a poop pyramid rose to block my toilet. I did a Google search for "fix a poop pyramid" and found directions to build a flexible flush wand out of a straight 10-foot length of 1/2-inch PEX tubing fitted with a Sharkbite 1/2-inch PEX barbed to hose adaptor fitting and I secured it with a hose clamp. Adding a hose shutoff is a good idea, too. Just snake the open end of the PEX tubing into your holding tank and use water pressure to break up the pyramid. I've only needed it once but for less than $15, I can fix the problem should it happen again. The PEX tubing also works as a snake to break open the clog and allow the toilet to drain into the black tank before you turn the water on.

You might want to use a shop vac to pull the water out of the toilet and prevent an overflow should the pyramid resist the initial water application from allowing the toilet to drain as you turn on the water.

[kfd82]

Originally Posted by SunNRain

Well I'm surprised only Dmbrons (post 57) has suggested the following, because I've had exactly the same problem as the OP, and have done the same. Mainly because:

1) Not all RVs have straight toilet to black tank drains. My '07 Carriage Cameo 5th wheel has at least 4 hard right angle turns between the two, and so
2) Not all blockages can be effectively reached with a hand snake due to sharp edges in the pipe joints, or just too many angles or length, and
3) Simply opening the toilet flush valve doesn't guarantee the water will drain in any reasonable amount of time, and
4) The "pyramid" and/or vent are not always the cause either.

I think the OP has satisfactorily given enough evidence of what they are experiencing.

After THREE full days of a non-functional toilet not draining, and trying all the other tricks and tips mentioned, I ran to Home Depot and picked up a drain bladder like that shown below. It screws on to the end of a water hose and is pushed into the sewer drain pipe below the toilet to a straight part of the drain pipe. Have somebody else slowly turn on the water and the bladder expands to fill the diameter of the sewer pipe generating its own self-sealing "clog" and only then, the pressurized water in the bladder begins to spray out of one or more slots in the leading edge of the bladder. If it's a direct hit on the clog source itself, it may dislodge it, otherwise the water continues to fill and pressurize the sewer pipe between it and the clog source until it "blows" the clog into the black tank. As soon as the clog is discharged, have the other person turn the water off, and pull the hose and bladder back up the toilet.

Best $8-$12 I ever spent, and it stays in my rig(s) full time. I will advise that they come in three sizes based on the diameter of the pipe being used with, and I would choose the type that are intended for 1.5 - 3" pipe. The smaller ones are too small for sewer, and the largest size probably won't make any bends very well in the interior pipe.

I know the OP thanked you, but I would also like to thank you for reading the problem, the responses, and NOT blindly typing out "POOP PYRAMID!!"

Have a great day.

[dward51]

For $20 you can get a "endoscope" that attaches to your cell phone. They are waterproof and have a light on the camera end. Most are stiff enough to snake down or you can tape it to the plumbing snake. At least you can see what's going on if the water is reasonably clear. Might be worth the $20 investment even if you toss it after snaking it down the black water and tank. On Amazon, Ebay, etc....

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=android+e...b_sb_ss_i_1_12

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by BillyBass

Cheaper to use a wet dry vac

But then YOU have to deal with the contents.

[BillyBass]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

But then YOU have to deal with the contents.

Thats why they make gloves