Silverback Black Flush

[BigJohnD]

Figured I'd start a new thread with my questions so far. Alright, first 2 questions and I haven't even picked it up yet. These are mainly directed at the 35QBA owners, but other units may be similar,

1) where is the back flow preventer / vacuum break for the front black flush line? On one previous fifth wheel it was in the wall behind the TV, which sucked when it started to leak. I just want to find it and move it to a better place if need be, or do like i did on the other one and do away with it, install a vacuum break at the inlet and use a designated hose.

2) does the rear black tank have a black flush as well, and if so where is the bfp for it? If not I reckon I'll install one.

We're scheduled to pick the unit up tomorrow, so I'm crossing my fingers. Last few Motorhomes had just about took the fun out of camping due to unfixable problems, plus our ordeal with the special ordered sob we just left on a lot the other day. This one has gotta give us a break. If not, next step I guess is to build my own. We'll see.

[camper1999]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

Figured I'd start a new thread with my questions so far. Alright, first 2 questions and I haven't even picked it up yet. These are mainly directed at the 35QBA owners, but other units may be similar,

1) where is the back flow preventer / vacuum break for the front black flush line? On one previous fifth wheel it was in the wall behind the TV, which sucked when it started to leak. I just want to find it and move it to a better place if need be, or do like i did on the other one and do away with it, install a vacuum break at the inlet and use a designated hose.

2) does the rear black tank have a black flush as well, and if so where is the bfp for it? If not I reckon I'll install one.

We're scheduled to pick the unit up tomorrow, so I'm crossing my fingers. Last few Motorhomes had just about took the fun out of camping due to unfixable problems, plus our ordeal with the special ordered sob we just left on a lot the other day. This one has gotta give us a break. If not, next step I guess is to build my own. We'll see.

I can't say about the rear tank since I do not have one but it my be the same as the front. For the front the back flow preventer is under the bathroom sink.

[BigJohnD]

That would make sense. At least you can get to it there. These may be of better quality, but I've had a few leak and had to replace or remove. I believe it was at FR service in Elkhart, but someone had told me by code they had to be mounted above the toilet level. I questioned whether I could move it if need be, and they said no problem as long as it was above the tank. They just had to mount them as they were required. Obviously using a designated hose is best, but what I did to the last fifth wheel was acceptable as well and prevented the occasional squirt of water in an unwanted place. Thanks for the reply.

[BigJohnD]

OK. Got it home today, and so far so good. No real issues outside of a cosmetic thing here and there. I did find the anti-syphon valve for the front black tank flush, but even though there is a rear black tank flush, I can't find the anti-syphon valve for it. Still searching.

Next question. I know there is only supposed to be 4 tanks; 2 black, 2 gray. However, in the front compartment, there are 3 pull handles. One for black, one for shower, one for galley. On the rear, there are 2 more pull handles. One for black, one for gray. So what's up with the 3rd pull handle up front. Surely not a fifth tank I don't know about. I was thinking 4 tanks, 4 dump / pull handles.

[Dave_Monica]

Maybe a separate grey tank for the 1/2 bath...how many tanks on the monitor panel?

Dave

[BigJohnD]

After looking closer, it appears there is 5 tanks. On the front monitor, gray 1, gray 2, black. On the monitor in the half bath, there is 1 black and 1 gray. Guess they may have changed it as they're still advertised as 4 tanks I believe. I know there is a Cedar Creek contact list somewhere on here. I'd like to get in touch with somebody up there to verify the tank sizes now.

[ependydad]

Here is the warranty contacts for all of FR's brands:
https://dealers.forestriverinc.com/D...nformation.pdf

You might be able to start there.

[BigJohnD]

Thanks. That'd be the one I was thinking of. Guess I'll call one of them and maybe they can direct me to somebody that knows something.

[richard75w]

I accepted delivery of a 2014 37BH Silverback in late August. Love the unit so far… I couldn't even tell you what a fifth wheel was in July, but I needed to use it with my work.

I have the same setup, two grays and a black up front, and a small gray and small black tank in the rear.

When I use the tank flush, which is once a week, it squeals. I don't know if it is supposed to make that sound or not, but I have never had an unpleasant odor from the bathroom (except for man-made gases).

I've spent a lot of time on YouTube learning about these things. Sure would like for one of you guys to take me under your wing and tell me what I'm doing wrong.

So far I've spent about 80 nights in it, dragged it back from west Texas to east Texas, where it is now.

[BigJohnD]

That squealing is that anti-syphon valve that I cannot find. They tend to squeal every not and then and that's normal. Our front black flush is under the master bath sink. Line comes up, small black contraption like a check valve / vent, 90's over and line goes back down. I still cannot find the rear one, which leads me to believe it is in the wall somewhere. Bad idea if it leaks. I've called Cedar Creek, and I never did get a very for sure answer on tank sizes, but there are indeed 5 of them. Jeff Holmes claimed the front tanks were 50 gallons each. If that's true then the advertised sizes are way off. It'd sure be nice to know as after 6 previous RV's, we know exactly how long we can go on different size tanks. Pretty much got it down to an art.

[BigJohnD]

Good looking rig by the way. Here's a picture of ours and a few add on things I've done in the last few days. Haven't camped in it yet. It usually takes me a few weeks to do a real Post delivery inspection, get one modified, added on, loaded up, etc etc. Hopefully by next week we'll be good to go.

[richard75w]

Nice unit and storage you have there! Looks like you could play football in there.

I saw that vacuum in the bay there… is that factory or an add on? Would love to see your mods in greater detail.

I noticed Florien on your profile… my wife is from Natchitoches, we both went to school at Northwestern, as all of our four kids did.

[BigJohnD]

Hey richard75w, I wouldn't say football, but not far from it. I used to have a few pictures in my album but they're no longer there. The part your looking at is just for the truck and fifth wheel. 30 amp / 50 amp hook ups, water, sewer etc. Total shop is around 6000 square feet though, complete with guest room with full bath, welding shop, wood shop, trailer bays etc. So, it's a dream shop when it comes to backing an RV in there. You're good to go for any modification from welding a hitch on, building cabinets or whatever you can think of.
The vacuum was an option from CC. Same vacuum you can get at just about any camping place, or camping world. I wish it had the vacuum dust pan, so I'll probably add that to it later. This unit is no Rainbow Vac, but it's ok for quick clean ups. In the picture showing the vacuum, I just relocated it towards the outer wall (left in picture), neatened some of the wires, added the shut off valves which feed the rear of the fw, and of course installed the Progressive Dynamics 9200 converter with the charge wizard. It's apples to oranges in the converter world. I guess you could say it's more friendly to your batteries. On the Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C, I just love those. It's a hard wired surge protector. It gives me more peace of mind as if campground voltage gets too low, it shuts off, too high it shuts off, and if it surges, your covered. Also has a remote display that I mounted in the hallway. It cycles through a few read outs (Line 1 voltage, amps drawn on line 1, line 2 voltage, amps drawn on line 2, frequency, then error code if there is one. If nothing else, it's a cool toy. On the access panel, it's just a have to have. When I do my own inspection when I get them home, I take apart as much as I can to access everything. If a water line is going to leak, I want to know it quick, and the only way to check some things is make an access hole to them. We've done this on every RV we've had. The dealer / factory will obviously not catch all of them if there are any.
As for Natchitoches, that's my home town, however I only went 1 year to Northwestern and then offshore until present.
Feel free to PM me if you need any details on mods. There are more than I listed, those are just the majors.

[BigJohnD]

Well, after a phone conversation with Cedar Creek and a few brain farts, I found the anti-siphon valve for the rear black flush. I couldn't find it before as it didn't look like what I was used to seeing. It is a tiny gray inline piece, just behind the panel where all the inlets are. That one works fine. Now on the one for the front black tank, I've already ditched it. As in the past, this one put water under my bathroom sink on the first try. So, I didn't even try to fix it. Just cut the system completely out and I'll use the back flow preventer on the inlet. I hate those cheap plastic valves they put in. I've only had one NOT leak. Either way, problem solved.