Dolphinite no longer here Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I have a 1985 Toyota Dolphin with the integral shower/toilet setup. The shower drains directly into the black water tank and if the tank is near full, black water backs up through the shower drain while showering. Also, there's quite an odor coming up through the shower drain when at highway speed. I think air is being forced down the roof vent, into the tank and up through the drain hole. Has anyone tried to re-route the shower drain around or through the black water tank so that the water drains to the grey water tank further aft? I've been thinking of cutting an access hole in the bottom of the black water tank so that I could attach a pipe to the drain and run it out the side of the black water tank to the grey water tank. Is this possible or even advbiseable? Any help would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Our previous sunrader had the same problem less the smelliness . There was really no way to plumb the shower to the gray tank as the gray was in the rear and the black was in the front on the other side of the axle and outside the frame. So I opted to just disconnect the shower from the tank and make it so that it just stubbed to the edge of the body. This way I could drain it into a 5 gallon bucket or attach a hose and drain it into the woods. We fount that the two of us used about 3 gals all together. But that was 3 less in a 8 gal black tank. The black you see above the pipe is the tank and the shower is basically right above the tank with no real way to plumb it to the gray. The other option I had considered was to have the shower drain into a small tank of its own and pump the water to the gray via a boat bilge pump. But there was really no place to put that tank. Basic plumbing sizes applied for ours, all available at your local hardware store. I fabricated a rubber seal for the showers old entry point into the black water tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Regarding the smell/odor, if we do not keep the trap* in our 85 Sunradar filed with water, we will experience what you are describing (quite unpleasant!). We simply pour a cup of water down the shower drain when it starts to smell. We also keep plugs on the sinks. Hope this helps. Regards, AllenL *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap_(plumbing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I put the weather vane things on both of my vents they work great even if you open the windows at speed no smell at all. No matter what the wind is doing they do not back draft. The first one I bought was $30+ and the second one was $18 buy the $18 one it works just as well frankly I think the extra money goes to slick advertising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoyhomme Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Funny how it seems no two motorhomes are plumbed alike. My 21 foot Sunrader has the commode sitting on top of the black water tank with no P trap, just make sure the flush valve seal is good and always keep a little water in the commode just like home. The shower and sinks all drain into my grey water tank and they all have P traps. I second Maineah on the use of the weathervane device on your roof vent(s). I had the same problem especially going down the road with the windows open. The odors went away after I added my weathervane (I got the idea from WME). I bought mine at Camping World but then found out later that Wal Mart has them at half the price and the same brand. Just look on their RV shelves in the Automotive section. Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChairmanMeow7 Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I had a problem with smells in my Toy as well , especially driving down the road. I did replace the standard "straight" (capped) roof vents , on both my grey and black water tank (roof vents). Although I did not use the "weather vane" type , I found one that was semi-arc shaped , with the vent openings facing towards the rear. These seem to draw the vented air to the rear of the coach as you are driving. Since installing these , no more smells ! I think this type probably works just (about) as well as the weather vane type , and I think I only paid about $7-8 for them on E-Bay. But , I think maybe had I known about the weather vane type , I probably may have opted for them. My main concern being if I am parked and there is a strong wind blowing from the back of the coach (and thus into the rear facing openings). I have yet to encounter this problem , but I can see where that could be a possiblity. The weather vane type looks like it will ALWAYS face the opposite direction of the wind flow (nice feature). It seems that a lot of the (smell) problems are caused by air being forced down into the tanks when on the road. I'm still not sure how this air was able to get past the traps and be forced up into the coach , but I think as long as you use some type of roof vent (cover) that doesn't allow air to be forced down the vent pipes , it will eliminate the problem (for the most part)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D. Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I had a problem with smells in my Toy as well , especially driving down the road. I did replace the standard "straight" (capped) roof vents , on both my grey and black water tank (roof vents). Although I did not use the "weather vane" type , I found one that was semi-arc shaped , with the vent openings facing towards the rear. These seem to draw the vented air to the rear of the coach as you are driving. I checked my vent and discovered that I had a wasp nest filling the opening. It was not live but had it completly closed off. I plan to try the whether vane anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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