Kite mobile Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Finally, after buying the MH in February, we went on our first 2 day test trip. This was great experience and we were surprised that everything worked. My wifey even said that this was the best family investment I have ever purchased. However, we did have one small issue that gave me some headache. On our first morning, I discovered that shower was filled with water and it started leaking to the bathroom floor. No biggie, I drained both grey and black water tanks and water in the shower disappeared. The very same day the same thing happened again, water in shower coming out of the drain, so I pulled the valve for grey water and water in the shower drained out. What is going on? According to Winnebago manual, the grey tank should hold 12 gallons or same as black tank as well as fresh tank. Am I forgetting something? This is our first MH and I am very new to this. I checked the two ring valves near fresh water tank and they are both pushed in. Please advise. We are planning a long kiteboarding trip to Vancouver Island and with two small children I need that grey tank to work. Thank you very much for any input. Much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyboxII Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Hi--congrats on you maiden voyage! We have a '92 Itasca in which we full-time. The obvious answer to your problem is water volume in and water volume out. Don't know how you are using the water, but if you or DW are using it like you are at home, with the dump valves closed, you will be surprised how fast both tanks fill up. Although the manual says 12 gallons, I have personally measured input and output on my tanks, and neither one is near specs. Try hooking up to a sewer outlet, and using it as you did, and I'll bet you will have not more problem. If that is the case, you will just have to be aware of how much water you are putting into those tiny tanks when your dump valves are closed. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Hook up to a proper RV drain, empty the tanks and using a couple of 1 gallon jugs measure how much it takes to fill them. P.S. IF the tank topside vent is plugged the tanks won't fill to capacity due to trapped air. WME Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kite mobile Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 Thanks for prompt replies, I'll check with 23 liter canister how much exactly does the grey tank hold, I am sure its nowhere near factory 45 liters. Hook up to a proper RV drain, empty the tanks and using a couple of 1 gallon jugs measure how much it takes to fill them. P.S. IF the tank topside vent is plugged the tanks won't fill to capacity due to trapped air. WME Is there a way to check that topside vent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail powered Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Thanks for prompt replies, I'll check with 23 liter canister how much exactly does the grey tank hold, I am sure its nowhere near factory 45 liters. Is there a way to check that topside vent? Crawl up on the roof, unhook the vent cap. Make sure there is a gap between the vent stack pipe coming up and the top of the cap. If that pipe hits the top of the cap then air can't escape which could be one possible cause of a backed up drain. If you don't know how to take the cap off then goodle on these keywords "rv vent cap plumbing" match the style you have and look at the installation instructions for it. Those instructions will also tell you the height the pipe coming up out of the rig should be. You can run a plumbers snake down the vent tube to clear possible blockages. If you have a sink on the same vent stack maybe that is where there is a vent blockage has occured. Remember its just a bunch of tubes with a big storage box at the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kite mobile Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 Crawl up on the roof, unhook the vent cap. Make sure there is a gap between the vent stack pipe coming up and the top of the cap. If that pipe hits the top of the cap then air can't escape which could be one possible cause of a backed up drain. If you don't know how to take the cap off then goodle on these keywords "rv vent cap plumbing" match the style you have and look at the installation instructions for it. Those instructions will also tell you the height the pipe coming up out of the rig should be. You can run a plumbers snake down the vent tube to clear possible blockages. If you have a sink on the same vent stack maybe that is where there is a vent blockage has occured. Remember its just a bunch of tubes with a big storage box at the bottom. I thought you were joking at first, I was imagining that this vent would be on the tank itself. I haven't actually been on the roof yet, I am 90kg and was scared to dent the roof, however, my 2.5 year old son has already been there, scared the s**t out of me...haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacer Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 I am a new owner too. Going to a toyin in Nanaimo in June. Please look at the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail powered Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 I thought you were joking at first, I was imagining that this vent would be on the tank itself. I haven't actually been on the roof yet, I am 90kg and was scared to dent the roof, however, my 2.5 year old son has already been there, scared the s**t out of me...haha. You are in for a bit of education into many new and not always pleasant things to deal with. Of course you could call a plumber if you don't want to mess with this stuff. Just use a sturdy step ladder, you don't actually have to crawl onto the roof as most times the vents are over towards the edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Some showers drained into the gray tank some drained into the black. The gray will fill faster (doing dishes,shower and bath sink). When you empty the gray tank leave the valve open and run the shower if water comes out you'll know how it drains. There is not a lot of room in the drain tanks and the water supply is greater then a single tank. Some people have managed to swap the shower to the black tank but there is not a lot of room to deal with plumbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 the roof vent is on a stack- just like a house. Get some gallon jugs & do the calibration - won't take long & then you will know. A clogged vent seems unlikely to me but it is possible. My camper has 12 gallon g & b & 14 gallon fresh. If we shower/ use kitchen sink exclusivelly water will backup in the shower. If that happens I just let a few out into a bucket. Generally while hooked up to sewer you leave the g open & the B closed. Then when the b fills up you dump it. If you leave the b open solids will clog it up. If that has happened to you put a few gallons in it & drive around, dump & repeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kite mobile Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 thank you all for suggestions, I will check upon return from my two week rotation up North Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 if you find you need more waste storage i expanded or doubled my black tank with an 18 gallon thetford smart tote portable waste tank very nice desinged unit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kite mobile Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share Posted June 16, 2013 To my big disappointment, there is no grey water tank on this MH! After the grey water dump valve the piping goes straight to t-joint under the shower and then towards the kitchen sink :( . The piping does not look stock in this junction, so I guess it has been replaced by previous owners where Grey Tank has been taken out completely for some reason. Oh well, bucket under the grey valve it is when boondocking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 wow! must have broken the tank & ditched it. It should be just in front of the dump valve - looks a lot like the black tank which is located under the toilet (I have a 93 winnie warrior 321rb rear bath, I have had a 92 itasca spirit which is the same thing. you might check around for a tank at junkyards - where ever rv's go to die. it is very accessible. of course if you always stop where you can dump gray on the ground it does not matter. most rv parks & many states do not allow it === but many folks do it. Guess if you take a shower or run sink water with the drain closed water will back up pretty quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fast freddy Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 are there options to replace the original holding tanks to larger ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 my dolphon has an 18 gallon black tank. i ext that with an 18 gallon thetferd smart tote portable black tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.