Blaw56
Missouri
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I just purchased a Coachmen Freelander. First trip this weekend and I have a question. The campground we are staying at has sewer connections. I have emptied the holding tank before and that did not seem to be too difficult but didn't know if I needed other tools or hardware to accomplish this task at my campsight. Any help or suggestions would be wonderful. Bill Lawrence
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davemittan
North central Arkansas
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Joined: 01/05/2007
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I carry a big set of Channel Lock pliers just in case there's a threaded cap with a square lug on top. They should be finger tight, but sometimes someone was really tightened them down. (Someone with a twisted sense of humor?)
I've often wished I had a weight to put over the fitting at the end of the hose - to keep it down in the hole. Some of the holes are just holes - PVC with no threading. A rubber ring helps, but some extra weight would make it more secure.
Dave
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trnfla
Tampa
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make sure you have a long hose.
Have a great time camping,
Terry
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Blaw56
Missouri
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Okay. Another dumb question. Do I simply leave the valve open on the camper for the tank to empty or do I just periodically open the valve to drain the tank?
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fatmanobx
kill devil hills, n.c.
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I keep my valves closed until I get ready to leave. I dump the black and then hit my tank flush valve for a few minutes until it runs clean and then dump my gray to wash out the hose. The more you have in your black tank, the better it will empty. Can't wait to get back to Arkansas..
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BlackSilver
East of Heaven, North of Hell
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Blaw56 wrote:Okay. Another dumb question. Do I simply leave the valve open on the camper for the tank to empty or do I just periodically open the valve to drain the tank?
Do NOT leave the black holding tank open. If you do, the liquids will drain off and the solids will remain in a growing pile until you plug up your system.
I try not to drain my black tank until at least 3/4 full, to provide plenty of liquid to move the "bad stuff" downstream. If your weekend use is short, just run a few more gallons of water down the toilet to provide a reasonable amount of liquid.
Gray tanks (galley and shower) can be left open, but I prefer to let them also fill, as it provides "cleaner" water to flush out your sewer hose. When you leave the campground, empty your tanks in the order of dirtiest to cleanest water. I empty the black (toilet) tank first, then the galley grey tank, and finally the shower grey tank.
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Dick_B
Palos Heights, IL USA
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Do you have the right angle fittings and donuts to seal the connection to the campground sewer? Some way to support the sewer hose so it is higher at the RV than at the sewer? Do you have disposable gloves to handle all of the sewer parts; including the cap on the campground sewer?
We keep all the valves shut. When the black tank is 3/4 or so full we dump it, flush it out, and close the valve. Then open the one (or two) gray tank valves at the same time to flush the sewer piping. Then close the gray tank valves.
While the gray tanks are draining you can put the necessary chemicals into the black tank plus a couple of gallons of water.
Now we'll hear the other ways to do it.
BTW, we just had this discussion on another post.
Dick_B
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fisher60
Plant City, Florida
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I use 2 gallon milk jugs and a 4" wide strip of vinyl to hold my sewer hose in place for those instances where there is no thread to screw the 90 deg adapter in. Lay the 4" x 2' strip of vinyl over the sewer hose near the angle adapter. Fill the jugs with water. Set 1 on each side of the vinyl strip. That will provide approx 16 lbs of weight to help hold the hose down into the sewer pipe. When you're ready to leave the CG, dump the milk jugs. As the others have said. don't dump the black tank until it's near full, then flush with the grey tank.
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donee
Simi Valley, Ca. 93063
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The question of holding the drain hose in the connection is interesting.
I have heard of some people that have taken a sock, the type that loses a mate in the washer, and filled it with gravel and placed the lone sock onto the drain hose to keep it in place.
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