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astroboy18 · 09-04-2017, 12:33 PM

Took possession of our 2018 25'FB Serenity on 8/19 and hit the road with it on 8/25!!! Destination was MOUNTAINS for some cooler weather, hikes etc., as Central Florida is still Africa HOT. First overnight in TIFTON Ga. Did not unhitch, just slept with AC on made breakfast and continued North. Had heard about an Airstream Only park in Helen Georgia (who knew Georgia had mountains?) and not only did we stay for 4 nights (unhitched and did day trips) we happily joined the WBCCI. That drove the nightly rate down from $20/night (already a DEAL) to $12/night! Full hook ups and WiFi. A stream runs through the park! You can be sure to find me there a good part of next summer, along with ALL the other Floridians in that park! Great group of fellow Airstreamer's, friendly, helpful, insightful. Their Rally started the day that we left but it looked like fun. Just ONE piece of knowledge I gained that I will pass along, thank you IAN (camp host in Helen). After your last night of camping (all tanks drained) and on your drive home buy a bag of ice (10 lbs preferred) and dump it in your toilet with some Dawn dish soap. Get the ice all down into the tank where your drive home will bounce it all around and SCOUR your black tank! And your gauge said your black tank was zero, ha! You will get a small bucket worth of nastiness out when the ice melts. NOW you can drop in one of those sanitizing pouches and a fresh gallon of water knowing your black tank is REALLY EMPTY!!!! As my new Airstream friend(s) are fond of saying upon departure......."see you down the road"!!!!

Rich W · 09-04-2017, 03:17 PM

Hi Astroboy, greetings from central Kentucky.

Congratulations on your new AS acquisition, may you have many carefree miles of adventures ahead of you.

The suggestion of using a bag of ice in your black tank has been disproven. The dish soap is good but the cubes just bang around in there, floating in the water and not doing much good. Look for some videos on YouTube for some tests.

We have used tablets, powders and liquids in both the gray and black tanks. Our experience has been that the gray tank smells as bad as the black, sometimes. We mix up the stuff according to directions and then put it in the toilet or the vanity sink, closest to the gray tank. Before we leave a campground (especially headed home) I have 6 gallons of tap water in some left over gallon water bottles. We flush the black, close, dump in 4 gallon bottles, open the black valve and it is usually running clear. (I have an elbow on my slinky that is transparent.)

We do the same to the gray, close the black, dump the gray, close the gray, then put a gallon down kitchen and vanity sinks and dump again. That runs pretty clear also.

If we are leaving and heading for another campground a hundred miles or more away, we put a treatment in the black tank ( we use Extreme Tank Cleaner: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) let it slosh around, then dump on arrival at the next site. That has made a big difference for us.

Happy trails

DaveMc · 09-04-2017, 04:08 PM

Congrats on getting some miles behind you!!! We're not quite done with our first year Airstreaming, so I can relate to the great feelings! When issues arise, take them in stride and keep on keepin' on!

StrmyWeather · 09-04-2017, 04:31 PM

Congratulations on your new AS! We're just south of you and have had ours a year now and love it. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Sounds like you're off to a good start. Safe Travels!