grey watertank and blackwater tank

[herdsman]

Hi all !!! were Lonnie & Jamie .....we have been locked in a house for two years here in Southwest Washington and are ready to hit the road again ....Having trouble with being able to dump our tanks .....and the fun part is that the black tank is full ....this is on a 1974 argosy 18.5 ft trailer ....started to take a look oh boy ....need a good service manual ....also have to replace a furnace...... any ideas out there .....Thanks Lots......Lonnie & Jamie

[norbert]

full tank eh?....take it to a service center, or you could become the next robin williams....
norby

[juel]

Try a local lake park to see if they have a dump station. I know the temp is probably a factor up there; however, if you have a local lake or state park where they allow trailer parking, they will usually have a "dump station". If you're asking how to dump the trailer, my Argosy has a pull in the middle of the back pumper that empties the black water tank. The gray water tank pull is on the street side. These are little "T" pulls.

[StingrayL82]

Ummmmmm,



EWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!


Seriously, though, Camping World has a flushing kit available, which will yield good results, after you do manage to dump it. When we owned our SOB trailer, the previous owners had neglected to dump their black tank as well. I spent a good hour and a half flushing that tank out. I can tell you unequivocally that they really enjoyed their corn!




Good luck with it.

Frederic

[herdsman]

well now as a new guy ......I forgot to tell......my blackwater T pull doesn't open the gate in there anymore .....still interested ....fun stuff ....Thanks ...Lonnie

[Darol Ingalls]

Lonnie, If your drain plumbing is original, the slide valve is the Thetford brand with a stainless steel plate for the gasket sealing surface. If left full and/or unused for a long time, this will rust causing the slide to stick shut. The slide valve will need to be replaced. Find one of those portable toilet service trucks and "sweet-talk" them into pumping out the tank through the toilet valve, add some water with detergent and disinfectant, shake the trailer, and pump it out again. I would recommend removing the tank to inspect for other damage and replace the slide valve with something other than Thetford such as Valterra which can be rebuilt much easier (and considerable less expensive!) and will fit other connections. Thetford only fits Thetford. As for the furnace, your's should be the older pilot light model. If it's not rusted out, it probably can be repaired. If not, a new 22kBTU or 24kBTU furnace will fit in the space very nicely. I'm in Ridgefield, WA so if they ever get Hwy 4 open again, bring the trailer over for a closer inspection. Darol

[herdsman]

Thanks Darol.... trying to figure how to drop the tank ....well we'll try and get it pumped out first ....but not sure how to get the tank down have to do some recon .....Thanks for the info on the furnace too .....Ridgefield is on the westside of I-5 right

[Darol Ingalls]

Dropping the tank is a major job. The rear center section of the underbelly aluminum has to come off. The toilet must be removed and the floor flange unscrewed because it attatches to a fitting on the top of the tank. There is a vent pipe (1 1/2" black ABS) that is probably glued to a fitting on the tank that will have to be cut. Use an ABS coupling when you put it back together, or a rubber flex connector so that NEXT time it's easier! You probably wouldn't have to remove the tank to replace the valve, but if it has not been used for a long time and has had liquid in the tank there is always the possibility of freeze damage and cracks where you can't see. It wouldn't be much fun to replace the valve and then find out you still have problems. Email me at landyachtdoc@earthlink.net for directions. Darol