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Old 07-23-2007, 07:54 AM   #1
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1974 25' Tradewind
Muscle Shoals , Alabama
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More dumb questions.....

We are taking our Tradewind out on its maiden voyage (for us) this coming weekend to Lake Winnie near Chattanooga. I have zero experience with travel trailer camping and have another dumping question. I had posted earlier about instructions for dumping the grey and black water tanks and got good info on that. Even rented the movie "RV" with Robin Williams to see how NOT to do it. (HILARIOUS, by the way!) When I looked at the wastewater drain on my 74 Tradewind, I only see one lever for dumping. Does my trailer only have a black tank?? Are there not supposed to be 2 levers? One for grey and one for black? If not, is there a valve to switch between which tanks are dumping? Where can I find it? I just don't want to look like a total goob on our first camping trip. Does anyone have a picture of the valve configuration? We males are much more able to understand stuff visually. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Matt
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Old 07-23-2007, 08:09 AM   #2
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Hi Matt -- I couldn't begin to guess how much they have in common, but my '74 Argosy has the other pull handle inside the bumper hatch. 1974 was the starting year for grey tanks. Before you go I would hope that you can put some liquid into the tanks, go to a local RV park and assure yourself the valves operate correctly.
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Old 07-23-2007, 08:11 AM   #3
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Thanks for the info. I did not think to look there. Which handle is which on yours?
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Old 07-23-2007, 09:07 AM   #4
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You probably shouldn't draw further comparisons with Argosy -- contrasting with Airstreams, they had their black tanks above the floor. My outside pull is the grey tank; the one inside the bumper hatch is black.
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Old 07-24-2007, 08:00 AM   #5
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1974 25' Tradewind
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Question Need help with pictures

Can anyone who has a 74 Tradewind send pictures of the valve/handle configuration? I'm at a total loss.
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Old 07-24-2007, 08:58 AM   #6
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Matt, you probably can't get it by this weekend, but I'm pretty sure both the owner's manual and shop manual are still availble for you camper. They are for my '73. Check the Aitstream Corp. Website or do a search on this site for a company named Secretarial Services.

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Old 07-24-2007, 06:48 PM   #7
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Waste Valve

Definately put water in the tank. Dump a goo dfive gallons in some down the toilet & some down the shower some down the sink. I am doing plumbing replacement on the supply side & will need to rebuild my waste valve on the drain side, it leaked. Unfortunately I only have a single waste tank and it is not very big. But that is why the blue boy is handy .
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Old 07-24-2007, 08:36 PM   #8
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Here is how my 75 TW is setup. The grey valve is next to the drain connection on the street side of the trailer. The black valve is inside the rear bumper. Both valves drain out the same pipe.
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Old 07-24-2007, 09:28 PM   #9
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You may know this but;

Always drain the black first and then the grey.

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Old 07-25-2007, 05:37 AM   #10
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Thanks to all! Mine is just like Azflycaster's. I just had not thought to look inside the bumper for the lever. I told you it was a dumb question!!
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Old 07-25-2007, 07:18 AM   #11
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No such thing as a dumb question, especially for newbies!
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Old 07-26-2007, 08:15 AM   #12
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Thanks again for everyone's help! I put water in both tanks and it appears to not leak. :-) I can't wait to take her out! We leave tomorrow!!!!
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Old 07-27-2007, 02:37 PM   #13
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Let us know how your maiden voyage went.
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Old 07-31-2007, 12:42 AM   #14
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1974 25' Tradewind
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Trip was great!

Everything went well. I discovered that I have some leaky valves for my black and grey tanks. Also my water heater has some wierd airflow issues. The flame keeps wanting to go the wrong way out the tube. We got a spot right next to the bath house so this was no big issue. We got a water tightness trial by flood Friday night as the whole campground was flooded by heavy rains. Some poor tent campers got drenched . My tube of vulkem paid off though as we did not have any noticeable leaks . My wife was not ready to come home. Neither was my daughter. We could have stayed another week if it weren't for that dreaded thing called work. The rain got a small army of ants mobilized and I lost half a bag of marshmallows. The first half made up for it though.
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Old 07-31-2007, 09:29 PM   #15
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Thumbs up Let's hear it for maiden voyages

I'm so glad to hear everything went well. There's nothing like the first few camping trips to help prioritize things and work out the kinks. When your biggest problems are leaking tank valves (fixable) and losing 1/2 of your marshmallows, life is good! Making it through the deluge of storms last weekend without leaks, well that alone was quite a test. We haven't had rain in Chattanooga like that for months! The payoff for you is peace of mind that you have a watertight coach.

Congratulations on a successful maiden voyage.
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Old 07-31-2007, 11:16 PM   #16
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1974 25' Tradewind
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Thanks Sugarfoot! Having that Camping World store only a few miles away also gave me peace of mind should I need any replacement parts. I picked up a new Thetford sewer drain cap and a slinky hose adapter. I had not been previously aware that the ones I had had broken connectors.

Do you know of anyone who could tell me or where I could find out the gallon capacity of my grey and black water tanks? It sure seemed like we filled that grey tank up fast. It had backed up into my shower when I caugt it and was able to open the valve and get it drained before overflowing into the floor. (another small miracle!)
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Old 08-01-2007, 06:00 AM   #17
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Someone here may know the exact capacity of your tanks. If you were fortunate enough to get the original manual with your Tradewind, it might be in there. From what I've read in the past I think they are somewhere between 10-16 gallons each, small by today's standards. When camping with sewer hookups you should be able to leave your grey valve open to drain into the sewer and keep your black valve closed until until you need to dump. Then you don't have to worry about flooding your shower pan.

If no one here has the tank size answer, try emailing tech@airstream.com. They were very helpful to track down original tire info for my Tradewind.
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