sewer drain question on 69 A/S

[tracker]

I noticed a leak around the drain cap on my A/S and when I looked nooticed water pouring out from an opening in the drain on the down stream side of the gate valve. I don't think the gate valve is leaking , but I don't know what the purpose of this other drain opening is for. Any ideas? Also I have 2 gate valves in the water line located in the rear of the trailer near the battery. One of which seems to be a drain valve? I have been working on my A/S for sometime and obviously I haven't taken her out on the road yet. these are to problems I came up with after checking for leaks in the plumbing. Ideas welcome.

[xrvr]

Could it be your gray water draining? Y ou do not have a gray tank probably. jim

[overlander63]

You probably have grey water filling the drain pipe. Since your trailer has no grey tank, the water has no place to go.

[68 TWind]

There is no grey tank on a 69, any water you run in the lav,shower or kitchen sink will enter the drain down stream of the dump valve. There is nothing to stop if except the cap on the outlet. I carry a Thedford Smart Tote brand "blue boy" when I camp at sites without full sewer hook up. All the grey water runs in there and we dump the black tank at the dump station when we leave. If you do buy a blue boy, most come with Valterra fittings, you will need to get a Valterra to Thedford adaptor if your dump valve on the trailer is original. Vintage Trailer supply has them.

[tracker]

Thanks for the help. So am I correct in assuming that the greywater does NOT flow into the blackwater holding tank? I just figured that it did since I don't have a separte greywater tank.

[overlander64]

Greetings tracker!

Originally Posted by tracker

Thanks for the help. So am I correct in assuming that the greywater does NOT flow into the blackwater holding tank? I just figured that it did since I don't have a separte greywater tank.

Your '69 may be similar to my '64, but I am not certain as Airstream has switched back and forth between above and below floor blackwater tanks over the years and I am not certain what method was used in 1969. If your blackwater tank is below the floor, there is a method by which you can force the graywater to back-up into the blackwater tank. The procedure is to place a solid wasted cap over your dump valve and open the blackwater tank dump valve . . . the graywater will now be diverted into the blackwater tank. There are two downsides to this methodology . . . the first is that your blackwater tank will fill quickly as it is likely less than 20 gallons . . . possibly as small as 13 gallons . . . the second is that when it comes time to dump the tank, it is necessary to close the blackwater tank gate valve which traps approximately 1/2 gallon of wastewater between the gate valve and cap that must be dealt with when you remove the cap from the dump valve.

Good luck with your coach!

Kevin

[Jamespio]

So, the search function brouht me to this very old thread.

I have a '69 Overlander with the same or similar design. Toilet and bathroom sink dump into the black tank, shower and kitchen sink enter the sewer connection just down stream of the the Thetford gate valve. I'm mid-renovation and I think this design sucks, since I plan to do some boondocking once I'm back on the road.

I'm thinking of using hole where the toilet is supposed to connect to the black tank as the spot to drain the kitchen sink and shower. Then building a short platform over that and installing a cassette toilet on top of that. This woujld turn my black tank into a gray tank, and leave me having to periodically empty a porta potty, which I think I can live with.

Has anybody ever converted the toilet drain into a sink drain? What parts would I use or fabricate to make that work?

[dbj216]

Hello from Colorado. 69 is the first year of the new body style. Yes, people have converted their black tanks to gray tanks and then rigged a composting or cassette toilet.

I don't know the intensity of your work on your trailer. Yours, like mine, are subject to rear end separation and a lot of frame rust. I'm making these repairs now.

If you are dropping the belly pan to inspect the frame, what a good time to install a real gray tank and leave the black tank as is. I have the rear belly pan down on my 75 Overlander and will install a new gray tank. It will drain to the rear like the black tank does. There is plenty of room under there for two tanks. I believe your trailer would be worth more with two tanks and a flush toilet.

I'm good at adding things to other people's workload with budget busting projects.

David

[Jamespio]

I just finished up buttoning up my belly pan, after having to rebuild the framing that holds the black tank up. I did not put a gray tank in, for a lot of reasons, most of them focused on not knowing what I was doing and not wanting to expand the work any more than necessary, because I have zero budget for this project, and I'm already several zeroes over zero.

[dbj216]

Man, I understand the budget issues well. Working on these old Airstreams are budget busters, not to mention knuckles and backs.

David