1971 Excella - Plumbing Questions

[africaroots]

Hi,
I am looking for a plumbing diagram for my 71 31' Excella. Does anyone have one they can email to me? If file size is an issue, I have an online storage system for you to download it to.

My (current) issue is that my toilet is backing up and I cant figure out how to clean it out. On the side of my trailer is a pipe that may be a black water clean out valve (see picture). Should I unscrew this and insert a water hose to clean out?

I've seen some hacks on adding a grey water tank (Roy's Gray Grey Waste Tank Solution) but I want to make sure I understand the layout before I attempt this.

Thanks ahead of time!

[africaroots]

Sorry heres the picture..

[tlavergne]

That is your fresh water hookup. Do you have a mid bath or a rear bath?

[africaroots]

Originally Posted by tlavergne

That is your fresh water hookup. Do you have a mid bath or a rear bath?

I have a rear bath.

If this is my fresh water hookup, what is the white water hose that is a spinner wheel (in the same compartment as the electrical plug)?

[tlavergne]

Unsure about the white hose unless it is hooked up to drain the water tank or something. That is something a previous owner would have installed. You should have a 3" or so pipe with a cap coming out of the rear bumper area just aft of the fresh water hookup. That would be your toilet drain. Unknown if you have holding tanks on that year trailer.

[africaroots]

Originally Posted by tlavergne

Unsure about the white hose unless it is hooked up to drain the water tank or something. That is something a previous owner would have installed. You should have a 3" or so pipe with a cap coming out of the rear bumper area just aft of the fresh water hookup. That would be your toilet drain. Unknown if you have holding tanks on that year trailer.

Here is a picture of the hose I was referring to. Its in the compartment with the electrical outlet. When I connect this to city water, I have water in the trailer. When I take this out (or turn off the water), I dont (a separate issue is that my water pump appears dead - working on that one).

[Wazbro]

It looks like a PO bypassed the original fresh water hook up replacing the 1 in the first pic with the 1 in the second pic.

[tlavergne]

Looks like it.

[garry]

Your black tank outlet a is a black 3" PVC pipe with a cap on the end that takes a 1/4 turn to remove.

There is a T handle that opens the 3" line to drain the black tank.

Before pulling the T handle be sure to have your 3" sewer hose connected or you will have a mess.

[4RXLA]

Rear bath Excella's have 2 fresh water intake locations. The standard is at the rear and the additional one is on a reel next to the electrical cord. My 77 has a cleanout in the rear hatch. There is a black pvc pipe coming straight up in the center of the hatch and a cleanout port is there. When you open the dump valve does it drain at all?

[africaroots]

Originally Posted by dougsale

Rear bath Excella's have 2 fresh water intake locations. The standard is at the rear and the additional one is on a reel next to the electrical cord. My 77 has a cleanout in the rear hatch. There is a black pvc pipe coming straight up in the center of the hatch and a cleanout port is there. When you open the dump valve does it drain at all?

Doug - you were right about the dual fresh water intakes. I plugged in water to the first picture and I still have water throughout the trailer. The 2nd picture (next to electrical plug) must be a backup.

Regards to draining, yes, when I open the valve some liquid waste comes out but I am still backed up. I think I need to put in some waste tablets to break down the solids.

[africaroots]

Anyone have the plumbing diagram for my records? Or is this in the complete owners manual that someone is selling online (CD or PDF)?

[tfbeitz]

Its called a hose reel. Saves on storage of a water line, it just rolls up on the reel, locking at the length you need +/-
If you use it, Id suggest marking it (I used duct tape) so you know when your at the end. If you extend it to the max and the reel sticks, wont retract, its difficult to get it back in

[Ducka]

Can you bypass the black water tank and connect directly to sewer line?

[dbj216]

Maybe you have an "Excella 500" for 1971. This was the very top of the line Airstream that year. The Excella 500 continued for several years as the top of the line Airstream. They are kinda special.

This might explain the two fresh water inlets. The first photo of it is the typical location for Airstream during those years. The second photo may very well be those dang hose reels. My 86 Limited had them, but as stated they can be problematic and I removed them. I'm not too old to roll up a power cord or a water hose.

A clogged up black tank is not unusual if the previous owner neglected in dumping it. So you kinda got a mess. First I would see if I could poke a stick in the black tank opening and see if I could detect a clog. As mentioned, opening the dump valve to the black tank with out a way of containing any sewage that came out is dump. But you gotta find out why the tank won't drain.

You should post a picture of your Excella. It is worth preserving.

David

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by Ducka

Can you bypass the black water tank and connect directly to sewer line?

No toilet is mounted directly onto black tank. You would need to remove black tank to connect directly to sewer line.

Note: This thread is from 2012.