Black tank valve not closing. Here's the reason.

[Brainodo]

Hello everyone,

After my last trip, I brought our 2020 FC 27FB home and hooked up to our septic to dump the tanks and do a good flush. After taking some time to allow the blank tank to flush out I tried to close the valve and it went in but would not close all of the way, lacking about 3/4 of an inch. I called to make an appointment to have the valve checked out, but that wasn't for a couple of weeks, so I spent some fun time inspecting inside of the black tank outlet with a pipe inspection scope. I could see something blocking the valve from shutting. I was able to get a coat hanger and was lucky enough to be able to pull it out and you can see the result. It almost looks like a piece of fake poo. I believe it is just a 4 inch wad of caulk. I just cant understand how this would get inside of the black tank and wonder if there is more......

[CRH]

Not surprising. They seem to just toss scraps here and there where they can't be seen when building an AS...My trailer has rivet stems, aluminum shavings, and aluminum scraps behind the gaucho, in cabinets and in other out of sight places.

[GCinSC2]

Brainodo,

Go buy a couple lottery tickets. NOW!

Only suggestion I can offer is a big water only flush to rinse out any construction debris.

Gary

[BayouBiker]

Airstreams are hand built and stuff gets dropped unfortunately. Had many scraps (mostly small) come out of my tanks at first but I have a Sewer Solution which backwashes the valves so nothing ever got stuck.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by CRH

Not surprising. They seem to just toss scraps here and there where they can't be seen when building an AS...My trailer has rivet stems, aluminum shavings, and aluminum scraps behind the gaucho, in cabinets and in other out of sight places.

Ahh yes...we had a Bic lighter and & sandwich bags under the rug in the r/r storage compartment.
Along with various fasteners that fell out of the power driver before it hit its mark, or ones that missed their mark completely or some that remained next the second or third attempt.
Git 'er done.

Bob
🇺🇸

[PatLee]

The owner of the campground where I am currently hooked up, told me that when the round hole into the black water tank is drilled out (to allow for toilet/piping installation when RV is being built), that little silver disk falls inside the black water tank where it is often left behind. It can move about when dumping the tank and potentially cover the valve hole.

[Ray Eklund]

If the system works after your surprise. Quit worrying.

You did a great job extracting the caulk and no doubt you will live happily ever after.

It is like having a relative taking a look at your trailer and deciding to move into it while you are out of town. Once the in-law is extracted, lock the door and the problem solved.

If I have a Grey or Black Water issue... I will be coming to see YOU. Great work!

[CRH]

Originally Posted by PatLee

The owner of the campground where I am currently hooked up, told me that when the round hole into the black water tank is drilled out (to allow for toilet/piping installation when RV is being built), that little silver disk falls inside the black water tank where it is often left behind. It can move about when dumping the tank and potentially cover the valve hole.

We have a tractor that had the diesel tank installed that way. The shavings clogged up the fuel filter over and over. We had to put a separate filter inline before the regular filter. We use clear filters so we can see the plastic shavings. 10+ years later and little bits of plastic are still showing up.

[Mollysdad]

I found a tip from a tube of calk in my outlet.
It probably got tossed in there before the tank was sealed up.
I was lucky.

[guskmg]

Good trouble shooting and fishing. Great for solid objects, however for normal black water contents it is a good idea to open and close the valve several times as the contents are flowing through. That will keep the valve groove (seat) clear. In your case that may have caused bigger problems if the valve jammed. Go easy at first.
guskmg

[brick1]

What did you eat?

[Tim A.]

Originally Posted by PatLee

... when the round hole into the black water tank is drilled out (to allow for toilet/piping installation when RV is being built), that little silver disk falls inside the black water tank where it is often left behind.

That's what we had and then the plastic disk ultimately ended up blocking the valve. Fortunately the blackwater drain pipe is large enough for me to get my hand up to the valve. That hand was washed thoroughly afterwards

Tim

[polarlyse]

Veterinarians have gloves that extend all the way to the shoulder. Have you ever seen photo's of them reaching into a horse or cow. Would be a good addition to the Airstream tool kit.

[GCinSC2]

Originally Posted by polarlyse

Veterinarians have gloves that extend all the way to the shoulder. Have you ever seen photo's of them reaching into a horse or cow. Would be a good addition to the Airstream tool kit.

Yes, rescue squad respond please with hazmat suits and saws. Uh huh yes third site on the left past the playground. Yup the silver trailer. I’ll leave a light on for you guys.

Yes his arm is fully wedged in the black tank.

🥽[emoji375][emoji90][emoji602]

Ok blame the pandemic and the heat.

[PB_NB]

This may be safer to use!

I am going to send a box to the guys over in Jackson Center

[BillTex]

Assuming that you have a polyethylene (plastic) tank, that looks like “drool”. IOW a remnant of the molding process. Harmless.

[SteveF STLMO]

The thing that amazes me is the commonplace acceptance by AS owners of what is clearly a sloppy manufacturing process. When you think of the brand marketing, hype, COST, the quality you expect from the AS premium line of travel trailers is marginal at best. Push it out the factory door and let the owner and dealer work it out. My 2019 22FB Sport has been to the dealer 5 times in less that 2 years; Replacement of the 6 year old battery that came right from the factory, a bad check valve in the water pump, at least a dozen popped rivets, the privacy screen on bedside that falls out every time I pull the trailer, water heater control board failure..twice, erratic operation of the Dometic AC unit, and most recently over the past weekend a defective key core in the door latch that forced me to cancel ten days of camping reservations at the last minute. That one cost me $200 to have a locksmith drill out the core which ultimately allowed the door to be opened (now with two screwdrivers) but unusable since closing the door when inside the trailer you have a whole different problem as you can guess. Every time I roll out I'm thinking 'what's next' and who needs that anxiety when on a 2-3 week road trip? Airstream THOR rides the iconic brands past and banks on it's cult like following who seem to forgive any failure as normal and just the cost of ownership. Why not expect and demand better, I just don't get it. I don't mind a little troubleshooting and I'm enough a DIY guy to fix little stuff but why should I even have to with a unit I bought brand new and owned for less than 2 years. Would anybody stand still for such poor quality in car or truck you spend big bucks for, I doubt it no matter how pretty it is. The local AS dealer service department is booked out another month so I'm grounded until then. In any case I've had enough and I'm selling and starting over.

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by SteveF STLMO

The thing that amazes me is the commonplace acceptance by AS owners of what is clearly a sloppy manufacturing process. When you think of the brand marketing, hype, COST, the quality you expect from the AS premium line of travel trailers is marginal at best. Push it out the factory door and let the owner and dealer work it out. My 2019 22FB Sport has been to the dealer 5 times in less that 2 years; Replacement of the 6 year old battery that came right from the factory, a bad check valve in the water pump, at least a dozen popped rivets, the privacy screen on bedside that falls out every time I pull the trailer, water heater control board failure..twice, erratic operation of the Dometic AC unit, and most recently over the past weekend a defective key core in the door latch that forced me to cancel ten days of camping reservations at the last minute. That one cost me $200 to have a locksmith drill out the core which ultimately allowed the door to be opened (now with two screwdrivers) but unusable since closing the door when inside the trailer you have a whole different problem as you can guess. Every time I roll out I'm thinking 'what's next' and who needs that anxiety when on a 2-3 week road trip? Airstream THOR rides the iconic brands past and banks on it's cult like following who seem to forgive any failure as normal and just the cost of ownership. Why not expect and demand better, I just don't get it. I don't mind a little troubleshooting and I'm enough a DIY guy to fix little stuff but why should I even have to with a unit I bought brand new and owned for less than 2 years. Would anybody stand still for such poor quality in car or truck you spend big bucks for, I doubt it no matter how pretty it is. The local AS dealer service department is booked out another month so I'm grounded until then. In any case I've had enough and I'm selling and starting over.

WOW Steve, sorry to hear about your troubles. I have the same trailer and some of the issues that you have. I have not had a system failure yet such as the water heater... Did I read that correct that you had a 6 year old battery onboard? dated somewhere in 2014?

I guess you can put the poop shaped plastic in the same QC category as the issues that we are having.

It is fortunate that Brainodo was able to retrieve the plastic and saved a trip to the service department.

[JohnSn]

Hi Steve!
I’m so sorry you had so many problems. I bought my 25fcfb new in 2017. I’m sure I had some issues but I can’t remember any of them. And I’m an exacting retired engineer.
I wonder how many have had experiences like your vs mine...

[rd tighe]

Steve,
Sorry to hear about your trouble. If you want to compare storys we could talk about my former 07 Dodge. It's gone but the airstream is still going.