length of black tank valve cable
- Thread starter meagle
- Start date
Garypowell
Well-known member
I know it won’t help much but my cables in my 2013 Bighorn are about twice as long as they need to be. Best thing would be to take down the basement wall and look at them.
Thank you. I keep the RV at my sons house which is in the rural country. The nearest RV parts dealer is well over an hour drive from his place. I was hoping to have the parts before I started this repair. I will probably do my "best guess" on the cable length and order it knowing that I might be making a trek to the nearest RV supply store once I open the underbelly. Thank you for the reply. It is appreciated.
gslabbert5119
Well-known member
Is your issue with the black tank cable, or the Valterra Valve?
The only issues that I have had with the cables is that the crimp where the black sheath was crimped came loose. That the cable was way to long and was not secured causing flexing and difficulty in closing the valterra valve.
The cable attaches to the valterra valve with an alum screw and 2 bolts that clamp it in.
The valterra valve on the other hand sticks open, the rubber seals can get damaged and so on.
Good Luck
The only issues that I have had with the cables is that the crimp where the black sheath was crimped came loose. That the cable was way to long and was not secured causing flexing and difficulty in closing the valterra valve.
The cable attaches to the valterra valve with an alum screw and 2 bolts that clamp it in.
The valterra valve on the other hand sticks open, the rubber seals can get damaged and so on.
Good Luck
The valve is very hard to close. I have to push and pull several times to get it to close. I don't know if it is the cable or the valve causing the problem. I called Heartland and they told me that on my unit the valve is a Valtarra. I will replace valve and the cable since I will be removing a section of the underbelly to get to it. I took it to a repair shop and they said that it could be either the cable or the valve causing the problem. They recommended replacing both. I will order the parts and begin this fun project next week.
I dropped the underbelly and took off the valve. I was surprised to find out that the cable is 120 inches (10 feet) long. The valve cable mechanism is facing the back of the coach and has a long loop. I considered replacing it with an electric valve, but an RV repair places strongly recommended replacing it with the exact parts that were removed. In retrospect, replacing it with an electric valve might have been the way to go. If I have problems again with the black tank valve I will probably go the electric valve route.
travelin2
Pennsylvania Chapter Leaders-retired
Did you shorten the replacement cable to eliminate the loop?
Our #2 gray tank valve didn’t always want to close completely. I’d finally had enough of that so one day I dropped that section of coroplast again. Disconnected the cable from the valve, rerouted it, removed 30”, and reconnected it.
I can open and close that valve completely now with two fingers.
I’ve been thinking of attacking #1 gray and black tanks to do the same
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I did not shorten the cable but somewhat followed the same route. The original cable had too tight of a bend and was not secured at any point. It was certainly not installed at the factory following Valterra's installation instructions. With my re-route and anchoring the cable the valve opens and closes with much greater ease. Just to make sure that it was working properly I filled the black tank and let it sit overnight. There were no leaks and it worked flawlessly. I must say that the way Heartland left the underbelly is less than desirable. There was a lot of construction debris, wires not tied together, and just sloppy work. Hopefully, with more competition in the fifth wheel market we will see this type of poor workmanship disappear.
mlpeloquin
Well-known member
Sounds like the problem is not the cable, but the valve. You can purchase a standard Valterra valve. Remove the "T" handle and replace it with the end form the existing valve. That is the only difference between them. The valve sits in a holder which has to be disassembled. Not hard to do. Shorting the cable at this time is recommended. Before you tackle this job, it would be advantageous to tilt your rig and allow as much "poop juice" to flow out into a bucket for disposal. Then tilt the rig back the other way. Good luck. I have done this and it is not a hard job, but do wear gloves!
Just had the black tank cable replaced on my 2017 Bighorn. Old cable was 10 feet long with a big loop. New cable is 6 feet. Works like a charm. The thing is I had the same problem on my 2010 Bighorn. You would think the factory would learn by now plus what they would save in cost. Thor is all about the cheese. They could save a lot of money by just installing a 6 foot cable.
