I had a great talk from one of the factory guys week before last and was really excited to take my new rig out and use it for a week, i left all tanks closed to tell how long we could use it before we had to drain just as a good base line, and made it all week with no problem. As i was un-hooking and draining tanks i got all of them i thought but found the aft grey tank didnt drain, the coach was level and i tried it again, nothing came out, my guage is reading 2/3 full and if i am on a hill it is slightly less or more depending on which way i move, is the tank actually full or not? I dont really know how else to check it other than with the guage and now i have to leave to drive to idaho from alabama and dont have time to deal with it. The coach is at Camping World of Dothan Alabama getting a 2nd A/C and Washer/Dryer installed right now but i dont know if I should pay them to look at it or not, any help on what i need to do to check this would be greatly appreciated.
TXBobcat
Fulltime
It is under warranty.. Show them the guage and ask them were the dump is..
Also some of the gages will show that there is something in the tank, but the sensor is wrong.. Dump all the tanks. Fill the aft tank with water and then drain it. If the sensor still shows something in it you have the same problem as the rest of us..
The sensors are worthless..
BC
Also some of the gages will show that there is something in the tank, but the sensor is wrong.. Dump all the tanks. Fill the aft tank with water and then drain it. If the sensor still shows something in it you have the same problem as the rest of us..
The sensors are worthless..
BC
jmgratz
Original Owners Club Member
Sometimes the round plastic from the hole cut in the tank for the pipe to hook up to falls inside the tank. At some point down the road it will try to flow out and partly or all stop up the drain. By filling the tank several times you may be able to flush it out. It worked for me.
Ray LeTourneau
Senior Member - Past Moderator
Bob, When you drained the grey tanks, did you drain them both at the same time? Both valves being open at the same time? The tank may very well be empty. As TXbobcat said, the sensors on these tanks aren't very reliable. I can't explain why, but this type of sensor has been used in most RV's for a very long time and the reliability factor is low. If you can determine the exact location of the tank you can pull down a section of underbelly material along one side of the frame and possibly knock on the tank to see if it sounds empty. You could also call Heartland Cust Service and explain your situation and they may authorize Camping World to inspect it.
Your rear gray tank drains through your front drain pipe. I discovered that this week end on our first outing.
i was wondering about the tanks draining through the front, but i have 4 knife valves, the black and grey up front, then another set of knife valves in the back,
of course none are marked just the door and it seems odd not to mark the handles, the factory told me that the forward knife valve handle drains the respective grey tank, ie forward bay forward valve forward grey ect.
i guess i will continue to play with it adn i will check it out when i get it out of service and maybe remove the underbelly to "knock" around
thanks all!
of course none are marked just the door and it seems odd not to mark the handles, the factory told me that the forward knife valve handle drains the respective grey tank, ie forward bay forward valve forward grey ect.
i guess i will continue to play with it adn i will check it out when i get it out of service and maybe remove the underbelly to "knock" around
thanks all!
Mike Aplin
Well-known member
I am almost positive that the tank for the half bath in a 3850 is one tank and supplies both the grey and the black water. In other words, your grey and black water both flow into one tank which is just a black tank. They both will drain from the rear of the coach's drain valves. Thanks, Mike
Thanks for all the help,
I will be taking the underbelly down in the next few weeks when i get home and i will let you all know what i find, i have 4 level indicators, 2 grey one black on the front panel and a black in the bath in the rear 4 knife valves and two sewer hook ups, since i cant get ahold of a plumbing schematic i will do it the old fashioned way and take it apart
ill take pics and post what i find
again thanks all
I will be taking the underbelly down in the next few weeks when i get home and i will let you all know what i find, i have 4 level indicators, 2 grey one black on the front panel and a black in the bath in the rear 4 knife valves and two sewer hook ups, since i cant get ahold of a plumbing schematic i will do it the old fashioned way and take it apart
ill take pics and post what i find
again thanks all
R.Pratt, last weekend i dumped front two tanks black first then gray. I moved the hose to the back two valves and dumped the black and then
the gray. When I pulled the gray I noticed nothing was flowing ?? I first
thought, oh know there is something wrong like the cable is not hooked
to valve or something blocking the tank, etc. For some reason I went back to the front valves and uncapped the drain. A river came out. I ran to rear
to only valve I had opened and shut it. I then moved the hose back to the front valves and finished draining. This is how I determined the plumbing
arrangement on the valves.
Seems like a few pages of instructions, model specific, would be very helpful and easy to do.
MDHILL,
You are correct small amount of instruction would be good, during my pdi i was told front two front hook up ect....
i guess i dont understand why it is plumbed that way unless they figure you would not use the aft black tank as much as the grey, i have found out that the aft grey is where my kitchen sink goes so i guess it all makes sense...... kind of
You are correct small amount of instruction would be good, during my pdi i was told front two front hook up ect....
i guess i dont understand why it is plumbed that way unless they figure you would not use the aft black tank as much as the grey, i have found out that the aft grey is where my kitchen sink goes so i guess it all makes sense...... kind of
MDHILL,
You are correct small amount of instruction would be good, during my pdi i was told front two front hook up ect....
i guess i dont understand why it is plumbed that way unless they figure you would not use the aft black tank as much as the grey, i have found out that the aft grey is where my kitchen sink goes so i guess it all makes sense...... kind of
The kitchen sink and the rear bathroom sink goes into the rear gray tank.
Its all ok when we get it figured out.None
Ray LeTourneau
Senior Member - Past Moderator
isisrider, this is a very old post and I really didn't notice that the original poster provided any feedback. One thing we've all learned is that the tank level sensors are not very reliable. For sure, when emptying tanks, the sensors take quite a while to dry off and may show liquid in the tank when in fact, there is none. mdhill has post #9 in this thread. It sounds as if one of the rear tanks emptied out of the front pipe but was controlled by the rear valve. Strange! I know there are "T" or "Y" connections available for sewer hoses. This may be the safest route to take. For sure, buy a clear adapter to connect the hoses to the RV outlet connections. This way you can see what's coming down the pipe. Good Luck.
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