Help, please. Water(smells bad!!) leaked inside!

[Deblockey]

First time out in brand new rig. Woke up with water leak from garage bath. Yesterday evening checked water levels and reading said "low". No water standing in sinks/toilets etc. Doesn't unit have a backflow valve? Will be calling dealer in the am.

 

[danemayer]

First time out in brand new rig. Woke up with water leak from garage bath. Yesterday evening checked water levels and reading said "low". No water standing in sinks/toilets etc. Doesn't unit have a backflow valve? Will be calling dealer in the am.

Hi Deblockey,

First of all, welcome to the Heartland family and to the Owners Forum. There's a lot of useful information here as well as a lot of friendly people willing to share their knowledge and experience.

I'm glad to hear you're planning on talking to your dealer on Monday. In the meantime, another owner may be able to help.

Can you tell us what rig you own? Sounds like maybe a toy hauler, but the model and year would help. Also, I'm having a little trouble following the problem description. Could you clarify a bit? Where is the leaking water going? Are you mentioning water level indicators and no standing water because you think those things might be the cause of the leak? Is the backflow valve question part of the same problem?

 

[TandT]

First time out in brand new rig. Woke up with water leak from garage bath. Yesterday evening checked water levels and reading said "low". No water standing in sinks/toilets etc. Doesn't unit have a backflow valve? Will be calling dealer in the am.

I agree with Dan. It would be helpful to have more info.

Are you hooked up to shore water, or are you running the pump?

I take it from your description, it's probably a holding tank smell?
Where does the water look like it coming from, toilet, sink, out of a wall, floor, from under the rig, etc? Trace

 

[Deblockey]

OK, here is what we have learned:

There is not a backflow valve
If the tank is full, the water backs up at base of toilet.
The 1/2 bath toilet and sink, as well as the sink in kitchen are all on one system.
The indicator lights ( ones that let you know how full the tanks are ) do not always work.
So, light said tanks were at low level, but back tank was, in fact, full. So, it leaked at base of toilet. From now on, we will empty tanks on a regular basis and not go by the indicator lights!!!

I do appreciate both of you guys replying to quickly!! And, I love this site!! We will be joining the club soon!!

 

[danemayer]

OK, here is what we have learned:

There is not a backflow valve
If the tank is full, the water backs up at base of toilet.
The 1/2 bath toilet and sink, as well as the sink in kitchen are all on one system.
The indicator lights ( ones that let you know how full the tanks are ) do not always work.
So, light said tanks were at low level, but back tank was, in fact, full. So, it leaked at base of toilet. From now on, we will empty tanks on a regular basis and not go by the indicator lights!!!

I do appreciate both of you guys replying to quickly!! And, I love this site!! We will be joining the club soon!!

Indicator lights are notoriously unreliable. Some people use the toilet until it "burps" and then dump the black tank. I usually dump the black tank at least once per week, which for us is close to full.

You haven't mentioned what kind of trailer you have, but most (all?) trailers have separate black and gray water systems. Even the smaller, ultra lightweight trailers like the MPG have separate black and gray tanks. The toilet fills the black tank. The kitchen and bathroom sink/shower fill the gray tank(s).

It's pretty easy to fill the gray tank first by taking daily showers. When it's full, you'll have standing water in the shower. But the shower shouldn't cause the black tank to back up into the toilet.

 

[porthole]

"garage bath" equals Cyclone, Road Warrior etc.
The rear bath and sink share a tank.

To the OP, as mentioned, the toilet "burping" is what most of us use to tell when the black tank is full. Hard to explain, but you'll know it when you see it.

You already found out the indicator lights are not very accurate. Although they tend to err on the "having fluid" side.

You should post your model and year.

You may find your tanks arranged like this.
Front toilet = front black tank
Shower, bath sink and front mounted washer dryer = 1st gray tank
Kitchen sink = 2nd gray tank
Garage sink and toilet = rear black tank.



iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JohnDar]

In regards to the toilet "burping," after you've used the rig for a while you will notice a change in the sound of the toilet when you flush it. Before it reaches the point where it burps (actually sprays a little upwards), the sound will deepen a bit. At that point, not a bad idea to dump before dark so you don't have to run outside in the middle of the night and do the bathroom dance while dumping the tank.