Waste Water System, Sundance Ultra Lite 324BH

[david_reaves]

Another question about the new travel trailer... The brochure says that the Sundance 324BH has a large (57 gallons) black tank and a 30 gallon grey tank. At the walk-through, the tech said, "You have two gray tanks and one black tank." This was inside, when we were looking at the control panel. He demonstrated the push-button for the levels check on each button. In fact, all the tanks' LED indicators did light, "Fresh", "BLK", "GRY", and "AUX". When we were outside, he pointed to the two different waste hose connectors, one was near the axles, had 4" pipe and a single gate. The second connector was back under the bunkhouse, had about 2" pipe and also had only a single gate valve. He went on to say that only the kitchen and outdoor kitchen sinks drained from the rear connector and that the toilet, shower, and bath sink all drain from the forward (4") connector.

So, I have several bits of contradictory information. The first is, on the control panel. My thought is that even though the "AUX" level LED did light (empty) that it isn't actually connected to anything. That i can understand and live with. The tank size disparities seems odd to me, though. I guess a 57-gallon black tank would be useful to keep from dumping every day if you really were sleeping 10 people? Then that assumes you must be at a full-hookup site and can keep the only 30-gallon gray tank connection normally open, or maybe you are boondocking iin an area where it is legal to dump gray water?

I don't understand why there are two separate connections, though. It seems like it would have been less expensive to run a few more feet of 2" pipe and use a two-valve waste connector rather than two separate valves and connectors. Is is possible that materials shortages (no two-valve connectors) during Covid shutdowns are responsible for the two separate connections? The final question is back to the extra large black tank and that I was told that the shower dumps through the 4-inch valve. My guess is that the tech was mistaken, thinking that there are two gray tanks on my model. If that were true, though, there would have had to be a second 2" valve somewhere. AS you can see, the walk-through left some non-critical confusion on the septic. At the time, I didn't question him about the possible contradiction because there is not much worse than being THAT person that challenges someone else trying to catch them in a mistake. I'll eventually figure out the actual setup.

I would appreciate any feedback on the Sundance Ultra Lite waste system configuration that anyone can offer, though. I'd like to be sure in the long run I know what's going on so I can diagnose if there are problems and keep things properly maintained. I guess I can try to reach support with my VIN and ask them how it was really configured at the factory. I'm hoping to get some information before that, since what I'm seeing some places online is that it is hard to reach Heartland support. Thanks for any and all comments.

 

[Flick]

Another question about the new travel trailer... The brochure says that the Sundance 324BH has a large (57 gallons) black tank and a 30 gallon grey tank. At the walk-through, the tech said, "You have two gray tanks and one black tank." This was inside, when we were looking at the control panel. He demonstrated the push-button for the levels check on each button. In fact, all the tanks' LED indicators did light, "Fresh", "BLK", "GRY", and "AUX". When we were outside, he pointed to the two different waste hose connectors, one was near the axles, had 4" pipe and a single gate. The second connector was back under the bunkhouse, had about 2" pipe and also had only a single gate valve. He went on to say that only the kitchen and outdoor kitchen sinks drained from the rear connector and that the toilet, shower, and bath sink all drain from the forward (4") connector.

So, I have several bits of contradictory information. The first is, on the control panel. My thought is that even though the "AUX" level LED did light (empty) that it isn't actually connected to anything. That i can understand and live with. The tank size disparities seems odd to me, though. I guess a 57-gallon black tank would be useful to keep from dumping every day if you really were sleeping 10 people? Then that assumes you must be at a full-hookup site and can keep the only 30-gallon gray tank connection normally open, or maybe you are boondocking iin an area where it is legal to dump gray water?

I don't understand why there are two separate connections, though. It seems like it would have been less expensive to run a few more feet of 2" pipe and use a two-valve waste connector rather than two separate valves and connectors. Is is possible that materials shortages (no two-valve connectors) during Covid shutdowns are responsible for the two separate connections? The final question is back to the extra large black tank and that I was told that the shower dumps through the 4-inch valve. My guess is that the tech was mistaken, thinking that there are two gray tanks on my model. If that were true, though, there would have had to be a second 2" valve somewhere. AS you can see, the walk-through left some non-critical confusion on the septic. At the time, I didn't question him about the possible contradiction because there is not much worse than being THAT person that challenges someone else trying to catch them in a mistake. I'll eventually figure out the actual setup.

I would appreciate any feedback on the Sundance Ultra Lite waste system configuration that anyone can offer, though. I'd like to be sure in the long run I know what's going on so I can diagnose if there are problems and keep things properly maintained. I guess I can try to reach support with my VIN and ask them how it was really configured at the factory. I'm hoping to get some information before that, since what I'm seeing some places online is that it is hard to reach Heartland support. Thanks for any and all comments.

i think that you will discover for yourself that the info given to you by the tech was at best only partially correct. Since I know nothing about your new coach, I did some research on specs for your model and found that all info said your unit has 2 @ 30 gal waste tanks, a grey and a black. A 57 gal black would be very unusual.

You would be wise to learn your coach by hooking up your sewer hoses with a clear adapter at the discharge, open the gate valve and one by one run water from each source thru the tanks to see what goes where. You’ll prob be surprised how it’s plumbed. You can then either live with it or make plans to modify it yourself.

And don't depend on the tank level checks. Most don’t work shortly after initial usage. Enjoy your coach.

 

[david_reaves]

You would be wise to learn your coach by hooking up your sewer hoses with a clear adapter at the discharge, open the gate valve and one by one run water from each source thru the tanks to see what goes where. You’ll prob be surprised how it’s plumbed. You can then either live with it or make plans to modify it yourself.

And don't depend on the tank level checks. Most don’t work shortly after initial usage. Enjoy your coach.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, while the tanks are new and clean will be a good time to test. At the delivery pad they simply had drained the tanks on the ground after running through their last minute pressure checks and tests. While it's still clean I can do that on the driveway. Your suggestion will be a great way to see if the shower does flow into the black tank. The black tank size is still a big question-- I have found other places online that show the tank at 57 gallons, too. (I wonder if it has something to do with supply availability due to Covid shutdowns AND the huge demand for RVs during the past year?)

I'm planning on using a modified "GEO Method" process to try to keep the new tanks cleaner. That's the one that uses Calgon water softener and a detergent soap. A tank cleaning service I found online recommends substituting Pine Sol liquid for the dish detergent. I'm going to try that this time. Hopefully that will help and along with the built in black-tank rinse I can keep the sensors working for a little longer. I've never consistently used the GEO liquid after EVERY dump-- this time I'm going to try.