Water in the RV

[jjmorri999]

We have a 2012 Big Country 3690 and at 5AM this morning we woke up to find water coming out of the shower drain and over flowing onto the bathroom floor. Additionally the hall way carpet was wet and a small portion of the carpet in the bedroom (near the wall with the Bathroom) was wet. I quickly went out side and turned the water off and opened the grey water drain. When I opened the grey water drain the water in the shower drained out. We are a bit confused as it didn't seem that any of the faucets, that feed the grey water system were open but none the less the grey water system seemed to have over flowed. We vacuumed up about 1/2 gallon of water from the carpet in the hallway and the bedroom. We also found that the water had dripped into the basement and we vacuumed up almost 4 gallons from the basement carpeting. Additionally, when we adjusted the trailer for hooking up, a bunch of water came out from the area at the very bottom of the RV where there is a plate to protect from road debris. We are now at another camp ground and everything seems to be fine. Water is hooked up and seems to be working normally. We have both the grey and black valves open so that they drain directly into the sewer.

While we don't recall the bathroom sink being on we are thinking that maybe our cat, who likes to be in the sink, jumped up and managed to turn the water on.

Any thoughts from anyone?

THanks

 

[danemayer]

Hi James,

A few months ago someone posted a very similar story involving a flood, a cat, and the kitchen sink. The cat liked to jump up on the counter and rub the faucet.

 

[HybridUser]

That was my first guess; grey water tank value not open. Glad you got the mess cleaned up quickly. I am wondering if you want the black tank value open continuously? I was told only open it when it is time to empty the tank so there is sufficient fluid to flush out the drain pipes when you empty it. I was told to drain the black tank then follow it with the grey tank if you are not hooked up to a sewer or dump. When I camp at a full service site I never leave my black tank open, only the grey tank. Then empty the black tank when it nears getting full.

 

[JohnDar]

We are on a full hook up seasonal site and I keep all valves closed until I need to dump. Exception is the Gray #1 valve if we're running the washing machine.
Leaving the black tank valve open is asking for trouble.




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[Seren]

I dont open the black water tank until it overflows, that way I dont have to rely on the indicators, which is not always accurate. I have found that with the extra pressure the black water tank easily empties when it is totally full. Since I take care of the outside stuff and my wife the inside, it makes my job a lot easier, although I have yet to figure out why my wife gets upset at me everytime I empty the black water tank. ;-)


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[olcoon]

If you leave the black tank open all the time, basically all that will drain is the liquid, leaving you a "poop pile", that will dry up, and be a real pain to get rid of.

 

[danemayer]

Guys,

I'm pretty sure the OP is leaving all valves open TEMPORARILY because of the flood reported in Post #1. Since he's not sure what happened, he's proceeding cautiously. If he didn't previously know not to run with the black valve open, I'm sure he does by now.

 

[Lynn1130]

Yes, I don't think the status of the valves was the issue here. I think the question was where did the excess gray water come from? While leaving the gray tank valve open will solve the problem temporarily it will not solve the over flow issue in the long term.

 

[Lou_and_Bette]

One possible source idea...when first started "going camping," my DW left some toiletries in a suction cup container in the shower. While traveling, something bounced out of the container and hit one of the shower valve handles. No problem while traveling, but when we stopped and hooked up the water started dripping. Luckily, she heard it before it filled the tank