Poop Valve Not Worth a Poop!

[Mr_Toad]

Hi, Forum Folks!

Thisweek's repair issue is with the Black Tank Flush Valve breaking on my 2013 Redwood 36FB.

Since I got the 36FB in August 2013, I have noticed that the Black Tank Flush Valve handle has been extremely difficult to pull and push, in order to open and close the Black Tank, compared with the relative ease of the Galley and Grey tank valve handles. Indeed, it has always been sodifficult to pull the Black Tank Flush Valve handle that it actually hurts one's fingers to pull it...and even when closed, the seal was not complete, since water would still drip when I ran the water hose flush device to clean the tank.

Anyway...today it looks like the Black Tank Valve has become disconnected (i.e., broke) from the flexible push/pull filament...so the valve no longer responds to opening or closing with the handle.

Sigh....

QUESTION: If folks have experienced similar problems will simply replacing the valve components repair the problem? ....or is it more likely I will need to replace the entire "filament inside a metal tube" thingy, since THAT may be the real problem, perhaps?

Robt.


Edited by: Mr_Toad

[Dave&Ginny]

I'm worried about mine since it has gotten stiff. When mine breaks, I'm going to replace it with an electric valve.

If you need to dump your tank, drop the belly material with I believe 3/8 in socket. Then you should be able to reach up and pull the valve open.

Edited by: Dave&Ginny

[Mr_Toad]

Thank you, Dave and Ginny!

May I ask....uh...what is the belly material? Do you mean the cardboard underbelly material beneath the middle of the trailer?

(In other words, that flimsy cardboard junkthat burst out the day I took ownership of the trailer, and that I had to use lumber to lift it back into place and hope it holds?)



Robt.

[Beechguyjim]

Another RV'r told me to dump a small bottle of cooking oil down the pot when the valve gets hard to move works like a champEdited by: Beechguyjim

[Adamsvr]

We have the exact same issue with our black tank valve and handle. Ours broke too. As an interim fix, I took down the wall in the garage and applied a cast around the cable and handle assembly with JB weld. Then I sprayed some graphite liquid onto the pull mechanism. After several months, it's still holding... knock on wood. Plan to take it to the Crossroads maintenance facility in July and have it permanently fixed.

[Adamsvr]

Dave&Ginny, did a search of the web and found the following:

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...te-valve/36150

Pretty cool! I may have CrossRoads install this rather them replacing the mechanical mechanism.

Edited by: Adamsvr

[rcflame]

That's one bad thing about the RW dump system. The valves are cable operated instead of being a direct shot at the valve with a rod. I try to keep my cable in the housing lubed up to help keep it from sticking. I don't know what else a person can do except make sure there are no kinks or sharp bends between the pull handle and the valve.

[5th_Time]

As a veteran of having to drop the belly pan two times at a campground (broken plastic fresh water drain fitting on the tank), you should always keep a cordless drill and a 1/4" drive set with you... Sad, I know, but there are lots of things that can go wrong up there and it's 18 or 20 screws just to get it down.

[RifRaff]

That"s a great thought, what tools do find most useful in your RV travels?
I have the 1/4 & 1/2 inch drive small set of rackets.2 sets of Channel locks
and couple of vice grips,
3 crescent wrenches,
large assortment of screws,
Heat gun and glue sticks,
Spray rubber sealer.
4 inch aluminum tape roll
couple solar charged lights.
+ fuzes and Digital Meter.Edited by: RifRaff

[Buddy]

Originally Posted by RifRaff

That"s a great thought, what tools do find most useful in your RV travels?
I have the 1/4 & 1/2 inch drive small set of rackets.2 sets of Channel locks
and couple of vice grips,
3 crescent wrenches,
large assortment of screws,
Heat gun and glue sticks,
Spray rubber sealer.
4 inch aluminum tape roll
couple solar charged lights.
+ fuzes and Digital Meter.

Sounds like we are going to have to get a trailer just for the tools or a extended maintenance warranty and a smart phone to store Good Sam's number.

[Buddy]

Originally Posted by Adamsvr

We have the exact same issue with our black tank valve and handle. Ours broke too. As an interim fix, I took down the wall in the garage and applied a cast around the cable and handle assembly with JB weld. Then I sprayed some graphite liquid onto the pull mechanism. After several months, it's still holding... knock on wood. Plan to take it to the Crossroads maintenance facility in July and have it permanently fixed. Some times the seal will stick, I use this chemical in the tank that is suppose to keep it from drying out.
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...68#readreviews

[KenM]

I also like to have a multi-meter, wire nuts, varies pieces of wire in different sizes, gorilla tape, silicone, teflon tape, tie wireand plumbers tape.

[Mr_Toad]

.


Tools on Hand...

.357 Magnum.

...to shoot the damn trailer in retaliation for the latest malfunction.





Edited by: Mr_Toad

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by Mr_Toad

Thank you, Dave and Ginny!

May I ask....uh...what is the belly material? Do you mean the cardboard underbelly material beneath the middle of the trailer?

(In other words, that flimsy cardboard junkthat burst out the day I took ownership of the trailer, and that I had to use lumber to lift it back into place and hope it holds?)



Robt.

Yep...that's the stuff

[Mr_Toad]

Well....

I'm an RV Noob and all...but it sure seems that that flimsy cardboard stuff would burst out on the pavementthe first time a body would tote their trailer down the freeway.

But again, maybe I just have a prejudice against cheap cardboard.

r
Edited by: Mr_Toad

[spindrift]

Such negativity...especially from a NOOB. Actually, the stuff you're referring to is corrugated plastic. It's rather stout for its weight. I assure you, it will not blow away as you head on down the road. The 560 screws will definitely prevent that from happening.

[Mr_Toad]

Phew!!

That is a relief. It sure looked and felt like U-haul box cardboard with plastic sprayed on it, but corrugated plastic is a lot better, indeed.

Hmmm...I wonder which one of the 560 screws was missing to cause a five foot gap to appear between the collapsed bellywash material and the underside frames that provided only minimal support and no substantive grip on the material.

Fortunately, I got some crossboards screwed in to support it, before any more of the 560 screws went missing.



Robt.



Edited by: Mr_Toad

[atom ant]

There are worse materials to use for the underbelly, believe me. We had it on our 2007.

[TravelinAnderson]

Ahh... the old broken black tank cable... Happened to me last April while in Georgia.

I had to cut an access panel through the belly and close it manually. Fortunately I was on my way to a rally that was across the street from a Crossroads dealership. They said they had to replace the entire valve assembly, not just the cable.

The tech that did the repair pulled a fast one and cut the cable off a new assembly and installed it on my 36FL. Doing this caused the cable to be too short to fully close the valve so I ended up with a sewer hose full of black water that I didn't discover until my next stop.

After dealing with that issue I took it to a different shop and it fixed correctly. I also made sure the Redwood warranty manager knew about first fix because they billed them for installing the whole cable assembly...assbags.

After this I installed the auxiliary gate valve on my discharge pipe.

Good luck... If it's still under warranty let Redwood deal with it.
Edited by: TravelinAnderson

[Mr_Toad]

Thanks!

I purchased the five year warranty, but...with all the things that have had to be repaired, I can hardly say that I "let Redwood deal with it"...since I still have to experience and address all these problems.

Next Up: The Mysterious Leaky Washing Machine After Just Six Washes.

Robt.