Who comes up with this stuff?

[Ittle Dew Too]

We went on our shakedown trip for our new Cougar X-Lite 28RBS.

All went well, untill...

We had been set up for a day and a half, and I had tested both fresh and city water systems and done the sanitizing and flushing of the lines.

So with my grey tanks starting to fill up, I decide to dump them.

I have 2 grey tanks, the one at the back is the bathroom grey tank and the connection and valve handle are located near the black tank at the back side of the camper. They are a bit under the camper, but reachable with some stretching.

The front grey is for the kitchen and the valve and hose connection are also a bit under the camper but in front of the wheels under the slide. This is our first travel trailer and we have had no prior experience with dump valves before so we didn't notice this potentially nasty location.

So now with the need to dump the tank, the connection and valve are now in a land unto themselves WAY under the slide out. :eek:

I crawl no my knees under the slide, greased up the back of my shirt on the slide out gear, sit on the ground under the slide out, pick the rocks out of my knees, hook up the hose, yell for my son to connect the other end to the bit at the sewer, listen to the quiet giggles from around me and proceed to dump the tank while thinking, "Who comes up with this stuff?":banghead:

So I learned,
If I am on a sewer site, hook up the front tank and open the valve BEFORE deploying the slide out.:)

If I need to use a blue boy or a honey wagon, things are gonna get rough.

So the question is,
If I drop the belly pan and connect the front tank dump to the rear tank dumps like a sane person would have done in the first place, will I have a warranty problem or should I wait until I'm out of warranty and Keystone no longer cares what I modify?

Thanks for listening (tx)

[Festus2]

.

So the question is,
If I drop the belly pan and connect the front tank dump to the rear tank dumps like a sane person would have done in the first place, will I have a warranty problem or should I wait until I'm out of warranty and Keystone no longer cares what I modify?

Thanks for listening (tx)

You're not the first nor will you be the last person to wonder "who comes up with this stuff". Your solution is pretty much the same as other frustrated members have proposed and scratched their heads why Keystone didn't come up with what would seem to be a pretty simple and logical way of hooking up the tanks.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the warranty - it's not a structural modification and not likely to cause any kind of problems with the integrity of the RV. I'd just go ahead and do it and avoid all future frustration, hair pulling, grease on your shirt, knocks on the noggin and rocks in your knees.

[hankaye]

Ittle Dew Too, Howdy;

You're not the first nor will you be the last person to wonder "who comes up with this stuff". Your solution is pretty much the same as other frustrated members have proposed and scratched their heads why Keystone didn't come up with what would seem to be a pretty simple and logical way of hooking up the tanks.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the warranty - it's not a structural modification and not likely to cause any kind of problems with the integrity of the RV. I'd just go ahead and do it and avoid all future frustration, hair pulling, grease on your shirt, knocks on the noggin and rocks in your knees.

2X's what Festus2 said no use :banghead:, just make it convenient for your needs.

hankaye

[theallde]

I put valve extensions (available from most RV dealerships that have a parts department) and that eliminated the rocks on the knees, etc.

If I ever started an RV company , the company saying would be "Our designers and engineers spend 2 months living in our RV's before production".

[Seabee]

I'm laughing my butt off only because You are not alone Brother. During the shakedown trip of our 31sqb last weekend, same exact thing happened to me right down to the rocks in the knees and grease on the shirt. I'm going to get a "Y" and just leave the front gray tank open like you said.

[GaryWT]

If your front tank is just you kitchen sink then on a normal weekend it most likely will not fill quickly but if you leave it open the you will be fine. A Y is a good idea so everything can be connected. We generally flush the line at home but you learned some lessons which is good. My connection is somewhat between the slides but the slides do not open until everything is connected and we close the slides before dumping the tanks to go home. By the way, we always get sewer sites.

[Ittle Dew Too]

I believe a third hose and a Y are in my near future. As soon as told the wife I wanted to mod the plumbing, she was not happy. She reacted like I wanted to do harmful surgury to her new baby. I believe the quote was
"Realy! After 1 trip!"

I guess the nature of her protective mother stance says she realy likes the new camper :D

Good to hear I am not alone in this.
Thank you

[Stancsr]

This was what we did with our old camper


http://www.motorhome.com/quick-tips/quick-tip-a-simple-sewer-dump-solution/

[chuckster57]

This was what we did with our old camper





http://www.motorhome.com/quick-tips/quick-tip-a-simple-sewer-dump-solution/


Wish I would have known about those when I had my Jayco. That back grey tank handle was WAY under that rear slide.

[SkiSmuggs]

Don't forget to leave the gray valves closed until after the black tank is dumped so you have gray water to flush the plumbing and hose with.

[Carrnutt]

On my 31SQB I use the wye adapter and a twist on valve. The benefit of the added valve is that I can open it to drain or close it to fill the tank (for flushing) without ever having to climb under the slide out. Hook it up and disconnect when it the slide out is in. :D

http://www.amazon.com/Valterra-T58-Twist-On-Waste-Valve/dp/B000BGHYJS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440639095&sr=8-1&keywords=rv+gate+valve

[Quiroule]

I had about the same problem. In order to drain the back gray water tank, I had to crawl under the extension, grab the handle which was located behind the front wheel. I always ended-up with grease on my shirt ‘sleeves and rocks in my knees. After a couple of years of that I got mad and installed that:

http://www.barkermfg.com/autodrain.html

[theeyres]

I had the same frustrations and after seeing some other mods done on this site, I ran a line between the two gray tanks so I can do all the dumping from the main valve. No more Y's, two sewer lines, etc. It works great.

[geeman]

Hmmmm I have the 28RBS and true my front valve is under the slide but he drain goes back and connects to the main dump drain. Do not have 2 drain connections.

Front take for the kitchen sink never gets full so have never had to worry about pulling valve with slide out.

[gkainz]

I crawled under our slide a few times before it dawned on me "this slide DOES go IN just as easily as OUT ... and not just to pack up and go home." :)