Is there an overflow "Pee-hole" on a 2023 Cougar 26RBS?

[GRP]

We just finished camping over the Memorial Day Weekend. Final batch of dishes were washed and put away. Went outside to start draining tanks. My Gray 2 was showing only 2/3 full on both the inside panel and on my phone but there was a steady trickle of water coming out the bottom of the camper around the kitchen (gray 2) discharge connection. This trickle stopped after I pulled the Gray 2 handle.



Black 1, Gray 1 and Gray 2 all showed 2/3 full. After I emptied all 3 and flushed Black 1 for about 10 minutes, I now show Black 1 and Gray 2 at 1/3 full but I KNOW they are both empty.


I asked the man at the camper dealership that did our final walk-through how long the digital tank indicators stayed accurate. His exact words were... "Uhmmm... yah."


The 15 year old TrailManor I traded up from was only accurate the first year we owned it. After that you looked in the tub. If the water was backing up into the tub it was time to empty the gray water tank. That camper had the bolts through the side of the tank with wires attached and any scum or grease affected the level indicator.


I'm hoping this brand new 2023 Cougar is not afflicted by the same old, unreliable technology were you look for the water drizzling out the bottom of the camper to know if it is time to pull the handle!

[sourdough]

Unless you upgrade the sensors they are useless for most. A few say they have had success with various tank cleansing methods and they stay somewhat accurate but I've never been successful with any of them and wouldn't trust them if they seemed like they worked. Solution? Time and observation IMO. I know how long my tanks will go with what kind of usage. If I underestimate or get lazy and don't want to dump when I should have....I end up doing it in the middle of the night, a project etc. so I just stick to my mental schedule. I use those red lights on the monitor once a year...as lighting to celebrate Christmas!!

[GRP]

This unit has the iN-Command touch system and Smartphone App to monitor the tank levels, monitor the battery voltage, turn on/off the light, control the AC/Propane heat, open/close the awning/slide out, turn on/off inside and outside lights, turn on/off the water heater and pump.


You'd think they would have used a little better tank level monitoring system for this technology!

[chuckster57]

If they are using the age old, time tested, KIB sensors then I can say with certainty that they are as accurate as the person that installed them and with proper maintenance.

I have seen brand new units with the probes installed in ridiculous spots. Full 1/2” above the 2/3. 1/3 installed at 1/2…etc.

In the 12+ yrs I have worked on Rv’s and owning one since 1989, I can say at least 98% have worked properly.

Again Accuracy is dependent on placement and wiring. I will state that there has NEVER been a unit that I worked on that they didn’t work correctly when I was done with it. I have on occasion installed new sensors.

RANT over…

[NH_Bulldog]

There is no “pee-hole” to alert you to an overfill situation. The sensors are hit or miss for most. I use mine as a guide only and rely on experience as a final test. Sometimes that means a gurgle in the tub.

If you trust the sensors, I would guess that there is a loose/broken pipe connection or the tank itself is cracked or has a misplaced screw poking into it. Since it’s new, a trip to the dealer is in order unless you want to own the problem (whatever it is) and try to diagnose and fix it yourself.

[dutchmensport]

I have no clue what you mean by "pee hole". But I do know, no one can count on the tank sensors to be accurate. I work very hard and go through a lot of steps to keep my tanks as clean as possible. Even with all the best efforts, (most of the time) they work ok, but sometimes, they do not. I do not like traveling with water and sludge in my holding tanks. Yet it takes water in the tanks and an agressive drive down a bumpy road for water to splash against those sensors to clean them off. If I don't do this, the sensors are not accurate.

After 25 years of RV ownership, I finally just got to the point where I DO NOT rely on the sensors. Just by usage and experience, I know how full my tanks are. I always, always .... pump water from my fresh water tank and I have a water meter on my fill hose. So, I always know how much water I'm actually using. I'm never hooked up to shore water and just leave the hose bib turned on.

[tallen]

GRP, I wanted to go back to what you said, "My Gray 2 was showing only 2/3 full on both the inside panel and on my phone but there was a steady trickle of water coming out the bottom of the camper around the kitchen (gray 2) discharge connection"

Was this trickle coming from the value or from inside the underbelly? I am only asking to make sure there is no leak somewhere. From what I thought and I could be wrong, these tanks are sealed and if they are over filled they would overflow out the roof vents and then come down the side of the camper.

[GRP]

Just a follow-up on this post. I have NOT had any water coming from the underbelly of the camper since this one and only time. Not sure what happened on this trip but the tank level has been right to the FULL indicator on iN-Command app and on panel and no drizzle at all. I dun-oh!

The reason I asked about a "Pee-Hole" is my oldest daughter has an old 1996 36' camper she picked up for $800 bucks! Did not have to do anything to it and took it to Florida when they moved down there 3 years ago. Only had to replace the water heater because her husband forgot to drain the tank when he winterized it. Not a pretty sight! And the water pump went in it. 10 minute fix. That camper had a very small hole drilled in the very top corner of the grey tank and when it was FULL, water trickled out the hole and you knew it was time to empty the tank.

Our TrailManor did not have one and we used the water in the tub/shower method if the level indicator wasn't reporting accurately.

[JRTJH]

A couple of comments that may help...

1. Nearly every state has strict pollution standards and Keystone builds their trailers to meet those sanitation requirements. Almost everywhere these days, it's illegal to "indescreminately dump any gray or black water on the ground in public locations"... So, a "pee hole" would violate parking your trailer in a WalMart parking lot if it was "peeing gray water where people had to walk"...

So, no, there is no "pee hole" on the gray tanks. They are "sealed containers" to meet environmental requirements.

2. As for "advanced technology". Take a peek under your trailer and you'll find "leaf springs mounted to the axles and the main trailer frame"... That suspension system is not much more advanced than the axle suspension system used on the covered wagons that took pioneers from the east to the west back in the 1800's. You can pretty much rest assured that the KIB sensor technology in your holding tank level system is not much advanced from similar technology. It's the same "indicator panel and sensors" that were in my 1993 Holiday Rambler. The only difference is the circuit board with the Christmas lights is significantly smaller than it was back then. Otherwise, same wiring system, same sensors, same schematic on the inside of the cover of the wall unit.....

While there are some "advanced systems" (some of which actually work most of the time), the basic trailer is not much advanced from back in the 1970's and 1980's technology.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

That suspension system is not much more advanced than the axle suspension system used on the covered wagons that took pioneers from the east to the west back in the 1800's. You can pretty much rest assured that the KIB sensor technology in your holding tank level system is not much advanced from similar technology.

My great-great grandpa's covered wagon had inComanche.

[Texas Steve]

Originally Posted by LHaven

My great-great grandpa's covered wagon had inComanche.

That's funny right there!

[Camping family]

Yep the sensor’s are useless in my experience. I dump my black tank every 4 days when there is 2 -4 people in the camper. Seems to work fine for me and dump my gray tank every 2-3 days depending on how many showers are being taken.