Third handle?

[PoCoDep]

Just picked up a 2022 Cougar 25 RES. Underneath, there is a plunge-type handle that I can't figure out. It's just in front of the tires & looks like a dump handle, but it's not for the waste tanks. TIA

[NH_Bulldog]

If it is white and the pipe points straight down, probably your freshwater tank drain. Otherwise could be a drain for the galley grey water tank.

[PoCoDep]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

If it is white and the pipe points straight down, probably your freshwater tank drain. Otherwise could be a drain for the galley grey water tank.

No, this is a plunge-type handle that slides in & out just like the ones that dump the waste tanks, only it's underneath, not with the others.

[JRTJH]

There are 4 tanks in your trailer and every one of them will have a "means to empty"....

First, in the convenience center on the forward roadside passthrough you'll find two handles. They are for the bathroom black tank (toilet) and the bathroom gray tank (vanity/shower) Moving back, just forward of the axles, also on the roadside of the trailer is the galley gray tank valve. I think that's the one you saw and are asking what it's for. It is to dump your galley gray tank.

Moving back a bit further, you should find a white PEX pipe protruding from the coroplast. It will either have a "turn valve" or a "cap" on it. That is your fresh water drain line. You may have to get on your hands and knees to access that drain.

[sierraman68]

Look on the body of the trailer just above the valve in question. There should be a label and it should say gray tank. On your unit there are two gray tanks, one is controlled via the valve in compartment area where the black tank dump valve, black tank flush and city water connection, etc are located. This gray tank valve is for the shower and bathroom sink. The other valve, the one that you are asking about, is for the Galley (kitchen sink) gray tank. It is confusing because Keystone most often doesn't mention that there are two gray tanks and only lists a total gray tank capacity.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by PoCoDep

No, this is a plunge-type handle that slides in & out just like the ones that dump the waste tanks, only it's underneath, not with the others.

LOTS of trailers, if not most, have a separate pull handle to drain a tank "way over yonder" away from the main ones. How many tanks do you have and how many drain pulls? Helped a guy a while back find one in the middle of the trailer, both front to back and side to side.

[jfk69]

John nailed it. If it pulls straight down, and is a smaller handle just in front of the tires, it’s the galley grey water dump. They couldn’t put it in a more inconvenient location.

[jfk69]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Moving back a bit further, you should find a white PEX pipe protruding from the coroplast. It will either have a "turn valve" or a "cap" on it. That is your fresh water drain line. You may have to get on your hands and knees to access that drain.

John, this is interesting. On our rig, we don’t have the pex protruding with a cap or small turn valve in the rear for the fresh water tank dump. We have a gate valve (2”??) just like all the waste gates. It’s small, like the galley dump handle, and white. You pull that puppy wide open and I suspect I can dump 76 gallons of fresh water in less than two minutes. Just an fyi on another variation on the production line. I’ve never seen another like it, but it absolutely looks factory.

[Diver]

on my 2018 25 RES its the drain valve for gray water from kitchen sink
on frame in front of tires
should be a sticker on the side of slide out in front of wheel well
I have 2 low point drains (pex with a cap 1 red 1 blue ) under front of unit
fresh water drain is back near rear stabilizer drivers side
white pex with a 1/4 turn white plastic valve
seperate valve for kitchen as the tank is lower in the belly of the rig

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by jfk69

John, this is interesting. On our rig, we don’t have the pex protruding with a cap or small turn valve in the rear for the fresh water tank dump. We have a gate valve (2”??) just like all the waste gates. It’s small, like the galley dump handle, and white. You pull that puppy wide open and I suspect I can dump 76 gallons of fresh water in less than two minutes. Just an fyi on another variation on the production line. I’ve never seen another like it, but it absolutely looks factory.

It probably is an "OEM installation"...

There are many times that the line will run out of a specific tank or a valve or even lengths of 1/2" PEX "straight pipe" (usually white) and they'll "borrow parts from the next building"...

In your case, if they ran out of 70 gallon fresh water tanks, they may have "used 74 gallon tanks from the FUZION line" for that day or that 3 days until the Cougar parts came in from the supplier.... So you may have a FUZION tank or even a Montana tank in "your specific trailer"....

Believe it or not, when I was at Goshen for a day, back in 2013, they were building Springdale travel trailers and using cabinet doors from Montana HC because they were the only ones that were the correct size and "close to the right stain color"...

You'd be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't) at the number of interchangeable parts between the trailer lines. Sometimes even the color is the same, but the color name is changed, to keep the lines separated....

One of the "older brochure sales points" was that Keystone buys more RV parts than any other manufacturer and can negotiate better prices because of the mass volume purchases, so they can use "better components, bought cheaper than the competition" to sell "better value trailers at cheaper prices than any other RV manufacturer.... One of the ways they do those "mass volume purchases" is by using the same parts in every trailer line they make...

But with those mass purchases comes a "image problem". Can't have Montana owners paying those prices for the same vinyl that's in a Hideout or a Springdale, and can't have Cougar owners realizing their countertops are the same size and shape as a Passport or a Bullet, so they change the "decor name" or the "color name" to make recognizing the product harder for the observer or the novice buyer...

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by jfk69

John, this is interesting. On our rig, we don’t have the pex protruding with a cap or small turn valve in the rear for the fresh water tank dump. We have a gate valve (2”??) just like all the waste gates. It’s small, like the galley dump handle, and white. You pull that puppy wide open and I suspect I can dump 76 gallons of fresh water in less than two minutes. Just an fyi on another variation on the production line. I’ve never seen another like it, but it absolutely looks factory.

I'm sure that dump valve on the FW tank is factory. I've not yet figured out what trailers get it and why. I've seen several with it; some even the same model of trailer in the same line, one with it and others without so figure it's something along the lines of using what's available. I always thought I'd like that so I wouldn't have to watch the water slowly dribble out of the FW tank for hours.....but I don't use my FW tank so guess it's not a big deal anyway.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by sourdough

... I always thought I'd like that so I wouldn't have to watch the water slowly dribble out of the FW tank for hours.....but I don't use my FW tank so guess it's not a big deal anyway.

The "dump feature" is a concept with advantages and disadvantages. People tend to "love it or hate it" depending on the situation....

It has the advantage of "rapid emptying of the FW tank" but at the same time, with it "essentially under the trailer" you have to crawl, on hands and knees to get to it to dump the tank. There are some you can reach from the side, but many are under the trailer.... So, to dump the tank, you're on your knees, pull the valve, it starts splashing water on the ground and you just can't "crawl out of the way fast enough".... On concrete on a hot day, no problem... But, on a crisp fall day, on "dusty baren ground that's quickly becoming 2" of mud, not so refreshing......

So, it becomes a "joy to have" or a "Damn, I've got to empty the water tank" kind of convenience feature....

[sourdough]

Yep. When I used the FW tank I had to drain it on our property next door which is just bare dirt/sand. The "dribble" drains were good because I had time to crawl out before I became a mud ball then I just waited until the ground dried. With the dump handle that would have been a not so pleasant experience.

[PoCoDep]

Originally Posted by sierraman68

Look on the body of the trailer just above the valve in question. There should be a label and it should say gray tank. On your unit there are two gray tanks, one is controlled via the valve in compartment area where the black tank dump valve, black tank flush and city water connection, etc are located. This gray tank valve is for the shower and bathroom sink. The other valve, the one that you are asking about, is for the Galley (kitchen sink) gray tank. It is confusing because Keystone most often doesn't mention that there are two gray tanks and only lists a total gray tank capacity.

You nailed it. Many thanks.

[PoCoDep]

Thanks, everyone for your help!

[PoCoDep]

You got it exactly right. Thanks!

[PoCoDep]

Thanks a lot!

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by jfk69

John nailed it. If it pulls straight down, and is a smaller handle just in front of the tires, it’s the galley grey water dump. They couldn’t put it in a more inconvenient location.

You forgot to add, "underneath the slide." Now, that's world-class inconvenience.

[Miloski]

It’s the gray water for the kitchen sink. Our 25RES has black and gray water valves in the convenience center and a second gray water valve for the kitchen sink located in front of the tires.

[rlh1957]

It is probably the dump handle for your second grey tank.
Ours has black tank and grey tank for bathroom toilet and sink/shower.

The kitchen in the rear drains into a second grey tank. The second handle underneath is the dump for that tank.
Depending on the plumbing design it may have a dump hose connection near that handle or it could be plumbed direct to main drain line.

In your signature list tow vehicle and your rig as well as extra equipment.
Pictures of the areas mentioned here could help.