Rookie Waste Hookup

[Andrew76]

First hookup for me today and I hope someone can help: I have two wast hookups, one front, one aft, and a waste line with a wye connector. Do I just hook them all up and open the valves? Or do I leave one closed? Also there are no valves at the hookups. Are they the ones inside the compartment where the water hookup is? Yeah I'm a rookie. Thank you in advance for helping.

[mptjelgin]

The picture that you have attached is the fresh water hookup area, which has nothing to do with dumping your waste tanks. If you are talking about emptying your waste tanks (gray water and black water) you should be looking for T-shaped handles on the underside of the trailer somewhere. Those are the most common. It is possible (though unlikely) that you have electric waste valves, and in that case you would be looking for switches which should be labeled.

 

As far as your wastewater lines, one is likely for black water (toilet) and the other is for gray water (shower, bathroom and kitchen sink). Typical practice is to let the black water tank get nearly full (75%) before you dump it so make certain that you carry all of the solid waste out of the tank. Leaving that valve open will lead to problems as the fluids drain out, leaving the solids behind to build up in the tank.

 

The gray water can be left open as there are normally few solids in that tank. Some folks choose to keep the gray water closed and flush it just like the black water tank. When you are ready to dump your black water it is nice to have some gray water stored as you can use it to flush out your drain hose after dealing with the black water tank.

 

At this point it sounds like the keys are for you to find the two wastewater valves, and figure out which is which.

 

If you let us know the brand and model of your RV someone may be able to tell you exactly where the valves are and which is which.

[Andrew76]

Yeah that picture is bad. The valves I'm referring to are at the bottom of the picture. I can't find any near the hookups themselves. New pic attached.

[Big Greg]

Year, make and model of your RV would be helpful. Perhaps someone out here has the same one and can

be very helpful. Greg

[mptjelgin]

Got it!

 

Those valves at the bottom do look like the waste valves. In fact, it looks like they may be labeled "gray tank" and "black tank". Can you confirm?

 

Those are probably cable-operated valves, which means that there is a cable connected to the valves which opens and closes them. Sometimes the cables get sticky or difficult to operate. Hopefully yours will work well.

[Barbaraok]

Obviously you did not get a good orientation from the person you bought the rig from - - and I'm sure that extends to most of the systems, correct? Do yourself a favor and contact a mobile tech to come out and go through ALL of the systems with you - and video tape their explanations. Yes, it will cost some money, but trust me, it will be worth it in the long run.

 

Barb

[mscans]

Magnifying your picture it appears that the outer valve is marked grey valve while the other must be the black water valve. Somewhere in that area and below is a single connection for the "stinky slinky" waste line. The waste line with the why connection is where they drain to. To empty (after connecting the slinky to the dump area SECURELY), pull the black valve first, wait till the tank is dumped and the noise stops, close the black tank valve and then open the grey tank valve. That may take longer to drain as the tank is bigger, you dump more grey water to the tank than black and the line to the tank is smaller, wait till the noise stops completely and close the grey water tank valve, done.

 

As discussed in many other posts do NOT leave the black tank open when using the unit, the pyramid of poop is the result. ain't pretty.

 

As mentioned above, get a tech to walk you through the whole process. Look at the myriad of you tube videos or get a video from RV education 101 that is appropriate for your trailer.

 

Learn about the trailer and have fun.

[Max Death]

The above information by Mike 57 is very good. Be aware that if you do not know how to hook up your waste hose do not open any valves as being improperly hooked to a sewer could end in a very bad/stinky mess.

Best advise is get a tech to explain everything to you. You may be able to find a helpful and knowledgeable camper near you who may be willing to walk you through things also.

Those are cable operated valves that you showed in the second picture. In the first picture I noticed that the water heater bypass and the winterizing valve were in the wrong positions. This makes me wonder if you have tried to use the plumbing yet?

Best of luck to you

[Kirk W]

Here is a picture of the sewer connection for an RV with proper hose connection.

[Andrew76]

I am flying blind here for sure. What's happening here is, we are looking to possibly purchase this fiver, but the current owner lives out of the area, and I've never met him. It's kept at an RV resort in their storage, and the resort usually delivers and sets it up before they arrive. This fellow has only owned it for a year, and by the looks of things, I wonder if he's used it much at all. When the resort guy dropped off, I was a macho man and didn't need any help hooking it up. I am now humbled.

 

The unit is a 2008 Keystone/Everest 295TS. I tried looking up an owners manual, but that didn't help, and a couple of the videos I found made me scared to open a valve without knowing what it does.

[mptjelgin]

If you are looking to purchase the unit I would (strongly) suggest that you find an RV tech or at least someone who is very familiar with RV's to help you go through it. There are so many systems and components that need to be checked on any RV, let alone one that is ten years old!!

[Andrew76]

In the first picture I noticed that the water heater bypass and the winterizing valve were in the wrong positions. This makes me wonder if you have tried to use the plumbing yet?

Best of luck to you

I had to fiddle with those switches to get hot water flowing. Is it odd that the water heater bypass is on but I do have hot water flowing? And why would I want the winterize switch on? What does it do? Shouldn't it stay off while I'm using the unit?

[Andrew76]

Just discovered those knobs don't operate like their diagram. Currently the bypass is OFF and I'm pretty sure the winterize is ON. But I don't know what winterize does.

[Kirk W]

If you are looking to purchase the unit I would (strongly) suggest that you find an RV tech or at least someone who is very familiar with RV's to help you go through it. There are so many systems and components that need to be checked on any RV, let alone one that is ten years old!!

You really do need to get qualified help before you buy this RV. If you make a mistake it could be disastrous. In addition, how do you know what you are buying if you do not know how to check out all of the systems to see if they work? Does the refrigerator work properly from both electricity and propane? Do you know how to select between the two? Have you tested the furnace and the air conditioner? What about the 120V/12V converter? Is it working as it should? Are the batteries good and holding a charge? How old are the tires? If you plan to tow the trailer you need good tires that are 5 years or less old. Do you know the proper way to set up your black water tank for use before you flush the toilet? Is the roof in good condition and all of the caulking well maintained? There are some very long check lists that experienced RV folks or RV techs use to check any RV before we buy and you would be wise to get one and use it,

 

Just discovered those knobs don't operate like their diagram. Currently the bypass is OFF and I'm pretty sure the winterize is ON. But I don't know what winterize does.

The water heater bypass is there to allow the water to bypass the water heater tank so that you can drain the water heater when you get ready for winter and so not need to fill the tank full of RV antifreeze. If you are using the water heater it is very important that the bypass valve be shut, which is probably what your labels call off. Since I have never owned one like yours I am guessing about the labels as most of then would say open and closed.

 

The winterize valve is probably a suction for the on-board water pump. It is there to shift your water pump's suction from the fresh water tank to a tube that one then places into a gallon jug of RV antifreeze to fill the water lines with antifreeze when storing an RV for the winter in climates where the water lines might freeze and break. When you are using the RV that valve should be in the water tank position, which is probably off. If I am guessing right about what you have, then the position of the winterize will not matter if connected to city water but does if you choose to use water from the potable water tank.

[Andrew76]

Thank you. I will take your advice and will most certainly get a professional to look at everything before I buy. For now, I'm hoping to learn as much as possible in the short time I have with this unit.

 

This unit seems ok mechanically so far, but there is an obvious repair job to the roof above the door, and signs of a previous moisture in the ceiling inside. We've had a lot of rain lately, and it seems to have no signs of leaking now, but how much of a concern is the previous repair?

[Kirk W]

This unit seems ok mechanically so far, but there is an obvious repair job to the roof above the door, and signs of a previous moisture in the ceiling inside. We've had a lot of rain lately, and it seems to have no signs of leaking now, but how much of a concern is the previous repair?

The seriousness of the repaired roof depends upon how long it was leaking and how well it was repaired. What is the roof made of and how was ti repaired? Is there any water damage such as dry rot? If you were to post pictures of both inside and the roof it might give us a better feel for things.

[Ray,IN]

I"m in the "have a professional RV RV technician(mobile RV repair) come and inspect the roof repair, then show you how to use everything. In the end it will be money well-spent, and could save you from making a bad purchase.

[Nomad Hiker]

Can you look up your operator's manual on-line?