1st trailer... septic hookup questions

[Hammerdown3512]

Hello.

So I just bought my 1st trailer 2015 Royal Travel 40 ft. This is going to be my home for a couple of years as I am fresh out of a divorce and broke with ruined credit... 😞

Anyway, My father has 5 acres with well and septic on it and is gonna let me put this trailer there for awhile While I get back on my feet.

My questions is this trailer is not a park model has a RV toilet and the tanks.

When I go to hook it up to septic, How do I need to do the tank maintenance?

I've heard that I should leave the Gray water open all the time but never leave black water open just let the black water out a couple times a week. But then somebody was telling me that I need to leave the Gray water filled up to flush the black water so I'm confused.

My father has own several trailers but never one that was not a park model. All his have standard toilets.

I got this trailer at a really good deal and its all i can afford right now so ill have to make due with a non park model.

Thanks!

David

[jdc1]

rexmitchell wrote:
When I was hooked up long term to septic I let the gray water flow but kept the black closed and emptied it monthly or whenever was needed. I’ve seen others leave the black open all the time but I’ve been told letting the black tank fill then flush helps get all the solids out and keep doors down.

Correct answer.

[JRscooby]

Hammerdown3512 wrote:
Thanks guys. I plan on a PVC pipe hookup. How do you know when tanks are full? Is there a guage or you just visually check?

Do you understand that if the pipe is too steep the water can run away and leave the solids?

[MarkTwain]

Keep black and gray valves closed all the time until your black tank is 3/4 full. Empty your black tank 1st. then lack your gray tank. Close your black tank and fill it with the back tank from the shore line but use a seperate hose and use this hose only for the black flush. Add 15 gallons and then open the black tank again to flush out the black tank again. then close both the black and gray tank valves again. There is some black tank cleaning materials that help.

[ktmrfs]

1320Fastback wrote:
If you leave any of the valves open you run the risk of bugs, gas fumes and god knows what else getting into your tank and your RV.

Keep the valves shut unless draining.

Absolutely!! remember, there are NO p traps in the lines to the dump opening.!!!! More than once someone has left the grey tank valves open and either (a) wonders where the bad smell is coming from or (b) others nearby wonder where the bad smell is coming from. Well, no p trap= sewer gas

[trail-explorer]

Hammerdown3512 wrote:
How do you know when tanks are full?

Is there no tank monitor display panel?

[opnspaces]

Kids will add a potential for some complications. Start early with explaining that it only something they ate or toilet paper can go down the toilet. If you have any girls let them know that personal hygiene products are never to go down the toilet. Start now with a trashcan in the bathroom by the toilet while the kids are still young. You want them (boys and girls) to get used to not throwing kleenex hair from the shower, tampons etc down the toilet.

I second the suggestions to not leave any valves open. You will quickly learn how often you need to dump the tanks. Since you're trailer is not going to move you won't have the benefits of the contents of the tank sloshing around. So in that case you need more water in the tanks before dumping so things can get washed out.

Of course this is not set in stone. The world will not come to a stop if you dump the tanks more or less often. It is after all a tank full of stuff, not a carefully monitored and controlled biosphere. So for instance, if you are going to take the kids to the beach or lake, dump the gray tank before you leave so they can take showers when you return. You can do this even if you dumped the day before.

[CFerguson]

As you are in OK, don't forget to insulate your hose.

[1320Fastback]

If you leave any of the valves open you run the risk of bugs, gas fumes and god knows what else getting into your tank and your RV.

Keep the valves shut unless draining.

[Hammerdown3512]

Yeah, I don't know the exact size of the tank shed my trailer will be delivered at beginning of next week. I bought it from a place 2hrs away. I wenti saw it in person but didnt ask about tank capacities. Its a 40ft that sleeps 6 so i imagine its pretty big tanks. Its just me 4 nights a week and 4 kids 9 and under 3 nights a week.

[CavemanCharlie]

On many RV's (but, not all ) You can shut the water off, hold the toilet valve open, and then look down the toilet to see how full the black tank is.

[ken56]

Seeing it will be parked long term pick up a water spray wand to put down the toilet once a month or so to thoroughly rinse the tank out. Because the tanks will not experience the agitation of being towed down a bumpy road the wand will help rinse out anything that settles on the bottom of the tank. My trailer has a tank rinser built in but I still do this also and it gets a lot of paper and clumps that tend to stick out. Oklahoma still has freezing weather so think about preventive measures for cold temps too.

[RoyF]

We will assume that my wife and I are (more or less) average. We routinely go one week between dumps with a 40-gallon black tank. So not more than 20 galons per person per week seems like a reasonable figure for black tank usage.

(I say "not more than" because our tank is unlikely to be completely full when we dump.)

Even though we follow recommended practices (plenty of water, dump only when full), we managed to have a toilet blockage recently. (It was the fifth-wheel's eleventh year of use.) We put a hose down the toilet with nozzle set to high pressure to break up the obstruction. (We discarded the hose and nozzle, of course.)

[NRALIFR]

Many RV’s have sensors in the fresh, gray, and black tanks to give you an idea of how full they are. The ones in the gray and black tanks tend to be a little unreliable due to the environment they’re in, but hopefully your trailer has some indicator lights on a panel somewhere. If not, you may have to make some rough estimates of daily water usage, and then just plan to dump every X number of days.

One strategy would be to just use the tanks until they fill up, and then cut the number of days it took to fill in half and start dumping on a schedule. You’ll know when the gray tank is full when the water starts filling the shower pan (or whatever the lowest gray water drain is).

Do you know what the fresh, gray, and black tank capacities are?

:):)

[Hammerdown3512]

Thanks guys. I plan on a PVC pipe hookup. How do you know when tanks are full? Is there a guage or you just visually check?