Just got a Hybrid, new to Black/Grey Water tanks, questions.

[JoshuaH]

Hello, just bought a 2003 Trail Lite Bantam 17ft Hybrid, we had been using an 8ft. pop-up before this which only had a 10 gallon fresh water tank. This trailer has 3 tanks, fresh water, grey water, black water.

Sadly there was no owners manual with the trailer, and I can't seem to find a website for the manufacturer anywhere. I know nothing about how theses systems work and the proper use and how to maintain them. Is there a water tank 101 page somewhere? I looked but didn't find one. Or some good suggestions would really be appreciated!

[JAC1982]

One suggestion I have is to have a a bucket (the 5 gallon Home Depot type buckets are usually too tall, but a cleaning bucket from the grocery store works), and put the bucket down below the output when pulling the cap off. I am glad we had this when we first bought our 5th wheel as we had an issue with a secondary valve being left open (we didn't know we had two, oops,was thankfully just gray water) and the water started coming out out in a big hurry. The bucket collected most of it while we got the hose on and over to the cleanout. Even with valves closed we usually have a bit of drippage, so it's nice to collect it in the bucket, instead of on the ground.

[nickthehunter]

Never mind - changed my mind

[Cocky_Camper]

Whatever you do, DO NOT leave the black tank opened all the time! When you use the black tank, use lots of water when you flush! Make sure you Toilet Paper is Septic/RV safe. We use Scott at home and in the MH as it is septic and RV safe. Try to dump when only when close to full IF possible. Gravity helps push everything out better. As far as cleaning, You can buy a wand to attach to a hose to rinse the tank after dumping. When we are going on a trip with full hook ups, I fill our black tank about 1/3 to 1/2 full before we leave to let water slosh whatever is in the tank loose from the last, and dump it as soon as we arrive. If you notice a smell, the make tank deodorizer things to help. We prefer the pods. We always drop two in the grey tank after every dump. The black tank sensor will typically NOT read correct after it fills up the first time for the trip due to "stuff" getting stuck on the sensors.

Grey tank is simple. Just the sinks and showers. Always drain this after the black tank to wash out the hose. You can leave the grey tank open if you like, but we do not. I have a fear of the smell running back into the RV if the traps are empty. DO NOT dump grease down your drains. They will clog your drain lines and tank just like at home.

As long as we have full hookups, we use out facilities as designed. If we do not, then the bathhouse tends to get used more. But don't be scared and not use them or flush toilet paper down them like some people may suggest.

[JoshuaH]

bikendan wrote:

JoshuaH wrote:


Sadly there was no owners manual with the trailer, and I can't seem to find a website for the manufacturer anywhere.

Joshua, as I said in your thread in the Hybrid forum, the manufacturer, R-Vision, has been defunct for years and has no website.
I mentioned that you have an orphan brand.

If you haven't done a search, there is a R-Vision owners website:

http://www.r-visioncamping.org

I realize I have an orphan, I knew this going in but it was a very good price so I was willing to do it. I read quite a bit before I did and most said parts are so interchangeable with campers it really won't matter.

I did try to join the R-Vision forum that you linked, I registered with 2 different email addresses but never got the confirmation email, checked my spam folder too. It just says to contact admin if you don't get the email but I can't find anywhere how to contact the admin. If anyone knows how I can join I would really appreciate it!

[SoundGuy]

2gypsies wrote:
One thing of wanting to bring drinking water from home.... are you ever going to take a long trip? At some point you're going to have to trust your water.

Why? :h For those who would prefer to not ingest campground water bottled water can be purchased at virtually any grocery store.

[2gypsies1]

Here's another 'how to' I found:

https://www.campingworld.com/blog/rv-basics/how-to-empty-your-rv-holding-tank/

Don't let your gray water drain onto the ground.

Don't use excessive amounts of toilet paper.

I'm assuming you don't have big tanks so you're going to have to conserve. Don't let water running when washing hands, teeth brushing, doing dishes. In fact, you don't have to do dishes after every meal. That's wasteful with water. Save you dishpan of water and use it for flushing the toilet. The soapy water will help.. a little to add water to the black tank.

For your first trip you might want to splurge a little and get a full hookup site so you get familiar with your tank capacities and how much you'll need to conserve when you don't have full hookups. It will also give you a chance to use the sewer hose without pressure from other campers parked behind you at the dump station.

Someone said to start off with putting 5 gal. down the black tank. Since you have small tanks a gallon or two would be sufficient.

After you dump the black fill a bucket of water or two (from the outside spigot) and dump them down the toilet and that should clean the bottom residue out good. Then dump your gray tank and the gray water will clean your sewer hose sufficiently. No need to hold it under the faucet to clean it - a very unsanitary practice at a campsite. Your gray will have soap. You're never going to get the sewer hose or tanks completely clean and don't worry about it. Store the sewer hose in it's own plastic tub.

One thing of wanting to bring drinking water from home.... are you ever going to take a long trip? At some point you're going to have to trust your water. We've never had an issue in 16 years of constant travel and getting water from many sources. You can add a water filter to your fresh water system to take out tastes. In fact, it's good to take out sediments (sand) also.

Have fun!

[bikendan]

JoshuaH wrote:


Sadly there was no owners manual with the trailer, and I can't seem to find a website for the manufacturer anywhere.

Joshua, as I said in your thread in the Hybrid forum, the manufacturer, R-Vision, has been defunct for years and has no website.
I mentioned that you have an orphan brand.

If you haven't done a search, there is a R-Vision owners website:

http://www.r-visioncamping.org

[SoundGuy]

donn0128 wrote:
How silly. You drink water stored in a plastic jug, but wont drink water stored in your trailers plastic tank! Whats the difference?

Why is it "silly" to bring fresh water from home, water you're used to drinking, water that won't upset a pet's stomach as can campground water sourced from a well or lake, water that sometimes is even subject to water boil warnings? If anything is "silly" it's ingesting water from a dubious source, especially when the easy solution is to simply bring along your own that you do trust. :S

[Grit_dog]

I can’t imagine filing my sht tickets in a trash bag......they reside the same place as last nights dinner!
There really is no science to tanks. Just basic procedure.
Let black tank fill, don’t leave it open. You want the rush of water to take the “stuff” with it. Even if you’re sitting on fhu for a while.
Agitation is key. If you just dump at the fhu after a week even with a lot of water, chances are there will still be some recycled cheese burgers left in the blck tank. Best to drive home/somewhere and get a good milkshake going in the black tank before dumping.
Then dump the gray tank to flush the slinky with some nice used soapy water.
And idk if it helps, but periodically I’ll toss some dishwasher detergent, laundry soap or dish soap in the black tank. Never have treated black tank and never had a stink issue.

Most of the stink and turd mountain problems come from regular static use and not so much moving the rv around. Not near the issue for weekend warriors like myself.

Of course, keep the food and grease to a minimum in the gray tank as well. This ain’t your home sewer system.

[JoshuaH]

donn0128 wrote:
How silly. You drink water stored in a plastic jug, but wont drink water stored in your trailers plastic tank! Whats the difference? It just seems silly to me unless your susceptable to taste differences in water. Potable water is potable water. It is safe to drink. And if you have correctly sanitized your water tank and system the water in your on board tank will be perfectly safe to drink.

For me it isn't really where it is stored, it is more where it comes from. I just don't like the taste of most city water, I have an RO system in my house for all of my drinking water. When we are camping I like to drink and cook with water that has been filtered. I use the tank for washing, brushing teeth etc.

[donn0128]

How silly. You drink water stored in a plastic jug, but wont drink water stored in your trailers plastic tank! Whats the difference? It just seems silly to me unless your susceptable to taste differences in water. Potable water is potable water. It is safe to drink. And if you have correctly sanitized your water tank and system the water in your on board tank will be perfectly safe to drink.

[JoshuaH]

SoundGuy wrote:

JoshuaH wrote:
We normally just use gallon jugs for our drinking water when we were in our pop-up, just to be extra safe, we will probably continue to do this.

As did we back in our popup days but now that we have a travel trailer I bring any water we ingest from home in a 4 gal Aquatainer which is designed specifically for potable water. While traveling it sits on the shower pan, while camping I park it on the campsite picnic table ... much easier than slugging around multiple 1 gal jugs.

Very good idea, thanks.

[SoundGuy]

JoshuaH wrote:
We normally just use gallon jugs for our drinking water when we were in our pop-up, just to be extra safe, we will probably continue to do this.

As did we back in our popup days but now that we have a travel trailer I bring any water we ingest from home in a 4 gal Aquatainer which is designed specifically for potable water. While traveling it sits on the shower pan, while camping I park it on the campsite picnic table ... much easier than slugging around multiple 1 gal jugs.

[bikendan]

You should be able to find lots of YouTube videos on tank procedures.