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I tend to agree with those who think perhaps there's an unknown object creating a blockage.  Tom, as much as I hate to say it, there are women who are dumb enough to put feminine products down an RV toilet!!  The plumber (no less) who put in some of our house plumbing removed the tape I had put over the tub drain so he could test it.  A few weeks later we had to have someone come in with a camera and sure enough - the dummy hadn't removed all the debris that had fallen in the tub and let it go down the drain.  The camera clearly showed it.  I guess it didn't occur to him that the tape might be there for a reason.  Had I been him I would have scooped up the debris before running water in the tub but he was either too stupid or too lazy to do it.

Anyway, I knew it wouldn't be long before I'd have a use for the table I cut out Consumer Reports, May 2012, "Ratings: Toilet Paper" on p. 47.  Their Excellent ratings for Disintegration were #1 Walmart's White Cloud 3-Ply Ultra Soft & Thick followed by #3 Walmart's Great Value Ultra Strong, #4 Walmart's White Cloud Soft & Thick, and #5 CVS Premium Ultra.  All of those are three- and two-ply.  For one-ply, the best for Excellent Disintegration are #12 Angel Soft and #13 Scott Extra Soft.  The Scott Rapid Dissolving rates #14 overall and even though the Disintegration may be excellent, Softness is good, Strength is good, and Tearing Ease is very good - but it costs more than most of the others.

Tom, you say you're using the Quilted Northern toilet paper, but which one.  The #2 Quilted Northern Ultra Plush is three-ply and rates "only" very good for Disintegration.  The #20 Quilted Northern Soft & Strong is two-ply and only rates Fair in Disintegration.  They only tested those two Quilted Northerns.  A while back I decided to try a pretty good dissolving two-ply (don't recall which one) and Jerry asked me not to use it after one roll because he thought it might be starting to cause a problem so I've reverted to one-ply.

By the way, Tom, I'm sorry you're thinking of giving up the RV lifestyle but "you've gotta do what you've gotta do" and change is inevitable (even though I personally fight it tooth and nail!).  We hope you won't give up on the RV Forum!

ArdraF

Quite a few years ago we knew two widowed sisters who lived in a 22-foot Class C.  Because it was the same size and layout as ours it was easy to make a comparison.  We two were quite comfortable taking extended trips but we were still working so spent more time in our stick house.  I remember being amazed that two women could live in such a small space.

If either of you has a hobby that takes up a lot of room, you're going to need more space because you don't give up doing what you like to do just because you change your home and travel a lot.  Many women who fulltime want to have their sewing machine and all that goes with it.  Men and women might want fishing poles and tackle.  Even as long-term travelers, we each carry a few weights for exercising.  Think about what you have in your stick house that you simply cannot live without and you'll begin to realize how quickly all that stuff begins to weigh and take up space.  An example is paperwork.  A lot can be computerized and done online, but not everything and you might need to carry some paper records.  All of this is what makes purchasing an RV so challenging for everyone, not just fulltimers.  You'll figure it out after a while.

By the way, I agree with Wendy.  If you already have a new fifth wheel why not try it out before making a change.  That will give you a far better idea of what you're going to need long term.

ArdraF

Gary and Coleen - Glad you made it home safely.  You missed a fun evening tonight (check out those photos), but maybe next year.

All other attendees - If I don't see you before you leave and missed saying goodbye, do have a safe journey to wherever.  It was a good rally because everyone participated and that's what makes rallies happen.  We certainly had a lot of laughs and we're glad you came.

All - The 2014 RV Forum Moab Rally will be May 11-18 at Portal RV Park.  Stay tuned for a new topic that will be started in a few weeks.  We already have ten signed up for Moab!  For those who want to join us for pre-Moab, we'll have a Hop, Skip, and a Long Leap - Zion, Bryce, and Moab.  We're still working out details and will provide details when they're decided.

Again, thanks for attending and making it a really fun rally.

ArdraF

 . i'm told portable holding tanks are not used for black water....only grey.  Is that true?  What system is easiest to use?  I'm looking at the 25 gal 4 wheel Barker.  Any comments will be helpful.  Thanks. 

The  Awards  ah yes the awards!  I think that yesterday's winners kept us fully informed of the whereabouts of their award character  today so the anticipation was high tonight.  After a drum roll and waiting 40 minutes for our checks to be totaled we began.  Betty mentioned this was  The Best RVForum Moab rally ever!  All  applauded.  She said it was because we had such  great new people!  New  people clapped.  The  she said it was the best group of  old people ever there too.  They hooted hollered and  clapped too.

Betty awarded Mike a new Teraflex hat as he was the only one in his family to not have won a hat in the raffle last night.  So now they can go out as triplets!  Next  Bill gave Mike the Happy Face  Award for fixing a motorhome and for  giving him routing information.  Now this was waaay funnier in person and more details got lost in translation but Mike  blushed and was happy!

Care Bear was nominated between  2 people, Ardra for gathering names and keeping track of who was coming to the rally and who cancelled on the RVForum, but Betty won it because her POST IT NOTES flew all over the park and kept us informed of the daily activities and who was to be where at what time.  I don't think anyone took Betty's  picture. (Do I have to do it all?) 

I thought Goofy would be going to Alaska with  Henry because I even saw him kissing Goofy but Randy  came up with a tell on himself story that trumped all.  Seems he was using his macerator  pump to empty/flush   tanks and then Corrine came by and visited him, then they got to talking to someone else and  pretty soon Debbie screams from inside their coach,   "RANDY THERE IS WATER POURING OUT OF ThE BATHROOM CEILING!"  You guessed it black water tank over flowed into their  bathroom and Debbie got "wet."  Yep Randy goes home with Goofy.  But there is more to this story stay tuned!