Bathroom Sink and Shower Problems! Help!

[asmol]

Hello! My significant other and I recently invested in a 2019 Forest-river wildcat (fifth-wheel) and have been living in it for approximately a week now. We are loving it so far and will soon be looking to travel across the U.S. as travel nurses in the ER! After finding and attaching the proper sewer hose three days ago we emptied our grey tank for the first time and all was well. That night the shower and bathroom sink drained like normal. The next night, however, we noticed that the shower and sink were draining very very slow, making it impossible to shower or use the sink for a long period of time without the risk of making a mess. Our kitchen sink drains perfectly. We really do not want to take it in if we can avoid it, any suggestions on what to try or look into before taking into the shop?

Another question: Per the information on the manufacturer's website and according to the gentlemen at camping world (where we purchased the RV), our unit comes with one grey tank and one black tank. On our control panel, it shows Black, Grey, and GAL. The Galley tank reads "FULL", however, camping world says we do not have a galley tank and that the control panel is made the same for every unit regardless of whether or not certain tanks are present. Is this true? I have looked outside for another valve but there is only two valves, one for the black tank and one for the grey tank.
Thanks to all in advance for any information!
-Amber

 

[ArdraF]

Asmol, sorry I can't help on those questions, but welcome to the RV Forum and your new life.

ArdraF

 

[Pugapooh]

Congrats on the new rig.

I think you have two grey tanks.  So,where is the second tanks release cable?  Possibly up under the fifth wheel.  I wish I could point to where exactly to look.  I imagine someone will be along who can better direct you.  We have a lot of members on the western side of the country.

 

[asmol]

I went around the whole camper looking under for a possible second release point for the second tank but I cannot find one. Near the black and grey tank valves there are two more openings that appear similar to where the black and grey tank values are placed, but there is no valve. I'm not sure if that is just a part of the way it was manufactured or if there was once a valve handle there but it fell off at some point in time.

 

[SpencerPJ]

What is the exact model number of your 5th wheel.  I'll do some investigating.  By the way, welcome to the Forum.

 

[asmol]

32WB

 

[SpencerPJ]

Well. I can not find specifically that you have 2 grey tanks, but I would bet money you do.  Specs show a huge grey tank capacity. Someone else will be along, Sunday eve people check in.  Forest River also has a Forum, might have luck posting there too.  Good Luck.

 

[SeilerBird]

It has a 75 gallon grey tank so I would bet that there is another tank. You should call Forest River.

 

[Larry Howard]

I would fill both sink and tub full to the brim. Then completely remove both plugs. See if the water pressure pushes out any obstructions.

 

[Rene T]

Just open the valve which you think is for the gray tank drain then connect to shore power for the water. Go in the RV and open the kitchen faucet and let it run for a couple of minutes. You should get water out of the drain. If not, do the bathroom sink and run it long enough. Then do the shower. This will tell you if you have 2 tanks or 1

 

[John From Detroit]

Ok as for the "Galley" tank.  each tank has a dump valve. and on some rigs there is a MAster dump as well  Now the Master dump has to be opened (it is normally near the hose connection) for either the black or the gray to dump. Ignore it.  do nto count it when you answer this question (If it exists) do you have 2 or 3 dump valves. Often two will be close and the third at a distance.. IF 2 then the CW man told the truth (Surprise suprise).

Now the slow drain.. Are you long hairs  or short hairs?  Now I'm serious it may just be hair in the drain. Even with short hear it can happen.  Using a flashlight inspect the upper drain in the lav (Look for har on the cross bars or other obstruction.

There are other possible causes but that's the start    Even with a man-style hair cut I have that problem from time to time.

 

[asmol]

There are only two dump valves, also yes I have long hair my significant other has short hair. We thought of this as a possibility, if so how do we go about unclogging it?

 

[SpencerPJ]

These little gismos work great.  You can find them at most hardware stores as well.
https://www.amazon.com/Vastar-Drain-Snake-Remover-Cleaning/dp/B01DP87IF8/ref=sr_1_13?gclid=CjwKCAjwmtDpBRAQEiwAC6lm45wRmr8ViLEfryX4NkiEGlB9lPmv6Pspr7YQsfmtl8hbaJ1HXj34NxoCGVgQAvD_BwE&hvadid=340470634464&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9016155&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1o1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=8803135031487296444&hvtargid=kwd-709674149&hydadcr=24634_10399774&keywords=sewer+cleaning+tools&qid=1563747414&s=gateway&sr=8-13

 

[asmol]

So I touched base with my significant other, he said he did try to use a snake on the drain for the shower sink and he did not pull any hair up in return. 

 

[lynnmor]

Did you pull the black tank drain to see if there is a mix up in labeling or plumbing?  Do you get a slow drainage from the gray tank with the valve open?  Construction debris can be lodged in the tank opening. Are you sure that the valve is opening, some cable operated valves can be a problem.  There are panels to show exactly the number of tanks and if yours is incorrect, demand that CW quit making excuses and install the correct one.

 

[asmol]

so when we drained the gray tank the first time, the fluid all rushed out. Seemed to have no issues draining. When we noticed the bathroom was not draining, we closed off the grey tank to fill it 3/4 and attempt to drain it again, in hopes that if there is debris, it will flush out. That we will do tomorrow because we are at work today. The Black tank valve is a whole separate issue. When we closed the grey tank to fill it I noticed that there was still some leakage that was grey in color and had no odor coming through the sewage hose. To make sure the black tank valve was closed I lightly applied pressure to it and there was a loud thump and the handle that was once sticking strait out is now at an angle. I fear I may have broken it and have not tried to mess with is since. I know for sure we will have to get that issue repaired but I am hoping to find a solution for the bathroom issue that we can do ourselves. This is all a bit disheartening as this is a new unit that has never been used 

 

[Rene T]

Ge the dealer involved before you start taking things apart. If you mess something up, it may not be covered.

 

[ArdraF]

yes I have long hair my significant other has short hair. We thought of this as a possibility, if so how do we go about unclogging it?

I have long hair too and every few months I remove the shower cover in the floor and use long tweezers (about 10 inches) to remove clumps of hair.  Even though I try to be careful there's usually some.  And there can even be some short hair from my husband.  I don't think you've had this RV long enough to have long hair clogs be the issue.  But, construction debris is a real possibility.  It even happened in our stick and brick house when the plumber let some junk go down the tub drain.  We had to have someone come out with a camera and snake to remove it.  I had taped the drain closed so, needless to say, that particular plumber was in serious physical danger if I ever saw him again! :'(

It's too bad you're having this problem, but it WILL get solved!  There's quite a learning curve with RVs because they're like our houses but yet they're not.

ArdraF

 

[JudyJB]

I doubt you have a hair clog because you have not used this unit for long, and it is new.  I see two other possibilities:
[list type=decimal]
[*]When it was manufactured, someone left something in the tank, like a chunk of plastic or foam, and it stuck in the drain as it leaves the tank.  Maybe it is the part they drilled out when they put the hole in the tank.
[*]Somebody has not hooked something up correctly during the manufacturing process.
[/list]
Both of these require the dealer fixing it. 

A few months ago, I was at a dump station where a man was jumping up and down on the bumper of his small, brand-new trailer.  It was his first trip in this new trailer, and he asked how in the heck you were supposed to drain the black tank because very little was coming out of it, and he knew it was full.  His hookup looked fine, but I looked underneath his rig and noticed that the exit drain was attached to the TOP of the side of the black tank instead of at the bottom.  In other words, in order to get this thing to drain, you would have to tip the entire trailer on its side!!  Someone had obviously either installed the black tank upside down or drilled the hole in the wrong place. 

I have seen how they make these things, and I do not have much confidence in their processes or their employees, so this could easily be a manufacturing error.

If you were still at the campground, I would suggest you find someone with a similar trailer and ask for their help.

 

[ENG]

Look on top of your rig and see how many vents there are . If three you have two grey tanks and one black . If two you have an obstruction some were .