UpsManBrad
Member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2018
- Posts
- 18
Little background.....I picked my current trailer up in February, and it had been sitting since late 2016. It was a theft recovery, and the insurance company had it for over a year before it went to auction.
I had some work to do, and got it ready to camp. It had been winterized, and everything that I could test was in working order. Went out the first time this year to a location with full hookups. So I connected my water and sewer line. Upon opening my black tank valve, I was greeted with probably 1/4 tank of old waste that had never been dumped. Gross....
So at the end of the weekend, I rinsed everything just like I should, water was running out clear, etc. and everything seemed normal. So I went on my 2nd trip. Had to use the holding tank that weekend, and it was fine, no problems. Used the dumping station at the park on my way out and got it empty. When I got home, it smelled like a port a potty! Immediately went and got sanitizer liquid and packs. I put a few gallons of water in the tank, added the sanitizer stuff, and the next day the smell was gone.
Loaded it up last week for a Memorial Day weekend trip. Before leaving Thursday night, I added more water to the black tank, so that it could splash around while traveling and hopefully clean it up a little on the inside. Pull into the campground and went directly to the dump station to empty it. As I got out of my vehicle, I hear a beeping on the inside of the camper....carbon monoxide detector. And the camper smelled AWFUL! I dumped and rinsed. Parked and set everything up. Over the course of the next 12-18hours, I added about 10 gallons of water to the tank, with a ton of sanitizer/deodorizer. Had to go buy a glade plug in, sprayed everything with febreeze, and used car air fresheners in the a/c vents lol! No more stink, I already had a tank 1/2 full and I was only there 18hrs! But it took 18hrs to stop smelling like a port a potty. Not easy to sleep with that stink!
When I left yesterday, I went to the full hookup section of the campground rather than the regular dump station, and connected my sewer and water lines. I emptied the tank, added water and just kept rinse/repeat and the water was running clear again. So I added sanitizer, and 1/2 bottle of spic n span to about 3-4 gallons of water. Drove over an hour and stopped at a Flying J travel plaza and went to the dump station. Hooked up water and sewer, and again, dirty poo water flowed out. Luckily...NO STINK in the camper!
So I rinsed again until the water was clear. Added a few gallons and the sanitizer stuff and headed for storage. It did not stink when I dropped it off. My concern is that I am headed to the Michigans UP in June for 2 weeks, and plan on moving every couple of days to a new location. And I?m terrified that it?s gonna stink again! I thought filling it full of water would rinse it out good, but that backfired!
What can I do, besides buy a new tank? I can?t take that smell in my camper. I have no idea how much or what might still be in that tank? Do I travel with some water in the tank? Should I be storing it with water in the tank? The spic n span seemed to do something based on the nasty that flowed out. Can I or should I put more in there and fill the tank and let it sit and dump before my trip? Will the spic n span hurt it? I was thinking about one of those wands to stick in the tank and spray it on the inside?
Any help would be appreciated. I never imagined this happening. But if u have ever dealt with it, you will understand!
Thanks,
Stinky in Indiana
I had some work to do, and got it ready to camp. It had been winterized, and everything that I could test was in working order. Went out the first time this year to a location with full hookups. So I connected my water and sewer line. Upon opening my black tank valve, I was greeted with probably 1/4 tank of old waste that had never been dumped. Gross....
So at the end of the weekend, I rinsed everything just like I should, water was running out clear, etc. and everything seemed normal. So I went on my 2nd trip. Had to use the holding tank that weekend, and it was fine, no problems. Used the dumping station at the park on my way out and got it empty. When I got home, it smelled like a port a potty! Immediately went and got sanitizer liquid and packs. I put a few gallons of water in the tank, added the sanitizer stuff, and the next day the smell was gone.
Loaded it up last week for a Memorial Day weekend trip. Before leaving Thursday night, I added more water to the black tank, so that it could splash around while traveling and hopefully clean it up a little on the inside. Pull into the campground and went directly to the dump station to empty it. As I got out of my vehicle, I hear a beeping on the inside of the camper....carbon monoxide detector. And the camper smelled AWFUL! I dumped and rinsed. Parked and set everything up. Over the course of the next 12-18hours, I added about 10 gallons of water to the tank, with a ton of sanitizer/deodorizer. Had to go buy a glade plug in, sprayed everything with febreeze, and used car air fresheners in the a/c vents lol! No more stink, I already had a tank 1/2 full and I was only there 18hrs! But it took 18hrs to stop smelling like a port a potty. Not easy to sleep with that stink!
When I left yesterday, I went to the full hookup section of the campground rather than the regular dump station, and connected my sewer and water lines. I emptied the tank, added water and just kept rinse/repeat and the water was running clear again. So I added sanitizer, and 1/2 bottle of spic n span to about 3-4 gallons of water. Drove over an hour and stopped at a Flying J travel plaza and went to the dump station. Hooked up water and sewer, and again, dirty poo water flowed out. Luckily...NO STINK in the camper!
So I rinsed again until the water was clear. Added a few gallons and the sanitizer stuff and headed for storage. It did not stink when I dropped it off. My concern is that I am headed to the Michigans UP in June for 2 weeks, and plan on moving every couple of days to a new location. And I?m terrified that it?s gonna stink again! I thought filling it full of water would rinse it out good, but that backfired!
What can I do, besides buy a new tank? I can?t take that smell in my camper. I have no idea how much or what might still be in that tank? Do I travel with some water in the tank? Should I be storing it with water in the tank? The spic n span seemed to do something based on the nasty that flowed out. Can I or should I put more in there and fill the tank and let it sit and dump before my trip? Will the spic n span hurt it? I was thinking about one of those wands to stick in the tank and spray it on the inside?
Any help would be appreciated. I never imagined this happening. But if u have ever dealt with it, you will understand!
Thanks,
Stinky in Indiana