Toilet issues in full-time, stationary, 5th wheel

[Gary RV_Wizard]

First, let me apologize for not reading the original description thoroughly and asking about dump procedure. My bad! Upon re-reading, I now understand the clogs is between the toilet and the tank, not on the drain side. A "poop pyramid" shouldn't cause clogs in the pipe above the tank except in really extreme cases, e.g. the tank is full to the brim, so it's probably not the immediate problem. It can cause a tank back-up, but it appears the issue here exists even with an empty tank.


The 45 degree offset pipe has become common for RVs (I guess to hide the tank contents better), but some of them are prone to causing paper clogs. A burr or lip at a pipe coupling is all it takes to snag some paper when the water flow is minimal. I don't think either of those tank cleaner wands that Rene suggested is going to help with a clog above the tank. Nothing short of an old-fashioned drain snake or toilet auger is going to do that, I'm afraid. Because of the shape of a gravity-type toilet throat and Z-pipe, I suggest either a straight augar (aka urinal auger) or a toiler auger with at most a 45 degree bend at the lower end. That doesn't fix the problem, but may help recover from it.

General Wire Spring Pipe Cleaners TU4 Telescoping Urinal Auger: Drain Cleaning Equipment: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

General Wire Spring Pipe Cleaners TU4 Telescoping Urinal Auger: Drain Cleaning Equipment: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/RIDGID-59802-Toilet-Clogged-Toilets/dp/B0015BABE8/

Have you tried changing brand of TP? The so-called RV papers are sometimes actually worse cloggers than standard septic-safe brands. Most of the fultimers here use a standard, plain, 1 or 2 ply septic safe tissue such as Scotts or Northern.

 

[jackiemac]

My valve closes fine. There is no leakage. The frustrating part is there is no access to the tank to pressure wash it out. Each access point has an elbow in the pipe. Frustrating to say the least!!

That's the beauty of the jetter hose, it works its way up by itself with a little wiggling.  If you watch the video in the link it should show you...

Might be an easier solution though as per Gary's suggestion.

 

[JudyJB]

Since there is a Z in the pipe, I wonder if someone (previous owner) tried to flush something non-flushable, and it got stuck part way down in the place where you cannot see it.  (I am remembering what my children tried to flush when they were toddlers.) Hence the camera might identify that.  Or maybe there is a nail or something in the pipe that is catching paper and causing the clog? 

At least with my toilet, I can turn off the water and use a flashlight to look down the pipe and see directly into the tank!  Maybe yours needs to be re-plumbed somehow. 

 

[Rainiergirl75]

Thank you all for the advice! I have tried numerous toilet snakes and toilet tools with no success at all. The wand I did purchase - and it broke inside my pipe . So that didn't work either.

I am waiting now for Honeybucket to come out and empty the pipe of its contents. They cannot come until Monday. Once they drain the pipe, I am remove the sleeve on the pipe so we can seperate the pipe where we cut it previously. This way we should have access to break up the clog. I am then going to use a camera to see into the tank. I will look for the off set pipe at the connection or anything else that may be snagging TP and causing the clog ups. I will also be looking for build up in the tank itself.

I ordered some of the TP dissolver stuff that was recommended earlier in the thread (thank you) and plan on using that to cleanse the tank too.

Hoping it all works and we can get the black tank up and functioning well for awhile. I am still considering replacing the toilet with a composting one or a regular flush toilet, but I don't want to rush that decision.

 

[kdbgoat]

Just so folks know, it's fairly common for a fifth wheel to have a couple of fourty fives from the toilet to the black tank. I've got two in mine, and probably three to four feet of pipe.

 

[Kurt]

how did you clear it up? Mine is the same year andd same exact issues. Can flush ( not even putting toilet paper in it

 

[Kurt]

Please email me at [email protected]
to help with my clog

 

[jackiemac]

Please email me at [email protected]
to help with my clog

This is an old thread and original poster not been back since 2019 so doubt you'll get a reply.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

If you can access the "Z",, then can you figure a way to eliminate it.. If you cut into it then I would go the mile needed to revise it..>>>Dan

 

[Rene T]

Folks, here is a prime example of members trying to help someone and it’s somewhat obvious that we may have help solve their issue but don’t know for sure because they never got back to us, Now we have a new member with the exact same issue and was hoping that the OP could help them out.
So please, if you ask us for help and we provide it, at least have the courtesy to take a minute and let us know what steps you took to fix your issue so that later on down the road , it may help someone else. I don’t believe that’s asking too much.

 

[janie2]

Yeah I have tried this toilet auger. I had an old toilet that was prone to clogs and a potty training toddler so I decided to spend extra on a good toilet auger. I fixed this by watching a tutorial on youtube, Once I got a hang of it the clog was gone in less than 5 minutes.

 

[RVfixer]

I would suggest that you buy a flush valve. One brand is called a Flush King. These connect to your sewer outlet on the RV and have a water hose connection and a gate valve. On the flush valve attach a twist on clear fitting so you can see what comes out. Then attach your sewer hose to the clear fitting. Attach a water hose to the flush valve, close the flush gate valve and open your tank valve. Turn the water on. The water pressure will push the plug back up the pipe hopefully into the tank and start back filling the tank. Before the tank gets real full turn the water off and open the valve on the Flush King. See what comes out. If it plugs again repeat pushing the plug back using the Flush King and opening the valve. See if normal sewage comes out or dry debris. Be careful not to overfill the tank when back filling.

A friend had a used RV with a lot of dried sewage debris in the tank that caused plugs. We used this method and kept getting chunks of dried sewage out. Took repeated flushing and leaving the tank half full of water with some dish detergent overnight. We tried to push the plug back up into the tank with water pressure from the Flush King then soak the plug overnight is the soapy water. Did that with repeated flushing the next day for a couple of days before we stopped getting dried chunks out of the tank. No further plugging problems after this process.

My friend had a tank flush system on the RV. However, the flush system just ended up adding water to the tank and not clearing the plug. Using the Flush King you could actually push the plug back up into the tank and try getting it to come through the pipe by opening the valve after each push back,. Repeat until the plug breaks up and the tank empties. Worked for us.

 

[kdbgoat]

One thing that I found that actually works is Thetford Tank Blaster. The fifth wheel I mentioned above had a pyramid from the previous owner and caused by a leaky valve. That stuff took care of it in a couple of applications. Be patient with it. Pyramids didn't happen really fast, and getting rid of them doesn't happen fast either.