Rookie Mistake #1 (I'm sure of many):
We got back from our maiden voyage in the fiver without problem. We went thru the process of setting up, hooking up, and resting up. On the second day back my Google Calendar reminded me it was time to clean the toilet flush seal and lubricate it with plumber's grease. ( I entered all my maintenance duties into the calendar, and each day or so it reminds me of a needed inspection or maintenance project.) Not the most pleasant job, but one that has to be done regularly. So out to turn off water, and in to clean and lub. Water back on, job finished, No problem, done and done.
About thirty minutes later my wife whose hearing has not yet succumbed to age as has mine says "I hear water bubbling somewhere. Huh. I don't hear it but I start checking. First the basement, no water here, next the bathroom, tiny problem. There seems to be water coming up the shower drain and filling up the shower pan. I'm new, and kind of slow, but I know right away that is not right. Oh, and by the way it does not look like fresh water or even gray water. It looks just plain nasty, chunky black water.
Of course there should not be any water coming into the fiver if all is working correctly. My first though is that I have set my Kantleak valve improperly. A mad dash to the universal control dock quickly reveals that all knobs are in the correct position, but now I can hear the water flowing into the coach some where. Where you ask, the black tank back flush inlet of course. Some idiot had turned on the wrong water source when that same idiot finished toilet maintenance. Another mad dash to the water faucet to shut it down. Problem on hold but not fixed yet.
I reasoned, if water is coming up through the shower drain backward, must be the grey tank over full. That is reasonable, so I pulled the grey take drain valve. the drain hose jumped a foot in the air but held on thank goodness. Problem solved? Probably. So back inside to assess the damage. Rinse the shower floor, heavy on the disinfectant. I may be wearing shower shoes in my own shower for a while. Mean while wife is thinking. If that was back water backing up into the shower, whats going on in the black tank. Easiest way to find out, flush the toilet. I know you know what's next. Suffice it to say, we will not make this mistake again. I have never seen a toilet do what this one did. With the lid closed, she every so carefully stepped on the flush pedal. The lid flew up, the seat flew up and the "throat" of the beast ejected projectile "stuff". Fortunately I was standing in the hall, unfortunately my wife was not. She was in perfect position for a full body spray. Head to toe "stuff". Not just stuff, but really nasty stuff.
If it had been me I would have run screaming from the coach looking for the hose or a pond jump into but being an old hand with really nasty stuff, as most mothers are, she calmly took off her clothes and stepped into the shower while I ran screaming out to pull the black tank drain valve. This time the hose stood out straight as an arrow for about thirty seconds until the volume of "stuff " blowing out went down. Now the original problem was solved. Nothing left but clean up and enduring the icy stare of wife who had been "slimed".
What can I say. I really messed up, but if I learned, and I did, a very cheap lesson. So until next time, these are just some ramblings from and old Rockin' RoVer, rocking and roving on. Thanks.
We got back from our maiden voyage in the fiver without problem. We went thru the process of setting up, hooking up, and resting up. On the second day back my Google Calendar reminded me it was time to clean the toilet flush seal and lubricate it with plumber's grease. ( I entered all my maintenance duties into the calendar, and each day or so it reminds me of a needed inspection or maintenance project.) Not the most pleasant job, but one that has to be done regularly. So out to turn off water, and in to clean and lub. Water back on, job finished, No problem, done and done.
About thirty minutes later my wife whose hearing has not yet succumbed to age as has mine says "I hear water bubbling somewhere. Huh. I don't hear it but I start checking. First the basement, no water here, next the bathroom, tiny problem. There seems to be water coming up the shower drain and filling up the shower pan. I'm new, and kind of slow, but I know right away that is not right. Oh, and by the way it does not look like fresh water or even gray water. It looks just plain nasty, chunky black water.
Of course there should not be any water coming into the fiver if all is working correctly. My first though is that I have set my Kantleak valve improperly. A mad dash to the universal control dock quickly reveals that all knobs are in the correct position, but now I can hear the water flowing into the coach some where. Where you ask, the black tank back flush inlet of course. Some idiot had turned on the wrong water source when that same idiot finished toilet maintenance. Another mad dash to the water faucet to shut it down. Problem on hold but not fixed yet.
I reasoned, if water is coming up through the shower drain backward, must be the grey tank over full. That is reasonable, so I pulled the grey take drain valve. the drain hose jumped a foot in the air but held on thank goodness. Problem solved? Probably. So back inside to assess the damage. Rinse the shower floor, heavy on the disinfectant. I may be wearing shower shoes in my own shower for a while. Mean while wife is thinking. If that was back water backing up into the shower, whats going on in the black tank. Easiest way to find out, flush the toilet. I know you know what's next. Suffice it to say, we will not make this mistake again. I have never seen a toilet do what this one did. With the lid closed, she every so carefully stepped on the flush pedal. The lid flew up, the seat flew up and the "throat" of the beast ejected projectile "stuff". Fortunately I was standing in the hall, unfortunately my wife was not. She was in perfect position for a full body spray. Head to toe "stuff". Not just stuff, but really nasty stuff.
If it had been me I would have run screaming from the coach looking for the hose or a pond jump into but being an old hand with really nasty stuff, as most mothers are, she calmly took off her clothes and stepped into the shower while I ran screaming out to pull the black tank drain valve. This time the hose stood out straight as an arrow for about thirty seconds until the volume of "stuff " blowing out went down. Now the original problem was solved. Nothing left but clean up and enduring the icy stare of wife who had been "slimed".
What can I say. I really messed up, but if I learned, and I did, a very cheap lesson. So until next time, these are just some ramblings from and old Rockin' RoVer, rocking and roving on. Thanks.
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