Bill Windsor has been living alone full-time in a motorhome for several months.
It’s a decidedly new experience after 48 years as a homeowner.
There’s a lot of maintenance. The main task is the holding tanks that hold Gas, Propane, Fresh Water, Gray Water, and Black Water. You can’t let these overflow, and the Black Water Tank is where all the deposits from the toilet reside until flushed into a sewer.
I learned how to hook up all the hoses, watched numerous videos of the do’s and don’ts, got some help the first time from a friendly RV Campground neighbor, and survived in the original Van Down by the River. Then it took a rear-end-first dive into a nine-foot Ravine.
The Van Down by the River II is very nice, much smaller, but fully equipped.
There are tiny buttons that you press to light up even tinier lights that tell whether your Tanks are E, 1/3, 2/3, or F.
I have been unable to get the Black Tank to fully empty. I was unable to get it below 1/2. I re-read everything, watched all the videos again several times, tried various ideas presented online, and did a lot of cussing.
Then I put out a call for help on Facebook. Dozens of people responded, mainly seriously.
Special thanks to Wendi Robinson, Susan Carlson, JulieAnn McDougal, Charmin, Walmart’s ULTRA Dish Liquid, Amazon, Water Company, Campground with Free Water, trash bag makers, Thetford Tissue Digester, Hefty, the manufacturer of my cane, Eveready, Thor, the Propane Dude, and assorted others.
I took everyone’s advice and tried almost everything. At 10:24 a.m. on 10/1/2022, MY BLACK TANK IS EMPTY!!!!!
When you live full-time in an RV, it seems there’s little in life much better than an empty Black Tank.
It means all the yucky stuff is now in the sewer.
I’ll never know which of the things I used worked.
I’d like to think each of them did. It only took me about 24-hours of work. I’m putting a sign in my windshield: “WANTED, SWEET, BEAUTIFUL PLUMBER. Free room and board.” I’ll post a photo.
I believe Wendi’s advice about the importance of water was huge. My Black Tank registered 1/2 full, but that seems to have been TP stuck to a sensor. I repeatedly filled my pasta pot with water and brought it to a boil. I then poured it down the toilet. That took many hours and resulted in a few leg burns from splashing boiling water.
The water was left to mingle with yucky stuff overnight, and at 9:00 a.m., I began the task of emptying, filling with water using the Black Tank Flush, again and again, anxiously waiting for the clear sewer elbow to be showing nothing but clear water.
VOILA
Now I’ll be using the Carlson Patented Mexican TP Disposal Method. I’ve got to order something to improve my system —
Living in an RV full-time is a “real trip.” My Heavens there’s a lot to deal with.