Oh, horror of horrors! This surely must be the worst nightmare of any RVer short of a serious traffic accident. We sincerely hope you have never experienced a sewer dumping failure, but it does happen.
We saw a video the other day where a man told of how his black tank valve had malfunctioned, and as he drove down the highway the sewage backed up against the cap covering the valve. When he arrived at this campsite and removed the cap to attach his dumping hose, the crap (literally) gushed. “I was knee deep in it,” he said, although we are pretty sure he was exaggerating.
Most holding tank mishaps are not so serious or dramatic, but whether they are only a wee little drip or an eruption, they are not fun.
So our messy poll question of the day is about whether something like this has happened to you. We’re hoping most of you say no. But if you answer yes, please take a moment to fill us in on the details in the comments below.
Not a difficult cleanup but it did require replacing the sewer hose. I always dump black tank before gray. This revealed one small pinhole which caused a tiny geyser of black water. Closing the valve stopped the problem and I quickly employed my backup hose which I had actually purchased in case we were parked too far from the connection and needed an extension. Old hose in a bag to the dumpster and sprayed water on the small spot of black water on the grass. Just glad I spotted it quickly.
Also, it surprised me because I don’t store the hose in the bumper but put it coiled up in a plastic bin.
Storing the hose in the bumper isn’t a good idea? Isn’t that where it’s supposed to be stored, away from everything else?
Gandfalf,
I also did moved my sewer hose to a 5″ vinyl fence post (square) mounted to the frame of the camper toward the rear of the camper parallel to the bumper and have one end sealed with the fence post topper. The other end has the fence post topper that can removed and I have an aluminum gutter piece that fits in the post that slides out with the hose and second section of hose in further if needed. It opens right by the waste valve assembly…slick and clean
Good thinking, bumper storage is the worst place to store your slinky, it comes from the factory with rust inside the bumper, that rust will put pin holes in the plastic sewer hose. I always get a length of 4” or 5” PVC pipe to mount under my RV to store my hose in.
Great idea Bob.. Lowes here I come!
I once heard about a guy named Robin Williams had a RV malfunction while dumping.
Several times while in Arizona we had tiny holes in our sewer hose. Seems small and not so small pesky rodents bit at it looking for water. I could have brought the hose out only for dumping or encased in a plastic gutter downspout as others at the park had done, but I just keep an extra hose now.
I had one that wasn’t a malfunction, but was my fault. I didn’t have the end of the sewer hose connected to the campsite’s sewer connection properly. Unfortunately when I dumped the connector popped off the site’s sewer connection and began to pour onto the concrete pad. Fortunately I was still at the motorhomes sewer valve and was able to stop it quickly. It did require a hose and spray nozzle to get it cleaned up. The saving grace was that we were on a concrete pad and it was sloped from all directions towards the sewer connection, so cleanup wasn’t too hard. The worst of it was that instant bad smell and with just a minor breeze, the smell was traveling through the campground. Very embarrassing. Lessons learned!
Never had an issue, though I have replaced my Tank Valves twice since purchasing the Motor Home in 2009. When they start to get stiffer to operate, I replace. I do carry a pair of new valves so i am never having to wait for parts no matter where I am.
Maintenance, maintenance. Check stuff occasionally.
Only the very first time we went to dump the tanks! When we did our pick-up pre-inspection (what a joke that was!) on our RV we were not aware of the second gray tank. The valve tucked in behind the wheel was left open and the winterizing fluid came gushing out! The valve always leaked, so shortly thereafter I bought a knife valve that goes on the end of the discharge tube. We were luck that we averted the black tank disaster!
My answer “yes, but little spillage”. Truth is it wasn’t a malfunction or a break, just dumb user error and not paying attention.
With the campsites being so close together in most campgrounds I usually dump when the neighbors are away. That way if there is a problem I can take care of it without ruining their day.
I replaced the sewer hose connection from the black/grey tanks cap with one that had a garden hose connection with a cap. Every once in a while I notice that the valve leaked a little which I see through the clear elbow at the end. Holding the sewer hose below the cap I back it off and let whatever accumulated drain off in the hose and then remove the cap and attach the sewer hose.
We were on our way back to our site after a day of sightseeing in South Dakota when a sudden hail storm rolled in. We found a big tree to park under until the storm passed. The quarter-size hail lasted about 20 minutes. Getting back to the RV we checked for damage. One small window awning had holes in it (we had pulled in the other awnings before we left.). Not bad! The next day we were getting ready to leave. I opened the black tank valve and discovered our sewer hose had been turned into 10′ of irrigator hose! The hail had punched small holes in the hose. Close the valve, carefully empty the hose, disconnect and discard the hose, connect the spare 25′ hose and drain the tanks. There, lesson learned.
I won’t rehash the story of my sh*t shower, but suffice it to say that I will NEVER ever have a macerator on my rig again… 🙁
I’d love to hear that tale as I am on my fourth macerator hose. The design geniuses for my rig never took into account that the hose can easily droop down and in effect get dragged on the road. And that children is why you start draining with the grey tanks!
I had to say no because the failure happened before we got the rig. Previous owner had just cut off/removed anything that failed. Didn’t realize this for days, while using the on board commode at night. Then we discovered there was NO black tank. Following day realized there was no valve, either. Did the best we could at a secluded dump station, then learned A LOT about how that all works & installed a new tank, pipe & valve.
We were in Yellowstone camping, and just before we left after a week of exploring I emptied the tanks. When I opened the the black tank valve I saw little geysers shooting up all along the hose… some with tissue streamers. It seems that a little chipmunk had bitten tiny holes all along the top of the sewer hose. Shades of Robin Williams in RV.
Ever since I put out the sewer hose only when I need to dump the tanks.
I had my first DSD(dump station disaster) this summer at a state park in South Dakota. I connected the big hose to the camper, checked the connection for tightness, & put the other end into the dump station sewer hole. I have a clear elbow on the sewer end. I gave the valve a quick pull. Everything was good for about 4 seconds, then the sewer hose popped up out of the hole and began to wiggle back & forth like a big snake. It was a sewage tornado. Took me about 5 seconds to get the valve closed. During the 5 seconds, I was expressing verbal profanity. Eventually it all drained & I finished my duties with my foot holding the hose elbow in the hole. Five more minutes of hosing everything clean & we were done. Thank goodness there was nobody around when this happened.
Same tune, different verse! After years of using our Jayco travel trailer with no problems, we made our first outing with our new to us Truck Camper. Securing the bottom end of the hose with a flat rock, I pulled the valve slide. It turns-out that 3’ of head pressure responds differently than 12” of head pressure. The rock flipped out of the way and the hose lurched around like a really upset snake. Fortunately, there was a large funnel-shaped apron around the actual dump opening, and probably 6” of curbing around that. With only a few gallons of waste, it didn’t make much of a mess, but it certainly added an element of excitement to the process!
We didn’t have a leak, but would have if we weren’t paying attention. The raven at the park we were in pecked a hole in the drain hose. Now if there are raven or blackbirds around we lay a tarp over it.
Luckily no, at least not yet.
I bought a 45 degree clear elbow and thought that would take out some of the bend in the sewer hose, it locked in as it should, but when I opened the drain valve it popped off and made a mess of my shoes and the dump station.
Had a really hard to open Black tank valve pulled on it gently and it slowly pulled the connection AT the TANK off (rubber boot) and out rushed 3 days worth..could not stop it til totally empty. Guessing At least 30 gallons
I always run the gray water FIRST, for a few gallons to make sure everything is tight and secure. Then I do the black water. No surprises that way.
Totally agree. I’ve been preaching this for years to every newbie and even the “Experts” who write black first. Once you give your logic about gray is MUCH easier to clean up. A convert has been made.
I do the same thing. FIRST. gray for a few gallons.
This sounds like a good idea but takes time and there rarely is a problem. However, I should do it, since twice I failed to secure the connections. Still took less time to clean up than it would have taken to check 200 times with the grey first and find no problem.
Shouldn’t the no answer really be Not Yet ?
I put no as it didn’t malfunction. However, my husband didn’t realize he left the back tank lever open from a previous trip. Thankfully no one was there and he was able to clean the mess up before anyone (other than me) knew anything about it!
After seeing someone have a hose pop off the back of their slide-in camper at a roadside dump station, I got in the habit of double checking my connections. Unfortunately, the other end can still surprise you. Some older parks have the ‘periscope’ type sewer inlet (sits up above the surface rather than flat-in-the-ground) and they were designed to just put a hose down – the old style I don’t use.
Once, the hose popped out, even though I had it ‘secured’. Luckily, I just had started to ‘splash’ the grey tank (before the black tanks gets dumped) and there was about a gallon of grey water soaking into the grass. From that point, in those ‘periscope’ connections, I now zip-tie them down now.
At college tailgate, I ran hose under neighbor coach to dump. He was not home when hose unconnected! I used a broom and hose but could not get under his coach. I LEFT IN THE MORNING BEFORE HIM!
Yes, malfunction but not from the business end of the valve. Instead, the cheap plastic (UV damaged?) Tee-handle snapped its ears off when I pulled with normal pressure, and the edges left after the snap sliced across my palm, creating a nasty open wound holding the probably very infectious remains of the handle. I treated it accordingly and healed well, but it was not “fun.”
I now automatically replace those handles with METAL versions on all trailers.
I had a hose spring a leak once but I caught it quick enough. While not hose related, I did have a clog once that was a pain getting open and I had the gate handle come off. I have had to replace a gate valve once but I’ve been RVing for well over 50 years. We use to say that it wasn’t a matter of “if” you’re going to have a sewer issue in a RV but “when”. The quality of equipment has improved over the years.
I had a sewer hose come apart at a dump station. The hose itself, in the middle, the plastic tore and the slit propagated around and around the hose following the spring inside for several revolutions. It was probably a little old. The dump station was about two sites down from mine, in the middle of a very nice county park campground, surrounded by other sites, and with grass around it instead of concrete. I was still cleaning up the mess when our dinner guests arrived – on a Prius so I didn’t even hear them coming.
Bill, I started opening the gray tank first for a few seconds to make sure hose hasn’t sprung a leak and then open the black.
No problem with hose or valve but we think someone pulled our valve when we stopped at a rest stop or restaurant so when we removed cap, it started gushing out. Luckily, I had the hose ready to go and slammed it up there while closing valve. Now, we have a fail safe. We purchased a Valterra valve and now nothing comes out when we remove cap until we open it.
added the extra valterra valve after discovering the hole plug that assembly left in the blk tank that jammed the 1st valve at/during mfg
We had spent 4 days in a city park while a Nebraska blizzard rocked our motor home. After being dug and pulled out we went to the much needed dump station. The black valve didn’t want to pull out, so what do you do? Pull harder, the assembly pulled right off the tank connection. Luckily it stayed mostly in the compartment and ran out the hole in the bottom. A little snow shovel work and all was well.
Came into a southern AZ SKP park and was reminded to check our sewer hose before pulling the valve. I wondered why: a few nights earlier, a hailstorm had come through, and the first person to dump his tanks the next morning re-discovered how the sprinkler hose was developed…quite a spray, I heard.
Would like to comment on RVing over 70 but don’t and won’t get a Facebook account. I am 80 and wife is 76 and we still use the motorhome when it’s not in the shop and weather permits.
We were at a Famcamp in New Mexico and while the wife was in a class, I dumped our tanks. I had not used one of the lengths of sewer hose before but needed it this time. When I opened the black valve, I had pin hole leeks in that section of hose. Not a big mess but more embarrassing than anything.