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Old 08-17-2017, 02:12 PM   #21
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Another possible reason for odors

I just discovered another reason for some of that icky smell in our trailer. I was giving it a really good cleaning and pulled the plastic tiles I use on the floor of the bathroom. ICK! I soaked it in the bathtub overnight with dishwashing soap and bleach. Still has an odor to it (not as strong as before, but it's still there), so it got chucked in the trash. I'm going without one from now on. And I'd been really good at rinsing it out, but enough body cells, soap scum and such stuck to it I guess and started stinking the place up.

BTW, the trailer does smell better without it in there.
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Old 08-17-2017, 02:38 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
The drain piping however, as opposed to the bathroom plumbing, is vented to the exterior via the hose which connects to a vertical pipe leading to the roof vent visible from the exterior.
Ron: This is interesting. So you have a rooftop vent on the passenger side of the trailer? On the 2010 we only have the black tank vent on the roof. That is it. Do you have the overflow in the passenger side wheel well that I showed in post #16?

On edit: Dug up a picture of the roof of a 2015 19 from the classifieds. I see the second rooftop vent that was added at some point. The early 19's do not have this.
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Old 08-17-2017, 02:48 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by NW Cat Owner View Post
I just discovered another reason for some of that icky smell in our trailer. I was giving it a really good cleaning and pulled the plastic tiles I use on the floor of the bathroom. ICK! I soaked it in the bathtub overnight with dishwashing soap and bleach. Still has an odor to it (not as strong as before, but it's still there), so it got chucked in the trash. I'm going without one from now on. And I'd been really good at rinsing it out, but enough body cells, soap scum and such stuck to it I guess and started stinking the place up.

BTW, the trailer does smell better without it in there.
Another reason to use the teak or bamboo wooden mats, less odor trapping.
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Old 08-17-2017, 05:20 PM   #24
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Ron: This is interesting. So you have a rooftop vent on the passenger side of the trailer? On the 2010 we only have the black tank vent on the roof. That is it. Do you have the overflow in the passenger side wheel well that I showed in post #16?

On edit: Dug up a picture of the roof of a 2015 19 from the classifieds. I see the second rooftop vent that was added at some point. The early 19's do not have this.
I don't see any evidence that I still have a vent hole in the wheel well. Mine's a 2014 so somewhere along the line they switched to a roof vent. That's a good thing because if there are any odors then they're more likely to be dispersed without bothering anyone lounging under the awning.

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Old 08-17-2017, 05:49 PM   #25
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Another reason to use the teak or bamboo wooden mats, less odor trapping.
Absolutely. Love the teak bath matt.
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Old 08-17-2017, 06:19 PM   #26
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I like your solution and may copy it. You shouldn't be concerned with overflow though. Since you have a 19, do you have the overflow fitting in the passenger side wheel well. Fill up your gray tank and this is where the excess water should expel.
I just double checked and there is no overflow in the wheel well. When I was speaking to Reace one time I asked him IF there was something I was missing that would be an overflow path and he said 'no'. (not on my trailer but others may be different) I showed him my vent when the RML frig got swapped to the RMD.

The tank would have to be full and the water still running to do it ... like if someone left the water 'on' ... so I ran it out the side instead of a simple 'cheater vent'.

Although the 'cheater' "should" stop the over flow I thought a simple vent would allow the gray tank outflow to suck air in and reduce, or not make worse, the slow gray tank drain at times.

this is the vent I used, I think I got it on Amazon or at West Marine.
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Old 08-17-2017, 06:23 PM   #27
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That's the same type of exterior vent a lot of boats have for the holding tank. It normally vents out the side up high. Some people install a charcoal filter inline to prevent "wiffs" when standing beside the boat at the dock.

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Old 08-17-2017, 08:08 PM   #28
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Irma noticed the smell and then I noticed it. I like to leave the bath vent open and keep the stove vent open with a clothespin. Then I see it when walking around the trailer prior to leaving.

After inspecting it I was more concerned with gray water spilling over the top IF the grey tank was full and you kept filling the sink. I measured it and the output is lower then the top of the sink.

So I vented it out the side of the trailer to make sure neither water or foul air will be released into the trailer.
Have you noticed that your tank drains faster because the vent allows air to easily fill the space as the water exits?
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Old 08-17-2017, 08:28 PM   #29
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Have you noticed that your tank drains faster because the vent allows air to easily fill the space as the water exits?
No faster or slower, I think it depends on the speed of earth's rotation .... all joking aside I make a point, probably once or twice a year, to fill it at home up to where it is ready to come in on the bathroom floor and drain it. The extra volume of fresh water seems to rinse out the plumbing and keep any debri dams from building up.

And if I'm in a hurry to dump I put a couple inches of leveling blocks under a curb side wheel and it goes a lot faster.
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Old 08-17-2017, 08:55 PM   #30
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I just double checked and there is no overflow in the wheel well. When I was speaking to Reace one time I asked him IF there was something I was missing that would be an overflow path and he said 'no'. (not on my trailer but others may be different) I showed him my vent when the RML frig got swapped to the RMD.

The tank would have to be full and the water still running to do it ... like if someone left the water 'on' ... so I ran it out the side instead of a simple 'cheater vent'.
So what I'm hearing then is that those trailers without the wheel well overflow and that have this open ended vent pipe rim elevation below the level of the sinks could have an overflow if the gray water system is totally maxed out?? If someone is hooked up to city water, but no sewer they could easily overwhelm the gray system. Even if you are hooked up to sewer, but tank valve is closed as suggested you have an issue. If your monitor is not accurate (or you don't check it) you would have no indication before gray water came pouring out in an obscure area of the trailer? Something just doesn't seem right.
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Old 08-17-2017, 09:40 PM   #31
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The bathroom floor would flood first, thank goodness. That's the low point.
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Old 08-17-2017, 10:10 PM   #32
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The bathroom floor would flood first, thank goodness. That's the low point.
Yup, anytime I got too much water in the grey tank, the first place it backed up was through the shower drain. No problem. Loren
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Old 08-17-2017, 10:10 PM   #33
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No faster or slower, I think it depends on the speed of earth's rotation .... all joking aside I make a point, probably once or twice a year, to fill it at home up to where it is ready to come in on the bathroom floor and drain it. The extra volume of fresh water seems to rinse out the plumbing and keep any debri dams from building up.

And if I'm in a hurry to dump I put a couple inches of leveling blocks under a curb side wheel and it goes a lot faster.
All joking aside the draining is painfully slow towards the end because the cross section of the drain diminishes. I'm always happy if the dump station area slopes towards the outlet. I, too, sometimes put a block under the wheels to speed up complete drainage.

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Old 08-17-2017, 11:08 PM   #34
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The bathroom floor would flood first, thank goodness. That's the low point.
Yes if you keep it open. But....

We keep the bathroom floor drain shut tight so there is no slop over hitting bumps etc. originally I didn't keep it tight and the small carpet would occasionally have a wet spot if I had to travel with semi loaded gray tank (boondocking, no dump station). Also some odor may come out of the drain depending.

I keep it tight. And if you measure the height of the hidden vent and the height of the sink top you will see that the hidden vent is below the sink rim. I didn't test it .... but Reace confirmed it could happen. I requested the plumbing and electric as builts but never got them. Does anyone have some?
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Old 08-18-2017, 12:07 AM   #35
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When I remember to do so, I close my bathroom floor drain before towing as well. Usually if my gray water tank is full I manage to dump it before towing, but sometimes I tow with it partially full. I haven't noticed any spillage from the vent pipes when I do but now I'll keep an eye out for it.

Maybe. This is one of those situations where if I keep looking for problems, I'll keep finding them. And in my case the chances of it happening and making a mess are probably pretty low, so, meh.
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Old 08-18-2017, 12:12 AM   #36
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When I remember to do so, I close my bathroom floor drain before towing as well. Usually if my gray water tank is full I manage to dump it before towing, but sometimes I tow with it partially full. I haven't noticed any spillage from the vent pipes when I do but now I'll keep an eye out for it.

Maybe. This is one of those situations where if I keep looking for problems, I'll keep finding them. And in my case the chances of it happening and making a mess are probably pretty low, so, meh.
If I remember correctly your bathroom is in the front and would be plumbed totally different then a 19? That would make a huge difference in overflow and/or odor?
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Old 08-18-2017, 05:50 AM   #37
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So what I'm hearing then is that those trailers without the wheel well overflow and that have this open ended vent pipe rim elevation below the level of the sinks could have an overflow if the gray water system is totally maxed out?? If someone is hooked up to city water, but no sewer they could easily overwhelm the gray system. Even if you are hooked up to sewer, but tank valve is closed as suggested you have an issue. If your monitor is not accurate (or you don't check it) you would have no indication before gray water came pouring out in an obscure area of the trailer? Something just doesn't seem right.
Your shower floor would fill up first, before overflowing the pipe. If you have the shower drain blocked then yes the water would escape someplace else. I use the shower drain as an back up indicator for my tank monitor.
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Old 08-18-2017, 07:28 AM   #38
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Unhappy

So on an old 21' it could overflow hidden behind the cubby by the door if overfilled?
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Old 08-18-2017, 08:10 AM   #39
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So on an old 21' it could overflow hidden behind the cubby by the door if overfilled?
Not easily. The top of the vent looks to be higher than either the kitchen or bathroom sink drains. In the non-pressured grey water system, there is no way to get the waste water higher than those drains.
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Old 08-18-2017, 08:32 AM   #40
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Not easily. The top of the vent looks to be higher than either the kitchen or bathroom sink drains. In the non-pressured grey water system, there is no way to get the waste water higher than those drains.
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