Grey Tank Drain blocked

[Neemer]

Between what I’m reading here and the other place, I’m second guessing my decision to stay with Newmar. I met a guy last week with a new Newmar coach who asked me if I was sure I wanted to get a new one because of the problems he had encountered with his. This statement was made as a mobile mech was replacing the starter on mine.

I’ll just keep my head firmly implanted in my colon and continue whistling past the graveyard. That’s my safe space/comfort zone.

 

[Jim]

I said I could drill a small 1.5” hole in the top of the tank and drain it with a siphon

I don't know how many twits/bends there are between the shower drain and the tank, but can you push a small tube down the shower drain pipe into the tank? Then use 12 volt pump to pump the water into the toilet and let it drain out through the black exit?

 

[Neal]

After removing the four bolts on the gray gate valve you want to remove the gate valve. It’s just wedged in. This will give you access to run a snake up. You can try from the wye valve first and that would allow you to pull it out and close the gate when the tsunamis arrives.

I don’t think this is a Newmar thing. This is a RV thing. Unless you go to Prevost or Newell this can happen to any RV. It’s unfortunate but these are not automakers as we hope they would be. We have to get through these things to get home free and enjoy the coach. You are almost there. This issue you’ve had since the beginning. This is why I’m not interested in rotating out mine for new as it took me two years to get to the ahh stage.

Buying used can either get you past these issues or land these issues in your lap is not thoroughly inspected prior to purchase.

 

[FL-JOE]

I guess I'm still stuck on using a Flush King. You would have to first put a straight short sewer hose attachment onto the end of your drain that points down into the bay floor hole, then attach the Flush King basically under the coach. I've always been a huge fan of back flushing gray tanks to keep them from smelling and my Newmar is the first RV I've owned that I haven't used a Flush King.

If it is the hole cut-out piece that is blocking your discharge the only safe way to move it and drain that tank is with a back flush.

 

[Neal]

A plumber may be a good option. Call and talk to them, describe the situation, see what they recommend you do over the phone and if needed come out and help.

 

[MapNerd]

I don't know how many twits/bends there are between the shower drain and the tank, but can you push a small tube down the shower drain pipe into the tank? Then use 12 volt pump to pump the water into the toilet and let it drain out through the black exit?

Tried that too! Bought 100’ of 1/4” vinyl tubing and tried to push it down the shower drain, couldn’t get it more than 1’ down the drain

 

[MapNerd]

I don’t think this is a Newmar thing. This is a RV thing.

I don’t disagree. The problem is I am paying a significant premium for a Newmar over another coach and I was okay with that because everything I read indicates they would be there for me when these issues arose.

The truth is that unless I fight like hell with them over the phone or email, they are not willing to do the right thing. My time is precious. It’s the one thing I can’t buy more of. I won’t waste it fighting with a company over the phone or email. They can make their decisions and I’ll make mine and at this point, we’re fine paying less for something of equal RV quality and expecting nothing from the manufacturers, because that’s the reality on the ground for us right now and it’s not something new to us since we started dealing with Newmar.

to be fair, they have stepped up in one or two places but our experience has been that this was the exception, not the rule.

 

[RandyB]

This is an interesting idea. How would I connect the fittings to the drain pipe for an air-tight seal so that I could build some pressure? I’m a little worried about how much pressure I’d need. The obstruction has 45+ gallons of water pushing down on it. That’s easily 350lbs.

A column of water 27.7" high equates to 1 PSI. Therefore there is not a lot of pressure to overcome using compressed air. I would start low, slow and quick bursts, building higher or longer with each attempt. The key is having a sewer hose attached but valved off to allow the air injection to travel up the liquid filled piping. The hope is that the reverse flowing water and /or the air will dislodge the object. Then, turning off the air and opening the sewer valve to try draining the tank.
Water injection could also be done, but with an already full tank, you might be pushing waste water where you might not want it (sink, roof, etc).

 

[Jim]

Water injection could also be done, but with an already full tank, you might be pushing waste water where you might not want it (sink, roof, etc).

Randy's post made me think. Isn't there a vent from the grey tank that goes up to the roof? If so, can't you get your tube down that vent to pump it out?

 

[MapNerd]

Between what I’m reading here and the other place, I’m second guessing my decision to stay with Newmar. I met a guy last week with a new Newmar coach who asked me if I was sure I wanted to get a new one because of the problems he had encountered with his. This statement was made as a mobile mech was replacing the starter on mine.

I’ll just keep my head firmly implanted in my colon and continue whistling past the graveyard. That’s my safe space/comfort zone.

My intent is not to dissuade anyone from purchasing a Newmar, that’s not my style. It is to inform others of my experience and to allow them to take that into consideration when deciding whether or not to make a purchase.

Newmar has been there for me solidly on two occasions. Once when my slide became misaligned, they sent NewServe to my location the next day to fix the problem on the spot.

Prior to that, with my drivers seat footrest having failed on the very first night of FPU, they sent me to NorthTrail to have it repaired. Unfortunately the repair only lasted a day before it failed again and it was finally permanently fixed at the factory in September, but the point for me was never the issue at hand. I knew full well going into this that it was always going to be something with this machine. What I cared about was how the company deals with the issues when I present them. The vast majority of my issues have been cosmetic or somewhat superficial. The chassis has been bulletproof.

Getting Newmar to agree to address these cosmetic or superficial issues has taken multiple calls, multiple emails and multiple escalations for the majority of them. To be clear, I’m not talking about minuscule issues. I’m talking about cracked countertops, grey tank sensors that never work, damage incurred at the service center, incandescent basement lights that literally burn out, failed MCD shades, a domestic toilet that flushes on its own whenever it feels like it...there’s more.

Again, the issues themselves are not my problem. It’s getting Newmar to do the right thing takes too much effort for me and I sincerely hope that I am an outlier and maybe I irked someone at Newmar and ended up on a blacklist of some sort.

Others do not seem to have this resistance when getting support or maybe they are less sensitive to the need to constantly escalate and send several emails and follow ups, justifying it to themselves as “just how the game is played”. For me, if that’s the game we’re playing then that’s fine. I’m just going to cash out some of my chips and consider what’s left on the table as sunk cost.