Dear Gary,
I am a first-time travel trailer owner, having recently purchased a several-owner used 1973 Go-Tag-Along. I can only find one waste water dump valve, which is located on the larger waste pipe directly beneath the toilet. Another smaller diameter pipe is connected below that T-handle, so whenever I run the shower or the two sinks the water does not appear to go to a gray water holding tank, but discharges below the black water valve. Is it possible that there is a gray water holding tank with some other type of shutoff device?
Sam Pennartz, (Wyoming, PA)
Answer:
Wow, a ’69 and a ’73! This must be the month for all the oldies but goodies out there. So indicative of well preserved and cared for RVs!
Indeed Sam, it’s likely your new acquisition only has that single, black water (toilet) holding tank. It was later in that decade when it became popular for RVs to have the luxury of a gray water waste tank as well. Years ago, it was common to allow gray water to simply drain onto the ground, but that is not permissible today in most locales.
The options are to hook up a portable holding container to capture the gray water, but this requires you to manually remove and dump it when full. In some cases, an addition of a small gray water holding tank is possible if you have the space to put one. I’m guessing this is probably not feasible on your Go-Tag-Along. The third option is to plumb one of the gray water fixtures directly into the top of the existing black water tank. But this too is dependent on your space limitations, plus it’s the least affirming option since it will require more-frequent evacuations of that holding tank.
I’d probably opt for the external, portable waste tank. They are readily available at any Camping World store.
(Please feel free to comment, however, please also note that due to the volume of communications I receive from multiple channels I cannot guarantee a personal response in every instance. However, questions of an overall general interest may be considered and published in an upcoming RV Doctor column.)
Penny Taylor
Find a suitable size diameter, and length, of PVC pipe (6″ dia. is good), that can be mounted under your RV at a very slight angle. At the highest end, attach your gray water drain into the top, or in the highest end of it. Add a PVC screw-on fitting at each end, so that you have a clean-out, and mount a water hose connector on lowest end. Then you have a temporary grey water tank, or you can run a garden hose to the sewer. Happy Trails.
DAN
CHUCK DUNN:
depends on your rig and space for batteries. maybe you can install 1 larger battery?
post your rig details and question on the irv2 forum. there are about 35,000 members on this forum and questions are usually answered very quickly.
you can also look up previous posts about this topic on this forum without joining the free forum. this forum just changed ownership and format and the search function does not work as well as it used too.
if you cannot make the site work for you, ask an “administrator” for help.
DAN
SAN PENNARTZ:
check out the VALTERRA T-58 “twist on” valve, about $20 at camping world.
if i read your post correctly, this valve may let you use your black holding tank for gray water also.
on my winnebago, this valve lets me flow water from my full gray tank to my not full black tank, thus extending my dry camping dump times.
i hope this helps.
Chuck Dunn
I have a question and I don’t see where to ask it. I want to add another battery to my coach. Peralell(sp) of course. I have a solar on my rig and the current battery wont last enough while dry camping.
Thank you