What you are about to read is really gross. Like really, really gross.
You have been warned.
I’ll start by saying the end of our week in Corvallis went pretty well. I had a work thing up in Salem on Tuesday that went fine. On Wednesday we built the bedroom desk, or at least the supports for the bedroom desk. Thursday was a pretty mundane “stay at home” day with just work and some small projects.
But Friday. Yeah. That was an adventure.
I got up early and did a bit of work before heading to Home Depot to pick up a 5 gallon bucket and a socket wrench. We were wanting to sanitize the fresh water tank with bleach (hence the 5 gallon bucket) and we wanted to troubleshoot the water pressure issue with the hot water tank (hence the socket wrench). We were getting hot water but it was coming out in dribbles so we thought we’d start with taking out the anode and flushing the tank for any debris that might have been clogging the lines.
The hot water tank flush went well but we decided to hold off on the fresh water tank sanitizing until later. Which was probably smart considering what came next.
After Lauren finished up a work meeting we packed up Homer* and got ready to do our first tank dump and hit the road for our next destination.
Remember, you have been warned.
Simply put, the tank dump was a disaster. We got over to the spot, had everything lined up and ready to go, and when it was time to open the cap to our dump pipe and connect the dump hose that ran into the sewer (which you do before opening the valves to your black/grey tanks) we came to the very sudden and surprising (and disgusting) realization that our black tank valve was stuck open. As soon as I got the dump pipe cap off I was flooded with a week’s worth of pee (and one poo that Lauren did as a test).
It was worse than anything we could have imagined. And Lauren, apparently, has a very active and sensitive gag reflex.
Luckily, we had bought an external valve (for a completely different reason) and quickly decided to get that attached so we could at least “control” the flow of sewage coming out. We ended up emptying the tanks with that valve attached but now we had a big problem – if the black tank was stuck open, this sewage spill would happen anytime we opened the cap to get ready to dump.
We called a local RV repair place and they said the fix would most likely involve dropping the entire underbelly of the 5th wheel to get at the plumbing to replace the black tank valve. The cost (roughly $500) wasn’t the issue. The issue was getting an appointment to have the work done. They were booked out until June and we were heading to the coast for the rest of May and had reservations for campgrounds in central Oregon through mid-June.
So, after talking to the mechanic over the phone we decided the best course of action was to attach that external valve semi-permanently (to avoid future surprise sewage showers) and schedule a repair appointment for when we are in central Oregon in June. We also decided that for the rest of May we are only using our toilet for #1 and we’ll do all of our #2 business in the campground bathrooms.
With that plan in place (and after MANY hand and arm washings with all the soap the Corvallis campground bathroom had) we finally hit the road for our Friday night destination. The drive went fine and we made it to the spot at Spirit Mountain Casino without any issue. Their RV park is brand new with about 80 spots but we were one of maybe 10 other campers. It was a breeze getting situated and set up for the night and, after the morning we had, it was nice that the afternoon went so smoothly. We went into the casino to get dinner and then came back to Homer* to watch some Top Chef and go to bed.
This morning we woke up to the sound of migrating geese and a lovely sunrise. I think we got both ends of the “RV Life” spectrum over the last 24 hours, from the shitty (literally) to the beautiful.
We’ll take showers soon (very, very thorough showers) and then hit the road for the coast campground we’ll be at for the next two weeks. The campground near Pacific City is apparently very wooded, which makes for nice, private spots, but I’m a little worried about having a clear view of the sky for our Starlink dish to get internet and be able to work for the next couple of weeks.
But, no matter how challenging that internet issue might be to solve, at least it won’t require a bleach bath to disinfect every pore of our bodies afterward.
O.M.G. So sorry you had to deal with that! What an adventure already!
Adventure, indeed!
Honestly, I had a feeling we’d deal with something like this at some point. Might as well get it out of the way now.
Wow! Good job troubleshooting under “pressure”.
Pressure, pushing down on me…
It wasn’t how I expected our first tank dump to go, but at least we’re getting all the “fun” stuff out of the way early!
Sooo glad you shared that with us! 🤢
A day you will never forget and will laugh about later.
Beautiful sunset makes it all better.
Hey, I warned people at the top of the post. You read that at your own risk! And I doubt this will be the last you hear about our waste management issues.
Yes your warning was excellent. But you know when you see a warning like that you absolutely have to read on. Now that I’ve read the first installment, can’t wait for future updates!
That stinks!