sewer smell because sink plumbed to black tank

[Travelin' Texans]

By hiring a lawyer, what do you hope to achieve? Do you want your money back? New rv (which may be as bad or worse than your current one)? Current rv reapired to YOUR satisfaction? Regardless it won't change the rv industry!!
I've said it along with numerous others on this forum & others that if you're not somewhat of a handy man with basic understanding of plumbing/electrical then rv ownership may not be the best idea unless you don't mind it sitting on your dealers lot "waiting on authorization" or "waiting on parts" (which is code for we'll get to it when we feel it like it or the customer raises a lot hell).
I would start calling your dealers (which should've taken care of these issues to begin with) GM working up to Thor & all the way to the GM of Thor before paying out lots of $$$$ to some lawyer.
I'm sorry you've had these issues & hope they get resolved to your satisfaction soon!!

[Bob Denman]

I kind of agree with the above opinion about Lawyers...
If you deploy them as a "last-Ditch" offensive strike: they can be effective!

But like nuclear weapons: they sure do make a mess of things along the way!

[2thdoc]

Sorry don't have a solution for your stinky bathroom sink; I'm too busy with my 2017 Miramar 33.5 sorting out all of the manufacturing issues(well over 25 issues). Latest ones included a swollen 6 volt battery and when checking the inside control panel it died. Before they moved it out of the service bay a big puddle of transmission fluid was noted.
My unit has spent 6+ months of its 10 months of ownership in the shop.

Really unhappy with this unit. Anyone having this much "fun" with their Miramar 33.5?

[Bob Denman]

Mine's at the shop right now, with a 23 item punch-list...

But they've only had it there for two Months: I should feel lucky!

[carlgorski]

Originally Posted by unhappywiththor

Hello everyone. I am the owner of a Thor Venetian I bought last March. My unit has been in the shop and factory for a total of 4 months since I purchased it last March. I suffer from a sewer gas smell coming from the bathroom sink while driving down the road which is plumped for some inexplicable reason into the black water tank. I have done pressure measurements in the black water tank versus ambient inside motorhome and found that during braking the pressure from the sloshing of the " Poo" causes the belching of smell back up the sink that only has a shallow 2 inches in the u trap under the sink. I am currently starting litigation against Thor and Phil Houser at Thor motorcoach company for faulty engineering and shoddy craftsmanship and was wondering if anyone else has any similar issues they could share. My outside mirror came loose and almost fell off. Multiple cabinet and trim have fallen off. I have visible screws showing thru an out of walls, TV not working due to a compromised HDMI cord, seat not working because of poor wire crimps, Black water and fresh water connection when new that they say have been fixed. These are not all the problems I have had but just a sample. When I bought the unit and tried to fill the freshwater tank throwing the valve, the water came out of the sewer flush line. Any help or sharing of similar experience would be appreciated and Oh BTW Hi to everyone and hope you all have a good Christmas!!

Mine is plumb to black tank. No problems(yet).

[brucev]

I want to thank all of you for the responses to this question. I have the same problem as the OP, but usually only when we have a window or vent open. I never even heard of an AAV until now. I went out and looked under the sink and sure enough, there it was, complete with crud on the inside. I removed both of them and started to search. I found a Studor Redi-Vent for $13.71 on Amazon that looks like it will fit. I figure if that solves the problem it is a pretty cheap fix, compared with everything else.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Bob Denman]

There you are... congratulations!

[unhappywiththor]

Update. For all those that post on here and don't think Thor is watching, you are wrong. They sent me, thru their lawyer, a request to verify that this post was actually started by me. I assured them that it was me and as far as Im concerned the first amendment still exist and nothing I posted was false. This company clearly understands they have a SEVERE quality control problem and chooses not to make changes. This poster has found many, and I mean many people with the same problem of sewer smell coming from a toilet that was plumbed to the black tank. The saga continues and court awaits. I am considering starting a go fund me website to support a class action lawsuit. I would love to hear from others with similar problems thru private message. This doesn't include that other various areas of shoddy workmanship that almost everyone that purchases one of these coaches experiences. When you spend that kind of money, a purchaser deserves better. You would think after the RV
Norcold refrigerator lawsuit with MILLIONS of dollars dispersed they would improve their quality. Thanks for all the help posted on this thread and in my experience RV people are the nicest people ever.

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by unhappywiththor

Update. For all those that post on here and don't think Thor is watching, you are wrong. They sent me, thru their lawyer, a request to verify that this post was actually started by me. I assured them that it was me and as far as Im concerned the first amendment still exist and nothing I posted was false. This company clearly understands they have a SEVERE quality control problem and chooses not to make changes. This poster has found many, and I mean many people with the same problem of sewer smell coming from a toilet that was plumbed to the black tank. The saga continues and court awaits. I am considering starting a go fund me website to support a class action lawsuit. I would love to hear from others with similar problems thru private message. This doesn't include that other various areas of shoddy workmanship that almost everyone that purchases one of these coaches experiences. When you spend that kind of money, a purchaser deserves better. You would think after the RV
Norcold refrigerator lawsuit with MILLIONS of dollars dispersed they would improve their quality. Thanks for all the help posted on this thread and in my experience RV people are the nicest people ever.

[TurnerFam]

I think it's really relatively simple, the solution I mean... it's either the air admittance valve below the sink, the lack of water in the sink's p-trap when you are traveling, and/or any OPEN windows or roof fan vents while driving. This 'vacuum' created with open windows or vents can cause 'smells' from holding tanks to be drawn up and into any RV, while driving.

The issue of whether a sink should be plumbing into the 'black' tank is a different discussion, but really not any deal breaker for anyone, especially those of us who know that since you fill your gray tank typically much quicker than your black tank, it actually is a good thing, and the lav sink is rarely used compared to the kitchen sink and showers.

I want to reiterate, also, that you 'may' be smelling your GRAY tank, not the black one. The gray tank smells can be overwhelming, and many folks first assume that it's coming from the black.

Our rig is this way, too. The gray tank smells can easily be pulled up thru 'dry' p-traps in the sinks and shower if we have dumped and are then traveling with a window open(pretty normal for me, the driver), and/or the roof vents open.
Dumping, with the immediate 'vacuum' of the gravity flowing water from the tanks can pull out any water that would normally be sitting in the p-traps.
We fill our p-traps with water, a cup or so, right after we dump and before we travel.

[Beau388]

Agree with TurnerFam. Our split bath Hurricane has the black water tank directly under the head and bathroom sink. It is a straight drop by both. It is a small 24.5 gal tank. I have never had any smell come out of the sink even after a 400 mile trip on some of Indiana's and Illinois's finest Interstates. We live by the old Saniware 1000 marine macerater toilet warning - "never put anything in the toilet that you have not previously eaten". I think Thor's engineering is excellent it is sometimes the application than needs correcting.

[steve76]

Starting litigation for safety issues in one thing. For not satisfied with quality or construction to your satisfaction is quite another especially since they can more than likely produce documentation signed by you that you did your PDI. Good luck but is like trying to sue the IRS and many of us are in the same boat with you to no success. More than likely, "may" agree to give you some sort of credit compensation on a new purchase, but I highly doubt they will buy back.
What gripes me is, like when I bought my brand new 2018 Class C, drove it for a few miles on surface streets and freeway and seemed to drive pretty well. But, but, after trying to drive it on a road trip for hundreds + miles in wind, lot's of big rig traffic etc., was quite a chore to stay focused to keep it in it's lane. After I did some research on other forums plus this one and internet on Ford's chassis, weights etc., finally spent thousands $$ with added suspension mods to make it drive what I would consider safely and my driving experience is almost 30 years driving fire dept. trucks and engines.

[SuperD]

Our bathroom sink is plumbed in to the black tank also. We were getting stink in the bathroom even when it was unoccupied, checked the air admittance valve under the sink and it was barely screwed in. I removed the valve, wrapped the threads with Teflon tape and then screwed it down tight. No more smell!!! Checked the valve under the kitchen sink, it was loose too, performed the same procedure there.

[unhappywiththor]

I have done all that even tho the coach was new and has spent months in the repair facitlity under warranty. My problem is smell mostly when driving down the road. My smell is minimal while camping.

[Lt Keefer]

Not to hijack the thread, but my kitchen sink is in the slide out and not vented thru the roof, although the tank is. The vent/air admittance valve is in the sink cabinet so I can almost always smell the gray tank. The 'valve' isn't much to speak of so I put a couple of air fresheners under there and it is okay. The black tank isn't an issue, maybe because the roof vent pipe and air admittance pipe are inches apart.

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by unhappywiththor

I have done all that even tho the coach was new and has spent months in the repair facitlity under warranty. My problem is smell mostly when driving down the road. My smell is minimal while camping.

The stock roof vents don’t flow air very well, you might consider installing aftermarket vent covers like these:

[Bob Denman]

I am in the middle of adding Cyclone vent caps to mine...

They look cooler!!

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1531001849

[SuperD]

Simpler is better, the Lippert vents don’t have any moving parts!!! Lol

[Bob Denman]

I'll give you that...

But cool counts for something!

[Bob Denman]

... And I'll be ready for "Shark Week"!