Laundry Flooding

[Tanglewood]

We have been full timing it in our 36RE Redwood. It is a beautiful trailer, but I have discovered flooding in the laundry area 4 times now. The first time no one had any idea what was causing it, the 2nd time, I figured out it was because I did not have the shower/gray tank opened and the washer was overflowing, the 3rd time I forgot to open the gray tank again....the 4th time I opened the wrong gray tank. I am so angry I could spit. I cannot believe they did not provide a floor drain in the laundry room, and also that they do not clearly mark the gray tanks. So I took a silver permanent marker and marked the gray tanks so I won't flood my tank again. BAD ENGINEERING for the laundry room.

 

[Tanglewood]

We have been full timing it in our 36RE Redwood. It is a beautiful trailer, but I have discovered flooding in the laundry area 4 times now. The first time no one had any idea what was causing it, the 2nd time, I figured out it was because I did not have the shower/gray tank opened and the washer was overflowing, the 3rd time I forgot to open the gray tank again....the 4th time I opened the wrong gray tank. I am so angry I could spit. I cannot believe they did not provide a floor drain in the laundry room, and also that they do not clearly mark the gray tanks. So I took a silver permanent marker and marked the gray tanks so I won't flood myRV again. BAD ENGINEERING for the laundry room.

 

[Stevea1956]

We full time too and the first thing I do when after hooking up the sewer hose is open both gray tanks and leave them open until the day before we leave. I learned the hard way just like you...flooded laundry.
Closing them the day before we leave gives me enough water to flush out the sewer hose after draining the black tank.

 

[Tanglewood]

So far we have not done any traveling, we are set up on our farm and have been living there for 8 months. At first, we mostly had both gray tanks open as well so that is why it took so long to figure out the odd flooding. But we kept noticing a bad smell leaving both tanksempty all the time, especially the kitchen tank, so we started closing the tanks more. So it is a matter of trying to remember when they are open and when they are closed. Hence, the mistake this time when I opened the wrong tank. I should have marked the tanks in both areas but kept putting it off.... the first thing I did after the 4th flooding was to use a silver magic marker and mark the tanks properly. Still, I think it is horrible engineering not to mark them properly as well as not to provide a floor drain in the washer/dryer area. And it really surprises me that the dealership did not make sure we were aware that we should be leaving the tank open when doing laundry. Maybe they said something about it during the initial tour, but we heard so much that no way would it all stick. Another issue I have with these travel trailers is that there is no "Quick Guide to Living in a Redwood" or whatever travel trailer you have. It is more or less a learn by trial and error. We were constantly having to call the dealership with questions. Seems to me like if they had a quick introduction guide printed up that would save tons of mistakes....especially the flooding issue!!!

 

[Tobys Home]

We have camped for over 30 years and were told in the beginning not to leave the tanks open all the time. By leaving the open you build up a residue (soap, grease etc.) channel which builds over time. It is very hard to remove this once it hardens, even with tank cleaner products. It eventually works it way to the knife valves which dry out and don't close properly. When these seals dry out they eventually</span>collapsewhen pressure is applied to close them. Then you have to repair the valve.</span>

 

[Tanglewood]

Thanks for the info.... I knew there would be a catch to leaving them open all the time.... That is just one more reason why it irritates me to no end that they did notclearly mark them and that they did not put in a floor drain for accidents!!!! Inside the arrangement of the buttons for checking levels is far right is gray 2, then next is gray 1, and next is black tank,but in my head I am thinking the far left would coincide with the top valve outside...but outside the top one is marked gray 1, then next is black tank, then bottom is galley tank.... not even a number..... so in my mind I constantly keep switching the identity of the tanks. I took a silver magic marker and marked them Shower/Laundry and Kitchen/Galley. Now in both areas they are clearly marked. So I will just have to make it a habit to go out and open laundry tank when doing laundry which is usually 3-4 days a week. We live on a farm and our clothes get dirty pretty darn quick.

 

[Tanglewood]

I did notice at first that the sensors were not working correctly and have trouble keeping them clean. I usually place a cup of Oxyclean in hot water and put it down the drain and try to leave that solution in the full tank for a few hours or a day and that seems to clear those sensors. I am thinking the problem may be caused from leaving the tanks open likeToby was saying.

 

[Hoistman]

I checked our trailer and the 3 valve handles are identified with labels as to what they drain. Not sure if this was done at the factory or my dealer did it himself???? Hopefully they are labled correctly...will find out next weekend when we take it out for it's first camping trip....stay tuned.

 

[Stevea1956]

On some models the kitchen and bath drain into one tank and the washer drains into the other. If you have one of these models and don't have a washing machine you have use of one 45 gallon grey water tank. Our 36FL is set up this way.

 

[Tobys Home]

In our service area I have noticed that the labels all seem to be pealing as if the surface was not clean enough before they were applied. Murphy's law says that labels like dealer lables never come off but the important ones always fall off.

 

[COLJDM60]

Steve, I am going back to the factory with our coach in Oct and one of our issues is the lack of use of the one grey tank. Our coach is preped for the washer and dryer but we did not install one. That grey tank should be handling the bathroom as well as the washer dryer.I am really pressing this issue and will let you know the outcome. To me it is a very poor design, as the tank should handle both the washer/dryer and bathroom. Why have the damn thing if it isn't being used??

 

[Campers-THOR]

Steve, I am going back to the factory with our coach in Oct and one of our issues is the lack of use of the one grey tank. Our coach is preped for the washer and dryer but we did not install one. That grey tank should be handling the bathroom as well as the washer dryer.I am really pressing this issue and will let you know the outcome. To me it is a very poor design, as the tank should handle both the washer/dryer and bathroom. Why have the damn thing if it isn't being used??

Please let us know what the solution is. I purchased the twist on valve for our FL and only use it when I need the extra tank space. Where we camp there are no dumps at the sites, we dump when we leave the park.
Thanks

 

[Stevea1956]

I already addressed the issue with mine. I installed a gate valve down new the sewer outlet and when I'm at a campground without full hookups I close that valve and open both grays. That way the water will equalize between the two tanks.
The topic was much discussed here:
http://forums.redwood-rv.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=185&KW=gate+valve&PN=9&title=gray-water-and-the-36-fl
You can also get a Valtera T58 twist on gate valve like Campers did and use it only when you need it. I installed a glue in valve because the cable to the black tank failed on me and I couldn't close the valve enogh to keep the waste from filling my sewer hose. The new valve is my insurance policy against having a sewer hose full of black water again.

 

[Tanglewood]

so are you saying that inside and outside the labels are the same? My tank listing inside shows gray 1 and gray 2, outside they are labeled gray 1 and galley, and not only that, but they label from left to right inside black tank, gray 1, gray 2.....outside, they label from top to bottom, gray 1, black tank, galley..... so my dyslexic brain can't keep them straight. I re-labeled them clearly as Shower/laundry and Kitchen..... makes it easier on my brain not to have to remember that gray 1 is shower/laundry and gray 2 galley.... so they are not even in the same order which really confuses my dyslexic brain.

 

[fathog99]

On a recent camping trip my buddy noticed water leaking from my pin box. After scratching our heads because there are no water connections in that area I went into the bedroom and looked in the closet and found water coming from under the bed. We removed the mattress and plywood and found the drain line from the washer had come loose and blown away from the PVC connection. I reinserted the drain line and tightened the threads on the line and problem solved. If you see water coming from your pin box take a look under the bed. I know how this happened. Whoever installed the drain line didn't tighten the connection and over time running the slide in and out and water pressure from the washer it blew the line off. I am not very pleased this happened but that's part of being a full timer.

fathog99

 

[dave and ginny]

On a recent camping trip my buddy noticed water leaking from my pin box. After scratching our heads because there are no water connections in that area I went into the bedroom and looked in the closet and found water coming from under the bed. We removed the mattress and plywood and found the drain line from the washer had come loose and blown away from the PVC connection. I reinserted the drain line and tightened the threads on the line and problem solved. If you see water coming from your pin box take a look under the bed. I know how this happened. Whoever installed the drain line didn't tighten the connection and over time running the slide in and out and water pressure from the washer it blew the line off. I am not very pleased this happened but that's part of being a full timer.

fathog99

Last fall we had a few people on this forum that had the same issue. I had a water issue with the washer but it was because the fresh water line was kinked under the bed. I believe this happened on mine because I have a slide-in-slide which requires quite a few things having to move.

 

[DonMac-REDW]

Dave..we had same problem but no slide in slide. When they built our unit the ribed gray hose that is the drain hose for the washer was installed in such a way the slide pulled the hose off its connection. Quite a few people have had this problem. My fix was to take the bed apart and remove the wood that was catching the rib on the hose and pulling it off when slide came in. Very bad workmanship. All is well now after fix. Now repairing ALL of the ceiling trim that has come loose and falling off. Also ceiling connection above dining table has come apart at the joint. Will be reglueing panel to strut today. Cindy sending tape to cover joint connection. Hope not to many things fall off you rig on your trip out west. I have heard that the repair facility where you have gone at Crossroads is closing down. Know anything about this?

 

[DonMac-REDW]

fathog99...you may want to take a closer look. If it came off once it will come off again as hose catches on wood when slide comes in. It happened to me untill I made the repair stated above..just a thought.

 

[5th_Time-REDW]

My advice is that everyone with a washer & dryer should remove their mattress and inspect their drainage system. Even though it's work, it's a lot less work than removing mildew from the carpeting. Because of this forum, I had Redwood inspect mine when I had it serviced during the Rally and sure enough, the drainline was kinked & ready to pull off. The techs were actually surprised - like that was the first time they had heard of this?

I plan to take mine apart and improve it this year, if it ever gets above 20 again. They're predicting 18-24in of snow for this weekend, so I guess that groundhog was lying...

 

[fathog99]

I am going to replace the wod under the bed next week and make it easier to get to so I can inspect the connection or tighten the hose. I agree it isn't a good design but I understand what they were trying to accomplish. The drawer under the bed is what catches mine. But that doesn't explain why the fitting came unscrewed. The only way that could have happened was it wasn't tightened in the first place which is bad workmanship. Any way I have a handle on it, thanks for the info and if you are ever in Grapevine Texas at the Vineyards stop by. That where we are spending the next year as camp hosts. Happy trails