Seeking advice on leak from black water tank!

[KimandGreg]

Hi there,

We are new owners of a 15 foot vintage 1977 Sunline Saturn Travel Trailer. Although we haven't used it yet, we can see that there is a leak connected to the black water tank.IMG-0942.jpg

Can anyone offer advice on repairing this? Is this likely just an issue with the gasket?

I can see 'kits' are available online, but not sure if this is what we need. The RV shops I've called won't service it because it because of its age.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Toilet-T...1603/303984502

Any advice would be much appreciated!!!

Kim

[ggrvguy]

Hi there. I've never heard of an rv service center refusing because of age! but any way, you're going to have to get the tanks empty before anyone takes it apart. The link you posted is for mounting the toilet to the floor. The one I think you need is linked here. https://www.amazon.com/Valterra-T40-...s%2C167&sr=8-7

Probably want to replace both valves while your at it. They are pretty accessible on your rig and it's easier to do both at once.
Gary G

[ggrvguy]

Now that I look closer at the picture, is the water leaking down from above the floor or out of the cap? If its above the floor, than you probably have a leak in the black tank which is right above the floor below the toilet on your rig. Is this something that just happened when you flushed the toilet? Have you noticed a leak before? More info on the circumstances would help.
Gary G

[KimandGreg]

Thanks for the reply! I did realize I had posted the wrong link -- but was not sure which pieces would be needed, so this is very helpful.

Nothing is leaking from the floor, but it is leaking from the cap and also from the gasket/s. (We've never used the toilet, but this is what happens when we pour water down the toilet.)

The tank unfortunately wasn't cleaned out before we bought it, but it is dried solid inside. (Pretty gross, I know.) I expect I will need something to break up the, ah, debris inside but thought I should do that later? I was thinking of. a product like Aqua-KEM, which claims to break up waste. If I could replace the whole tank I would, but from what I've read on this forum it's not that simple!

Our other issue is that one wall has some delamatation, with rotted wood visible once I removed a small section. I am unsure whether I should rip the whole wall out and replace the insulation too, or just do the area that is visibly warped.

Anyway, your suggestion is much appreciated! Thank you. Our trailer is incredibly cute and can't wait to use it. - Kim

[ggrvguy]

Nice. If you've poured water down the tank, you may have already loosened some of the "debris". I would stick with my first post and replace the valve I linked. Now for the tricky part. If you think the debris is dried enough so you can take that valve off without making a mess, then I would try that . Otherwise, put some water in the tank, with some chemical and drive it to the nearest dump station. Wear rubber gloves up to your elbows and take the cap off, put the sewer hose on as fast as you can. Then pull the valves and keep adding water and rinsing the tank however you can until it's clean enough to work on. One of those rinse wands stuck down the toilet opening is probably your best bet. Be sure to rinse down the dump station area when your through. Don't be "that"guy.
Gary G

[ggrvguy]

On the delam issue. I guess it depends on far you want to get into it. How attached are you to the camper, etc. Once you start tearing things apart, it's almost always worse than you thought. It's not difficult but it's nice to have a place to work undercover, and some wood working experience. Search the forums, there are several of us that that have posted our experience with this.
Gary G

[KimandGreg]

Excellent advice on both points - thank you. The full delam project is probably more than we can handle right now, without the help of a handyman. Will give the tank clean-out a try and hope for the best!

[JohnB]

Hi Kim,

I'll add one thing just in case you ever do lift the toilet. RV toilets use special gaskets between the bottom of the toilet and the floor flange connected to the black tank. Each vintage/brand RV toilet has one special for it. If and when that day comes, have a new gasket ready to install, ideally before you lift the toilet. RV toilets do not use wax rings like in houses either. There is too much vibration and toilet movement for a wax ring to work in a camper like it does in a house that does not tow down the road.

On your delam, if you get to the point you are going to repair it, let's talk first. If you see delam, there is more to this as the damage happens behind the wall first and by the time you see it inside, the job is bigger than one ever thought. If that time comes, we can show you how to take it apart and how to repair it.

But, there is one thing you can/should look into, sealing up the leak or leaks to stop more water from getting in. This is an education too and will take some time to sort out. If you are going to search for the leak, suggest you get a moisture meter. See this post. https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...per-17613.html

You can scan the walls, floor, and ceiling inside without ever taking anything apart and see what is wet and what is not. Then you can share the readings and we can help you create a plan on how to seal up the camper or what to do next.

Once your tanks are fixed up, try and get some level of camping in to have fun with the camper. Just a heads up, camping in the Sunny can be addictive in a good way!

Hope this helps

John

[Tinstaafl]

Originally Posted by JohnB

I'll add one thing just in case you ever do lift the toilet. RV toilets use special gaskets between the bottom of the toilet and the floor flange connected to the black tank. Each vintage/brand RV toilet has one special for it. If and when that day comes, have a new gasket ready to install, ideally before you lift the toilet. RV toilets do not use wax rings like in houses either. There is too much vibration and toilet movement for a wax ring to work in a camper like it does in a house that does not tow down the road.

John, this caught my attention. So far, we've avoided using the black water tank in our '99 T-1950, but no doubt that day will come. When it does, and if there are any issues, where should I be looking for the appropriate gasket? I assume the local box store offerings wouldn't suffice?

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Tinstaafl

John, this caught my attention. So far, we've avoided using the black water tank in our '99 T-1950, but no doubt that day will come. When it does, and if there are any issues, where should I be looking for the appropriate gasket? I assume the local box store offerings wouldn't suffice?

Tin,

You are not going to find the floor flange foam gasket at any local big box store. An RV dealer may have them. All my campers (build date 2003 and newer) have the Sealand Dometic 110 china bowl toilet. The foam gasket is this one for that brand/model toilet. I have a few of these on hand as my project camper all need one when I reset the toilet.

I bought the first batch here at the time (2/5/19) they were $20 each
https://www.dyersonline.com/dometic-...ange-seal.html

Amazon I see now has them too https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-Sanit...229937&sr=8-20

I am not sure when Sunline changed to the Sealand china bowl 110 toilet. I know other members have and all plastic one and I think they may be Aqua Magic brand.

Some pics of the 110 toilet and floor flange.





Toilet base


The floor fange,






I thought for sure I had pics load on my photo site of the old gasket, but cannot find them right now. It does look like the pic on the Dyer site. The top and bottom of the gasket is different.
Part of the dried up gasket is on the left of this pic



Hope this helps

John

[Tinstaafl]

Thanks, John. Mine's an all-plastic Thetford brand; I have no reason to believe it's not OEM. Looks like that company's alive and well, so I'd think something as basic as that gasket should be easily sourced.