Had leaking inside first time using Black Tank Flush

Katydid · February 2021

I opened the black tank valve, once empty I attached a hose to the black tank flush and turned on the water( had water pressure regulator set on 45psi) . I let it run, went around the back to check on my dog and saw water coming out the underside of the trailer. It was primarily coming out the bolts for the stabilizers but some was running in the black trim and dripping behind the wheel. Shut off the hose, ran inside, pulled up board over Alde/plumbing cubby...water, pulled up middle cubby board...some water in the storage part but couldn’t see clearly the battery or inverter areas due to the attached lift, pulled up last board...no water.

Turned on hose again, ran in and saw water spraying out of the two 90 degree joints, ran back and turned off water. The water continued dripping under the trailer for sometime.

I know I can get someone to fix the leaks but my main concern is mold/mildew and/or unknown long term damage. Where was that water pooling inside that it was coming out the stabilizer bolts? What possible long term issues might I have?

I have a 2021 TAB 400 BD, I bought in Massachusetts but am currently in Naples, FL.

I can’t thank you all enough for your knowledge and help, without this forum I wouldn’t have made it this far .

Denny16 · February 2021

You can pull off the plastic panel under the trailer and see the black tank plumbing connection to the drain pipe. Last time someone reported a leak,like this, it was from a bad connection at the tank outlet under the trailer. Water may be running on top the bottom panel and running out the bolt holes?

Otherwise since your trailer is new, try to find a nüCamp dealer near where you are and have them sort it under your warranty.
cheers

Katydid · February 2021

Thank you for responding Denny. I have to admit that removing the plastic panel is beyond my skill set. I have a call into the closest NuCamp dealer.

jkjenn · February 2021

@Katydid are you using a water pressure regulator?

Katydid · February 2021

@jkjenn Yes I am, set at 45psi. I observed water spraying out of the joints where the water comes inside from the black tank flush connection.

I am concerned about the amount of water that got inside the trailer and have not heard back from the dealer.

jkjenn · February 2021

Yikes!

Bayliss · February 2021

@Katydid, just for clarification and trying to understand what happened, can you confirm that your black tank valve remained "open" (i.e., so it could continue to drain water that was filling the black water tank) while you were attempting to use the black tank flush? You indicate that you first opened it and drained the tank, so I assume you left it open. However, if the drain gate valve was closed while using the black tank flush, that could account for the large amount of water that entered the trailer. Also, did the water actually enter the interior of the trailer, or just above the black coroplast cover under the trailer frame? (Your last post appears to indicate that the water was inside the trailer, which is why I am asking.)

Katydid · February 2021

@Bayliss Yes, I left the black tank valve open during the flush.

When I first saw/discovered the water coming out the underside at the stabilizer bolts, I turned off the water. I then went inside and pulled up all the boards under the bed( took awhile) and saw water in the Alde/backside of Nautilus cubby and a small amount in the center storage cubby( couldn’t really see the battery/inverter area).

I then turned the water back on and ran back and saw water spraying out of the black water flush 90 degree joints, turned off water and mopped up cubbies.

Water continued to drip out of the underside bolts for awhile. I’m assuming that the black “ coroplast cover “is that material that’s covering the last 26”of the trailer? Forward of that is 4” lower covered in what looks like plastic.

My major concern is future problems from the water especially since I don’t know/couldn’t see what’s above it.

Denny16 · February 2021

OK, did you actually get any of the black water flush water into the black tank? If not, the issue looks,like the black water flush line check valve is installed backwards.

Forgot the tank flush connection on the new TaB400 is on the Nautilus panel. Not sure where the check valve is, try following the flush line and see if you can find the check valve, looks like a box with two hose connections, one going in and one coming out. If it is connected the wrong way round, all you need to do is swap the two hose connections on the check valve.

As for the water that got inside the trailer in the Alde compartment, leave it open, dry up as much water as you can with towels and run a fan in the area to help it dry back out. No permanent damage from the water is likely. The floor as Azdel, and will not absorb any water. Water leaking out the bottom is through the holes for the low point drains that go through the floor.
cheers

Bayliss · February 2021

@Katydid, thanks for the response. I cannot specifically address the undercarriage of your 2021 400, but I think you will be OK, particularly since you discovered the water leak as it was occurring. On my trailer, the black coroplast covers the entire bottom of the frame under the cabin area. Someone else who owns the 400 should be able to explain what is above the area covered with what you describe as appearing to be plastic toward the front of your trailer. Regardless, the covered items include the holding tanks, external holding tank plumbing connections, propane gas lines, and some electrical wiring. There should be enough openings (e.g., around the edges of the coroplast) below those covered items to allow air to assist in drying them out. Since you were able to soak up the water in the Alde and other compartments, the water intrusion was a single incident and should not be an issue over time. However, if you have your trailer at home, or in storage, I recommend that you open up those storage areas so air can get in there and help dry things out properly.

Below is a representative photo of the coroplast (black/ridged plastic sheet), which covers the undercarriage.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/2y/461dpgp8262r.jpg

Tampakayaker · February 2021

Katydid said:

Thank you for responding Denny. I have to admit that removing the plastic panel is beyond my skill set. I have a call into the closest NuCamp dealer.

Is it Gerzeny's?

p21usa · February 2021

We had the exact same thing happen with our 2021 Tab 400 BD the first time we hooked up the black tank flush. Fortunately, I had walked around to the opposite side of the camper to check on something and I saw the water coming out by the stabilizer bolts and black trim. We immediately shut the water off and my husband looked under the bed compartment and noticed that the black tank flush fitting, at the Nautilus compartment, was not tight enough (not sure if that is the same as the "two 90 degree joints" you mentioned). He simply tightened it and we have never had another issue. He did check several areas of water intrusion, such as the battery compartment and the Alde compartment. Fortunately, because of the speed in which we found the issue as well as the slope of the camper in it's parking spot, we had no water at all inside the camper. However, we do think that there may have been some water intrusion in the outside storage compartment. The vinyl flooring seems to be raised a bit, but we really don't remember what it looked like before.
Edit: you may also want to check if any water made it's way toward the bathroom area...under the floor of the pantry/fridge area.

Katydid · February 2021

Thank you everyone for responding and helping out.

@Denny16 I don’t know for sure if it got into the black tank, my recollection is that I did see water coming out through the sewer hose as I was running the flush. Also, I didn’t see water coming out the 2 drains, just the bolts of the2 stabilizers and the black trim. I appreciate the idea that the check valve could be backwards and will have it checked.

@Bayliss thanks for the photo of the colorplast , that is the “ plastic” covering I see forward of the last 26”, that material looks like some sort of composite board. I took photos but am technologically delayed and couldn’t get them attached here.

@Tampakayaker yes, it is Gerzenys that I called and still have not heard back from. Do you have experience with them?

@p21usa thank you for sharing your experience, it does give me some peace of mind that you caught your leak quickly but still had the water coming out in the same places I did. I was concerned that I didn’t catch it quickly enough and it flooded someplace I couldn’t see. I don’t recall seeing spraying at the outside/inside fitting, mind was further along in the line to theblack tank.

Thank you all again.

Denny16 · February 2021

If you had water drains back out the blank tank discharge sewer line, than the check valve is ok. You could just have a loose connection behind the Nautilus unit also.
cheers

Tampakayaker · February 2021

Katydid said:

Thank you everyone for responding and helping out.

@Denny16 I don’t know for sure if it got into the black tank, my recollection is that I did see water coming out through the sewer hose as I was running the flush. Also, I didn’t see water coming out the 2 drains, just the bolts of the2 stabilizers and the black trim. I appreciate the idea that the check valve could be backwards and will have it checked.

@Bayliss thanks for the photo of the colorplast , that is the “ plastic” covering I see forward of the last 26”, that material looks like some sort of composite board. I took photos but am technologically delayed and couldn’t get them attached here.

@Tampakayaker yes, it is Gerzenys that I called and still have not heard back from. Do you have experience with them?

@p21usa thank you for sharing your experience, it does give me some peace of mind that you caught your leak quickly but still had the water coming out in the same places I did. I was concerned that I didn’t catch it quickly enough and it flooded someplace I couldn’t see. I don’t recall seeing spraying at the outside/inside fitting, mind was further along in the line to theblack tank.

Thank you all again.

No experience with them.

I know they have 4 dealerships, and I sometimes see a couple of T@Bs at the one in Lakeland when we come back from Disney.

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Had leaking inside first time using Black Tank Flush

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