I need HELP!!!: Grey tank not draining, please help!

Grey tank not draining, please help!

Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
Forum Discription: Perplexed/need help with a problem - ask here
URL: https://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=14703
Printed Date: 21 May 2026 at 1:03pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: Grey tank not draining, please help!

Posted By: CameronPod
Subject: Grey tank not draining, please help!
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2021 at 3:19pm

Hello, we have a 2017 RP 178, used but new to us, and this is our second season. Bought it from friends that I know are pretty careful and we are also about what goes down the drains. The grey tank will not drain and water is backed up in the shower pan. If we run water in the kitchen sink, it backs up more in the shower pan. This is what we have tried:

Ran HOT water in the sink and shower.

Plunged kitchen sink and shower.

Manually snaked the shower, kitchen sink, roof vent, and up the main dump valve. Snake comes out clean and seems to get to the grey tank each time.

One at a time we put compressed air in both sinks, the shower, the roof vent. We blocked all other outlets while putting in the air trying to build a little bit of pressure.

We have not tried soap or the vinegar/baking soda in the drains yet. There doesn't seem to be any residue or a clog we can find with the snake. We thought it was maybe an air lock. We just filled the black tank 2/3 and are going to take a rowdy ride around the neighborhood and go dump the black, flush the black, and try to dump the grey. Will go for the soap, or baking soda vinegar next if that doesn't do it. What the heck else? Thanks in advance for your help!

Camerons

Replies:

Posted By: CameronPod
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2021 at 4:45pm

OK, so we rode around and sloshed the tanks as much as we could. We dumped the black, flushed the black really good, then went to go dump the grey. AND...it worked! yippee!! When I searched a zillion sites last week looking for a fix someone wrote about the tank dump like a pressure issue can form between the black and grey. I'm glad it worked, but really have no idea why, and maybe we knocked a clog loose. Anyway, if anyone has any input on anything we did, please let me know. Hope this helps someone else some day.

Camerons

Posted By: ReluctantTraveler
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2021 at 11:52am

Sounds like you did everything that I would have tried. Really seemed like there was some sort of blockage that came loose, but the snake should have shown something. Plumbing clogs can be a real mystery. If pressure lock between black and gray tanks was the case, I wonder if Forest River can provide any more info on the causes. Glad you got it to drain; this sounds like a big headache for anyone. Keep us posted if you learn anything new and if it happens again.

-------------
2019 R-Pod 190
2011 Toyota 4Runner

Be kind to everyone today!

Dennis