This summer, I’ve felt confident enough in my RVing abilities to troubleshoot problems with other rigs. It’s nice to be able to pay forward all the help I received in my first months of RVing and to educate new RVers. RVs vary greatly, but I discovered that some causes of problems are universal and that most of these problems are minor if they are a problem at all. For example:

Black Tank Does Not Drain

Assumed cause: valve broken

Assumed solution: replace valve

Real cause: Solid waste impaction (black cone of death)

Real solution: Water. Lots of it. And driving around.

This was a rental rig and I suspected that it might have come with a black cone of death, as Miranda did, since the tiniest trickle of black water came out of the tank.

I closed the black valve, went into the rig and filled the black tank to the rim with water. Within minutes, the water level had gone down. This confirmed that there was a mess of solid waste plugging the valve. This waste absorbed the water. I told the couple to top of the tank with water again and to check the tank after driving around a bit. If the water had gone down again, they were to add water and then repeat the exercise until the water did not recede. Only then should they attempt to empty the black tank.

The next day, they called to let me know that the problem was solved. I then gave them my tips for managing the black tank.

No Hot Water

Assumed problem: water heater is broken

Assumed solution: sue the RV rental company

Real problem: there isn’t one

Real solution: explain that the RV heater won’t kick on when the water tank is full of hot water! Plus, it needs 12V power to work. See next problem.

Furnace Blowing Cold Air

Assumed problem: propane not flowing from the tank/broken propane system

Assumed solution: sue RV company

Real problem: discharged batteries

Real solution: plug in RV and educate about how long one can expect to boondock on a single 12V battery (hint: it’s less than four days). Also prove that the propane system is working fine by turning on all three burners at once.

Water Hose Leaking At Connection

Assumed problem: RV park hookup is missing an O-ring

Assumed solution: demand a refund from RV park and go somewhere else

Real problem: none, leaky connections are pretty much a fact of life, which is why teflon was invented

Real solution: add teflon to threads