Connecting Gray Holding tanks..

[Big Daddy17]

Hi All...
Just bought our first, brand new 2015 Z-1 26ft travel trailer this year...

Finding the holding tank for the shower is usless on its own..We don't use the shower what so ever, in fact, We use this area for storage and bins for the kids clothes. After a few trips, I found I can make use of the additional tank for water storage if I were to make a simple connection as they are side by side...so this would be farely easy to do..

Anyone done this already? I could use some advice before I do..I'm very handy, so the plumbing is a non issue...I may even run a shut off valve between them if need be..

Thanks

[Lloyd]

If both of the grey tanks drain out to the same exit point, you could simply hook one of these on the end. Then open both of the grey valves and the tanks will equalize.

http://www.amazon.com/Valterra-T58-T...valterra+valve

[Big Daddy17]

Thanks for the response...The Shower tank is on its own tank and drain..

[Big Daddy17]

I have 2 Gray tanks..The Bathroom and kitchen are on one Gray tank-And drain
The Shower is on its own tank and own drain...rendering it useless for our needs.

[MartyinSC]

Just a note of general advice, especially for a brand-new TT. Any mod should be reversible so it can operate as new at trade-in time. As you described, a crossover pipe with a valve to "unjoin" the tanks sounds to me like a good plan.
BTW, if you go ahead with the mod, don't forget to keep water in the shower drain P trap, otherwise sewer water stink will come up from the bottom.

[Lloyd]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy17

I have 2 Gray tanks..The Bathroom and kitchen are on one Gray tank-And drain
The Shower is on its own tank and own drain...rendering it useless for our needs.

So in other words you are say you have two places to hook a hose to drain the grey tanks?

[Big Daddy17]

That's correct....One for the Shower and One for Kithcen sink and Bathroon sink Gray water..

[Lloyd]

That seems rather unusual.
I have 3 tanks plus the fresh water tank.
One for the shower, one for kitchen sink, and the black tank. They all drain out from one point. There is a gate valve for the kitchen sink as well as a gate valve for each of the other two. If I place the Valterra valve on the end of the pipe and don't open it, I can then open the valves for both grey tanks. I have then created one big grey tank.

[Big Daddy17]

Rather unusual is right....This is why I'm looking to create one tank for the Kitchen and bathroom sink...Esentilly I have a useless tank. Trying to add a pic so you can see my dilemma..It also appears that of the three tanks, the two gray are seperated by the Black..Which will make things a little more complex.

[Lloyd]

Paul
Put your RV info in your signature---make, model, and year.
That way everybody will know at a glance which RV you are talking about and it will help in the answering of any questions.

[DavisK]

I have 3 holding tanks too. The forward tank is fed by the kitchen sink. The middle tank is fed by the outside kitchen, the shower and the bathroom sink. The rear tank captures the toilet waste. I modified mine to allow me to combine the 2 gray tanks. The first diagram shows the original setup. I cut out and removed the area between the 2 red lines.
Tanks Original.JPG

The 2nd diagram shows how I replaced the wye putting a new valve (D) on the gray side. I also added a twist on valve (E) at the outlet.

Tanks New.JPG

[Lloyd]

I'm a little confused here. If I'm reading and understanding your diagram right, I don't understand the need to cut the pipe and add another gate valve.
You show one on each of the grey tanks and one for the black tank.
Wouldn't it have done the same thing if you had left it original--put the twist on valterra on the end--then just leave the black tank valve closed--opened both the valves on the two grey tanks and let them run together.
Unless I'm missing something that should make one big grey water tank.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[MartyinSC]

No offense, but I can't help but thinking that after trade-in time, the next owner will be looking at all those valves like Robin Williams did in the comedy "RV!"

[Big Daddy17]

ok...so as you can see in the picture..(Hopefully)

The tank on the left is only for my shower..on its own Drain.

One the right is the Black and then in the far right the
Gray for Kitchen and bathroom sink..on the other drain.

Ideally I want to connect the shower tank(Far left) to the
other Gray holding, separated by the Black, to the far right...

[Big Daddy17]

in the pic for clarification...the middle tank you see clearly
is the black...Gray's on either side

[r2millers]

You have a unique set up. Personally, I'd drill half way up the side of both gray water tanks and put in a 3/4" NHT, national hose thread male fitting on the first tank and a female fitting on the second tank.
Then use a short garden hose since it's only gray water, to connect the two, supporting it properly.
If you decide to eliminate this, you can easily buy a cap and plug for each fitting to seal each tank again separately.

Here's an example of the male fitting. Thread into tank and use plenty of rtv.

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...3c7625_400.jpg

[Big Daddy17]

Thats a great Idea! Love it.....Exactly what i will do....Thanks for the input r2millers!

[MartyinSC]

I wonder if the wall of the tanks are thick enough to accept, and keep tight, the pipe threads? Once you drill into these tanks, you're committed!

[Big Daddy17]

My thoughts are going to be a glueing a the ABS fitting to the tanks and connect from there. We can assume at this point the tanks would be 1/4 thick..Minimum I hope.
I like the thought of using a garden Hose for the connection due to the distance's between the two tanks and obstructions..Its a more a matter also of the flow of the water..ideally I want the inital tank to drain downhill and utilize the secondary tank as an "overflow"..
Ill certainlly consult the dealer where I purchased for any unforseens before I do..