New Owner

[Larryp1941]

Hello all. My mind must be going because I definately remember seeing a group of forums such as plumbing, electrical etc, but now cannot find them. We purchased a 2002 2720SL 3 weeks go and have camped twice so far and going again this weekend.

Aside from the very nasty leaks from the Skylights, which I caulked, all is fairly good with the unit. I have several questions however and would appreciate any input.

1. Is the freshwater filled ONLY from the outside or is there a way to fill it when the city water is connected?
2. I seem to have only a gas water heater while others appear to have both electric and gas. Does this sound correct?
3. My Thetford drains slowly - took 4 or 5 minutes before it stopped but I get the grey water "whoosh". Previous owners did not use degradable paper so I assume it is somewhat plugged up. Whats the best way to clear it without disassembly?

Regards,
Larry P.
Sarasota, FL
2720SL
2005 4Runner 4WD

Thanks so much. I am a former happy Aliner camper who just fell in love with the TM.

[Al-n-Sue]

Larry - first welcome to the world of TM ownership! Hope you have many happy days camping in your TM.

My mind must be going because I definately remember seeing a group of forums such as plumbing, electrical etc, but now cannot find them.
You probably only signed up as a trial member. That is good for only one month, then you revert back to guest. You can become a site sponsor for only $12 a year - that keeps the forum advertiser free and is well worth the investment.

1. Is the freshwater filled ONLY from the outside or is there a way to fill it when the city water is connected?
The freshwater is ONLY filled from the outside. When you are connected to city water the freshwater tank is bypassed and water flows directly to the faucets.

2. I seem to have only a gas water heater while others appear to have both electric and gas. Does this sound correct?
Could be - earlier water heaters were only gas. My 2003 is gas/elec so maybe the change came about that time.

3. My Thetford drains slowly - took 4 or 5 minutes before it stopped but I get the grey water "whoosh". Previous owners did not use degradable paper so I assume it is somewhat plugged up. Whats the best way to clear it without disassembly?
When you get access to the rest of the forum, do a search - you should find several ideas for clearing up the probable "cone" that has built up. One method I remember seeing is to dump ice cubes in the toilet before towing it to a campsite - the jostling of the trailer helps loosen any "plugs." There is also a very complete post on disassembling the toilet.

Hope this is helpful - I know others with more direct experience will chime in.
Alan

[Larryp1941]

Thanks Alan. Yes, it has been a month. Guess I'll join since I value forums such as this.

[PopBeavers]

For sake of completeness, some owners have filled the fresh water tank from the drain below. But no one that I know of has filled the fresh water tank directly from the city water connection.

If you open the back side of the water heater it should be pretty easy to determine if it has 120v power. There will be a very small almost hidden black rocker switch. There should be a cotter pin in it to prevent it from accidentally turned on.

I don't see any obvious 120 volt wiring.

There is also a small oval black plastic cover that says to not dry fire the electric heating element.

[Bill]

Regarding cleanin ght etanks: A lot of people use "the geo-method" or "the Bruni method" for cleaning the tanks. You can Google it, or see post #17 here

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7544

Bill