Very bad black tank odor throughout RV

[Yoda]

Replying to Yoda re: Tarpley. We had a good visit with Tarpley. Megan is the service advisor/manager we talked to. She brought out one of the service techs who is knowledgeable on interior issues. No surprise, he showed us what needs to be done to repair and it requires removal of all cabinetry above bed and to do repair, quite a bit more than insurance estimated. Megan is quite young and has a courteous and respectful attitude. I believe they will get the work done properly as long as they can get insurance to concur. Always an issue.

It sounds like you worked with Tarpley and it was a challenge. Would appreciate your experience.

Sounds like they have new staff. I got a grumpy old guy in service that new everything about nothing. They would not even look at my unit last fall after my Alaska trip when I dropped by with it to get an opinion on the axle and tire wear - had to make an appointment first. All I wanted was a quick look to verify what I thought it was. At least I got to use thier free dump station out back. I found out he is not there anymore when I was looking for some parts the other day. Sounds like this is a good change.

Keith

[Pmarx]

We have a 280RS and are also having intermittent bad smells in our camper. When it happens, we notice it appears to be coming out of the upper kitchen cabinet that backs up to the lavatory. From my search, it looks like the vent pipe runs up this wall. I have run a water hose down the vent and it is clear. My only thought at this point is there is a loose connection/cracked pipe somewhere in the wall. The control panel is in this cabinet, so I figure there is a hole through the wall for wiring. That is letting the smell through. Has anyone else had anything like this?

[TucsonJim]

We have a 280RS and are also having intermittent bad smells in our camper. When it happens, we notice it appears to be coming out of the upper kitchen cabinet that backs up to the lavatory. From my search, it looks like the vent pipe runs up this wall. I have run a water hose down the vent and it is clear. My only thought at this point is there is a loose connection/cracked pipe somewhere in the wall. The control panel is in this cabinet, so I figure there is a hole through the wall for wiring. That is letting the smell through. Has anyone else had anything like this?

I pulled the prints on your 280RS. Both the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink are vented with a Air Admittance Valve. The shower is also vented with an AAV. The pipe you see is most likely the vent pipe for the tank. I'd replace the AAV's before digging any further.

Jim

[Country Campers]

Pmarx

All of the vent connections can be seen by removing the rear wall in the pass through storage, a few screws on each end or just the door side will get you access to see the plumbing pipes.

Brian

[Pmarx]

Jim,

Thanks for the reply. I have read alot about those here and will take a look at the. Where would the one for the shower be? I'm just trying to figure out how that would cause the smell to come from the upper kitchen cabinet. Thank you for the information!

Brian,

I did pull the wall loose in the storage and see the piping. I have not had a chance to get up in there and take a good look. It appears that all three tanks have vent pipes that must connect behind the wall where the smell seems to be coming from. Unfortunately, it looks like the only way to get to the connection is to open the wall up. I am going to check the AAV's first.

[steve gravelle]

The AAVs are the best first step. We paid six dollars and change each at Home Depot, installed easily and solved our issue. I will buy another as a backup whenever we are near HD or Lowe's. They unthreaded easily.

[TucsonJim]

Jim,

Where would the one for the shower be?

Unfortunately, the drawing tells me that there are three of them, but not where they're located.

Jim

[Country Campers]

Jim,

Thanks for the reply. I have read alot about those here and will take a look at the. Where would the one for the shower be? I'm just trying to figure out how that would cause the smell to come from the upper kitchen cabinet. Thank you for the information!

Brian,

I did pull the wall loose in the storage and see the piping. I have not had a chance to get up in there and take a good look. It appears that all three tanks have vent pipes that must connect behind the wall where the smell seems to be coming from. Unfortunately, it looks like the only way to get to the connection is to open the wall up. I am going to check the AAV's first.

Take a look at the first few photos in this thread Solar Install, Reflection 29RS Fifth Wheel - Grand Design Owners Forums (gdrvowners.com) it will show the vent pipe connections and a view from the top down, maybe this will help you. I do not have an AAV on our shower drain. If you do have one it will should be visible from the pass through behind the wall somewhere connected to the drain line for the shower, it will be above the water heater. It is possible that you may have a leaking vent pipe connection but they are hard to get to. I would change the AAV's first and see if that helps. Although our Reflection is a 29RS it is the same as your 280RS except we have the bedroom slide.

Brian

[Pmarx]

Thank you Brian. That is a great picture of the vent system. Since the control panel is in the end of buffet cabinet, there is probably a hole in the wall that the wires run through. My guess is the smell is coming in from there. The smell is definitely coming from that cabinet. I have a small boroscope that hooks to my laptop that I might be able to run in there and look at the connections before I start cutting holes.