4 dump handles

[sourdo]

Yup, I'm the proud owner of a used 2009 Forrest River Sierra 25RL 5th wheel RV. It's about 29 feet long with one slide.

And it's a unicorn. Even the insurance dude could not find any info on this thing. This was built back when nobody was buying RV,s. I think it's just something put together with spare parts, because I can not find anything for this model, no pictures, nada. 2008-9 was a real bad year for RV sales.

So that makes it difficult to find the answer to my question, why are there 4 sewer dump handles?

In the picture, you'll see the T, and the two gray water valve handles on either side of the black tank drain (two gray water tanks). And then there is the big black tank valve via cable.

But what is the function of the handle next to it? The one with no T handle. I tried to push it in, and bent it a bit. Since everything works, I'll leave it for now. But it's froze up.

I cannot find anything about how these things are laid out, like a schematic. Nor what the function of the 4th handle is.

Is it for directing heat from the furnace? It is all foamed up underneath.

Thanks for any info or clues.

[440scout!]

If it were me, I would remove the foam and underbelly (coroplast) and look around and take pics and notes. At this same time you'll be able to straighten out any wiring or plumbing issues. For example, wiring that is just hanging can be zip tied so its not rubbing on anything. Then when you've verified what those 4 pull valves do, you can close it up and use a can or 2 of that expanding foam to reseal. After the foam dries it can be spray painted black. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of those dump valves are abandoned because their cables broke so the previous owner just cut the drain pipe and added an inline valve. Let us know what you find out. Good luck!

[sourdo]

I've determined the 4th and 5th (found later) are waste gates at the tank exits for the grey water.

Yes, they are very tight and hard to open/close, I have some new handles coming, if I can't work them out, then I'll tear into it.

It isn't mission critical, down the road I'll look into replacing the cables. They need to be used, not forgotten.

[sourdo]

A follow up on this issue, last winter I pulled the underbelly and this is what I saw, very short cables with very tight radiuses. The old cables were not corroded at all, but were pinched with 4 inch bends, from the factory.

I bought 3 new 6 foot long cables, and used the lengths to make the bends wide. I also repositioned the brackets holding the handles, to offer better and more gradual bends.

And it all works real nice now, and looks good with a new piece of underbelly.