question on sewer dump valve 2016 36 res 5th wheel

[road rage]

i have owned the 5th wheel for just over two years now and i am starting to have issues with the sewer dump valve. the two gray water valves are working great and smooth. the sewer valve is starting to become harder to open and even harder to close. i called a local rv repair shop and they said 90% of the time its that the cable was install with to tight of a bend and now its wearing. i noticed that in order to access the valve i will have to remove a plastic sheet under the 5th wheel. i am wondering if anyone else has had similar issues and what they have done or tricks to either replace the cable or the valve?

[ATCguy]

For once, the dealer ain’t lying to you. That is indeed usually the cause, and any “trick” advise given will be a temporary remedy at best. Your only option is to get into the underbelly, and address the issue.

Some people have tried to salvage what they have by either trying to reroute the cable (which is usually too long, and simply crammed into the allotted space, which cause the sharp bends)... or by cutting it to the size needed & reattaching.

But if it’s already 5 years old, and you’re already in there doing the work... you’re probably going to be better off by replacing it with a new one. The part doesn’t cost that much.

And if you really want to make things easier... again, since you’ve already gotten into the underbelly... replace ALL of them with electric valves, as many of us have. Yeah, they cost a bit more, but they sure as hell are more convenient.

[road rage]

oh now you have my attention. i like the idea of electric dump valves. i am just not looking forward to removing a huge section of that under protection plastic. it looks like one very large sheet. i will have to crawl under and see if it is in 4x8 sections. thanks for the idea on the electric valves.

[ATCguy]

Use the Search function on this site to look for various threads on this subject... there are many, as we’ve discussed this plenty of times. Perhaps you’ll get a better perspective of ideas, and what’s involved.

[franktafl]

Just for the record, I 100% agree with Tom about replacing the valves with electrics. I did it on mine and have never regretted it.

[donzinger]

Originally Posted by road rage

oh now you have my attention. i like the idea of electric dump valves. i am just not looking forward to removing a huge section of that under protection plastic. it looks like one very large sheet. i will have to crawl under and see if it is in 4x8 sections. thanks for the idea on the electric valves.

I located the dump valves and just cut a three sided "flap" to access them. They make a special tape for resealing the chloroplast (the underbelly material). I cannot recall the name off the top of my head but a google search is how I found it.