Solitude Black Tank Valve handle Broke

[geotex1]

Absolutely, and It's done! I didn't physically feel up to doing the job, bad knees, bad cold, crawling around underneath, lying on my back and also Tami can not get into the storage compartment to help run the new pull cable. So it would have meant getting up down, up and down.

So I had a mobile tech come out and install the new Valterra gate valve. When setting the appointment, they asked if they had done this for us before. We said no, they said that's funny we just did the same repair for another Solitude S Class, same year, same problem, they also already had a new Valterra replacement valve.
New Valterra gate valve worked perfect, the techs were great, NRVTA certified, very professional, got the job done @ 30-40 minutes, no problems, no spills, they tested the new gate valve for leaks, got the Coroplast down and back up, all screws back where they were. all is well again. The pull cable works great and very smooth.

I usually do repairs/maintenance myself but this time I just didn't feel up to it. I felt kind of guilty paying for something I could have done myself and it cost us a few bucks. Tami said look at all the things you have repaired yourself and saved us money. It's not a bad thing to have someone else do it once in awhile.

As the years tick on, it does become more conscious decision with what you DIY... I can tell you one thing, any DIY project I do today takes me longer than it would have at 25!!

From your pictures, your valve was definitely easier to get at from below. Ours was simple after I took out the bulkhead. I had already cleaned up the freshwater plumbing, but the factory didn't have the wire draped like you obvious had! Just had to move the heater vent out of the way, spread an absorbent pad on top of the insulation, and I had it changed in 15min.

[Steven@147]

Great to hear you got it fixed and that you found a good tech to do it. Unfortunately my experience with mobile RV techs goes from bad to worse. I understand the getting up and down and crawling around, getting harder all the time. Where are you right now and can you provide contact for the tech? We travel the west and I keep a list of recommended techs incase we are someplace and need work.

We are on Galveston Island. Uncle Sam's RV Repair, the techs names were Hunter and Sam, they are NRVTA certified. The company is owned by veterans and directly support disabled veterans.

[Always Learning]

We are on Galveston Island. Uncle Sam's RV Repair, the techs names were Hunter and Sam, they are NRVTA certified. The company is owned by veterans and directly support disabled veterans.

Thanks much.

[Steven@147]

As the years tick on, it does become more conscious decision with what you DIY... I can tell you one thing, any DIY project I do today takes me longer than it would have at 25!!

From your pictures, your valve was definitely easier to get at from below. Ours was simple after I took out the bulkhead. I had already cleaned up the freshwater plumbing, but the factory didn't have the wire draped like you obvious had! Just had to move the heater vent out of the way, spread an absorbent pad on top of the insulation, and I had it changed in 15min.

Here is a pic from the storage compartment. You can see the very top of the black tank gate valve in the middle of the pic. There is some sort of welded latus bar work between the upper floor and the bottom where the tank is, makes nearly impossible to get to it. The guys did a good job from the bottom and only needed to take down the coroplast about half way.

Oh by the way, I took out the basement wall before they got to us so was ready for them, I noticed water on the floor behind the wall board, a water leak was coming from the water pump. We have carried a spare water pump for over a year. The techs volunteered to also install the new water pump and didn't charge us any extra. Admittingly, a simple job changing the water pump, but they didn't have to do it.