My Trailer Stinks!!

Chirpz

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
221
Location
Battle Ground, WA
GAG!!!
We recently bought a FF 189-FBR and it is in wonderful shape. The problem is, it stinks! Not all the time, only after you tow it, and sometimes during a high wind if you flush the toilet.

We have taken it out 4 times now. Each time it is the same. You drive down the road and all is well, then you stop to grab a snack or take a leak, and GAG!!! The trailer smells like an outhouse through and through. You open the trailer door and it knocks you over! What goes!! Doesn't anyone else have this problem?

After you park it and sit for a while with the fan on and windows open, the air clears and stays pretty clear until you tow again. It seems to be worse if the black tank is empty but still stinks no matter what the poop level.

We tried all the things that worked so well with our old trailer.... leave a little water in the toiler; pour some water down each drain; make sure there is a dose of sweet smelly stuff in the tank. None of that works.

On our last trip, we camped in a place that had steady high winds... each time you flushed the toilet, a waft of foul air would surge up from the deep recesses of the black hole and stab at your nose before you could pull up your pants. Also, we noted that the inside of the closet sometimes stinks.

Today, I took the first major step to try to fix this... hope it works. I'll keep you posted. I purchased a Camco 40595 White Cyclone Sewer Plumbing Vent on Amazon the other day. It arrived today and I installed it. The next few posts describe the process.

This is what it looks like right out of the package.
 

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Installing a Camco Cyclone Vent - post one

1. Climb up a ladder placed against the back of the trailer near the toilet vent. In our case, it is the rear-most of two plumbing vents. The other is for the grey water. The vent looks like the 1st photo

2. Pry and twist the top of the vent off using your hand... it comes of pretty easy. Actually there is a screw that holds it on, but mine was caulked over and I did not notice it, so I just broke it right off. Photo 2 shows the vent with the cap removed.

3. Using a hack saw, saw off all the protrusions so that they are flush with the top. Its easy. The screw was in the larger protrusion. Photo 3.

4. Using a razor or sharp knife, carve the edge of the plastic dome a little so that the new vent will slip snugly down inside. Photo 4
 

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Camco Cyclone Vent - Post Two

This next observation I found a bit alarming. When I peeked down inside the dome I was expecting to see a black plumbing vent pipe sticking up This was NOT the case. The pipe was down almost flush with the bottom of the foam insulation. This means that fumes from the pipe could find their way between the layers of the ceiling and then go other places. This may explain the smell in the closet during high wind. Photo 1 shows the pipe down below the foam. The trailer has never been worked on and the vents are original so how did it get jambed down like that? Was it just made like that? Vent pipes are always supposed to stick up above the roof.

I took some Vulkem caulking and sealed the top of the pipe around the foam so that all the foam is covered. See photo 2. I also put caulking on the surface of the roof around the pipe (still inside the dome) so that the new pipe would sit down into a layer of caulk.

Lastly, I inserted the Camco Cyclone into the opening and pressed it down into the layer of caulk and screwed it in place using 4 screws inserted from the sides near the top of the dome. I then sealed the top edge of the dome where it touches the new pipe all around and also sealed over the screws. See Photo 3 The whole installation took only 40 minutes. The pretty trim ring shown was not used.

How it works. The top of the Cyclone is built on a swivel so it freely rotates 360 degrees. When the wind blows, or when you drive, the air movement turns the point of the Cyclone into the wind allowing the shape of the vent to suck the air out of the vent pipe. Hopefully, this will constantly draw the fumes out of the trailer as you drive. The old vent actually scooped air into the pipe forcing the foul fumes to come out where ever they could.

Concerns:
1. Is this the only problem?
2. Did my pipe slip down further into the tank from its original position above roof, or was it installed too low to begin with? Is the pipe loose? Should I have pulled it up a little? I might be faced with a do-over.
3. How long will the new vent last? Its plastic. Will it get jambed up with debris so that it does not turn?

Stay tuned. Comments and suggestions welcome. In the words of Larry the Lobster, "I smell the smelly smell of something that smells smelly!"
 

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Hi Chirpz,
Like you, I would have expected the vent pipe to extend above the roofline...
Thank you for the post, but so far ... knock on wood... I have the old cheap-looking original and no probs and no smell; in my case, it seems to work well (And I can smell like a bloodhound)... :)

Keep us posted on the outcome...:)
Thanks for the input Eagle... ;)
 
I'm guessing that the fact that the vent tube dropped (for whatever reason) was your main issue. It may have tainted the insulation and any other materials that might absorb odors. I would think that your fix will prevent the problem form getting worse, but you might think about getting some Febreze or Ozium to eliminate and/or mask the odors that are already there. Your fix just might be overkill and yes, there might be some potential for the vane to seize. As long as it's not facing forward, you should be OK,
RipVan
 
I wish I had grabbed that pipe and tugged on it a little to see if it was loose but at the time, my mind just locked on the idea that they made it that way and were a bunch of clumsy dummies for doing so. We'll see how it goes. If the odor goes away, I'll just leave it.... if not I'll rip it all off and check the pipe a little closer.

We do use deodorizer in the tank but have not tried those two. After you set up camp and air out the trailer, the smell goes away until you tow it again or until there is a strong wind. So hopefully this will fix that.
 
When the 'aroma' is strong, does it ever set off your propane/co sensors so they beep and the red light blinks?
 
Geez, we have the same model and year trailer with no odor problem at all. I really feel for you having this problem. It must be awful. I'm wondering if the vent did slip or was originally installed improperly so that the fumes are sucked back in. Just like you surmised.
"
This next observation I found a bit alarming. When I peeked down inside the dome I was expecting to see a black plumbing vent pipe sticking up This was NOT the case. The pipe was down almost flush with the bottom of the foam insulation. This means that fumes from the pipe could find their way between the layers of the ceiling and then go other places. This may explain the smell in the closet during high wind."

Maybe the former owners just didn't deal with it or didn't use the trailer much. Please do keep us posted. I'm hoping your fix works!!
 
Last edited:
Ha! That low down vent pipe has really been bugging me. I even dreamed about it one night. So, when bad weather cancelled our camping trip this weekend, I decided to remove all of the work I previously did and figure out why that vent pipe is sucked down so low beneath the roof surface. (See previous photos.)

I removed all my caulking and my new cyclone vent, reached into the opening with a long pair of pliers, grabbed that vent pipe and started tugging on it. After a short wrestling match, I managed to tug it back up so that it stuck up ONE inch above the roof. It seemed to be under tension and soon it crept back down so that it was flush with the top. I though, "This can't be right."

I decided to get to the root of the problem and tear open the closet wall. That was pretty easy. You can pop off the trim strips with a pocket knife and then start on the panel from the front edge and work your way around popping off the little staples and nails. Soon, the whole side of paneling comes off revelling a hidden compartment between the walls and the vent pipe. I'm not done with the job yet having run out of daylight, so I will finish tomorrow. Here is what I have learned so far.

1. It is IMPOSSIBLE for the vent pipe to drop down inside of the holding tank; not on our type of tank. The end of the pipe is threaded into the tank with a screw on type pipe fitting and it cannot fall into the tank.

2. I cut the pipe off in the middle and unscrewed the bottom part until it was free of the tank. I observed that it was not screwed in very tight at all....in fact I would call it rather loose. The threads on the pipe were not sealed with teflon tape but had some kind of damp grease on them. I cleaned up the treads and the opening in the top of the tank, applied some teflon tape and screwed the pipe in tight.

3. I was able to pull the pipe up because as I pulled, the plastic holding tank bowed upward and lifted slightly from its support rails. I observed that the holding tank is not fastened tightly to frame of the trailer. It sits on two steel rails that run the width of the trailer and engage a long lip on each side of the tank. You can easily jostle the tank around with you hands if you crawl under the trailer....it fits in there loosely. I don't know if this is correct or not. Our previous trailer did not have this sort of setup.

4. To accommodate the vent pipe, the floor has a hole in it so that the pipe can pass through the floor with a 3/8" gap all around the pipe. This gap was not sealed in any way and provides an easy path for bugs, spiders, snakes, and skinny mice. I'm going to seal up this gap with spray in foam and may use the foam to secure the tank a little better.

The three pictures below show the inside of the closet, the vent pipe and the top of the holding tank.
I plan to patch in a new piece of pipe that is long enough to stick up the proper distance, then I will reinstall my new cyclone vent.

Verdict on the low pipe. Somebody was having a bad day at the factory and installed a pipe that was too short, but instead of fixing it, they just left it in place and covered over it with the roof vent. There was NO evidence that this trailer has ever been worked on before....everything looks new and undisturbed, so this had to be somebodies goof up.
 

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Hurray for you! You are really a take charge kind of guy and I admire your perseverance. Amazing that the last owners didn't do anything to get rid of the smell. They had to have noticed it. I really hope it will be fixed for good and you can just enjoy your camper.
 
Thanks for the update. Very good write-up and photos.

This should resolve the 'stink' issue for you..

Congrats!
 
I finished the job today, putting in a new pipe. I did use the bottom 1/3 of the old pipe. The new pipe sticks up about 5 inches above the roof and the cyclone vent fits over it as well as the trim piece from the old vent.

I included a picture of the trim piece from the old vent in case you are curious what one looks like when removed. It is held on with 6 screws and lots of goo.

After putting it back together, I drove it to the state park 3 miles away and cleaned out the tank really good using one of those Camco flexible sprayers. I cleaned and cleaned until I got nothing but clear water coming out. Hopefully, all this will cure the problem. We'll see. When I got home, I had the chief in charge of odors (my wife) come out and give it a test smell. She is a real hound when it comes to odors. She said that it is WAY better. We'll see.
 

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Hurray for you! You are really a take charge kind of guy and I admire your perseverance. Amazing that the last owners didn't do anything to get rid of the smell. They had to have noticed it. I really hope it will be fixed for good and you can just enjoy your camper.

The trailer only had two previous owners. The first one never used it and it just sat. The second owner slept in it for a while but never pulled it anywhere, and used the toilet a little but never dumped it. Everything looks new. There is no evidence that the stove, microwave or Fridge have ever been used. No scuffs anywhere, not even in the sinks, etc. As long as it was sitting still, it didn't stink. It would only stink when you traveled....then it would knock you over.
 
Roof Membrane!

I was excited to now have a trailer with a single piece roof membrane. I have always pictured this awesome, unpenetrable sheet of thick rubber or vinyl or whatever it is.

Observation:
On our Funfinders, the roof membrane is 1/16" thick and it has a fibre like backing of some kind that makes it about 1/8" over all.

I'm not saying it is good or bad, normal, or abnormal.... just posting my observation.

Whatever it is, it is way better than my old trailer that had 36 inch sheets of aluminum laid over the wood roof rafters with thin plywood sheeting. Every would leak were it not for constant maintenance and many coats of seam sealer and joint tape.
 
Thanks for the update and photos as appears you did a great job on that project.

Questions:

1. Did you seal the opening between the vent pipe and the roof before you put the trim piece on? Anything in the new vent saying it should be sealed?

2. Did you put some tank treatment in the black water tank and a little water too? I"ve read even sitting, that should be done.

Just wondering............
 
Thanks for the info. You're teaching us a lot about our trailer too. Paul noticed that about the membrane thickness when installed the Fantastic vent where the old on had been. When we bought it there was a patch that someone told the previous owner was because of a manufacturing defect. There is a YouTube video that shows the construction of Cruiser trailers. I posted it a long time ago. It was done by an Australian guy. Looked like everything was rushed to us.
 
Thanks for the update and photos as appears you did a great job on that project.

Questions:

1. Did you seal the opening between the vent pipe and the roof before you put the trim piece on? Anything in the new vent saying it should be sealed?

2. Did you put some tank treatment in the black water tank and a little water too? I"ve read even sitting, that should be done.

Just wondering............

Yes, and yes. Before putting the trim ring back on, I sealed around the pipe with spray in foam (Great Stuff), then I put sealing goo under the lip of the trim ring and screwed the ring down, then I put the cyclone vent on top of the vent pipe and through the trim ring and screw it into place and then I sealed everything with Vaulkem. (How is that for a run on sentence....Senora Capelli would turn over in her grave.)

I always use some kind of tank treatment. After cleaning out the tank, I put in the proper amount and added about a gallon of water and left some water in the toilet bowl.
 

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