Hello!! We are camper newbies. We bought our camper in February. We used in April and then again this weekend. We just returned from our second trip and we have a smell problem! LOL!

Here is what we have figured out. When we dump the tank, if the air is running, the inside of our camper starts to stink horribly!! We think the air conditioner is sucking the smell from the vent when we dump. This is the only time we have had this problem and it does not happen if the air is off. And it only smells when we dump the tank. It IS for sure coming through the air conditioner, no doubt about it.

Now, does anyone know WHY it is doing this and please please is there a way to fix it? Maybe somehow put something on the vents to vent them "away" from the air? Has anyone else had this problem? This seems like a very strange problem to have!!

By the way, we have a 2001 Summerwind Camper

Thanks for any info you can give!!

I think you have hit the nail right on the head. Given it doesn't take that long to dump a tank, is there a reason you cannot turn the AC off for that short period? When you empty a tank, the air inside it is forced aside by the water going out the drain, it has an easy escape up the vent tube and your AC is only too happy to pull it back inside. Just turn off the AC.

I don't know what type of additive you use in the holding tank but I have used "Odorloss" for 12 years in my boat and never once had a problem with odor. It is enzyme based and eats the bacteria that causes the ordor while breaking down the waste in the tank. Just be sure not to mix it with any other additives or it may not work correctly. You can find it at most WalMart stores or many boating stores.

Neverhome

Thanks so much for your info! You know, we did turn the air off and waited for about 15 minutes and then turned it back on and it still did it! Do you think we should have kept it off longer? An hour maybe????

I am not sure what holding tank additive we use, it just came with the camper when we bought it a few months back ~ but it is almost gone anyway so I will for sure see if I can find what you suggested. We are still so new to all of this, we appreciate any and all advice!!!

The odor probably just got stuck in the AC filters and duct work and took a while to disperse. You should be OK from here on out.

Neverhome

Curious...
The A/C shouldn't be sucking in air from the outside unless you have your vents open for the A/C.

Otherwise it would have a hell of a time trying to keep your camper cool...

Maybe you could just put the air on ReCirculate for an hour.
course there is going to be a smell that comes from the toilet, and your gonna mix that around the camper if the A/C is on. If you open the toilet to spray out the tank, or something of that nature... that smell is going to come back up through...
That said, maybe your not putting enough chemical in there. The chemical smell is what you should be whiffing instead of that other bad odor...