We rented an RV this past weekend. Had a good time up on the Delaware. We brought it back in better shape than when we go it. The guy took it off to top off the propane and check it out and comes back and tells us the septic wasn't empty when he checked and showed me a blob on the pavement. I'm sure no $hit was coming out when we dumped it. Then he tells me the monitor says 1/3 full and there could have been some clogged which is why he said he told me to drive home with the valve open so it would work itself out on the drive home. I remember he said drive home with the gray water open after dumping it, so I said driving along with raw sewage dripping out didn't seem too legal to me so I closed it after it stopped coming out. He charged us $200.00. I'm thinking this is like the gas station guy who squirts anti-freeze under your car and charges you to fix a non-existent leak. Ahhh the lessons a newbie RV'er learns. Anyone had anything similar happen so I don't feel so duped?

Dumping blackwater out in the open is a no-no and so to is dumping the grey in many states. So for them to advise you to leave the valves open could probably get them in trouble.

Not to sound like a smart a$$ (you did say you were a newbie)....did you flush the tank out with water after (and I mean a LOT of water)? I was pretty OCD with our camper and I could spend a half hour flushing the tank and STILL have paper coming out) If you just opened and closed the valve when it stopped there was likely solids & paper still in the tank. Also if the RV was not level when you dumped it could still have some in the tanks too. Sometimes the sensors arent accurate either. I have noticed it can vary everytime you check it even if you havent used it.

If the right chemicals were put in the tank then there really should not have been any paper or any "blobs".
Jenn is right, driving with the valves open is a major no-no.
He charged you $200 to empty the tank? You were duped.
It is free at many places and the most I have ever paid was $15.

this farmer just saved 200k recycling his cow manure to
create methane that runs a generator
that creates all his electricity...

it's about time that all the sewage of people
in the USA
does this same thing....
it's the greening of America :drool:

this farmer just saved 200k recycling his cow manure to
create methane that runs a generator
that creates all his electricity...

it's about time that all the sewage of people
in the USA
does this same thing....
it's the greening of America :drool:

But Al Gore told me "cow farts" are green house gasses and bad for the planet....

Thanks for the input. I'll chalk it up to inexperience and I should have stayed with the guy when he took the RV to check it out when we returned it. I also have no idea if we used as much propane as they said needed to be replaced. They added the treatment to the septic tank before we left and what the guy showed us came out after we returned was like sandy colored oatmeal. I would have re-filled and emptied the black tank again if he had said to, and there was nothing about that in the 10 pages of directions I had to read, either. There was no one rushing me at the place we dumped the tanks before we left the campground. We even used marine grade toilet paper to it would break down better. Guess I just got took by the oldest trick in the RV rental business.

If you were hooked up to electricity you probably didn't make a dent in the propane.
You would have only used it for the stove.
One 20# tank last me more than a month of 3 day weekends using the stove and the fridge.
It goes faster when the heat is on.
The stuff I use in my black water is blue and what comes out is dirty blue liquid. I only flush the tanks out when it gets put away for the winter and again in the spring to flush the anit freeze out.
Even if he charged you for propane it shouldn't have been any more than $20.
I would go to their website and write a review. Tell your story.
It's not right to take advantage of people like that.
I wrote a bad review about Comcast and within 10 minutes they were on the phone helping me out.