We sent one of the kids out to empty the grey tank, as we routinely do. The other one* decided to close it (*nameless to protect the guilty). I’m not sure what happened exactly, but the handle cracked. It didn’t break off, so we duct taped it together.
Ben started the drive out to Camping World to see what was available for repairs. I was online searching for help thinking, “great, now I have to replace the valve section”. Our owner’s book didn’t really describe how to repair a broken handle. However, one of our neighbors saw me staring at our valves and asked what was wrong. He informed me that most of the time, you can just replace the handle! Yay! I called Camping World to make sure they had one in stock since Ben was already on the way. (Spoiler: They did.)
The valve handle does screw off; however, to remove the handle, you have to use pliers to hold the metal shaft in place, otherwise it will just spin. They also recommended using a thin cloth between the shaft and the pliers. Ben bought the metal replacement (similar to this one*), hoping that it will last longer. He also applied a little bit of Loctite to it (do NOT use this on plastic).
It didn’t take much time, other than driving to get the part, to get it replaced. I am so thankful that we didn’t have to replace the whole valve piece, just the handle, that I thought I would share our newfound knowledge in case anyone else has that problem.
*Affiliate link