How do you empty grey water w/o sewer hook up?

[mlong]

Next weekend we start our first camping trip with our new camper. Previously we had a pop up without a bathroom. We did have a kitchen sink that I just drained into a 6 gallon container.

Since we now have a full bathroom we plan to use it instead of the campground bath houses. We camp mostly at PA State Parks on weekends but we have a 6 night stay planned for Assateaque State Park, MD in July. There are no sewer hook ups & usually no water hook ups. I do not want to hook up the camper and take it to the dump station every other day to empty grey water or to refill the fresh water (we are never close enough to run a temp hose for FW). The fresh water refill is easy. I have 2- 6 gal water containers and just ordered 2- 8 gal containers. I can just load them in the truck and go to the FW fill spigot.

What I would like to know is how everyone else empties their grey water tank for long stays. I am thinking about getting some 5 gal buckets with lids and just drain the grey water into those (after the tank gets somewhat full) and then just drive those over to the dump station.

Any other suggestions? I am looking at getting one of those 30 gal rolling containers eventually but, I do not want to drop that much on one right now.

Thanks,
Mike

[Oakman]

I know you don't want to spend the bucks but IMO, Blue Tote is the way to go. You're concerned about grey water, I'd be more concerned about the black water going 6 days without hookups.

[jthomp58]

CW carries portable tanks for this.

Thetford SmartTote LX Portable Waste Tank - 35 Gallon - Thetford 40520 - Holding Tanks - Camping World

[mlong]

Originally Posted by Oakman

I know you don't want to spend the bucks but IMO, Blue Tote is the way to go. You're concerned about grey water, I'd be more concerned about the black water going 6 days without hookups.

I figured the grey water would fill sooner but, then again, does the shower drain to the grey or black tank? I was thinking it should go to the grey side. If not we may opt to take showers at the bath houses.

[mark0224]

The only way I know of is to use the blue tank would recommend one with 4 wheels and a metal handle. The metal handle can be hooked over your trucks hitch and towed (slowly) to the dump station for emptying. You can empty grey or black tanks if your there for a long time. So you don't have to empty the black very often like this I would use the bath houses for the restroom during the day time. We got lucky my wife found ours at a rummage sale for $50. Look around I have seen people that have got the small ones (like my brother) then moved up to the bigger ones. They then sell them cheap.

[Brother Les]

Camping for six day? I would suggest only using your camper bath room to pee in at night. If you do go #2 use the correct toilet paper and have some bowl cleaner/freshener. When you 'flush' the tank when leaving to go home do a very good job of it.

The shower does drain into the Gray water 34 gal tank. If you use your unit to shower in you will use a lot more water so expect to fill up the Fresh water tank 3-4 times. This means to drain your Gray tank 2-3 times. I carry 150 feet of water hose and have learned over the years to try to camp within that radius of a water faucet in a campground. To get a farther range, borrow hoses from your neighbors.

In every campground that you will be at there will be some people who have totes.... Meet your neighbors during a slow time of the day, and ask to borrow their tote. If these neighbors have hauled it to a campground, they are planning on using it and most are willing to share. It is good to offer to pay a little gratuity or cash/drinks/ or welcome to your campfire. meet and greet.

[mlong]

Thanks for the replies. I think I am going to use the 5 gal bucket idea for the grey water as I'm sure that is going to be a daily dump with doing dishes and showering. The black water I think 1 trip to the dump site may do the trick. Our first 2 trips will be 2 nights and 3 nights respectively. That will give me a good idea of how often everything will need emptied so I can go from there. I'll continue looking for the tote. Hopefully I can find something local for a decent price.

[dieselbobcat]

X3 on Blue Tote... look on CL and Ebay... there are a bunch of people that buy them and never use them or hate them... Got ours off of Ebay for less than half price... I would try to get one that is roughly the same size of grey tank or a touch larger (This is to avoid the possibility of overfilling the portable tank... if its big enough - no worries) Highly recommend the towable type... a 30gal tank can be a bear to hand pull to the dump station or to load in the TV...

We did a 10 day trip to VT state park last summer with the four of us (DH,DW,DD,DD) and used the facilities in our camper all the time (showers, #1, #2, dish washing)... Black tank made it to day 9, grey tank and fresh water was a daily thing... Made coffee, dumped grey, toted to dump station, filled FW bladder in back of TV...then pumped FW tank full... 20min. total... DW and DD's were up by then and starting b'fast...

[AquaMan]

Portable tanks and water conservation is the way to go. When showering, only run water to get wet and rinse, shut water off when lathering and shampooing. The shower and sinks are "usually" always on a grey tank, (some bath sinks drain to black tank). Our 5er has 3 grey and 2 black tanks (total of 216gal) and we can go 4-5 days fairly easy. I bought a large portable 3yrs ago and have yet to use it.

[dalford]

The grey tank will fill much faster than the black. For a 6 night stay I would use the bath house facilities as much as possible and you will be ok. The grey tank, even with navy showers, is going to fill up. I just bought the 18 gal Thetford Smart Tote. I went with 18 gal because of size. You can get a 30+ gallon unit but it takes up a lot of room to bring it a long. I just will have to take more trips to the honey hole. I will not use it for black water, even though some campers do. Make sure you get one that has auto shutoff so you don't have a mess on your hands.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by mlong

Next weekend we start our first camping trip with our new camper. Previously we had a pop up without a bathroom. We did have a kitchen sink that I just drained into a 6 gallon container.

Congratulations on your first camping season!! I bet you and the family are very excited and are looking forward to many fond memories of your camping experiences!

Since we now have a full bathroom we plan to use it instead of the campground bath houses. We camp mostly at PA State Parks on weekends but we have a 6 night stay planned for Assateaque State Park, MD in July. There are no sewer hook ups & usually no water hook ups. I do not want to hook up the camper and take it to the dump station every other day to empty grey water or to refill the fresh water (we are never close enough to run a temp hose for FW). The fresh water refill is easy. I have 2- 6 gal water containers and just ordered 2- 8 gal containers. I can just load them in the truck and go to the FW fill spigot.

That should work fine -- just remember to keep your containers sanatized! (5% bleach solution)

What I would like to know is how everyone else empties their grey water tank for long stays. I am thinking about getting some 5 gal buckets with lids and just drain the grey water into those (after the tank gets somewhat full) and then just drive those over to the dump station.

You will HATE doing that.....

Any other suggestions? I am looking at getting one of those 30 gal rolling containers eventually but, I do not want to drop that much on one right now.

Like the others have said, if there are folks at the camp with the "blue rollers" they will probably not mind loaning theirs to a guy who is "shopping around" for the best one for his needs. Again, as others have said - offer a fiver on return or a cold beverage.

When you are ready to purchase, just do it. No skimping! Remember the worst disaster of your life short of death would be the rupture or failure of a cheapo porta-tank full of 5 days worth of....stuff (in fact you might just wanna die )

Here is what I see used a lot:

http://www.amazon.com/Barker-30844-4-Wheeler-Tote-Tank/dp/B000OR18BE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1397136418&sr=8-5&keywords=rv+portable+holding+tank

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Blue Tote all the way...may seem expensive as you make the initial purchase but quickly will be viewed as a golden decision when you need it for the first, non-full hook up stay

[mlong]

I found a 15 gal listed on CL for $75.00. Says it was used once. We'll see if I can pick that up.

[BamaBob]

Raw sewage, on average, weighs ~9 Lbs a gallon - so that carrier will weigh 135 LBS + the weight of the carrier. Make sure it has wheels and some way to attach it to your TV.

DANGER DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!

You have a 40 Gal holding tank? a 40 Gal Grey Water tank?

If it were me, I would get the shortest sewer hose I could find to hook your RV to this *tiny* 15 Gal dump tank.

Why? Cuz when you open the valve in the black tank, it's gonna GUSH fast, and you are gonna want to flush that hose with grey water. If you are using a typical 10-15' long sewer that sucker could over fill your portable holding tank REAL fast

Not trying to disuade you, just giving you food for thought to prevent a possible black water campground disaster...

[mlong]

I'm well aware of the weight issue. Yes, it has wheels and comes with a short hose to hook it to the camper. I know it's small. I have a 33 gal tank for black & grey. I don't mind running that to the dump station more frequently. It's still better than pulling the entire camper.

[KMP44]

If the one on C/L doesn't work out, here is the one we went with. Seemed like the best deal around. I didn't want to get one that was too big because of the weight. This was a good compromise as far as size & cost.

Amazon.com: Tote-N-Stor 25607 Portable Waste Transport - 15 Gallon Capacity: Automotive

[Bryan2503S]

its a million to 1 longshot at a state park but trying calling the campground and see if they have a Honeywagon service.

[kc8lvy]

I may have went overboard but I picked up a 42 gal 4 wheel blue tote off of Craig's list. I had a 10 gal one before and I was real careful not to fill it too full.


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[Pipeman]

mlong if you would like to spend a few bucks, you could get this plus the hose. Put the tote in the back of the truck and pump into the tote, and then haul to the dump station and dump from the back of the truck. A lot easier on the wheels of the tote. I have the biggest one and it fits behind the 5th wheel. Just tie it down and go.
FloJet RV Waste Pump Kit - Xylem 18555000A - Drain & Flush Systems - Camping World
You might even look at this to get your fresh water from the spigot, http://http://www.campingworld.com/s...45-gallon/1605 You might be able to gravity feed it into you TT or get a 12 volt pump. Just a couple of ideas you might consider now or in the future. Good luck and enjoy. You'll get it all figured out eventually.

[Cajun Po-Boy]

I have this one in a 35gal...works like a charm, weight doesn't bother me as I already move iron around every week in the gym ,)