Tote question

2gocamp · 07-01-2013, 09:15 AM

We've camped 3 times with our 233S and after 3 days with 3 people, the grey and black tanks are 2/3 full. Now my daughter is back so it should be full in 3 to 4 days. So I'm thinking of a tote. What size? Thirty some gallons is pretty big to bring around empty and then dump when full. I was thinking maybe 15 gallons just to dump some of it. I still need 2/3 to do a successful final dump I heard.
Any thoughts and experiences?

**bikendan** · 07-01-2013, 09:45 AM

i have a 15 gallon blue tote that i use ONLY for gray water.
no need to use it for black since it takes the two of us a couple of weeks of continuous camping, to fill the black tank. and we'd be dumping by that time.

RedStick · 07-01-2013, 12:52 PM

I went with the 4 wheel 25 gallon tote n stor model recently. I used the tote during our last camp out as we were camping for 4 days (3 nights).

The tank worked as it should. No issues. I probably filled the tank to around 20 gallons. With the 4 wheels I had no problem moving the tote to hitch up to the truck. I pulled up to the dump station and didn't even move the tote to empty the tank from the hitch.

I like the storage capacity for the tote necessities (hose, caps, etc). Bought off of amazon.

The only bad thing is the tote is fairly expensive. Also, this beast takes up at least 1/3rd of my truck bed when not in use.

eshenderson · 07-01-2013, 01:28 PM

Personally, I only want to do the job ONCE during a 1 week stay. I bought the largest tote I could get, 35 gal Thetford. Yes it does take up a fair amount of room, but I am going to look into a way to attach it to the back ladder. The cost difference between the 18, which would have required numerous trips, and the 35 was well worth it.

Besides, maybe I can make some extra beer money on the way to the dump station if I dont fill it

2gocamp · 07-01-2013, 02:39 PM

I don't like the idea of it taking up a lot of room when not in use. The truck is already full enough. I thought a smaller one, just to empty a little if there's only a few nights left. How easy is it to stop filling when the tote is full but there's still some in the tanks? Does it automatically stop? And how easy is it to drag behind the truck, specially when the dumping station is a kilometre or more away? I would prefer putting it in the box of the truck but a 15 gallon would weight about 150lbs.

**dcheatwood** · 07-01-2013, 03:16 PM

I have a barker 30 gal that I traded an old muzzle loader for on our local Facebook swap shop page. It has a steel bar with ring to tow with your TV at walking speed. Convenient if dump station is in campground. But it'll weigh more than 250 lbs full so consider weight as well as volume. Check your local flea markets, swap shops, etc. Mine looks new and still has the stickers on it. Seller says he dumped gray water twice. Good luck.

Fire Instructor · 07-01-2013, 03:37 PM

Our black tank will get us through a full week without needing to dump it. The gray, however, is a much different story.... 3 days, max, with the gray... We try to minimize the water going into the gray by washing and rinsing dishes into dishpans, then dumping those dishpans into the toilet. Keeps the gray content down, and the fluid content in the black up.

Fire Instructor · 07-01-2013, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2gocamp

I don't like the idea of it taking up a lot of room when not in use. The truck is already full enough. I thought a smaller one, just to empty a little if there's only a few nights left. How easy is it to stop filling when the tote is full but there's still some in the tanks? Does it automatically stop? And how easy is it to drag behind the truck, specially when the dumping station is a kilometre or more away? I would prefer putting it in the box of the truck but a 15 gallon would weight about 150lbs.

An empty tote can be easily strapped to a lawn-chair rack on your rear ladder. Virtually no weight when empty.

I use my tote in the bed of my truck, using a macerator pump to fill it. Drive to the dump station, and tip it up to dump, using stinky slinky.....

RedStick · 07-01-2013, 03:46 PM

Most of us are one rear ladder short of a ladder in the hybrid world

.

I don't mind throwing mine in the truck, but that means I must pack my bikes in the trailer....which I should start a thread over that process one day to get better ideas on how to accomplish that task!

crunchman12001 · 07-01-2013, 03:48 PM

I have an 11 gal tote ( $85.00 ). It was all I could afford at the time, I needed it that day. It is not one of the nice tow behinds with four wheels, just has 2 wheels. I use it for dumping and rinsing at home. I bungi cord it to the back of my quad for the 200' trip to the septic lid. It weighs 88 gals full and it is heavy. Took me 4 trips to empty the full black tank on the old trailer.
As far as it automatically stopping.

I guess that would be how good you are at guessing what is left in the sewer hose VS remaining capacity in the tote.
If you are wrong, lets just say it ain't pretty.
Not even close to being as sterile as the dump station is.
crunchman

2gocamp · 07-01-2013, 03:57 PM

I just bought a macerator pump but haven't used it yet. That was going to be one of my uses, to put the tote in the bed of the truck to fill. I'm glad to see someone is doing it that way so it's doable. I guess you have to be careful it doesn't overflow. Do you put some of the grey water to top it up and clean the hose a bit?

Some say to strap it to the ladder in the back but it's a hybrid, no ladder.

**dcheatwood** · 07-01-2013, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fire Instructor

An empty tote can be easily strapped to a lawn-chair rack on your rear ladder. Virtually no weight when empty.

I use my tote in the bed of my truck, using a macerator pump to fill it. Drive to the dump station, and tip it up to dump, using stinky slinky.....

Don't have a macerator but that's a great idea. My tank fits right behind the 5th wheel hitch in the truck bed.

**dcheatwood** · 07-01-2013, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eshenderson

Personally, I only want to do the job ONCE during a 1 week stay. I bought the largest tote I could get, 35 gal Thetford. Yes it does take up a fair amount of room, but I am going to look into a way to attach it to the back ladder. The cost difference between the 18, which would have required numerous trips, and the 35 was well worth it.

Besides, maybe I can make some extra beer money on the way to the dump station if I dont fill it

Just a thought. I was given a double bike carrier which mounts on the rear bumper. It extends out enough to hang the bike behind the spare. When I moved it to one side and the spare to the other, there was a perfect space between the RV and bike rack to store the tank. With a few mods, like a soft deck to sit on so bolts don't rub thru, this is and ideal remedy for tank toter.

You may also like: