Portable Waste Tank, Which One ?

[dryhorn2]

I'm looking at buying a portable waste tank and was thinking a 27 to 35 gallon tank would be a good choice. I'm leaning towards the 27 just because its smaller. What do you all think ? Also the two brands I'm looking at is the
Thetford LX Smart Tote 4 wheel model and the Barker Tote 4 wheel tank .

[bikendan]

the Barker is the most recommeded by far and has the best reputation, especially regarding customer support.

[MtnGuy]

Just remember that water weighs 8.3 lbs. per gallon. Just the 27 gallon container full would weigh 224 lbs. If you have to pull that by hand in sand or over rough ground before you hook it up to your truck, that could be a chore. And many portable totes you have to lift 1 end to empty it. Of course you don't have to fill it up all of the way when using.

We opted for a 15 gallon tote....a Tote-N-Stor. Doesn't take up a lot of room in the truck bed, and it weighs only 124 lbs fully loaded. Even at that, dragging across sand to hook it up to the truck was hard to do.

You can always make 2 or more trips to the dump station.

[caper]

What is the size of your holding tanks. If the largest tank is 30 gal. then I would purchase the 35 gal. tank.

[rjf7g]

I have had both the Thetford and Barker totes and I prefer the Barker ones. They vent a lot better than the Thetford ones and the built in hose on the Thetfords can be problematic. I would get a tote that will allow you to dump 2/3-3/4 of your largest tank at least.

[iceblaze580]

Originally Posted by rjf7g

I have had both the Thetford and Barker totes and I prefer the Barker ones. They vent a lot better than the Thetford ones and the built in hose on the Thetfords can be problematic. I would get a tote that will allow you to dump 2/3-3/4 of your largest tank at least.

I've also had both barker and thetford the Thetford I could never seem to get completely empty and would leak at the wheels the Barker holds up better over the years

[dryhorn2]

Thanks for the information guys

[ValMelton]

I don't remember the maker of the one we have, but we have one that has the handle that goes over the ball on our hitch, that we pull it to the dump station with the truck. we don't have to lift it at all. the hose that empties is on the side, so you just hook the hose up and dump it. no worries about the weight. every time we have used it people have asked us where we bought it. we bought it at the dealership that we bought the camper at years ago, (3 trailors ago) when we lived in Panama City Florida.

[alphadog99]

We bought a 30 gallon Barker after our first trip to a campground without a sewer hookup. Three years later and its still working great, never had a problem. They are well built and will last. However, if I did it again I'd buy a smaller capacity; as mentioned that 30 gallons is a bear to pull over rough ground, and then a monster if the dump station has a 3-4" high concrete edge around it and you have to get the tote higher than the edge to dump it. I've wrestled that stupid thing more than I care to remember. Do a search on the forum for a guy who replaced the stock wheels on his with larger pneumatic tires. He said it pulled easier and was quieter as well.

[the.wilsons]

Make sure it at least has more then two wheels and a built in handle that also fits over a truck hitch. First few times we used a friends that didn't have all of the above and it was hard holding up one end while dragging uphill over gravel. And when it came time to get our own we already knew what we didn't want.