Water delivery/tank pump service?

[TNsmokybear]

We are headed to Des Moines, Iowa for a gymnastics competition in July. The event center has electric, but no water/sewer hookups. Our FW tank is 100 gal and grey/black tanks are each 38 gal. We will be there for 6 days with me, wife, and two kids (6/10 years old).

Does anyone have any experience/information on services that will deliver potable water and/or pump the tanks while we are setup?

[Misfit011]

Do they have a dump station and water fill , you will likely have to pull out and empty before your week is over, stop there first fill up head to site

[TNsmokybear]

No dump station or water fill at the event center. I guess it’s more geared toward tour buses for performers who just need electric.

[Capt. Mike]

Originally Posted by TNsmokybear

We are headed to Des Moines, Iowa for a gymnastics competition in July. The event center has electric, but no water/sewer hookups. Our FW tank is 100 gal and grey/black tanks are each 38 gal. We will be there for 6 days with me, wife, and two kids (6/10 years old).

Does anyone have any experience/information on services that will deliver potable water and/or pump the tanks while we are setup?

The Iowa State Fairgrounds is 4.5 miles from the Event Center, and has a FHU campground that is available when the fair is not going on (this year's fair starts August 8) for $30 per night for water/electric/sewer or $28 per night for water/electric.

Unless you have to be on the grounds of the event center, the fairgrounds might be your best option.
Non-Fair Time Camping - Iowa State Fair Grounds - Iowa State Fair Grounds

[timfromma]

Use the event center facilities whenever possible. Perhaps pick your self up a portable waste tote that you can dump into then haul it to a dump station in the back of your TV.

[nayther]

Contact a local septic tank service and see if they'll do it. We get our tanks pumped out at a race we put on every year. Same guy that pumps/cleans the porta potties does it. Not had to refill my fresh water but there has to be a hose bibb somewhere

[ependydad]

I have bladders that I can bring in freshwater (using an Aquatank2) and offload black/gray water (custom built). Each rides in the bed of the truck, so the 4.5 miles to the nearby campground wouldn’t be an issue. They’ll let you dump for a nominal fee and i imagine the same for filling freshwater.

Since I can’t get the company to be responsive and build more sewer bladders, people can’t buy them. But, you could do the same with a blueboy and macerator lump.

[Bigruh36]

Some friends have used a honey bucket service to pump their tanks weekly while working in an area with out septic service but they had a water supply. They just dumped the grey on the ground (it won’t hurt anything and if you do it nightly it won’t smell bad either). You could rent a tank from rain for rent used on construction sites for fresh water supply. That being said I have been able to dry camp for a week with out filling or draining my tanks with a total of 5 people in the RV by showering elsewhere and being careful with water.

[rlh1957]

Grey water is the tank that will fill fastest taking showers and you will notice it in shower when grey tank gets full and backs up to shower.
Black Tank you can probably go for more than a week.
FW may last, depending on showers. Toilet flush doesn't use much water.
If no place onsite to get water in a Jerry Can you can go offsite and fill FW.
If you have a rolling portable honey wagon you can dump black in there... but those are usually hand pulled to onsite dump stations. I've never seen one lifted up into a truck to go offsite with. They get heavy full.
If the site has a grey water dump pipe or allows sink and shower water to drain out a hose then that is possible. Not too many places encouraged that practice.

[5picker]

We have a 50 gallon fresh and 45 gallon waste tanks.
With just the tow of us we can squeak out 5-6 days.
Kids will cut into that big time.

Short of packing up and going to some facility with sewer and water, contact a septic service to pump out your tanks. Most all of them in our area do that.
Water is going to be the stickler unless you can talk the event center into letting you tap into their facility somehow.

We often take a couple 5 gallon cans of fresh water when boondocking and with your 100 gallon fresh capacity, that extra 10% may be enough.

[jkoenig24]

Some Flying J Truck Stops have fresh water and dump facilities for RVs (as well as gas /diesel pumps on dedicated RV islands). Get the Pilot / Flying J RV card (free) and you get a discount on RV services.

[Capt. Mike]

Most (maybe all?) of the rest areas along Iowa interstate highways have free dump stations for RVs.

[TNsmokybear]

Thank you all for the responses and all the input. This is very valuable information. I think with not having access to a showering facility, having a wife and pre-teen daughter, and the length of time we will be there, we will stay at the fairground. 8 minute drive is worth having the full hookups.

[RacerRalph]

Have you ask at the Event Center where you pay for the electrical? Surely you are not the first person with this question.

[TNsmokybear]

We just got back home, unloaded and unhitched. I did find the electrical connections where they said I would. There was no water or sewer anywhere to be found.

The fairgrounds were mediocre at best. 2300 campsites and 700 are FHU. They are all grass sites, basically scattered across a rolling semi-wooded pasture. Most were very much not level with some being pretty much unusable (at least by anyone with any sense). It was very crowded, mostly because it was July 4th week and a huge car show was going on. The sewer connections are not threaded or even covered. You just have to run a straight pipe (with no connector) down into the hole. The smell on Sunday morning in the July heat would just about gag you. Anyway, kudos to the state of Iowa for having dump stations at all the rest areas. Illinois, your roads are horrific. All in all we had a great trip and logged 1800 miles. Thanks everyone!

[whj469]

I would also try the full hookup place a few miles away. Good Luck

[NJKris]

I'm just impressed you have a 100g fresh water capacity!

[GoneSouth10]

Originally Posted by NJKris

I'm just impressed you have a 100g fresh water capacity!

Haha - I thought the same thing, and had a "paraphrased" thought about stuffing 100 gallons of water (+"waste") into two 28 gallon tanks!!
I think the 100 gallon fresh water tank reference was a typo/thinko, unless they have dramatically increased it from the standard 43 gallons.
Sounds like it all ended up well

[NJKris]

Oh geeze, just saw somebody chimed in on a trip that was taken almost a year ago! Going home now. Somebody shut the lights off when they leave!

[bikendan]

Yep, the OP already got home almost a year ago. That's why reading all the posts helps from resurrecting an old thread.[emoji6]