Gray water

[1st timer]

Wow it fills quick! Do I need to say any more? I think I need portable tank for this. I can not believe that their is 20 gallons in it already. All we have done is dishes and one shower for my 4 yr old daughter. It was her first quote unquote navy shower and still the tanks are 2/3 full.... my god! I definitely need a tub for dishes but still I did not think I used that much. SUGGESTIONS?

[chriscowles]

Use tubs for washing and rinsing dishes. Dump the wash water and save the rinse pan for the next round as the each pan. Add hot water to warm it up.

That's not an original idea. I read it elsewhere here but will try it out on an upcoming long vacation.

It probably isn't an ideal approach if you don't have a lot of counter space.

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[CDNWhiskey]

The rate you fill your tanks is based on your usage of course. Normally dishes for me is a half sink of water and soap and a quick rinse at the end - maybe a gallon. Showers are quick indeed. I usually get just over a week from my tanks for two people. Some use the externals. All personal choice. Good luck.


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[bikendan]

We dry camped in our popups for 17 years and got good at conserving water.
The two of us can go 4-5 days before filling the gray tank, in our 23SS.
So, conserving water has a learning curve. Many newbies will find ways that they are wasting water, as they get more experienced.

Especially when you have kids!

If you plan on more dry camping, suggest you get a tote tank for gray water.

[RooVader]

This has been one of my biggest concerns as my previous camper had twice the capacity and I regularly reached the limit. I am planning on buying a portable tank.

I told myself I would never go to smaller gray tanks. Clearly I don't listen to myself.


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[Triguy]

You already have the major suggestions: Tubs for washing dishes (pour dirty water down the toilet into the black tank) and no showers. We have three kids and they all have learned that showers are to be done in the shower house at the campground.

The alternatives are full hookups or a blue tote. I have a Barker Tank - 32gl IIRC. The Barker is very well thought of amongst the RVing population.

Remember that water weighs 8.35lbs per gl. So, filling up a 32gl tote makes it 280lbs with the weight of the tote (~10lbs). The recommendation is to get one with sturdy wheels. You really don't want to try to man-handle one of these and you don't want it flipping while driving it to the dump station.

Consider one of their smaller tanks, too, as the 32gl tank is big and bulky and the Roos don't have a lot of storage for this size (Just some food for thought). The smallest four-wheel job from Barker is their 16gl and that weighs 135lbs full.

[yetavon]

Originally Posted by Triguy

Tubs for washing dishes (pour dirty water down the toilet into the black tank)

Also if your going by the lights, you may still be under half, there not that accurate.

[Triguy]

Originally Posted by yetavon

Also if your going by the lights, you may still be under half, there not that accurate.

Good point. Very inaccurate; especially once they get "gunked" up. Best to estimate, which is relatively easy to do.

[Ford Idaho]

Paper or plastic plates, wash the rest in a tub as suggested.
We use plastic plates and bowls and recycle them with our water bottles.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by Triguy

... (pour dirty water down the toilet into the black tank) ...

I forgot that point. It's a good idea for most of us but some micro-lite trailers have black tanks that are microscopic. I saw specs on one where the black tank was only 9 gallons, IIRC. It may still be better than dumping in the gray tank but the OP should know the capacity of both before doing so.



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[RooVader]

That is good advice on getting a smaller portable...thank you! I had in my mind the bigger the better as I could just hitch it to the truck. I didn't even thing about storing the the thing. Honestly a small one is just as good as far as I am concerned. I don't think I will need to use it all the time or even most of the time.

[OldCoot]

Also look into replacing the plastic wheels with larger pneumatic ones from Harbor Freight or Northern Tool. They are very economical and much easier to tow.

[CNYCamper]

We wasted water on our old 183 waiting for hot water to make its way from the water heater to the shower. Our new 231KSS has the water heater mounted right next to the shower so I'm hopeful our gray tank won't fill as fast.

[00buck]

We use a 6 gallon gray water tote. It's fairly light & I toss it in the back of the truck easily. Another 5 gal container to add fresh water. It can become a daily chore, but it's not too difficult.

Re gauges: I fill my water tank, run the water into a 5 gal bucket, dump it down the shower, and watch the idiot lights during the process. It gives me a range of fill for each light and a more accurate idea of how much the tanks really hold.

We brush our teeth using a cup of bottled water, using the remaining amount to rinse the sink.

Waterless hand sanitizer helps too.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by RooVader

That is good advice on getting a smaller portable...thank you! I had in my mind the bigger the better as I could just hitch it to the truck. I didn't even thing about storing the the thing. Honestly a small one is just as good as far as I am concerned. I don't think I will need to use it all the time or even most of the time.

I have a 15 gallon with solid wheels that I carried over from my popup days. I haven't needed it yet but it's small enough for me to drag to the car by myself while big enough to minimize trips. It lives inside the bathroom, upright, when on the road.

Pneumatic wheels probably work better but I don't use it often enough to justify the effort. If I camped more often, I'd do it.

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[Eric F.]

I am just finishing up a weekend trip to the beach. Me, the wife, and my two kids. Had to drain the grey tank three times! I am teaching the kids to use water sparingly, but the wife is having none of it. Dry camping is out of the question for me!!

[1st timer]

Will have to get a tub definitely. I was thinking about putting some gray water down the toilet but dismissed the idea. When we roles out this morning we emptied the tanks and the black tank was definitely relatively empty. Gray water tank seemed to drain for a long time. Admittedly I'm a newbie! If the idiot lights are not trustworthy how do you know? If I had to guess how much water I used during dishes would be know more than 5 or so gallons. DW gave my daughter a shower and doesn't think she used that much water at all.... This all aside this was our 1st weekend trip and the Roo 23ss is awesome! Friday might the kids slept on the u shaped dinette. We slept in the front bunk. Saturday night it rained and we Turtled. Closed the tent end early before the rain. Very comfortable. Great weekend trip! Great maiden voyage!

[asquared]

To solve the hot water issue, you can run the clean cold shower water into a bucket and either use to rinse dishes or just throw out outside.

[syogerst]

We can go for a week and still have enough to dump tanks at the end. We wash most of our dishes with water we carried form the campground faucet. We heat it over the fire while we eat. If we do dishes inside, I can do them with very little water and that water gets dumped down the toilet. That helps with flushing out black tank! I never use tanked water for cooking or drinking. We bring a 5 gal jug with water from home, keep it filled with ice. If your careful you can make that water last!

[wicked1]

Originally Posted by Triguy

You already have the major suggestions: Tubs for washing dishes (pour dirty water down the toilet into the black tank) and no showers. We have three kids and they all have learned that showers are to be done in the shower house at the campground.

The alternatives are full hookups or a blue tote. I have a Barker Tank - 32gl IIRC. The Barker is very well thought of amongst the RVing population.

Remember that water weighs 8.35lbs per gl. So, filling up a 32gl tote makes it 280lbs with the weight of the tote (~10lbs). The recommendation is to get one with sturdy wheels. You really don't want to try to man-handle one of these and you don't want it flipping while driving it to the dump station.

Consider one of their smaller tanks, too, as the 32gl tank is big and bulky and the Roos don't have a lot of storage for this size (Just some food for thought). The smallest four-wheel job from Barker is their 16gl and that weighs 135lbs full.

My buddy who has the 21SS Roo has one of those towable 12 gallon totes he had it for his popup and uses it for his Rio since he goes to camping areas with no hookups for 4Wheeling.

I looked at getting one but my last trailer had 50 Fresh 37 black and 37 grey, Roo has 36 fresh, 30 black and 30 grey. It is not too much different for me but a portable tote of like 30 gallon would be nice. See these at CW





2014 Ford F-150 FX4 Crew 4X4 EB 3.5 Twin Turbo

2015 Roo 23IKSS Saphire
2015 (3) Nights Camped

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