Conserving space in Gray Water Tank - Is this OK?

[Kimber45]

Originally Posted by RSW3

Being a first time trailer owner (picked it up Feb 18th), I’m learning so much cool stuff.

Awesome thread.

Hopefully you're not learning to just dump your tanks where ever you please. Welcome and happy camping.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by Kimber45

Hopefully you're not learning to just dump your tanks where ever you please. Welcome and happy camping.

Agree, that was one of the nastiest ideas I have read in a while.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by W5CI

Get a long water hose and run grey water out on the ground at midnite if necessary. I had one COE camp host to tell me to do that.

I have occasionally read that in some states, dumping gray water in disburse camping areas is NOT ILLEGAL.

I PERSONALLY THINK IT IS A FINE IDEA, ESPECIALLY IN SOME OF THE DRY AREAS WERE WE CAMP.

Has anyone ever seen anything summarizing or discussing the subject .

[Locky]

I have a separate garden hose that I hook to the cap and around 1 o'clock in the morning I run the hose under a neighboring trailer and drain the gray water tank. The amusement I get the next morning watching my neighbor tearing into the underside of his camper looking for a leak is priceless.

[Kimber45]

Originally Posted by Tom48

I have occasionally read that in some states, dumping gray water in disburse camping areas is NOT ILLEGAL.

I PERSONALLY THINK IT IS A FINE IDEA, ESPECIALLY IN SOME OF THE DRY AREAS WERE WE CAMP.

Has anyone ever seen anything summarizing or discussing the subject .

Grey water is not clean and soapy. Food particles etc makes a mess. I have smelled grey water tanks that were worse then black tanks. I have stayed at numerous campgrounds with rules and postings that dumping of grey water will result in removal. I suppose ever place is different and everyone's opinons are different. I know I don't want to pull into a water logged site full of smelly grey water and soap bubbles.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Kimber45

Grey water is not clean and soapy. Food particles etc makes a mess. I have smelled grey water tanks that were worse then black tanks. I have stayed at numerous campgrounds with rules and postings that dumping of grey water will result in removal. I suppose ever place is different and everyone's opinons are different. I know I don't want to pull into a water logged site full of smelly grey water and soap bubbles.

And not all grey water is full of food particles and smells like a sewer.
If yours does, you are doing something wrong.

We are careful about plate scraps and other things that 'could' get rinsed off into the grey tank. Many folks treat their grey tank sink drains just like their house drains and rinse all kinds of things into the tank. You really shouldn't.

As we reach retirement age and get to the point of significantly more boondocking, I plan to plumb the grey water into the toilet for flushing. I have no concerns of it being too dirty.

[HikerBob]

As the OP regarding disposal of grey water along back roads, and having seen many who feel that is inappropriate, I want to clarify that I wasn't proposing doing it on a regular basis, but lightening up our trailer for long hauls in the west after staying in campgrounds that have no disposal site and none anywhere within a hundred miles, this is a way to extend trips beyond what the grey tank will hold. I also think using dishpans and dumping them into the toilet makes consummate sense, as that black tank is seldom full when the grey tank is full. As my moniker implies, I'm a hiker and practice "Leave No Trace" practices in the back country, so never dump grey water in the campground unless ask to do so by the host (usually in desert areas where the water is welcome, food particles and all).

[itat]

Originally Posted by HikerBob

As the OP regarding disposal of grey water along back roads, and having seen many who feel that is inappropriate, I want to clarify that I wasn't proposing doing it on a regular basis, but lightening up our trailer for long hauls in the west after staying in campgrounds that have no disposal site and none anywhere within a hundred miles, this is a way to extend trips beyond what the grey tank will hold. I also think using dishpans and dumping them into the toilet makes consummate sense, as that black tank is seldom full when the grey tank is full. As my moniker implies, I'm a hiker and practice "Leave No Trace" practices in the back country, so never dump grey water in the campground unless ask to do so by the host (usually in desert areas where the water is welcome, food particles and all).

HikerBob, I subscribe to a YouTube channel called "Love Your RV". He regularly spends his winters boondocking in the deserts of Arizona, Utah and California and he and manages to find places to dump his tanks rather than dumping on the ground. Typically its at a gas station.

I recommend that you use a website, or their app, called Sanidumps. Allstays also has an app for locating dump stations. Hopefully they can help you to find a suitable dump station near where you're boondocking.

Dumping grey tank contents on the road can make the road surface slippery (especially asphalt surfaces) and if you do it in a location with little rainfall it will make for a dangerous surface for motorcyclists to ride on. If you absolutely have to, maybe you could at least empty your grey tank into a ditch?

[DreiHunde]

Originally Posted by Tom48

I have occasionally read that in some states, dumping gray water in disburse camping areas is NOT ILLEGAL.

I PERSONALLY THINK IT IS A FINE IDEA, ESPECIALLY IN SOME OF THE DRY AREAS WERE WE CAMP.

Has anyone ever seen anything summarizing or discussing the subject .

Pretty much depends on each and every campground/area you are camping at. Some places allow it, some even have dedicated stations throughout the campground, and some strictly forbid it.

Best rule of thumb is check the regulations of where you are staying and respect them and your fellow campers.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by Tom48

I have occasionally read that in some states, dumping gray water in disburse camping areas is NOT ILLEGAL.

I PERSONALLY THINK IT IS A FINE IDEA, ESPECIALLY IN SOME OF THE DRY AREAS WERE WE CAMP.

Has anyone ever seen anything summarizing or discussing the subject .

I could be wrong but the reason for the whinge is that I'm pretty sure he was not talking about just grey water. I got the impression it was black.

[HikerBob]

Originally Posted by Murbella7

I could be wrong but the reason for the whinge is that I'm pretty sure he was not talking about just grey water. I got the impression it was black.

No, just grey.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by HikerBob

No, just grey.

If it is just grey then sure, plant your forest and water it. If the ground can take it, we should be able to as well. Although I'm not sure how many park managers would appreciate a new tree sprouting in the middle of a site.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by Kimber45

Grey water is not clean and soapy. Food particles etc makes a mess. I have smelled grey water tanks that were worse then black tanks. I have stayed at numerous campgrounds with rules and postings that dumping of grey water will result in removal. I suppose ever place is different and everyone's opinons are different. I know I don't want to pull into a water logged site full of smelly grey water and soap bubbles.

Soapy water is not generally a problem, maybe so in environmentally sensitive areas. Most solids should have been caught in the sink with a filter over the plug hole. If they are not then you should get one.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by Kimber45

Grey water is not clean and soapy. Food particles etc makes a mess. I have smelled grey water tanks that were worse then black tanks. I have stayed at numerous campgrounds with rules and postings that dumping of grey water will result in removal. I suppose ever place is different and everyone's opinons are different. I know I don't want to pull into a water logged site full of smelly grey water and soap bubbles.

I was not thinking about camp sites but rather during disburse camping which is often in areas where the surface desperately need the moisture

[Locky]

I dig a small hole about a foot deep and let it slowly drip into that. Then cover it back up.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Locky

I dig a small hole about a foot deep and let it slowly drip into that. Then cover it back up.

I used my old trailer as temporary living quarters for my wife when she'd visit our grandkids, traveling from Colorado. TT sat next to son's house and he and I buried 20 feet of perforated pipe along a fence line, 2' deep. Dumped all gray water into this pipe through one end that was above ground. Sinks and shower water all disappeared for about 10 weeks per year.

Black tank got emptied through 50' of collapsible discharge hose into a sewer clean out when necessary.

As for campgrounds, we stayed in a whole bunch that had signs at site hookups asking that gray water be dumped on trees next to site.