Dump station tips, tricks and mishaps.

[Namchief]

I have never seen a clear cap either. Instead I use a clear 45 degree elbow on mine. It stays on all the time. One end to the valve, the other end gats capped. That way I always have a clear window if the valve was accidently opened.

Isnt that what kids are for???

 

[LunaTech]

I keep it simple, NOBODY messes around back there but me. This has worked good for us so far considering I'm the only man in a family of 3 women (DW and two DD's) and they DON'T want to mess with that stuff. They are quite satisfied with the dumping of the tanks being my job and so am I.

 

[flyrotor]

I'm with Ruben, I figure since I don't wear gloves, shoe covers, face sheilds, etc when I put the "stuff" in the tank, not much since in worrying too much about it when I empty it out.

Yuck.... sorry Ruben and Whiteknight,

After 16 years as a medic, even other people's sweat is gross...

I went to the local Co-op farm store and bought a pair of heavy chemical gloves.

 

[grb2980]

I use the latex gloves. They are disposable and pretty tough. My first time out, I used a pair of leather gloves that got wet with the black water. Latex only from then on. Don't want the stink or other issues that may come from storing soggy nasty gloves in the compartments.

The worst thing I've ever seen was while waiting in line at the dumpstation lines at Atlanta Motor Speedway. There were two 12" pits that served as catch basins for spillage. One had clogged up completely and folks just kept dumping into it until it was briming over. I watched a fellow accidentally slip into this soup up to his calf. He cussed and simply washed it off with the hose. I don't know what he did with the stuff in his shoe as he just got into his truck and drove off. Nasty.

 

[caper]

The worst that I have seen was in Toronto. The person drove the TT so the valve was over the cement catch basin, the then put a rock on the cover to hold it open. He did not use a hose but just opened the valve and let the black water flow into the dump station. I when t to the office to complain and the young kid at the desk said "that is the way everyone does it." I never went back to this campground again.

 

[krudolph]

I do the following:
1. Use latex gloves.
2. Have "dump" shoes that never go inside.
3. After rinsing, I have a clorox based spray that I spray everything with.
4. Everything used while dumping (except the hose) goes into a zip lock bag or into a sealed box.
5. I have a short (7 foot) hose that I use for rinsing the lines out. I never get the fresh water hose close to what I'm doing!

Just got a 2002 Sunseeker C class 26. I have reservations for 65 days so far this year....wahoo!!!

 

[comfun1]

I hook up the hose, dump the black, flush the stool, dump the gray, stow the hose, wash my hands and get the he-- out of there. Not much to it.

 

[campnqueen-FRF]

OMG! Y'all have made my morning! I have laughed so hard... I really don;t understand the big deal.... dumping is NOT rocket science. Maybe y'all are getting in a hurry? Take you time... we dump as we leave the camp ground. Pull in, get close to the dump conx. Attach our hose. Most times there is a brick or rock or something there to hold down the hose to the ground dump hole. Double check you connections and then s-l-o-w-l-y pull the "black" knife valve handle. I go inside and run water thru the potty and such. Then dump the gray water. we haven't had ANY problems so far. But I guess there is always a first. (especially now that I have posted this!)

 

[Gotago2]

Well it finally happened... When I got to the dump station Sunday I open the compartment door and I had a surprised flood looking at me. Yep! The valve was left opened from the last time (I swear I closed it) what a mess. So I got a bucket unscrewed the cap of the pipe the hose sits in and it all ran out into the bucket. I then poured it into the dump. Luckily we had been using the forward bath room more than the master bath so it was not very full. I then reach over to the water hose to rinse out the compartment and ,,,,,,,, YEP “sorry out of order”! So I closed up and went home and spent the last two days rinsing out the compartment, spraying it with water/bleach mix putting fan in front and opening other side for cross ventilation and airing it out. The sun hits it for about 3 hours a day to help it dry, fortunately, it has been in the 80s here in Ocala.


Did I say I know I closed that @#$%$^&*& valve last time. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[JeanDa]

My dad is using a clear “elbow” shape piece on the drain. He has solid pipe on the end of it as he doesn’t travel too much with the trailer. I am sure you could put the cap on the end of that. There is also a hose plug for easy clean.
http://www.rvpartscenter.com/ProductDetail.asp?PID=31698&SID=19&DID=10&CID=95
I had it spill on my feet once. I was wearing sandals. Unfortunately, you learn from your mistakes most of the time. I never had it in my mouth though… And I am sorry, but I have to say that I laugh a bit while reading your story. I guess it’s either you breath the smell through your nose or you risk to flush with an open mouth.

 

[Cowracer]

If you do it right, you can do the whole "nasty thing" in a very sanitary manner, without bleach, spare shoes, Racal suits, or vomit bags. Remember, the poo is supposed to be INSIDE the tanks/ hose.

The key is the dump station is not a place to carry on a conversation, think about the trip home, argue with the wife or be otherwise distracted. Each and every "incident" I have seen has been someone either in a rush or trying to do two or three things at once. I think "performance anxiety" plays a role too, when there is a bunch of people lined up waiting for their turn. Take as much time as you need to complete your task. But no more. Dont tarry, but dont get in a rush either.

I wear light cotton gloves that go in the wash after every trip simply to appease the wife, and I would not gag at the thought of doing it gloveless. I hose off everything with clean water before I start, and after I finish. I am absolutley convinced that there is less poo on the outside of my hoses and valves than on any surface you care to name in a gas station restroom.

tim

 

[trudinator]

we have several lengths of sewer hose so we don't have to run everything through the long one when we only need 4' or so. I bought a clear elbow, so we can tell everything is running clear when we use the built in tank flush. The problem being, we only have one clear elbow and all of our other hoses have the bayonet ends on them and DH wants to be able to hook two hoses together when necessary including the clear elbow. After looking in catalogs, at our dealer, etc., to find a hose connector to connect two hoses with bayonet ends, he came up with a nifty solution....he used PVC sewer pipe, drilled holes and put bolts in both ends to correspond with the bayonet ends. He's in the process of cutting the bolts off in the inside of the pipe and using epoxy to make sure the bolts stay put. Now he'll simply use his PVC connector to connect two lengths of sewer pipe and/or the clear elbow!! I'll post pics when it's complete.

 

[comfun1]

We have another couple we used to camp with and they had three teenage daughters. When Jim went to the dump station nothing would come out so he removed the sewer hose, got on his hands and knees so he could see into the tank and used a stick to probe with. Everything came out with a great force and struck him square in the face. It was a terible sight. I always make sure to stand to the side.

 

[rawlus]

We have another couple we used to camp with and they had three teenage daughters. When Jim went to the dump station nothing would come out so he removed the sewer hose, got on his hands and knees so he could see into the tank and used a stick to probe with. Everything came out with a great force and struck him square in the face. It was a terible sight. I always make sure to stand to the side.

oMG wow! Lol!

 

[DaleB]

I like the idea of the sewer spill eliminator. I am new to this whole process. I bought a used 5th wheel had it parked in my driveway and decided to check how the drain connects. I opened the cap (without pulling and valves) and still had junk come out. Not a lot, but enough that I'm vary wary of doing it again. I was wearing disposable gloves and had to hose down my driveway. I don't know if I have a leaky valve or if it was just residue. This weekend I am headed to a dump station to try my first real dump so these posts are very timely for me.

 

[mrmurph]

My routine is pretty simple. I have a baggie that rides in the compartment that contains an opaque elbow and my heavy duty chemical gloves. I put the gloves on, pull the sewer hose from the bumper, attach the elbow, insert in drain, connect to the tanks, drain the black (close the valve), drain the gray (close the valve), disconnect the sewer hose, then wash down the inside of the hose, the outside of the hose, and the ground around the area. Everything gets stowed back into its spot and away we go.

I have seen bad, bad things happen at the dump station and much prefer full hook-ups any day!

 

[Capsfloyd]

We are new and had to dump on one of our outings , read all the reports . Was ready , I thought . I did not have the hose turned solid to the trailer end ( thought. I did )

Pull the black tank , started through the hose , then came off , I quickly shut off the valve.

Installed again with a lil more oomph . No problems

On my hose I have from camping world , they have the connections on the end and will not go into my bumper ?
I have a heavy plastic bag I stow it in

 

[JoeR]

Don't like touching the cap. I put a plastic grocery sack over it to take the cap. If there is any "seepage", it goes in the sack. I've got gloves in with the rest of the poop box stuff.

It all get rinsed off when I get home.

JR

 

[B47]

We are new and had to dump on one of our outings , read all the reports . Was ready , I thought . I did not have the hose turned solid to the trailer end ( thought. I did )

Pull the black tank , started through the hose , then came off , I quickly shut off the valve.

Installed again with a lil more oomph . No problems

On my hose I have from camping world , they have the connections on the end and will not go into my bumper ?
I have a heavy plastic bag I stow it in

Caps - you say your hose "will not go into the bunper?" I don't stow my hose in there either - not because it won't fit, but because my dealer told me that it is not a good practice -sets up corrision after awhile.
Several other posters have said they don't stow their hose there either.

 

[BigTJohn]

I use gloves, but not always (hands get clean with alcohol/H2)0, then soap n H20). Everything stows in a plastic container, all connections stow in extra strong ziplocks in the container, gloves are the blue impregnated heavy duty chemical ones from Lowes/HD. Connect the clear 45 angle first, extend the hose from the storage pipe, remove the caps as the hose comes out or you have a vacuum in the hose (same thing for putting it back into the storage pipe, put the cap on AFTER it is in the storage pipe), then just add sewer hose to reach the dump station drain and MAKE SURE there is either weight, cap, inserted far enough so it does NOT come out like a Saturn V rocket when the valve is opened - which should be opened rapidly, not slowly. Once the "stuff" or effluent is relatively clear, lift the slinky sewer hose so it is above the valve then open the grey water valve for 20 - 30 seconds. This will allow a rush of grey H2O to break up any solid obstruction and then close the grey and lower the slinky sewer hose and allow the grey H2O to drain from the black tank. Then rinse the black tank again, when clear, close the valve to the black tank, open the grey H2O valve and allow it to drain completely. When done, close the grey H2O valve CHECK to ensure it is CLOSED, CHECK to ENSURE the black tank valve is closed - CHECK AGAIN, then disconnect the clear angle from the trailer and the sewer hose, rinse it, bag it, rinse the sewer hose INSIDE and OUT, disconnect from the dump station and cap the end going in to storage pipe, feed in the rest of the sewer hose, put the cap on it just before the last 3-6 inches are stowed then close the storage pipe for the trip home. THEN wash your hands and forearms, use antibactierial soap, wash the gloves same soap, wash your lower legs (if in shorts) rinse of/wash lower legs/shoes with a spray of alcohol/soap and GET OUT of the way as people will be lining up for their turn. Long to write it out but pretty easy to do. If you are new to it - PRACTICE at home or in the storage yard so you know exactly what happens when in in the correct sequence. (DO NOT actually dump or open any valves while practicing)(Duh!). Have all you "DUMP STUFF" in a separate container and wash it frequently. Be prepared to RUN LIKE **** if you mess it up. Then return and clean it up. This should be fun, right!!?!