Nomad Hiker Posted March 26, 2017 Report Share Posted March 26, 2017 After a fun trip to Camping World today, another question came to mind. Many places we are planning to stay have only 2 services, electric and water. Then, they have a dump station. How many of you use the portable waste trailers? What size? There are 2 of us if that matters. Happy Trails, Jim & Ginger/Nomad Hikers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Retirement 12/2016 Full-time 04/2017 VanLeigh Vilano/Ford F350 Blog site - https://www.trailer2trail.com/ Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=trailer2trail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 We have used a portable waste tank but only when parked for long term with no sewer. With the size trailer that you report you are buying, you should have ample sized waste tanks to be able to last a week or more, assuming that you also learn to manage your water use. The gray tank is the first to fill so it is of primary concern. Since places have a dump station, it should be pretty easy to just dump as you arrive and as you leave, unless you plan to stay for long term. 50 minutes ago, Nomad Hiker said: How many of you use the portable waste trailers? What size? With only two of you, that simply means that your waste tanks will not fill as quickly as if there were more people using them. You do need to learn to fill the sink and not let water run, brush your teeth with water off, and to take shorter showers as all of those impact the length of time between need to empty the tanks. One thing that we have learned is that when you use a portable tank, you need to either have one that is just as large as the tank that you are draining, or you need to have a portable tank that has a level indicator so that you can close the dump valve before the tank is completely full, or you end up with a large hose full of waste and nowhere to put the contents. You can also get one that adds on to the vent of the tank. Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Hiker Posted March 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 11 minutes ago, Kirk Wood said: We have used a portable waste tank but only when parked for long term with no sewer. With the size trailer that you report you are buying, you should have ample sized waste tanks to be able to last a week or more, assuming that you also learn to manage your water use. The gray tank is the first to fill so it is of primary concern. Since places have a dump station, it should be pretty easy to just dump as you arrive and as you leave, unless you plan to stay for long term. With only two of you, that simply means that your waste tanks will not fill as quickly as if there were more people using them. You do need to learn to fill the sink and not let water run, brush your teeth with water off, and to take shorter showers as all of those impact the length of time between need to empty the tanks. One thing that we have learned is that when you use a portable tank, you need to either have one that is just as large as the tank that you are draining, or you need to have a portable tank that has a level indicator so that you can close the dump valve before the tank is completely full, or you end up with a large hose full of waste and nowhere to put the contents. You can also get one that adds on to the vent of the tank. I think we have some places we are staying for 3 weeks without sewer hookup. All you guys are such a great wealth of info! You don't always agree, but that is why God gave us minds to discern what works and what doesn't ! It seems the closer we are getting the more excited and NERVous we are getting too. Happy Trails, Jim & Ginger/Nomad Hikers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Retirement 12/2016 Full-time 04/2017 VanLeigh Vilano/Ford F350 Blog site - https://www.trailer2trail.com/ Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=trailer2trail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblo Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 We like to dry-camp in Forest Service CGs as much as possible. We have several favorites, and part of that favoritism is due to the type and maintenance of the CG restrooms. We can last at least 2 weeks on the tanks by draining the gray water to a tree/bush when allowed--if not allowed, then that will cut us down to about a week. Never have had a "blue boy" portable waste tank. I have never understood why tenters can throw wash/cleaning water out anywhere, but gray tanks can't be drained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms60ocb Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 In two weeks we may have to dump the Black tank and definitely dump some liquid from the Gray Tank. My waste buggy is a little larger than 1/2 my black tank. Rather than having a spill ( Full tank - full hose, Unable to close Black valve 100% causing leak or what ever) on dumping the Black Tank, I dump the Black tank using the waste buggy before the black Tank gets gets 1/2 full. Thus a complete Black Dump dump without spill. Now dump grey water as needed to complete your stay. We do not have a garbage disposal on the kitchen sink, also we try to eliminate 99% of all grease entering the Grey Tank by using paper towels to wiping excess grease from items. The Gray water is my rinse after the Black dump. Clay Clay & Marcie Too old to play in the snow Diesel pusher and previously 2 FW and small Class C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sculptor Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 We bought a blue "honey pot" at the same time as the trailer. We found we hardly ever stayed longer than 5 days and seldom used it. ( how would you sell that? Very clean, only used once? ) When I hooked it up the first time I discovered my black and grey outlet is below the level of the blue tank inlet. Talk about inconvenient. I suggest looking carefully and even measuring the height of the trailer outlet. Kevin. Kevin and June 2013 Volvo VNL 730 D13 Eco-Torque @ 425 Ratio 2.47 2014 DRV 36TKSB3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dzwiss Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 I use our Blue Boy for a good portion of the year, for various degrees of dry camping. It is 30 gallons and easily holds a weeks worth of black tank contents, so I dump weekly when using it. I have a macerator pump and fill the blue boy on the tailgate of the pickup to control overflows and to make the trek to the dump easier. One location we let the gray water on the ground so it saves trips to the dump. Another we use the campground shower, also saving trips to the dump. Another location we haul all gray and black water to the dump as well as haul fresh water to fill our tank. Just a necessary part of dry camping. 2019 Airstream Flying Cloud 27FB 2011 Ford F350 CC SRW "Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for." Will Rogers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2gypsies Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 Before buying one I'd recommend you try dry camping first and see how your tanks hold up with conservation and how difficult it would be just to move to the dump station rather than dealing with the 'blue boy'. Full-timed for 16 YearsTraveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbaraok Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 Agreed. We can easily do 10-12 days and we'd rather move on and dump than use a blue boy. Or, if we are staying for 2 weeks at a park without FHU, they often have pump-out service and we will pay the fee to get the tanks pumped out. I worked a lot of years in order to be able to enjoy myself in my retirement and hauling sh** back and forth in a small container isn't my idea of an enjoyable retirement. YMMV Barb & Dave O'Keeffe 2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Hiker Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 2 hours ago, Barbaraok said: Agreed. We can easily do 10-12 days and we'd rather move on and dump than use a blue boy. Or, if we are staying for 2 weeks at a park without FHU, they often have pump-out service and we will pay the fee to get the tanks pumped out. I worked a lot of years in order to be able to enjoy myself in my retirement and hauling sh** back and forth in a small container isn't my idea of an enjoyable retirement. YMMV How big is your waste tank? Black & Gray or just black? After all the responses, we may give it a go first before buying. As a new Rv'r, one gets excited and wants all the "toys" haha, but for many there are no need. Happy Trails, Jim & Ginger/Nomad Hikers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Retirement 12/2016 Full-time 04/2017 VanLeigh Vilano/Ford F350 Blog site - https://www.trailer2trail.com/ Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=trailer2trail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Hiker Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 2 hours ago, Barbaraok said: Agreed. We can easily do 10-12 days and we'd rather move on and dump than use a blue boy. Or, if we are staying for 2 weeks at a park without FHU, they often have pump-out service and we will pay the fee to get the tanks pumped out. I worked a lot of years in order to be able to enjoy myself in my retirement and hauling sh** back and forth in a small container isn't my idea of an enjoyable retirement. YMMV Happy Trails, Jim & Ginger/Nomad Hikers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Retirement 12/2016 Full-time 04/2017 VanLeigh Vilano/Ford F350 Blog site - https://www.trailer2trail.com/ Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=trailer2trail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronbo Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 I have a macerated toilet so it uses more water. I also have a macerated pump outside. I have a 35 gal barrel under my kenworth I pump grey water into and dump it. I can do 3 loads in about 30 min. I don't carry black water. I don't want to be responsible for a spill. I pay to have itpumped out when black gets full Ron C. 2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3 2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbaraok Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 4 hours ago, Nomad Hiker said: How big is your waste tank? Black & Gray or just black? After all the responses, we may give it a go first before buying. As a new Rv'r, one gets excited and wants all the "toys" haha, but for many there are no need. Our grey tank is 100 gallons, black tank is just under 80 gallons. And we have 100 gallon freshwater tank. Boondocking we run out of fresh water before waste tanks need to be dumped. Alpine had big tanks. Barb & Dave O'Keeffe 2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 13 hours ago, Nomad Hiker said: After all the responses, we may give it a go first before buying. As a new Rv'r, one gets excited and wants all the "toys" haha, but for many there are no need. 3 Unless your waste tanks are quite small, I think that this would be a good idea. We started our fulltime adventure without one and then got one that was half the size of our waste tanks when we accepted a campground host position with no sewer.(Just guess how I learned that you need a level indicator with a small tank ). With the RV which we had there was a fairly large storage bay at the far back which our axle weight limits didn't allow putting much weight into so I carried it there for the remainder of our tie on the road but only used it rarely. We still own it and even now with our smaller waste tanks in our present part-time travel trailer, I only take it along when I anticipate the need as it really isn't that difficult to move to a dump station if you must and we have learned to stretch the length of time our tanks will keep us. While there are things which are important to consider if you use one, these tanks are not a vital part of the equipment that most of us need. Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimalberta Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 We boondock most of the time now. Don't own a blueboy and wont bother with one. We can go 2 weeks on our fresh and holding tanks. It takes us less Than 2 hrs to pull in the slides, drive to a dump station, dump and fill and be back to our site and set back up. Doing that once every 2 weeks is not a bother in our lives. <p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well. IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Hiker Posted March 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 On 3/28/2017 at 9:20 AM, Jimalberta said: We boondock most of the time now. Don't own a blueboy and wont bother with one. We can go 2 weeks on our fresh and holding tanks. It takes us less Than 2 hrs to pull in the slides, drive to a dump station, dump and fill and be back to our site and set back up. Doing that once every 2 weeks is not a bother in our lives. Thanks! We have decided to hold off on this purchase until we get the lay of the land. We too hope to boondock quite a bit once we acclimate a little. Happy Trails, Jim & Ginger/Nomad Hikers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Retirement 12/2016 Full-time 04/2017 VanLeigh Vilano/Ford F350 Blog site - https://www.trailer2trail.com/ Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=trailer2trail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Hiker Posted March 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 On 3/28/2017 at 7:29 AM, Kirk Wood said: Unless your waste tanks are quite small, I think that this would be a good idea. We started our fulltime adventure without one and then got one that was half the size of our waste tanks when we accepted a campground host position with no sewer.(Just guess how I learned that you need a level indicator with a small tank ). With the RV which we had there was a fairly large storage bay at the far back which our axle weight limits didn't allow putting much weight into so I carried it there for the remainder of our tie on the road but only used it rarely. We still own it and even now with our smaller waste tanks in our present part-time travel trailer, I only take it along when I anticipate the need as it really isn't that difficult to move to a dump station if you must and we have learned to stretch the length of time our tanks will keep us. While there are things which are important to consider if you use one, these tanks are not a vital part of the equipment that most of us need. Happy Trails, Jim & Ginger/Nomad Hikers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Retirement 12/2016 Full-time 04/2017 VanLeigh Vilano/Ford F350 Blog site - https://www.trailer2trail.com/ Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=trailer2trail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoTiredTeachers Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 We switched to a composting toilet. You might consider that if the size of the tanks is a concern. See YouTube for tons of information about composting toilets. Good luck, TwoTiredTeachers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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