Carla's Camper

WanderingRose said:

Yeah, you may have to get in there with a high pressure hose to clean it out.

Many people carry a dedicated hose for just that purpose, to connect to the flush hose at a dump station and use it inside from the toilet end to give things a good scour.

As for water, if you carry 50 gallons of fresh water, that is 350lbs, if I remember correctly, a fair amount of extra weight with fuel prices what they are, which is another consideration.

If that is not an issue, a toilet paperless black tank still has its advantages.

Just my experience and opinion, you’ll work out what is best for you.

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My daughter just asked me if I was using the snake from the toilet end. I don't know any other way to get to it, unless it is from where the poop comes out when I dump the tanks. I can't do that in her driveway.

I do have a dedicated hose, but have never used it. Two times when campers were helping me dump my tanks I offered the drain/ sewer hose AND the bright orange "dirty hose" I bought from Amazon. Both thought the hose was silly. They had never seen a dirty hose. Neither knew what it was for.

I figured it was for spraying out the sewer hose, but maybe for spraying out the tanks?

I watched a video someone posted here recently about taking care of black tanks. It was by a guy who does it professionally. He gave tips. Mostly dispelled rumors. Said ice does nothing, never use additives, always use tons of water. Can't remember what he said about TP.

I'll look for some YT videos. Thanks much, Rose .

Realistically:
Children are not natural conservers of TP as they have major phobias about getting icky poop and pee on their hands. So they are going to use enough TP to clog up the waste tank and they will not want to put it into the trash either. That is why you will need to adapt to the natural behaviors of their younger ages and take them to those public bathroom buildings at appropriate times of the day. That is the only reliable way to reduce the toilet paper clogging behavior when traveling with grandchildren. A different kind of potty training for older youths but still done on a schedule of visits to the toilet. You I am sure remember how to fit your schedule around those types of bathroom breaks you used to have to do when your children were growing up. Nothing new about it other than taking grandchildren to a bathroom that is not inside your home!

maki2 said:

Realistically:
Children are not natural conservers of TP as they have major phobias about getting icky poop and pee on their hands. So they are going to use enough TP to clog up the waste tank and they will not want to put it into the trash either. That is why you will need to adapt to the natural behaviors of their younger ages and take them to those public bathroom buildings at appropriate times of the day. That is the only reliable way to reduce the toilet paper clogging behavior when traveling with grandchildren. A different kind of potty training for older youths but still done on a schedule of visits to the toilet.

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I think you are right. Plus, the first two adults using it didn't know how to flush it, lol. Four grandkids (one a teen) and three adults was too much for it .

We were at a ridiculous campground in which you had to drive to the restrooms. Of course in retrospect we should have drove. Learning the hard way.

maki2 said:

Children are not natural conservers of TP as they have major phobias about getting icky poop and pee on their hands.

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Maybe it's a generational development... There are plenty of articles online addressing kids who play with their poop... and I couldn't find any about them having a phobia of getting it on their hands, so I dunno...

I Googled it. Those articles are for frustrated parents. Or parents of autistic children. Playing with poop is rare in children. Especially children older than two.

My stupid RV toilet only has a sliding handle. You pull it forward. In the youtube videos I found it shows people with their foot on the flushing pedal while they snake the tank.

I can't do that, because the flush handle must be pulled forward pretty far in order to open the hole to the tank.

^ Bungee cord or rope to hold it open?

rruff said:

Maybe it's a generational development... There are plenty of articles online addressing kids who play with their poop... and I couldn't find any about them having a phobia of getting it on their hands, so I dunno...

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I guess you have never been a mother who has to deal with buying a ton of toilet paper and need to use a toilet plunger a lot more frquently that you could possibly imagine should be needed I say what I said from experience of growing up in a family with 5 children and having been a mother, a foster mother, a day care worker, and a thankfully very few months spent as a janitor at an elementary school. Children are easily grossed out.

rruff said:

^ Bungee cord or rope to hold it open?

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My granddaughter held the handle. The snake did nothing. If I have to pay to get this fixed, nobody will use my toilet again... except me.

My plan was to have my guests use the bucket toilet. I have a nice tent for it and a Luggable Loo. Another bucket for pine pellets and twinkle lights

But that @#$%^&* campground was so strict... no way could I have used a shower tent. As it was we were busted for having suitcases in the Gazelle screen room. Yup... they peeked in the screen room. Then they pounded on the shower door asking my daughter who she was and why she didn't respond to the email about the violation, lol.

Blame that on the smashed Pixel 7... I never gave them my new phone number. Well, it was an email... guess I wasn't checking my email and they couldn't call me. But they knew where I was camping. Geez.

So the bucket toilet for guests was a no go.

^^^Just hope no one put a soda can in there! They make a high pressure wand which has a 3’ straight portion with a 45 degree 3 or 4 inch bend terminating in a tiny high pressure jet that attaches to a garden hose. You can usually get through the toilet opening. Usually the black tank is a pretty straight shot out to the knife valve. Also they make a clear plastic insert that attaches between the valve and the discharge hose with an additional garden hose fitting that allows you to back flush with pressure directly through the knife valve. Putting Dawn dish detergent in helps dissolve grease buildup and makes everything slippery which helps. What ever you do don’t let the tank dry out with anything in it as it will turn into a concrete type deposit.

bullfrog ! said:

What ever you do don’t let the tank dry out with anything in it as it will turn into a concrete type deposit.

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Thanks Bullfrog

If you haven’t held the handle open and used a flashlight to look inside your toilet I would do that.

Would give you a better idea of what is going on in there, as sometimes the gauges don’t work properly.

That campground sounds, umm, a bit disturbed, and one I would not want to visit.

Private campgrounds will not usually allow an outdoor toilet or shower, for aesthetics.

Carla618 said:

But that @#$%^&* campground was so strict

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But it wasn't a CAMPGROUND............It's an RV PARK............different animals !

^^^And their rules are generally based on state and county zoning laws as well as in Escapees Parks what the people living there want done. Most are full time residents with agreements as share holders that allow short term visitors as a convenience to traveling members. Some even require you have holding tanks so it pays to check out their published rules or ask at the front office especially if traveling in a vehicle converted to an RV.

Many private campgrounds fine tune to a fault any local rules, and will not allow camping in a vehicle, you must have a purpose built RV or a tent.

Public campgrounds, county/state/federal, are much less restrictive.

It is difficult to imagine even private campground owners entering a screen tent to see what is inside.

It may be this was not overly strict rules but a camp host run amuck, as that happens, too.

WanderingRose said:

Many private campgrounds fine tune to a fault any local rules, and will not allow camping in a vehicle, you must have a purpose built RV or a tent.

Public campgrounds, county/state/federal, are much less restrictive.

It is difficult to imagine even private campground owners entering a screen tent to see what is inside.

It may be this was not overly strict rules but a camp host run amuck, as that happens, too.

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The previous campground host at that park (and her husband) were there. We were doing laundry together when one daughter came to the laundry room to explain that someone was harassing the other daughter in the shower.

They (the previous hosts) know what happened and I'm sure will report it to the right people. They apologized to us for Escapees.

bullfrog ! said:

^^^And their rules are generally based on state and county zoning laws as well as in Escapees Parks what the people living there want done. Most are full time residents with agreements as share holders that allow short term visitors as a convenience to traveling members. Some even require you have holding tanks so it pays to check out their published rules or ask at the front office especially if traveling in a vehicle converted to an RV.

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I did check out the rules before booking there . Of course my trailer has holding tanks.

The only reason we left was because the woman in the office scared my daughter and 5 year old granddaughter while they were in a shower. For no good reason.

WanderingRose said:

Many private campgrounds fine tune to a fault any local rules, and will not allow camping in a vehicle, you must have a purpose built RV or a tent.

Public campgrounds, county/state/federal, are much less restrictive.

It is difficult to imagine even private campground owners entering a screen tent to see what is inside.

It may be this was not overly strict rules but a camp host run amuck, as that happens, too.

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Thanks Rose. The campground is kinda dumpy and our view was of a trailer park across a highway/road. No privacy at all. And the tile fields behind every site sometimes smelled . No campfires allowed. And the pool doesn't open til memorial day.

And we were fine with all that , because we came for Gulf Shores beaches.

Similar things happened to two of my camping neighbors. Think it's time the place got new hosts .

Edit: I showed my kids and grandkids a video I found on YT of the park before we went. It looked so sunny, clean... with a big swimming pool (in the adjacent subdivision. The sites looked big, because you don't know that half the site is off limits (due to tile fields).

abnorm said:

But it wasn't a CAMPGROUND............It's an RV PARK............different animals !

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I understand that, but all we wanted to do was sleep and shower... for $30.00 a night. So we accepted no campfires, the smelly tile fields, the view of the trailer park across the road, etc.

You still expect privacy inside your screen room The only ppl who could see inside the screen room were ppl across the highway, if they had binoculars.

Btw, just looked at the literature about the place. The swimming pool was their biggest selling point, next to the price. Nowhere does it say the pool doesn't open until Memorial Weekend.

Thank goodness for State and National Forests and Parks. And BLM.

Tech guy at a big RV Dealership explained how to unclog the toilet/tank. He said you use the dirty hose and do it at a dump station. (Think you explained this, Rose).

Off to a local campground.

I’m not big on writing bad reviews, but this campground might warrant it.

For unsuspecting others.