Do you have tank envy?

[jimindenver]

A few times at the RTR and since I have had someone mention how it must be nice to have the fresh water tank, running water, bathroom, shower and it is. There is a darker side to it.

On the fresh water side there is sanitizing every so often which means draining the system and refilling it with water that has bleach in it. That has to sit and then be rinsed out and refilled.

Have it become freezing day and night the system has to be drained, the hot water heater accessed and by passed so that the lines can be filled with anti-freeze. When it warms up I have to rinse that out, unbypass the hot water heater and refill the systems. A hot water heater uses a lot of propane by the way. It also has to be drained and cleaned out every so often.

The waste side is where the real fun begins. You believe that all you have to do is pull up to a dump station, hook up a hose and pull the levers. The truth is those two tanks stink to high heaven, especially in the 100 degree heat I have been seeing in Yuma. Even being at a park and being able to keep them from getting full, the residue will turn you green. Yes I did say two tanks too. The grey water tank can be as bad or worse than the black. What goes down your sink can ferment, poop doesn't.

I spent a few hours out in the 95 degree heat cleaning out the tanks as part of my getting ready to leave. It takes a lot of water so it had to be done when I had hook ups. First I hook up the sewer hose and pull first the black lever, then the grey. After that I dump a 5 gal bucket of water down the toilet to get rid of anything that was floating and you can see the hose jiggle when there was. Next I place a clear tube between the outlet and hose so I can see what is coming out. That tube hooks up to a hose and sprays water back into the black tank. The idea is to keep rinsing the tank until you see only clear water running out. It really only rinses the bottom of the tank so a hose has to come inside to connect to a wand. The wand has a hose on it with a high pressure spinning tip that I run down the toilet in to the tank so that the high pressure tip can not only rinse the sides but also blast anything off that has become stuck. Let a tank get plugged up and you just don't want to know what has to be done.

The devices that are used to clean out the black tank don't really work on the grey. The pipe is smaller so the water jet from the clear tube doesn't rinse it out well. There is also no way to get the spinny thing down a drain like you can a toilet. The best I can do is keep rinsing it until the water comes out clear and hope it doesn't reek down the road. The last thing to do is take all of the devices off, clean them, the hoses and myself.

One more thing about having tanks. You can't see them to tell how full any one of them is so RV'rs use "the panel" The panel is suppose to tell you how full the fresh, grey and black tanks are. In my case you push the right button and one of four LEDs lights up saying full, 2/3, 1/3 and empty. I can tell you that they lie. 1/3 can mean anything from just above empty to just below 2/3. 2/3 can mean so full that if you take a shower you can be standing in water at the end. I have had the fresh tank say 1/3 only to have to go out and add water after getting soaped up.

So the next time you feel a bit envious of the person in the RV parked next to you, just remember that not always so enviable. The RV'r might just be pooping in a bag and tossing it just to avoid the hassle.

 

[Almost There]

A very good explanation for why I chose not to have tanks plumbed in....  

I use a 2 1/2 gallon container for under the sink - gets me usually 4 to 5 days of dish water. When the jug gets yucky I replace it.

The C-Head uses 1 gallon water jugs for liquid collection. When one gets disgusting, I trade it for another 1 gallon jug from my fresh water supply totes and then buy another water jug at W/M for 88 cents.

The solid collection only has to be dealt with about once every month to six weeks. It's a little bit malodorous when transferring it but overall it's a whole lot better than dealing with black water tanks.

My solar shower works great and if I want really high pressure showers there's always a place to find one.

I also don't have to clean the shower stall or pay dump fees.

No thanks, never again BTDT, don't want the t-shirt!

 

[tesaje]

A few times at the RTR and since I have had someone mention how it must be nice to have the fresh water tank, running water, bathroom, shower and it is. There is a darker side to it.

On the fresh water side there is sanitizing every so often which means draining the system and refilling it with water that has bleach in it. That has to sit and then be rinsed out and refilled.

Have it become freezing day and night the system has to be drained, the hot water heater accessed and by passed so that the lines can be filled with anti-freeze. When it warms up I have to rinse that out, unbypass the hot water heater and refill the systems. A hot water heater uses a lot of propane by the way. It also has to be drained and cleaned out every so often.

The waste side is where the real fun begins. You believe that all you have to do is pull up to a dump station, hook up a hose and pull the levers. The truth is those two tanks stink to high heaven, especially in the 100 degree heat I have been seeing in Yuma. Even being at a park and being able to keep them from getting full, the residue will turn you green. Yes I did say two tanks too. The grey water tank can be as bad or worse than the black. What goes down your sink can ferment, poop doesn't.

I spent a few hours out in the 95 degree heat cleaning out the tanks as part of my getting ready to leave. It takes a lot of water so it had to be done when I had hook ups. First I hook up the sewer hose and pull first the black lever, then the grey. After that I dump a 5 gal bucket of water down the toilet to get rid of anything that was floating and you can see the hose jiggle when there was. Next I place a clear tube between the outlet and hose so I can see what is coming out. That tube hooks up to a hose and sprays water back into the black tank. The idea is to keep rinsing the tank until you see only clear water running out. It really only rinses the bottom of the tank so a hose has to come inside to connect to a wand. The wand has a hose on it with a high pressure spinning tip that I run down the toilet in to the tank so that the high pressure tip can not only rinse the sides but also blast anything off that has become stuck. Let a tank get plugged up and you just don't want to know what has to be done.

The devices that are used to clean out the black tank don't really work on the grey. The pipe is smaller so the water jet from the clear tube doesn't rinse it out well. There is also no way to get the spinny thing down a drain like you can a toilet. The best I can do is keep rinsing it until the water comes out clear and hope it doesn't reek down the road. The last thing to do is take all of the devices off, clean them, the hoses and myself.

One more thing about having tanks. You can't see them to tell how full any one of them is so RV'rs use "the panel" The panel is suppose to tell you how full the fresh, grey and black tanks are. In my case you push the right button and one of four LEDs lights up saying full, 2/3, 1/3 and empty. I can tell you that they lie. 1/3 can mean anything from just above empty to just below 2/3. 2/3 can mean so full that if you take a shower you can be standing in water at the end. I have had the fresh tank say 1/3 only to have to go out and add water after getting soaped up.

So the next time you feel a bit envious of the person in the RV parked next to you, just remember that not always so enviable. The RV'r might just be pooping in a bag and tossing it just to avoid the hassle.

Yep. I do the sawdust bag in my toilet to extend water and avoid the black tank. My gray stays ok by scrupulously keeping any crap going down the drain and biodegradable soaps.

Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk

 

[BradKW]

Isn't there something that can be added to the gray tank to control smell, like bleach maybe?

I'll be installing tanks before too long...was looking at a water meter instead of a sending unit to track tank capacity. Also saw a spinning wand thing that installs inside the tank for clean outs...looked like it would hook to a hose and spin/rinse.

 

[jimindenver]

Brad

I am sure there is something to add to the grey tank if nothing more than what is used in the black. Some of those smell so bad to me that it's just better to keep it clean. Some just make it smell like perfumed poop. In any event if it is something someone thinks you will spend money on, I'm sure it's out there.

I have heard of devices in the tanks and how they can be a hassle to winterize.

 

[SoulRaven]

"jimindenver", you appear to have a higher education in RVing. You are right about those tank chemicals, most, if not all, just seem to go to war with one another and no one wins the battle! We are just trying something else with good reviews, a more natural addictive, if it turns out to be good, and today we have 90 degrees in the sun, I'll let everyone know what it is.

I want to be in a teardrop or mini trailer after 9 RVs with "amenities". I would love to have my kitchen either outside or just not at all. "Less is more" and I'm sticking to it! Started out in a tent, it was fun, lots of time to play outside. One reason I think people fail the RV life is trying to live a "house" life in a tiny space, it will drive you bonkers!!! I know this for a fact!

No tank envy here! "Less is more."

 

[hepcat]

Jim, having had tanks in almost every RV I've owned (and I've owned a lot of them...) I've never once regretted having holding tanks. And I've never found the maintenance to be as onerous as you seem to think it is.

I also use enzyme chemicals in my black tank, and I can't ever recall having an odor issue with the gray tank... but I'm scrupulous about not putting anything in the gray tank but sink and shower water. And I scrape all solids from my plates really well.

Yes, tanks require maintenance from time to time, but I never regret having them.

 

[speedhighway46]

On my Peterbilt motorhome I carry 50 gallons of fresh, and capacity for 50 gallons of gray water; no black water capacity. I carry bottled water for drinking and cooking.

To keep both the tanks "fresh" I put a cup of bleach in the fresh water tank when I fill it; and the gray water tank, when it's emptied and flushed, gets two cups of bleech and a cup of scented fabric softener. Never have an odor problem from either tank.

Just my opinion . . .

 

[StarEcho]

My tanks did not come with any monitors, so I had these installed:

https://tankedge.com/products.html

These sensors go on the outside the of the tanks and don't get fooled by stuck on mess in the tanks.  And what I especially like is that it's not a vague 1/4 full which can be anything from 1/4 to almost 1/2 full, but a precise % full.  And I can set alarms for fullness or emptyness.  So if my fresh water tank gets below 15% I can have it alarm.    I really like them.  They weren't especially cheap, but I do think they were worth the cost since I did not have ANY tank monitors at all.

 

[bullfrog]

I have an older RV with one holding tank for both grey and black water. Before we travel we dump and a bag of crushed ice goes down the toilet and scrubs it as we drive. Nothing goes in the tank except liquids and what comes out of us, no paper as it goes a gallon air tight freezer bag, no garbage as the strainer catches seeds and food scraps. What keeps it from smelling is keeping it clean. When on hookups it is easy with this system because our shower and sink flow through the tank from the opposite side of the gate valve, in fact since the tank is sloped towards the gate valve we can leave it open while hooked up and just run a bath tub of soapy water through it. I never have any of the problems people have with the separate gray and black tank system or that put paper and garbage where it shouldn't go.

 

[Queen]

I watched my folks deal with RV after RV, the tanks were not an issue for my dad, but after he was gone mom was a little less capable and ended up with poop concrete in her black tank... a few hundred bucks to replace the tank, only to have it happen again. Both times where when she was sitting for a while without moving and without a sewer connection.

My mom liked to tell me that "any trip you take in an RV, expect to have to repair something... and deal with poop". I think I'd prefer no tanks or fussing, just not a fan, and I prefer simplicity.

 

[SoulRaven]

When using bleach, depending on your toilet and its seals, it can be very drying to the seals while it may not be everyone's experience, we been RVing for over 30 years and know it does happen. We avoid chemicals, it is a "health" thing, that includes both bleach and fabric softener. I saw some device, supposed to sell at Amazon, where you can hook the gray tank to drain through the black tank, said to extend gray water usage and wash out the black, I always wondered why that wasn't done, of course, there are people who drain their gray water on the ground, that is still legal in some limited areas from what I understand, I don't know if you could open and close it when needed, but I think that would be a better deal.

 

[jimindenver]

While factual, my post is a bit tongue in cheek.

This is only the second time in 8 seasons that I have cleaned out the black tank, not because I'm disgusting but rather we didn't use it for black water. We did use the first trip out, decided it wasn't worth being in a camp ground just to be hooked up and headed back up into the hills. We had been using a bucket toilet since the 80's, bagging the trailers toilet saves a lot of water and doubles the grey water capacity. That's a good thing when a water run is 50 miles each way. I have been in a few parks this year and while nice to have hook ups occasionally, it's time to get back out and about. That and 100 f in March is a bit extreme for me.

 

[LoupGarou]

I've been using the 5 gallon water cooler bottles one can find at Walmart for my fresh water needs. Amazon sells a hand pump made by Dolphin that works well to pull water out of them.

 

[mayble]

I could live with the dumping process when I had a motorhome but I hated being limited by when/where to dump, not to mention the water waste.
Not quite the spontaneous, carefree travel that I had in mind.

 

[wagoneer]

I have a 20gal fresh water tank in the slide in and have never used it. Just got so used to buckets and 5 gal containers I am looking into easy removable semi permanent Fresh water holder to replace the strapped in tank that way still able to use the 12 volt pump.

 

[DuneElliot]

I have avoided the black tank issue by not using it for solid waste or TP, then it is only liquid waste in there and lots of water. The gray tank is similar...shower water with a occasional bit of natural soap and no food particles. If I wash dishes in the sink I use a wash bowl and then dump it outside...funny that doing that is legal, but dumping a gray tank is not...same stuff in it.

The fresh water tank maintenance is negligible in my book especially if you use a filter or two.

 

[jimindenver]

When honey and I were stretching everything to stay out as long as possible we did our dishes in tubs and watered the bushes afterwards. The thing is that dish water likely hasn't been sitting there for weeks and not everyone filters it or takes precautions to make sure it doesn't smell. It like the tank it is in can stink to high heaven, have some nasty stuff growing in it and attract bugs. I'm not saying what anyone else does is right or wrong but grey water can be disgusting.

The other thing is while a tub of dish water is a few gallons, my grey tank which is considered small is 27 gallons. That kind of water doesn't just go away in a short time even in a dry climate. I can tell you that I wouldn't want Max sniffing around where I dumped my tank, that's for sure.

 

[ArtW]

I have no issues with the tanks on my RV so farm but I'm careful about what goes into the grey tank, put no TP in the black tanks, and I have full hookups if I wanted to, also my TT is less than a year old
I use the fresh tank because I've heard some tales about city water being too high pressure for some RVs

 

[DuneElliot]

I have no issues with the tanks on my RV so farm but I'm careful about what goes into the grey tank, put no TP in the black tanks, and I have full hookups if I wanted to, also my TT is less than a year old
I use the fresh tank because I've heard some tales about city water being too high pressure for some RVs

Pressure regulator for city hookups...I like the ones with a visible gauge so you know it's doing it's job.