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Old 06-21-2015, 08:11 PM   #1
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Portable Dump Tank

Hi,
I've seen some people at campgrounds with portable dumping tanks, they are kind of flat with wheels on one end.
I'm wondering how convenient they really are to use.

I'm going to be at a site in a few weeks that has no sewer hook up. I'll be at that site for about 11 days and I'm sure I will need to dump my tanks at some point during that time. I was thinking of getting one of those portable tanks so I don't need to pull my whole RV out (Hard spot to get into each time) and dump the tanks.
How well do these tanks do the job?
I guess I would dump my tank into the portable tank, then bring the portable tank down to the dump station; doing once for gray and once for black.
What do you all think about them?

Thanks!
Mike
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Old 06-21-2015, 09:06 PM   #2
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We have one that we use but I have never emptied my black tank with it. When we camp for a long period of time we try to use the public restrooms as much as possible and use the portable tank for the grey. Depending on what type of campsite your are in the portable tanks can be a pain to use especially the larger one like I have.
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Old 06-21-2015, 09:15 PM   #3
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I don't have one, but am interested. You don't NEED to make two trips, remember that ultimately, black and gray end up in the same place. But based on volume, you very well may want to do black first, then gray as a "rinse", then perhaps even clean water. If you are in your spot for a while, you may want to back flush your black tank, too. But then what? You can flush and rinse, and end up with a used, but pretty clean, potty tank on wheels. Where do you keep it? Where to you put it for travel? Where do you put it when you get home? These are the things I thought about, and then reasoned, "forget it.... I'll use the camp toilets and showers as much as possible, and if I have to move once or twice to dump, then I will...." And that's where I ended up... But I am still interested in this thread!
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Old 06-21-2015, 10:41 PM   #4
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Wish I had some advice...but do not. I gave the portable poo tank a thought but after contemplating the additional oversight that such a tank would require, I decided "no thanks". Somehow, the mere thought of hauling the tank of goodness down the camp road to the nearest dump station did not appeal to me.
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Old 06-21-2015, 11:03 PM   #5
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Side story. Busy weekend at a nice FL spot recently. Only site avail was water/elec. Started moving TT out to go dump tank. Guy next door (also water/elec) said, look, a full hookup just pulled out across the road! Go there, he said. I did, and a few moments later, so did he. We both dumped our tanks in the now-vacant spot across the road. He had just pulled in to his spot, as I was leveling our TT, when a new TT pulled in across the street! We both laughed about whether the new guy could tell if the pipes were still warm! LOL
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Old 06-22-2015, 12:04 AM   #6
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I own one and if your not afraid of a little smell, these work well.You need two flexible hoses, one with the connectors at both ends, for the trailer to dumper, and one hose with one connector for dumper to waste station hole. They have a gate valve on the side for releasing, and top openings for cleaning and air intake when dumping. the handle has a ring on its end which fits nicely on a ball hitch to tow to the station. or you can pull it manually. I empty the black tank first, then the gray tanks. Just be careful to not let it overflow. They make several sizes, but drain to ground clearance dictated that I got a shorter one, and make 2-3 trips. when done, just rinse everything well at the station, and a good pair of rubberized gloves is a must. It travels in the puller truck bed, or some secure it to the trailer for transport. Ask Rube Goldberg for his ideas. Prices range from 2-4 hundred?
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Old 06-22-2015, 06:16 AM   #7
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Thanks for the input. This particular site I'll be staying at I know well, been there many times. Luckily it is about 50 yards from the bathhouse, so we do use the bath house mostly. Most of the problem for this particular campground is with the gray water tank (washing dishes, etc...). Guess we will bring paper plates/cups! It's a bear of a site to back into though, not something I want to do twice on one trip not to mention the inconvenience of closing up the rig and moving everything out of the way.

Where to store/transport the portable tank is definitely something to think about. They are not small. Could put it anywhere before it's used, but if it was ever used for black tank, might be hard fully get the smell out of it.

BTW -- when camping in sites with no sewer, I too have used an empty sites hookup to dump my tank before leaving so I don't have to wait in line at the single dump site most campgrounds have. It's usually early in the morning so no one is waiting to get into the site and I can take my time.

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Old 06-22-2015, 10:05 AM   #8
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We are seasonal and use a portable tank for black water. There is a drain for the gray water (must go thru garden hose on a different cap).

I can give you a couple suggestions. First, JCWhitney was cheapest place to get one - and google a promo code (I saved $25 with free shipping). Second, look at tank size and baggage door size. Ours will fit in the front baggage door if we need to store it. Since we are seasonal and trailer rarely moves, it usually just sits underneath camper.

If you feel like spending the $$, ours has the dump valve on the side, which makes it a much more pleasant process (versus tip and dump).

Also, just like the RV tank, lots of water, soap, and rinsing keeps odor at bay.
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Old 06-22-2015, 10:38 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frosty42 View Post
Wish I had some advice...but do not. I gave the portable poo tank a thought but after contemplating the additional oversight that such a tank would require, I decided "no thanks". Somehow, the mere thought of hauling the tank of goodness down the camp road to the nearest dump station did not appeal to me.

Your thoughts are some times exactly what can happen.
I seen one of those honey wagons being towed thru the campgrounds headed for the dump station, and unknown to the driver it came unhooked from the ball hitch on his truck. Oh boy, what a s+++ mess when it finally came to an abrupt stop.
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Old 06-22-2015, 11:51 AM   #10
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We don't have one. We do like Ken does. We try and use the campground restrooms and try to limit our showers to a few minutes. I learned something from watching some rv videos. The whole video was about boondocking. They said that the Cabela stores have free trailer dumps and that they are very friendly towards rvers. I drove out to our local Cabela's and sure enough, at the side of the building, there was a camper dump station along with a potable water supply. Good to know.
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Old 06-22-2015, 12:01 PM   #11
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I know this is a no-no, and I never do it, but I have wondered what the harm would be to dump a gray tank at the site -- at least when the site has an appropriate place to dump it. I've been at plenty of sites where there were woods behind me and it seems harmless enough to dump some gray water there. But as I said, never did it.
Our gray water tank almost always fills up more then the black tank; I guess because of dish/hand washing. We only use the toilet in the RV for late night business.
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Old 06-22-2015, 12:01 PM   #12
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That's funny Lloyd. I've seen those things towed around the grounds also, but never what you saw. Funny and then again, not so funny!
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Old 06-22-2015, 12:34 PM   #13
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The blue tanks work very well. Make sure you get one with four wheels, unless you are superman. I bought the two wheel tote and learned very quickly the tank needs four wheels. Because I didn't want to buy a 2'nd tote I added front wheels to mine.
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Old 06-22-2015, 01:28 PM   #14
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Natchtmsk there are some campgrounds that do allow exposing of grey water by your site. A campsite the we frequently visit is one and what we did is we bought a sewer cap that has the garden hose attachment and we attach a 100ft garden hose to it and run it down a hill behind our campsite (not near anyone else either) and when the tank fills up we let some out as needed. It is nice to be able to do that but I wouldn't want to be able to do that at most campgrounds.
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Old 06-22-2015, 03:08 PM   #15
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Quote:
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Natchtmsk there are some campgrounds that do allow exposing of grey water by your site. A campsite the we frequently visit is one and what we did is we bought a sewer cap that has the garden hose attachment and we attach a 100ft garden hose to it and run it down a hill behind our campsite (not near anyone else either) and when the tank fills up we let some out as needed. It is nice to be able to do that but I wouldn't want to be able to do that at most campgrounds.
Very interesting! I've learned that before 1974, gray tanks weren't required. But the campers of that day were often equipped with 5 gallon water capacity (cold only) that was hand-pumped into a little sink. The sink outlet was configured for a garden hose to a bucket or the dirt outside. The only black tank back then was the bottom of a hassock-style porta-potty, which I remember carrying to the dump station!
The fear in allowing the above procedure, even if the terrain and management allow it, is that you are one "wrong handle pull" from a big mess!
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Old 06-24-2015, 08:41 AM   #16
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I own one it was a gift from a friend. They purchased it and never used it. It's very convenient. I used it when we stayed for a few weeks at a state park. It has a valve just like the RV and the handle fits on your tow ball so you can drive it to the dump. It also has a hose connection so you can flush it.
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Old 06-24-2015, 08:08 PM   #17
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We have one, but only use it when we are staying more than two nights at a state park that doesn't have sewer hookups. Ours is the type that has wheels at the front and back and you hook the drawbar over your hitch ball on the back of the truck to pull it to the dump station. It has a dump valve and a vent, and works fine. Of course, I would prefer a sewer hookup at the site, but this is the next best thing if you are staying several days at a campground that doesn't offer that luxury.
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Old 06-24-2015, 08:33 PM   #18
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We have a 22 gallon blue tank. We often camp at a state park in Florida for a week or more and have had to empty the gray water. My tank has 2 wheels and a handle device that I hook over the ball of the hitch to haul up to the dump site. We can usually make it the entire time without having to empty the black water, although our last trip was 11 days so I did have to empty some of it. I prefer not to have to worry with the black water, but it went fine. I store my portable tank in the front storage area.
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Old 06-26-2015, 07:56 AM   #19
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We always use the shower and restrooms at the state parks, my dad started camping with us and at 87 had to use restroom, then wife started using camper bathroom. So we purchased a portable tank 35 gals (with 4 wheels). I just monitor how much use they get then dump. I don't find it terribly in convent, it certainly iß easier to use the camper than taking a walk. My wife pointed out why did we spend all this money if we don't use it. To me the hardest part is traveling with the tank, still working on various ideas. It has been working out for us.
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Old 06-27-2015, 07:45 PM   #20
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I have been using one for a couple of years. It comes in handy when you don't have full service. Get one with wheels on the front or you will carrying it. Full load can be quite heavy depending on its size.
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