Camping: Conserving Holding Tank space

Post by **Woodglue** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 11:46 am

Our RV holding tanks are pretty small [50 / 30 / 30] and they dictate the duration of our dry-camping plans.
To prevent sink water from running down the drain, we bought these tubs that fit perfectly into the sinks to catch the water. Generally, this water is just from washing your hands or rinsing something off. Once full, you can dispose of the water in another way.

This keeps our gray tank pretty dry... now if I could just figure out how to do this with our Black Tank.

I've posted this before, so if you're reading this for the 2nd time, then I apologize.

crash · Post by **crash** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:33 pm

No apology neccessary, you PW!!!!

Sloppyduner · Post by **Sloppyduner** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:20 pm

YA PW.

Post by **Woodglue** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:32 pm

crash wrote:No apology neccessary, you PW!!!!

Sloppyduner wrote:YA PW.

You wanna talk about PW'ing

We can talk about PW'ing

What about this Holding Tank that you are both guilty of dumping in camp

OBSESSED · Post by **OBSESSED** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:51 pm

now if I could just figure out how to do this with our Black Tank

Look... if you're full of poo, you're full of poo....

30 gallons of poo is your tank...?????

That seems like a lot of poo to me!

Rules to never fill your pooper tank:

1-No TP! Have a bag next to toliet and start your campfire every night with the bag!

2-Use very little water

3-Have a cleaner product with a high pressure nozzle to blast down your logs

Ha-ha... you had me going there for as minute...
You dont really want to :

figure out how to do this with our Black Tank

Good one.. ha-ha...

Post by **LoBuck** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 11:06 pm

OBSESSED wrote:Rules to never fill your pooper tank:

1-No TP! Have a bag next to toliet and start your campfire every night with the bag!

2-Use very little water

3-Have a cleaner product with a high pressure nozzle to blast down your logs

I was looking for #4. You posted about it before. Your sister-in-law that only poos once a week.

Why do I remember stuff like that anyway?

Post by **jhitesma** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 12:16 am

I'm just trying to figure out how he got the screwdriver handles onto the tongs.

The flipper is easy...but the tongs....that's got me wondering....

Post by **LoBuck** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 12:26 am

jhitesma wrote:I'm just trying to figure out how he got the screwdriver handles onto the tongs.

Craftsman 5 pc. Barbecue Set Just $17.49

crash · Post by **crash** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:55 am

Woodglue wrote:
crash wrote:No apology neccessary, you PW!!!!

Sloppyduner wrote:YA PW.
You wanna talk about PW'ing We can talk about PW'ing What about this Holding Tank that you are both guilty of dumping in camp

How come there's no smiley faces or anything resembling funny language in your reply? We didn't push one of your buttons, did we?

Post by **Woodglue** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 1:24 pm

crash wrote:
Woodglue wrote:
crash wrote:No apology neccessary, you PW!!!!

Sloppyduner wrote:YA PW.
You wanna talk about PW'ing We can talk about PW'ing What about this Holding Tank that you are both guilty of dumping in camp
How come there's no smiley faces or anything resembling funny language in your reply? We didn't push one of your buttons, did we?

No, I just don't like it when people dump in camp and then point at my trailer!

crash · Post by **crash** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 1:55 pm

What's that line from the Blues Brothers? "If the sheott fits....."

Post by **jhitesma** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:17 pm

LoBuck wrote:
jhitesma wrote:I'm just trying to figure out how he got the screwdriver handles onto the tongs.
Craftsman 5 pc. Barbecue Set Just $17.49

Then I'm officially no longer impressed

Thought it was a slick homemade setup from old tools. Was giving me ideas about how to personalize my own BBQ set!

Post by **Woodglue** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:21 pm

jhitesma wrote:
LoBuck wrote:
jhitesma wrote:I'm just trying to figure out how he got the screwdriver handles onto the tongs.
Craftsman 5 pc. Barbecue Set Just $17.49
Then I'm officially no longer impressed

Thought it was a slick homemade setup from old tools. Was giving me ideas about how to personalize my own BBQ set!

They make nice Christmas gifts though... every guy in my family got a set last year. It's funny though, on the back, it says something like "Considered a utensil, not a tool. Not guaranteed for life"

f-BOB · Post by **f-BOB** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:22 am

LoBuck wrote:
OBSESSED wrote:Rules to never fill your pooper tank:

1-No TP! Have a bag next to toliet and start your campfire every night with the bag!

2-Use very little water

3-Have a cleaner product with a high pressure nozzle to blast down your logs
I was looking for #4. You posted about it before. Your sister-in-law that only poos once a week.

Why do I remember stuff like that anyway?

I dunno why you remember it, but i wanna know why I clkicked on that link!??? WTH?

crash · Post by **crash** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:26 am

Like woody's tank, your sis-in-law must be full of ****!

Post by **Woodglue** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:46 am

Woody's black tank is the duration dictator of our dry-camping trips.

But, now, I've got a Glamis Honey Wagon number programed into my cell! $\:D/$

crash · Post by **crash** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:02 am

How long do you stay usually when it's full? My family camps dry at the beach in a camper for a week and don't fill the black or gray. It's a 20B/20G/30F setup. We DO have to bring an extra 10 gallons of fresh water, and we HAVE filled the gray before, but NEVER the black.

I can't believe you have a problem still if you are mindful of the issue. (poop at home before you leave, etc)

Post by **Woodglue** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:44 am

We have a 30B/30G/50F, after dry camping with 2 adult men, 1 adult woman and my boy for 5 nights, our gauges reads:
Black: Full
Gray: 1/3 Full
Fresh: 2/3 Full.
Now granted, this is per the gauge which has never worked right on the Black Tank. I have never had a truely "FULL" black tank to the point where it wont flush anymore, but it does make me a little nervous after the gauge goes from 2/3 full to Full and we still have a night or two left. Somewhere on this board, I once posted a formula for this... like:

30 gallons / 3.5 adults = 8.57 gallons each / 6 nights = 1.4 gallons per night per person.

crash · Post by **crash** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:50 am

I don't think there has EVER been a guage that was accurate on the holding tanks after six months of use. The problem seems to be buildup in the tank. A sludge builds up, unless you are extremely vigilent, and the guages stop working.

Post by **Woodglue** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:58 am

I have a whole new build-up problem now. Actually, it's more of a clog.

On the way back from Glamis last Monday, I stopped to dump in Brawley. I pulled the black valve and about 2 gallong of volume passed throught the hose... then it stopped. I dumped a bucket of water down the toilet real fast, but this didn't help.
I got home and ran the tank full of water, up to the toilet. Then I dumped some RV Holding Tank cleaner / agent in there too.
My plan is to let us soak and dump again on our way out of town next Wed.
Fingers crossed!

crash · Post by **crash** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:05 am

I know this may sound nasty, but I usually don't dump until I am leaving. I dump into my septic system on my way out. Right after I dump I put some water into the tank and then a packet of septic tank "digester". This seems to work well. The only issue I had was the septic showed signs of overflow last time it was serviced. I had an effluent filter put on and that should make things double safe for the septic system. Just a precaution really.

Post by **Woodglue** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:10 am

The digester doesn't screw up the environment of your spetic tank?

crash · Post by **crash** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:23 am

NO. You are talking about the "sanitizer" not a "digester". A digester is microbial bacteria that break down the solids into liquids. As far as I know, the septic services throw one in when the tank is serviced to "get things going" and then it is pretty much self sustaining. That's why you want to limit your use of harsh chemicals like chlorine bleach, and amonia. Those will kill the bacteria.