I'm pretty new at this, but I recently bought a slide-in truck camper that has been around the block a few times (originally built in 1994). This camper doesn't have a gray water tank. I chased the pipe(s) from the kitchen sink and bathroom sink to where they join the toilet right before it hits the black water tank.90% of the time I shouldn't need to use the black water tank for its intended purpose, but I hate to have to spend the time dumping "black water" that isn't really black. I'd like to just hook up the sink drains so that I can divert from the black water and dispose of it separately (but still have the option to dump to the black water tank). Is it enough to just put a diverter valve in there or do I need to do a check valve between my gray water side and black water side?In the future I might build a gray water tank that sits in the space between the camper and the bed of the truck as well.

So what do you plan to do with they grey water? If you plan to just let it run to ground, where do you plan to do this?

wildtoad wrote:So what do you plan to do with they grey water? If you plan to just let it run to ground, where do you plan to do this?Most all actual campgrounds prohibit running "grey" water out on the ground.As long as you can be absolutely positively sure that the toilet won't be used for it's intended purpose......just leave the dump valve open. No need for complicated and expensive modifications.

I've been to campground where the tenters wash themselves and their dishes in the community sink that dumps directly onto the ground. I've also seen people brushing their teeth at the water spigot and spitting toothpaste onto the ground. I don't think a little shower effluent is going to do more harm that that. Of course, most campgrounds prohibit these activities and an open hose spewing water would probably attract attention.However, water is your best friend when it comes to keeping the black tank from plugging up. If you're having capacity problems, I'd consider a waste tote instead.Tote

wildtoad wrote:So what do you plan to do with they grey water? If you plan to just let it run to ground, where do you plan to do this?My intention would be to use a gray water hookup if it's available, and at least have the option to catch the gray water separately so I don't have to do a black water dump.jplante4 wrote:I've been to campground where the tenters wash themselves and their dishes in the community sink that dumps directly onto the ground. I've also seen people brushing their teeth at the water spigot and spitting toothpaste onto the ground. I don't think a little shower effluent is going to do more harm that that. Of course, most campgrounds prohibit these activities and an open hose spewing water would probably attract attention.As a previous tent camper, I would do this all the time if there was no dish washing station provided. That said, the amount of gray water I would generate this way was pretty limited. I wouldn't want to do this with my gray water from my camper.jplante4 wrote:However, water is your best friend when it comes to keeping the black tank from plugging up. If you're having capacity problems, I'd consider a waste tote instead.That's good to know. It's no so much that I have a capacity problem, but more that I have a single tank, and if there are gray water facilities at my campsite, I'd want to take advantage of them, and I don't want to chance cross contamination. 90% of the time my blac kwater tank would be empty so why wait in line to dump?

I have been camping for twenty years but I find the need to ask...What are "gray water facilities"?

Adding a gray water bypass? | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

Sam_Spade
Explorer
May 30, 2018
cmcdar wrote:
I have been camping for twenty years but I find the need to ask...

What are "gray water facilities"?

I was wondering that myself.
Never seen such a thing.
BarneyS
Explorer III
May 30, 2018
If you are not going to use the toilet for its' normal purpose, then I would just re-name the tank the "gray water tank" and dump away! :) I don't see any difference between the gray and black water tanks except their name.

Every campground I have been to has either dump facilities at the site or a separate dump station near the exit. None of them has ever had a separate dump station for gray water that could be accessed by a vehicle. I have seen gray water dump stations in tent camping areas as has been already mentioned, but you had to tote the water there to dump it.

My feeling is that you are overthinking this situation - unless I just don't understand the problem.
Barney
Bobbo
Explorer III
May 30, 2018
Since you have to dump the gray water somewhere anyway, I don't see the point of separating the types of waste water. Let it drain into the tank, then dump the tank. It is no easier to dump without toilet waste than it is with toilet waste.
jplante4
Explorer II
May 29, 2018
cmcdar wrote:
I have been camping for twenty years but I find the need to ask...

What are "gray water facilities"?

Bourne Scenic Park has gray water dumping only through a garden hose. We carry a special waste cap that has a garden hose connection specifically for this park.

At the beginning of this video you'll see an Airstream with gray water garden hoses running to the dump point.
DrieStone
Explorer
May 29, 2018
coolmom42 wrote:
I'm not aware of any sites that have "gray water" facilities AT the site. Some places do have places to dump gray water, at restrooms, etc. In those situations, you could collect your gray water in some type of container, and then take it to the dump spot.

The location we camped at over last weekend had gray water at 1/2 of the sites and full sewage at the other 1/2. Looking at some of the other potential locations we're thinking about this summer, I don't see anyone else that does this.

I think my plan, instead, will be to construct gray water storage in the bed of the truck (on the sides) which would give me about at least another 8 gallons of gray water storage (compared to my 8 gallon black water tank).

I still may want to utilize a diverter valve though, especially if I can plumb in the shower too.
coolmom42
Explorer II
May 29, 2018
I'm not aware of any sites that have "gray water" facilities AT the site. Some places do have places to dump gray water, at restrooms, etc. In those situations, you could collect your gray water in some type of container, and then take it to the dump spot.

You could use either a wheeled tote, or buckets with lids.

Another option is to thoroughly clean, or replace, the black tank. Then modify the toilet to not use the black tank--replace it with a composter or port-a-potty or "luggable loo".
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
May 29, 2018
DrieStone wrote:
I'm pretty new at this, but I recently bought a slide-in truck camper that has been around the block a few times (originally built in 1994). This camper doesn't have a gray water tank. I chased the pipe(s) from the kitchen sink and bathroom sink to where they join the toilet right before it hits the black water tank.

90% of the time I shouldn't need to use the black water tank for its intended purpose, but I hate to have to spend the time dumping "black water" that isn't really black. I'd like to just hook up the sink drains so that I can divert from the black water and dispose of it separately (but still have the option to dump to the black water tank). Is it enough to just put a diverter valve in there or do I need to do a check valve between my gray water side and black water side?

In the future I might build a gray water tank that sits in the space between the camper and the bed of the truck as well.

You would not need to do anything more than create a diverter but you would then likely have an open line from the 2 sinks (do you have a shower as well) to the outside. You would need to figure out what would be needed at the other end. Open to pour out on the ground or will it go into some kind of a tank. Other than that, I don't see any issues with the diverter idea.
jerryjay11
Explorer
May 29, 2018
If 90% of the time you won't be crapping in your toilet why bother to go through all this by-passing? Also if you have a sewer hook-up at your site why also would you have to wait in line at a dump station?
cmcdar
Explorer
May 29, 2018
I have been camping for twenty years but I find the need to ask...

What are "gray water facilities"?
DrieStone
Explorer
May 29, 2018
wildtoad wrote:
So what do you plan to do with they grey water? If you plan to just let it run to ground, where do you plan to do this?

My intention would be to use a gray water hookup if it's available, and at least have the option to catch the gray water separately so I don't have to do a black water dump.

jplante4 wrote:
I've been to campground where the tenters wash themselves and their dishes in the community sink that dumps directly onto the ground. I've also seen people brushing their teeth at the water spigot and spitting toothpaste onto the ground. I don't think a little shower effluent is going to do more harm that that. Of course, most campgrounds prohibit these activities and an open hose spewing water would probably attract attention.

As a previous tent camper, I would do this all the time if there was no dish washing station provided. That said, the amount of gray water I would generate this way was pretty limited. I wouldn't want to do this with my gray water from my camper.

jplante4 wrote:
However, water is your best friend when it comes to keeping the black tank from plugging up. If you're having capacity problems, I'd consider a waste tote instead.

That's good to know. It's no so much that I have a capacity problem, but more that I have a single tank, and if there are gray water facilities at my campsite, I'd want to take advantage of them, and I don't want to chance cross contamination. 90% of the time my blac kwater tank would be empty so why wait in line to dump?