Disposal of Gray and Black Water

In many locations it's illegal to dump any waste water on the ground or in a sewer drain. For 2 of us, we dump every 5 days, so for one person every 7-10 days depending on how you conserve water. On the road, you can stop at most campgrounds and pay a fee and use their dump station even if you don't stay the night in their campground. You can also pay a fee and dump at Flying J Truck Stops. Some rest areas have dump stations but not all. You will also have to put fresh water in your water tank. Do not use the water at the dump station!! Make sure there is a sign that says "potable water".

And it depends on what RV you have. Class C's have smaller tanks. Travel trailers about the same. Toy haulers have large tanks. Class A's even bigger. DP's bigger yet.

So, it really depends on what RV you have. You could stay out a long time with 200 gallons of water and 100 gallon Gray and 100 gallon black tank!

Some towns have a dump station at the local public works or sewer treatment plant. For me, the public works is down the street from my house, and they charge only $1.

Rwake901 wrote:
Sometimes rest stops along the interstate has a place to dump. I've never used one but I think they are free.

In West Virginia, the rest areas on the interestates have dump stations at no cost. There are also a hydrant for water for rinsing the tank and a separate one for potable water, also free. I believe they close them down in cold weather. Not sure about other states.

Many campgrounds have dump stations.


Camping alone, I've gone the better part of a month before emptying the black tank. Gray tank needs it a couple of times a week, more or less. Much depends on the size of your tanks and your water usage.

Wayne

My "House" has 36 gallon tanks. I normally dump once a week but have gone as long as 10 days. This RV has 3 tanks. ONE black, one Gray and one "WASH" (The wash tank handles the shower, and the main bathroom lav's which are NOT used, the BLack both toilets and the Gray the Front lav and Kitchen sink)

I do leave the valve open on the Shower (Wash) tank. so that will affect your figures.

Where is it legal to dump depends on the tank.

Many places (NOT ALL) allow Wash water to just be dumped on the ground.. I mean this is the same as if you set up an outdoor shower after all.

Still some restrict it

Gray water.. A few places also allow it to be dumped anywhere, very few, Some parks have gray water dumps specific to gray water. I've seen that in two places (Some not many)

All Rv parks, several truck stops, Some Camping worlds, If you belong to Moose, Elks etc some of them. Have proper sewer dump stations (I usually call that "A proper hole in the ground"

Cost, Free to 10 bucks Depending on the owner of the hole in the ground.

Some rest areas used to have dump stations but alas, most of those were abused and have now been closed.

Rwake901 wrote:
Sometimes rest stops along the interstate has a place to dump. I've never used one but I think they are free.

I know many rest areas in Mississippi have free dump stations. You can also pull into State Parks and use their campground dump stations. Some states may have an entry fee to get into the park, most states do not.

One the smartest things we did was have the builder install a dump line in our garage when we built our house, so when traveling I can dump and flush out tanks when we get home.
Makes it easier than running a long hose into the neighbors garden in the middle of the night:)

AJarand wrote:
I know many rest areas in Mississippi have free dump stations. You can also pull into State Parks and use their campground dump stations. Some states may have an entry fee to get into the park, most states do not.

States vary with their dump station policies in the state parks. In Vermont, for a 30' or larger RV, there is a $30 fee to use the campground dump station when not camping. It's a good bit cheaper to camp for a night and use the dump station as a camper.

AJarand wrote:
One the smartest things we did was have the builder install a dump line in our garage when we built our house, so when traveling I can dump and flush out tanks when we get home. . .

+1

Only mistake I made was locating dump point and water hydrant at the back corner of the pad, which was convenient for the TT we had at the time, rather than middle of driver's side. Oh, well . . .

Wayne