Dumping at Campgrounds and Flushing Black Water Tank Too

westernrvparkowner wrote:
I guess we are just going to disagree about this. The people in the full hookup sites with on site sewers will have paid more for that full hookup site than the people in the water and electric only sites in almost all parks. Again the people that paid that premium for full service sites didn't pay to have a stream of people pulling into the sites around them dumping and flushing their tanks. If your stay in the water and electric site included use of the dump station, use the dump station. Otherwise get permission, first. Not forgiveness after the fact.

I can see your point. I've never worked at a park where the sites stay full every day of the week. Usually there is a exodus of campers on Sunday and empty sites are plentiful so finding one away from other guests is not a problem.

Minor edits for my camper:

scottz wrote:
Hole****** folks! (pun intended) No need to flush anything as long as you have 12 gallons or more in the gray tank! It is always good practice to dump with mostly filled tanks anyways.

1. Connect drain hose
2. Pull Black Lever (wait until it stops)
3. Push Black lever
4. Pull Gray Lever (wait until it stops)
5. Push Gray lever

6. Pull Gray 2 Lever (wait until it stops)
7. Push Gray 2 Lever
8. Move drain hose to second sewer outlet
9. Pull Black 2 Lever (wait until it stops)
10. Push Black 2 lever
11. Pull Gray 3 Lever (wait until it stops)
12. Push Gray 3 Lever

13. Disconnect drain hose and put away.
Drive away

Takes ?? minutes.

And, the flush isn't for my sewer hose - it's to get the extra crud and carp out of the black tank. With a clear elbow on each of my sewer connections, I can tell you that it takes 3 actually dumps of my black tank for it to be really clean in there. Otherwise, TP and caca get left behind (even when emptying a fully tank).

scottz wrote:
Hole******folks! (pun intended) No need to flush anything as long as you have 12 gallons or more in the gray tank! It is always good practice to dump with mostly filled tanks anyways.

1. Connect drain hose
2. Pull Black Lever (wait until it stops)
3. Push Black lever
4. Pull Gray Lever (wait until it stops)
5. Push Gray lever
6. Disconnect drain hose and put away.
Drive away

Takes 5 minutes.

I do an additional step:

1.1 Open gray handle for a test drain (~1 quart) to see if all the connections are tight and not leaking. Better gray than black.
1.2 Close gray handle.

Hole******folks! (pun intended) No need to flush anything as long as you have 12 gallons or more in the gray tank! It is always good practice to dump with mostly filled tanks anyways.

1. Connect drain hose
2. Pull Black Lever (wait until it stops)
3. Push Black lever
4. Pull Gray Lever (wait until it stops)
5. Push Gray lever
6. Disconnect drain hose and put away.
Drive away

Takes 5 minutes.

westernrvparkowner wrote:

NorCal Dan wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Get permission first. It is not up to you to decide. We closed all of our dump stations, they were too much a pain in the arse, but when we had public dumps, that was the ONLY place we allowed dumping. The RV sites were for the guests that paid to stay in the park. One of the big reasons was increased traffic. People pay good money to be in full hookup sites and it isn't right to subject them to people constantly dumping rigs in the sites around them. Using a site to dump just makes that another dump station, and most guests would frown upon being put in a site next to the dump station. In my opinion, if you want to use a full hookup site, rent one.

I would agree unless the park does not charge for the dump. Some parks have both FHU and W/E sites without sewer. If they do not charge the guests who stay in W/E sites to use the dump station then those guests should be able to use any available sewer connection. There is no reason to force them to the dump station. Why would those in the FHU sites frown on people dumping in the site next door? Would be the same as guests who rent that site and dump. Forcing guests to wait for access to the dump station is a poor decision when there are empty sites with sewer connections. SMH over this...

I guess we are just going to disagree about this. The people in the full hookup sites with on site sewers will have paid more for that full hookup site than the people in the water and electric only sites in almost all parks. Again the people that paid that premium for full service sites didn't pay to have a stream of people pulling into the sites around them dumping and flushing their tanks. If your stay in the water and electric site included use of the dump station, use the dump station. Otherwise get permission, first. Not forgiveness after the fact.

I agree with westernrvparkowner on this one. I actually was curious about this and wife and I even had the same question to each other. Interesting to read the response from the perspective of a CG owner.

I wouldn't use an empty site for dumping any more than I'd stop at a hotel and use an unlocked, empty room for a quick bathroom break without asking. In past times, I have asked the CG host and offered money for it, and often, they would either just allow me to dump at the FHU gratis, or just take a $5.

I do know a CG owner in north Texas ended up using a locking, removable Trafficguard bollard system because he had people driving in and dumping at FHU sites without paying at all hours of the night, especially in the winter around hunting season. He tried using padlocks on the lids on the campsites that were not occupied, but people wrenched them off. After he went to the locking barriers on campsites not in use, the problem pretty much ceased.

westernrvparkowner wrote:

NorCal Dan wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Get permission first. It is not up to you to decide. We closed all of our dump stations, they were too much a pain in the arse, but when we had public dumps, that was the ONLY place we allowed dumping. The RV sites were for the guests that paid to stay in the park. One of the big reasons was increased traffic. People pay good money to be in full hookup sites and it isn't right to subject them to people constantly dumping rigs in the sites around them. Using a site to dump just makes that another dump station, and most guests would frown upon being put in a site next to the dump station. In my opinion, if you want to use a full hookup site, rent one.

I would agree unless the park does not charge for the dump. Some parks have both FHU and W/E sites without sewer. If they do not charge the guests who stay in W/E sites to use the dump station then those guests should be able to use any available sewer connection. There is no reason to force them to the dump station. Why would those in the FHU sites frown on people dumping in the site next door? Would be the same as guests who rent that site and dump. Forcing guests to wait for access to the dump station is a poor decision when there are empty sites with sewer connections. SMH over this...

I guess we are just going to disagree about this. The people in the full hookup sites with on site sewers will have paid more for that full hookup site than the people in the water and electric only sites in almost all parks. Again the people that paid that premium for full service sites didn't pay to have a stream of people pulling into the sites around them dumping and flushing their tanks. If your stay in the water and electric site included use of the dump station, use the dump station. Otherwise get permission, first. Not forgiveness after the fact.

I agree with the above. Seems pretty clear to me what a person can/should do according to what they have paid. Heaven forbid if we have to wait a few extra minutes to empty the tanks. :h

NorCal Dan wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Get permission first. It is not up to you to decide. We closed all of our dump stations, they were too much a pain in the arse, but when we had public dumps, that was the ONLY place we allowed dumping. The RV sites were for the guests that paid to stay in the park. One of the big reasons was increased traffic. People pay good money to be in full hookup sites and it isn't right to subject them to people constantly dumping rigs in the sites around them. Using a site to dump just makes that another dump station, and most guests would frown upon being put in a site next to the dump station. In my opinion, if you want to use a full hookup site, rent one.

I would agree unless the park does not charge for the dump. Some parks have both FHU and W/E sites without sewer. If they do not charge the guests who stay in W/E sites to use the dump station then those guests should be able to use any available sewer connection. There is no reason to force them to the dump station. Why would those in the FHU sites frown on people dumping in the site next door? Would be the same as guests who rent that site and dump. Forcing guests to wait for access to the dump station is a poor decision when there are empty sites with sewer connections. SMH over this...

I guess we are just going to disagree about this. The people in the full hookup sites with on site sewers will have paid more for that full hookup site than the people in the water and electric only sites in almost all parks. Again the people that paid that premium for full service sites didn't pay to have a stream of people pulling into the sites around them dumping and flushing their tanks. If your stay in the water and electric site included use of the dump station, use the dump station. Otherwise get permission, first. Not forgiveness after the fact.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Get permission first. It is not up to you to decide. We closed all of our dump stations, they were too much a pain in the arse, but when we had public dumps, that was the ONLY place we allowed dumping. The RV sites were for the guests that paid to stay in the park. One of the big reasons was increased traffic. People pay good money to be in full hookup sites and it isn't right to subject them to people constantly dumping rigs in the sites around them. Using a site to dump just makes that another dump station, and most guests would frown upon being put in a site next to the dump station. In my opinion, if you want to use a full hookup site, rent one.

I would agree unless the park does not charge for the dump. Some parks have both FHU and W/E sites without sewer. If they do not charge the guests who stay in W/E sites to use the dump station then those guests should be able to use any available sewer connection. There is no reason to force them to the dump station. Why would those in the FHU sites frown on people dumping in the site next door? Would be the same as guests who rent that site and dump. Forcing guests to wait for access to the dump station is a poor decision when there are empty sites with sewer connections. SMH over this...

weathershak wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
"If those people in line are in such a hurry, they should have gotten up and driven to the dump site earlier." sincerely, Prevailing Attitude

People used to do that at our State Parks. It became a problem when people were packing before quiet time was over, and it still was a traffic jam. Imagine 130 campsites, all without sewer, and only 1 dump station, the reason why I would dump the night before. They finally put in a 2nd station which made a big difference, but at times, over an hours wait.

My home town city park CG is worse. 50-60 sites, one dump station and the dump stations is on the main entrance road into the CG. So you have to dump then go all the way back around through the CG on the main loop to get back to the entrance to get out, which occasionally means waiting for the line at the dump station to move.