Black/Gray water best practices???
So we took our new to us 2014 Grey Wolf on it's maiden voyage this weekend. We are still building up our TT skills. For example, this is the first camper where we are actually using the onboard restro...
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Our family of 4-5 dry camp a lot in Yosemite for 10-12 days at a time and hardly ever fill our tanks(all 40 gallon) and we shower every day. We've also never used a tote. We use the campground toilets during the day and the rv toilet during the night or early morning. The trick is with the gray water. We hardly ever let it go down the drain. In the kitchen sink we use a Rubbermaid rectangular wash basin that fits perfectly in the sink. I think we picked it up at Walmart for under $10. All the dish water stays in there(and by the way, very little food is in that water as most is wiped off with a napkin and put into the trash) until it's full and then it's emptied into a 5 gallon utility/painters bucket that we keep outside under the rv.(bucket also from Walmart). When the bucket fills up(every 2 days or so) I take it to the campground bathroom and pour it down the drain. There usually is a large sink or some of the campgrounds have an oversize industrial toilet for tent campers to pour their dish water in.
As for the everyday showers, they are military showers. If we splurge we use maybe 2 gallons. We put the stopper in the tub and don't let the water go down the drain. After the shower, that same wash basin from the kitchen sink is used in the bathroom. We just use a plastic picnic cup to scoop the shower water into the basin and then carry it out to the bucket outside. The system works like a charm. We've learned to "pace" ourselves with our tanks. As our trip gets to the middle days and later, we'll put one third in the bucket, one third down the bathtub drain and the last third down the rv toilet just to make sure the black tank has plenty of water(the soap is also good for the black tank).
The only limit is the 40 gallons of fresh water that I start with. For that I have two green fresh water carry containers(also from Walmart) that I take to the campground water spigot as needed. My initial 40 gallons last around 4-5 days. After that I usually add the 12 gallons of water every other day for the rest of the trip. I should point out that not all of us shower everyday or on the same day. Just depends on how dirty/sweaty we got. The longest trip in one spot was 13 days and by the end the fresh was empty and both black and gray were about 90% full. Probably could have stayed 2 more days... Happy Camping!!!
As for the everyday showers, they are military showers. If we splurge we use maybe 2 gallons. We put the stopper in the tub and don't let the water go down the drain. After the shower, that same wash basin from the kitchen sink is used in the bathroom. We just use a plastic picnic cup to scoop the shower water into the basin and then carry it out to the bucket outside. The system works like a charm. We've learned to "pace" ourselves with our tanks. As our trip gets to the middle days and later, we'll put one third in the bucket, one third down the bathtub drain and the last third down the rv toilet just to make sure the black tank has plenty of water(the soap is also good for the black tank).
The only limit is the 40 gallons of fresh water that I start with. For that I have two green fresh water carry containers(also from Walmart) that I take to the campground water spigot as needed. My initial 40 gallons last around 4-5 days. After that I usually add the 12 gallons of water every other day for the rest of the trip. I should point out that not all of us shower everyday or on the same day. Just depends on how dirty/sweaty we got. The longest trip in one spot was 13 days and by the end the fresh was empty and both black and gray were about 90% full. Probably could have stayed 2 more days... Happy Camping!!!
