Ok black and gray are empty but if we take a few weekend trips and use the toile and shower etc...how full should we have the tanks before dumping ?I know you do black first then gray,,,but do you run water in either tank to clean ?? If so how do you do that?Thanks for helping a rookie

Anytime I'm hooked up to a sewer, I dump. If I roll into a full hook up and stay the night I dump the next morning. Done it that way for more than 30 years.I fill the bowl up about 5 or 6 times and flush. I go outside and pull the handle. As soon as it's empty I close the handle and open the gray valve. As soon as it's empty I close the valve and disconnect the hose and wash it out with water and put everything away. Done.

luberhill wrote:Ok black and gray are empty but if we take a few weekend trips and use the toile and shower etc...how full should we have the tanks before dumping ?I know you do black first then gray,,,but do you run water in either tank to clean ?? If so how do you do that?Thanks for helping a rookieEvery was a rookie at some point! Empty the black tank when 3/4 full. Depending if your RV has a built in back flush connection, I connect the water hose to the black tank and turn the water on. Then I open the black valve as long as it takes to empty. Then I close the black valve and let the water run until I get about 15 gal. in the tank to wash down any remaining materials. Then flush again. While the black tank is filling up I open the gray and Kitchen/shower tanks (different RV's have different tank configurations) until they are empty, then close both valves. Then I open the black tank again until it is empty. I then fill the black tank with about 5 to 10 gallons and close the black valve. Then disconnect the water. You never want to leave the black tank completely empty. You could end up with the famous "pyramid" and a plugged up black drain. Another way to back flush your black tank is to pour about 4 gallons of H20 into the toilet if your RV does not have a built in black flush. there are some commercial liquids that will also help keep your black tank.

Some of the tank cleansing rituals used on these boards are great morning reading material while I sit and dump.Personally I dump when I leave a campground be it 1/4 full or 3/4 full. About the only time I use the almost worthless tank flush connection is at the end of the season as a tank filler to flush before I put the cover on for 4 months. I do not worry about if half a turd remains in the tank between trips.Not long ago I watched a guys flushing ritual for about 45 minutes at a state park while his wife yelled multiple times from the truck window "make sure you get it all out Al".Great entertainment is where you find it. I was literally 400 yards away up on a hill and this woman was like listening to nails on a chalkboard. She was worried about a turd being left in the tank and would have none of that foolishness, and she let Al know it. If I was Al I think I would have found the ranger and filed for divorce on the spot LOL.

Flush when you have enough water to carry the slurry out of the tank. If it has only been used a time or two on a weekend trip I will add about 5 gallons of water before I flush the tank. I always start with 3 or so gallons of water in the tank or at least enough to have a couple of inches of water on the bottom before adding solids. You want a slurry to flush out not chunks and wads. ;)

when to dump | Good Sam Community

19 Replies

CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Sep 23, 2018
NMDriver2 wrote:
Flush when you have enough water to carry the slurry out of the tank.

If it has only been used a time or two on a weekend trip I will add about 5 gallons of water before I flush the tank.

I always start with 3 or so gallons of water in the tank or at least enough to have a couple of inches of water on the bottom before adding solids.

You want a slurry to flush out not chunks and wads. ;)

This is a good answer.
drsteve
Explorer
Sep 22, 2018
luberhill wrote:
is there places to dump for free ? My neighbor dumps right down the soil pipe in his front yard...but while on the road and dry camping how do you locate a dump site

Clicky

Clicky
luberhill
Explorer
Sep 21, 2018
is there places to dump for free ? My neighbor dumps right down the soil pipe in his front yard...but while on the road and dry camping how do you locate a dump site
RCMAN46
Explorer
Sep 21, 2018
Grit dog wrote:
RCMAN46 wrote:
I always dump before I travel. Even If it has only been one night I fill the black tank so it is about 3/4 full before I dump.

The waste tanks have no support in the middle and if they are partially or even full the bottom of the tank flexes and will cause the tank bottom to crack.

Guy needs a better RV if it can't roll with full tanks...
Some of these rituals are likely due to different types of use. Sure, if you're parked for a long time creating turd mountain, you may need to do a little flushing. If you drive the RV any appreciable distance with a significant amount in the black tank, it has "mixed" sufficiently.

My neighbor had a hitch hiker 5 th wheel and his had cracked. When I saw how thin the tank material was and these tanks are quite shallow and about the size of a dining room table I decided may not be best to travel our very rough Interstates with a full tank.
Dennis12
Explorer
Sep 21, 2018
if your feet are wet and smell like ****. dump the black tank
Grit_dog
Navigator III
Sep 21, 2018
RCMAN46 wrote:
I always dump before I travel. Even If it has only been one night I fill the black tank so it is about 3/4 full before I dump.

The waste tanks have no support in the middle and if they are partially or even full the bottom of the tank flexes and will cause the tank bottom to crack.

Guy needs a better RV if it can't roll with full tanks...
Some of these rituals are likely due to different types of use. Sure, if you're parked for a long time creating turd mountain, you may need to do a little flushing. If you drive the RV any appreciable distance with a significant amount in the black tank, it has "mixed" sufficiently.
Lynnmor
Explorer II
Sep 21, 2018
RCMAN46 wrote:

The waste tanks have no support in the middle and if they are partially or even full the bottom of the tank flexes and will cause the tank bottom to crack.

Even if the tank would be tough enough, many are mounted with just thin plates using screws into the floor. I dump when I can and take on water as I can, at least the fresh water tank is mounted on cross members with some support across the middle of the tank.
Boon_Docker
Explorer III
Sep 21, 2018
luberhill wrote:
RCMAN46 wrote:
I always dump before I travel. Even If it has only been one night I fill the black tank so it is about 3/4 full before I dump.

The waste tanks have no support in the middle and if they are partially or even full the bottom of the tank flexes and will cause the tank bottom to crack.

Wow really ??? I thought these were tougher than that

Yes, they are tough.
Maybe after 30 years of usage the tank may crack. Until then I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Lwiddis
Nomad
Sep 21, 2018
I dump at every opportunity since who knows if the USFS has shutdown dump sites up and down US 395 so employees can go into hibernation. BLM is mostly open. Usually can find water to fill the tanks first however. I'm a dish water down the toilet guy too, Jayco.
Jayco-noslide
Explorer
Sep 21, 2018
I think , ideally, I would prefer to have the grey tank full or close so as to flush out the system when dumping. I don't think it matters so much with the black as long as it goes first. Unfortunately, it's seldom a perfect world. Rather than risk filling up part way through the next stay I will often go ahead and dump when I'm leaving a campground if we have 2 or 3 days worth in the tanks. That also saves some weight when on the road. However, we try to avoid solids in the black tank if not too inconvenient and that saves a lot of worry. We also put a lot of dish water down the stool to clean, dilute and create more space.

Forum Discussion

when to dump

19 Replies

About RV Tips & Tricks

Related Content

Dump Station near Ft Myers FL

Dump Station Observations

Dump Station Etiquette???

Dump stations

Dump Gloves