Toilet question

bb_94401 wrote:
Before doing anything to the toilet, I'd call around to the local RV parks, gas stations with dumps and the municipal waste treatment plant and find out if any will let you use their dump station, even if they are "officially" closed.

While many RV parks close Oct / Nov, lock the gate and then disappear for the winter around here. Many over winter comfortably at home. When I've needed water or needed to dump I'll stop by and ask if I can dump and fill with water, even if they are closed for the winter. Most are very empathetic and help out. I don't take change and somehow only have larger bills :). The KOA outside of Revelstoke, BC was very helpful, even though closed. If they can't help out, I simply ask if they know of a place.

A lot of the gas stations have dump stations you can still use as long as they don't bury them, when they plow the lot. Our local conoco station has a dump station accessible year round. A quick call is easier than making your own dump station this time of the year. I dug down to find my septic tank and have it pumped earlier this year. I installed risers and a lid so I won't have to do it again. Pretty simple to add a 4" fitting to the riser lid to make it into a dump station at home.

As to everything being frozen, we run full utilities all year round. While it was -2F this morning, the temperature in the basement near the tanks stays above 45F and inside it is at 70F while on our winter road trips to ski areas in MT, BC and AB. The coldest the inside of the camper gets in the winter, is when it sits on the truck or cart in the 60F heated garage between trips ;)

That is a good temp for the waste tanks, I do not have a basement to heat. The last time I tried to dump in the cold nothing moved and even the valve was tough to open, that was after finding a place that I could dump at (many places I have found freeze up as water gets into the dump drain and freezes so even when you get the cover off they are still no good). I think that I am going to keep the toilet in and have the porta potty for cold snaps (like now). Does not your dump valve freeze or is that inside the basement as well?

The KOA at Revelstoke is a nice place. I thought that they were open year round? I was planning on stopping there in January so I should check on this.

I looked into setting up something at home, this would be great in so many ways, but the cost is WAY out of line. To get a drain to the area that I park the camper at would be over $10,000 (they would need to rip up a pile of the basement floor to get to the wall, then punch through the wall and tunnel up from the basement to be under the camper - needing to dig up a large portion of driveway to get there). Then this would still be subject to freezing I was told. Next option was to build a garage, heat it and put sewer in that. Prices came in from $30 - $40,000 for the garage and adding plumbing as the distance that they would need to run and tunnel is crazy. So the porta potty seems like a little cheaper of an option at only $70.00.