Sink drain to ground

[swimmer_spe]

I would like to pipe my sink in the trailer to the ground. Others have a line from their tank to ground, but i do not know the condition of the tank and lines and would rather not use it. I would rather just plumb a line straight to the ground as it is the only plumbed equipment still in the trailer.

[shelbyfv]

I would leave the trap in place and end the drain with a hose fitting. You will want to direct the gray water some distance from your campsite. Obviously the food residue from washing dishes will stink at some point, you or the next occupant will not want that directly under the camper.

[swimmer_spe]

valhalla360 wrote:
There is a simple solution (assuming you are OK with dumping gray water and it's not against the rules and no one is likely to die and you don't kill a small puppy in the process...etc...)

Just open the gray water valve. You already have it all plumbed in. If you are going to be there a while, they have macerator pumps you can connect up and it will run thru a hose 50-100' away. No need to do a plumbing project.

If my trailer had a grey water tank, I would. However, it only has one tank. I do not want it to go to the tank.

[MrWizard]

rockhillmanor wrote:
News flash. Gray water stinks also.

I was parked next to MH at a sporting event that did not have hookups and he let his gray water drain on the ground. It stunk to high heaven.

yes it will, when allowed to fester in the tank with out chemicals

but fresh washing of hands etc.. does NOT stnk

many of us used to tent camp or pop up or van etc..

we washed hands, dishes, kids in a basin or tub then dumped it

all depends on where you are at and how you are camped

seems too many have selective memories

[Sam_Spade]

Cobra21 wrote:
I don't know why soapy water
smells that way.
Brian

It is the organic material that goes out WITH the soap.

[valhalla360]

There is a simple solution (assuming you are OK with dumping gray water and it's not against the rules and no one is likely to die and you don't kill a small puppy in the process...etc...)

Just open the gray water valve. You already have it all plumbed in. If you are going to be there a while, they have macerator pumps you can connect up and it will run thru a hose 50-100' away. No need to do a plumbing project.

[Cobra21]

Grey water normally doesn't smell if drained as used. Now if it has been held
in the grey tank a day it is really nasty! I don't know why soapy water
smells that way.
Brian

[Lwiddis]

"Where I am, this is permitted, ..."

Doesn't make it right. Leave no trace.

[swimmer_spe]

I currently do use just a basin and wash it in there. It is not a pleasant thing to do when black flies, mosquitoes and horseflies are trying to eat you. I figure that since we can just dump our grey water into the ground, why not plumb the sink to do just that.

[korbe]

GordonThree wrote:
.....how about getting a basin or tub that fits in the sink... wash your dishes and then dump the basin when done?

This is what we do when conserving gray tank capacity. We use common sense (which means knowing the "rules") where we dump the plastic tubs that fit our sink basins perfectly.

[RoyB]

I too have seen signs at camp grounds saying it was permissible to pour your sink waste water on the trees... I have done this but I would never do it close to the trailer site pad... Always went down the hill some and poured there...

My off-road trailer setup has a sink drain on the door side of my trailer... when camping I have to capture this water in a AQUA-Tainer 7.5 Gallon container and haul off somewhere on site when it gets full. I actually have two Aqua-Tainers and when the first one gets full I switch the hose over to the second one and then haul off the first one...

Its amazing how quick these containers fill up every day...


Roy's Image

If I was going to do something like this I would route the sink drain to an outside hose connection like I use here in the above photo. I'm pretty sure having it going to a hose connection would make one aware whether to capture the gray water or pour out on the ground some distance from the trailer depending how long your hose was. No way would I drain gray water under my own trailer (Stink or NO stink). Of course we all make our own choices in life...

Even I still pee on a close by tree when camping off grid...

When camping off-grid I also have to deal with the cassette pottie waste about every two days. Sometimes this requires me to dig a hole in the ground in the middle of the woods somewhere and dispose of it... The bigger deal here is not let he black waste get into the fresh creek water flow channels...

Most often when camping off-grid there is a central bath house or primitive vault setup for bath room needs. SOmetimes these locations have a water spigot as well... I always search for these places when camping off-grid...

Roy Ken

[Sam_Spade]

swimmer_spe wrote:
but i do not know the condition of the tank and lines and would rather not use it.

Why do people make things harder than they need to be ????

How difficult would it BE to run 10 gallons of water into the grey tank, let it sit for a few days and then dump it out to ACTUALLY SEE what comes out ???? You could even put a splash of bleach and a squirt of detergent into your "test water".

The odds are overwhelming that your tank will be just fine to use straight through.

And then it will still be usable if you move the rig or the rules change.

[Captain_Happy]

Years ago we camped at an RV Park in Ruidoso, NM. The owner wanted us to dump over grey water on the trees instead of down into his sewer system. And no it didn't stink to high heaven either. Had the best looking trees around too.

[gbopp]

I don't know if you have a question? But, to plumb the sink drain to the outside is not a difficult project.
Find a place under the sink you can safely drill a hole. Then use PVC to plumb the wastewater through the hole.
I would not eliminate the trap under the sink.

[rockhillmanor]

News flash. Gray water stinks also.

I was parked next to MH at a sporting event that did not have hookups and he let his gray water drain on the ground. It stunk to high heaven.