Bath and a half dump station?

[Mondooker]

I had plans for my first day of motorhome shopping yesterday and wasn't able to go so next Saturday will be the time. The question below is one of the questions I was going to ask at the dealership.

I was watching a walk around video the other day and saw something that surprised me, if I saw it right? If you have a bath and a half do you have two dump stations outside the coach? I just thought it would all go into one place.

When you're hooking up and flushing the black tank is it clean and orderly if done correctly or is it a dirty job under the best of circumstances? I've read that this is the worst part of camping!

Thanks guys

[_big58ben]

Hopefully this will help. We have a Thor Challenger 37TB with 1.5 baths and a washer/dryer.

In the past 11 months we have traveled 17,500 miles through 30 states, dry camped for about 3 months in Key West and LOVE the coach. (Note: we are not full timers - about 7-8 months per year.)

There are 2 dump valves. One about mid-way, the other all the way back. We store our stinky slinkys in the far back compartment by the back valve.

I mentioned the washer/dryer earlier simply because without 2 40 gal tanks, dry camping and doing wash would be mutually exclusive.

When we dry camped we used our on board generator combined with 4 6volt batteries. We showered each day, did 2 loads of wash in 5 days and generally lived a normal coach based life. Without the 100 gals of fresh water and 2 40 gals of grey water - you simply could not live this way. The DW will not make concession for comfort. So every 5 days we dumped and refilled fresh water. Most others used blue pods and a fresh water bladders. I am not into either of these.

So yep, 2 hook ups but no big deal. after so many days of dry camping I have it down to a science. Also, when we are in a camp ground for more than a couple of days, I carry a Y adapter and run both sewer lines into 1.

I cannot say enough good about the Challenger for dry camping. After owning it, the standards for dry camping are very high.

Hope this helps.

[Lantley]

bluwtr49 wrote:

Lantley wrote:

Mondooker wrote:
I contacted Thor and this was the response

"yes, On that particular coach it was not possible to route the two tanks into one dump station. We try to make it one whenever possible."

So there we have it. How big of a deal is it and are there any pluses to it?

If you really need to have 2 baths not an issue. However if you don't truly need the second 1/2 bath dumping twice is a pain in the ...
I have a bath and a 1/2 and I have grown to dislike the 2nd bath.
I forbid my kids from using it simply because I don't want to dump the second tank. My 1/2 bath is slowly becoming a storage closet with a toilet in it. One day I may remove the toilet.

Little bit different with a MH. With the bedroom slide in access to the full bath is very difficult so the half bath is used while traveling. Most 5ers are not occupied while traveling.

Good point on the motorhome. I can see where the access issue comes into play. Having the 2nd tank maybe worthwhile if it allows access while on the road.
Part of my gripe is simply 4 people do not need 2 toilets.
4 people should be able to share a single toilet. In my case I end of with 2 very empty black tank most of the time. Empty tanks are harder to dump and require more effort.
I imagine lots of motor homes have 2 toilets and 2 occupants. If there is only one black tanks that's great. But if each toilet has its own tank that floor plan is a deal breaker for me.

[Mr_Mark1]

Bill.Satellite wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
HJ, we have a bath and a half and only have one black tank. Actually, we only have one holding tank for black and grey.

I've heard that some units, maybe 5th wheels, will have two grey tanks, one for the kitchen sink and the other for the rest of the trailer. I've never heard of two black tanks on either type coach but I guess it could be out there.

On ours, since the full bath is way in the back, our shower has an additional pump to send the shower water to the holding tank. It comes on automatically and stays in the 'on' position although I can control it at a panel if I need to take power away from the pump.

MM.

Pay no attention to this post unless you own a Prevost. As a matter of fact, pay no attention unless you own a Liberty Prevost. They do things like no one else and how it is setup cannot be compared to any other RV.

Bill, will you please block my posts. I don't need your help critiquing them.

MM.

[Bill_Satellite]

Mr.Mark wrote:
HJ, we have a bath and a half and only have one black tank. Actually, we only have one holding tank for black and grey.

I've heard that some units, maybe 5th wheels, will have two grey tanks, one for the kitchen sink and the other for the rest of the trailer. I've never heard of two black tanks on either type coach but I guess it could be out there.

On ours, since the full bath is way in the back, our shower has an additional pump to send the shower water to the holding tank. It comes on automatically and stays in the 'on' position although I can control it at a panel if I need to take power away from the pump.

MM.

Pay no attention to this post unless you own a Prevost. As a matter of fact, pay no attention unless you own a Liberty Prevost. They do things like no one else and how it is setup cannot be compared to any other RV.

[Mondooker]

I didn't realize until today that all gas motorhomes that are bath and a half have two dump stations. One for each bath.

[barmcd]

I've never looked on dumping tanks as especially unpleasant, messy or dirty. It's just something you have to do.

I don't wear gloves and make sure the valves are closed before connecting the hose. I also kept a short piece of garden hose in case the dump station didn't have one. Dump the black, then the gray, then rinse the sewer hose out and put it in the carrier. Go wash hands.

[barmcd]

My advice would be to make sure the gray and black valves are labeled with something you recognize too. Our fifth wheel was labeled "sewer" and "Waste" and after not using it for awhile it'd confused me which was which because the one marked sewer was actually the gray water.

[msmith1199]

Tips for dumping the tanks: Go to a medical supply store or even the pharmacy section of Walmart and buy a box of latex gloves in your size. Also buy a bottle of hand soap. I use the Fast Orange hand cleaner. Place both in your holding tank compartment. When it comes time to dump the tank your gloves are right there and you have the soap and a water supply and can wash up there.

Other tips:

1. Make sure both grey and black valves are completely closed before removing the cap from the drain. Also make sure they never get opened while the cap is on as there will be about a half gallon of waste just waiting for you when you take that cap off.

2. When you put the drain hose on, make sure the bayonet latches fully engage. Also make sure the other end of the drain hose is fully in the receptacle and can't pop out. When you pull that black valve open a lot of waste is going to dump into that hose all at once with a lot of weight and the last thing you want is that hose coming off from either end. This is where most rooky dumpers seem to have their biggest failures and make a huge mess.

3. Dump the black tank first. Once it's empty pull the grey tank valve. This will help wash any remaining solids out of the hose.

[J-Rooster]

Mondooker wrote:
DSDP Don, Is the SaniCon system something you add on or is it a system the comes with different coaches?

J-Rooster, do all coaches have an Oscillator? The 5 gallons of water with Dawn sounds like a very good idea. Hey Ivylog, is a grinding pump used to break up the solids and is it on all motorhomes? And does it run manually or automatic?

The MH I was looking at that prompted my question was a 37' gasser. After watching the video again I still can't tell if they were talking another black tank or gray water tank?

I'm happy you guys answere more than I ask for. I don't know enough to know what to ask and your filling in the blank is helpful to the max!

IMHO, from what I've seen only higher end RV's have oscillators!

[DSDP_Don]

"2gypsies".....When your 2004 Dutch Star was built, it most likely had a split bath, since that's what everyone wanted at that time. Now, people want a large rear bath. In order to do that, you have to offer a second bath you can use while underway.

So here's a question....if you went back out on the road today and ordered a new coach, would you order it with propane light fixtures, hand pump water system, porta potty or stool with a bag, no microwave, incandescent bulbs and a Dodge 440 engine? Probably not, because things change, people demand more and better systems, modern technology and floorplans that are more useful and fit their needs.

Ours has a half bath primarily because we have a full bath in the rear and can't access it while underway. Our previous coach, 05 Diplomat, had an all in one bath (side aisle) and that's the way we like our bath set up. We never cared for the split bath. More and more people are done with the split bath when they realize they can get a large luxurious bath.

Now that we have it, we find it very convenient. My wife goes to bed earlier than I do and I don't disrupt her when I use the 1/2 bath. We were on a trip to San Francisco when we both got the 3 day flu. It was great having our own bath.

Times are changing, don't discount something just because your RV doesn't/didn't have it. Just like having a fireplace....we laughed when our coach came with it, but now we love the ease of quickly warming the coach without turning on the coach furnace or dragging out an electric heater.

[Mondooker]

Older folks, like my wife, and no she's not in the room! Don't care to be climbing over a bed to get to the bathroom. And one of the reasons to have a motorhome is not having to stop for a bathroom break right?

[2gypsies1]

We could never understand why you need more than one bath. Is it because you're used to it in your S&B house?

[Mondooker]

That's right, I didn't think of that. The 1/2 bath is needed when underway!

[bluwtr49]

Lantley wrote:

Mondooker wrote:
I contacted Thor and this was the response

"yes, On that particular coach it was not possible to route the two tanks into one dump station. We try to make it one whenever possible."

So there we have it. How big of a deal is it and are there any pluses to it?

If you really need to have 2 baths not an issue. However if you don't truly need the second 1/2 bath dumping twice is a pain in the ...
I have a bath and a 1/2 and I have grown to dislike the 2nd bath.
I forbid my kids from using it simply because I don't want to dump the second tank. My 1/2 bath is slowly becoming a storage closet with a toilet in it. One day I may remove the toilet.

Little bit different with a MH. With the bedroom slide in access to the full bath is very difficult so the half bath is used while traveling. Most 5ers are not occupied while traveling.