Long term camping

mowertech wrote:
Of course, I do not know anything about any RV that I have never owned, but every one I have ever owned (including our current Southwind) had a P trap under the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, and the shower,

and a water seal in the toilet.

Here's a news flash for you that you can even check. See >>.
That seal and a bowl filled with water is ONLY good when the toilet is not being used.

Flush that puppy and the entire time that blade is open its a straight shot to the black tank and during that time stink, smell, bacteria and most likely sewer flies go right into your RV. WHEN you leave the black tank open to the CG septic tank.

ktmrfs wrote:
IMHO NO for BLACK AND GREY!.

Why, with the tanks open there is NO p trap between the sewage system and the trailer. so.... no there is a open path between the sewage and smell.

X2

P-traps For sinks yes, for toilet NO!

The toilet itself DOES NOT have a p-trap. When that flap opens its a 'straight shot' to the black tank.

1. First of all 'leaving the valve open' all the poop will just sit on the bottom of your black tank and NOT in any water and build up and build up to a mountain of poop you will never get out of that tank.

It can't make its way out of the tank because there is no water. That tiny amount of water that is put in toilet during flushing, does absolutely nothing to get it to move out of the tank when valve is left open. So it just sits there on the bottom.

2. Because there is no p-trap like in a residential toilet sewer flies, smell from your poop just sitting on the bottom of the tank AND the sewage smell and bacteria from the CG septic systems comes right into your RV every time you flush.

Example. When I am boondocking and want to stay to the enth degree before having to break camp to dump?

>>I first shut the water pump off. I step on the toilet pedal to open flap and shine a flash light down the toilet bowl hole. I can SEE how much is in the tank and how close it is to coming up into the toilet.

So NO there is no p-trap in the toilet. Leave that black tank valve open and every time you flush you are allowing everything that is in that CG's septic tank into your black tank and into your RV when you flush!. :W

Mowermech, you are correct, but the smell can still exit through the roof vent of the RV, instead of being contained in the ground. Thus those campers in the immediate vicinity may get strong sewer gas smells even though those INSIDE the RV might not, as they’re protected by the P-traps you mentioned.

That’s why I suggested creating a P-trap in the dump hose to keep those odors from reaching your RV.

~Rick

ktmrfs wrote:
IMHO NO for BLACK AND GREY!. Why, with the tanks open there is NO p trap between the sewage system and the trailer. so.... no there is a open path between the sewage and smell.

Seen this happen a few times when someone had the grey open and they and other complained about sewer smell. It was most noticeable of course around one trailer. First question. is your grey dump valve open? Yes.... well close it and yup smell went away.

Of course, I do not know anything about any RV that I have never owned, but every one I have ever owned (including our current Southwind) had a P trap under the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, and the shower, and a water seal in the toilet. Camp trailer, Travel trailer, fifth wheel, Class C, truck camper, and three Class A's; all had P traps!
When parked long term, we always left the black tank valve closed until nearly full, and the grey tank valve open. We use a dish pan for washing dishes, and dump the dish water down the toilet. Extra water in the black tank is a good thing, it seems. No odor problems, even when full timing and parking in one place for up to 6 months.

Not that big of a deal to pull the valve every 2-3 days. Leave the stinky slinky connected, but leave the valves closed.

Mike

As others have said, definitely "NO!" for the black tank. I've opened our gray while the crew took showers, and then closed it afterward. Just remember, when your gray valve is open without liquids flowing out, your RV becomes a sewer vent for the campground sewer/septic system. If you're going to leave the valve open, you really should position the dump hose to create a "trap" to keep unwanted odors, flies, etc. from entering your tank.

~Rick

Sam4msu wrote:
I’m camping long term, will probably be here several months. I find I am dumping my tanks about every 2-3 Days. Is it okay to just leave my black and grey valves open so they constantly dump or should I continue to dump every couple of days?

No and no on leaving either the black or gray tank valves open.

Are you by your self?
When I am camping with no sewer hook up I can go weeks before having to break camp to dump the black.

Check to see where your bathroom sink dumps into. On many RV's the bathroom sink water dumps into the black which makes it fill up real fast.

Brushing teeth and washing hands in that sink puts more water down the drain into the black tank than you think. Before I knew this I 'too' was dumping every couple of days.

When I found this out I stopped using the bathroom sink which increased my time between dumps by a whole week!!

I've noticed that our former RV, a small 5th wheel, the tanks seemed to drain slowly compared to our Class C Itasca. You can hear the contents whoosh out with reassuring speed. That seems important. The floor of the tanks must have much more slope.

After a couple of bouts fighting sewer flies, I don't leave any waste valves open, don't leave a hose connected. I treat the connection at a full hookup site as a visit to the dump station.

Sam4msu : Thanks for the advice. Makes perfect sense. It is the grey tank that I have been having to dump every couple of days, I’ve just been dumping the black when I dump the grey for convenience sake.

It's best not to dump the black tank until it's 2/3 full so the contents can flow out fast and freeley

IMHO NO for BLACK AND GREY!. Why, with the tanks open there is NO p trap between the sewage system and the trailer. so.... no there is a open path between the sewage and smell.

Seen this happen a few times when someone had the grey open and they and other complained about sewer smell. It was most noticeable of course around one trailer. First question. is your grey dump valve open? Yes.... well close it and yup smell went away.