Should I connect my sewer line when camping?

[someuser001]

I have heard different things about this. When I am camping at a spot which has electricity, water and sewer, I have been told to just connect the electricity and water. I have been told to connect the sewer when i am leaving to clean out as normal.

What is your opinion?

[Bob_E_]

I always hook up the sewer line even before putting out the slides since the outlet (and even the pull handles for the dump valves) are under the bedroom slide and a real pain to get to. Why they didn't at least put the pull handles somewhere else is beyond me.

[Grit_dog]

4 pages on this scintillating topic....wow!

[Veebyes]

We never ask for a FHU site. They tend to be close together & we don't have any interest in the smell, our own or the neighbours.

As needed dump on the way out otherwise don't even get the hose out.

[ssthrd]

aftermath wrote:
Aside from all the people that can go 5 weeks without dumping, I think common sense is what you need. We purchased our trailer so we could travel with it and enjoy the amenities. Staying overnight we might not hook up and simply move down the road.

When we actually camp in place for two nights or more, I hook up and never, never leave the black valve open. I will leave the gray tank open so we can take showers and such. There is no need to worry about "tank flies" getting into your trailer. The gray tank is protected via P traps at all fixtures.

The day before we leave I will close the gray tank so that it can fill when we disconnect. At times I have to leave a faucet run to make sure it is full. I will also open the flush valve to make sure the black tank is full or close to full before dumping.

+1.......

[doxiemom11]

Connect and leave your valves closed until you are ready to dump it. Of course, this also depends on how long you are staying. Me -- I shower every day. We don't let the grey run as we want to use it when it's time to do the black and rinse the hose with it. In between a full dump if the grey gets full, all it takes is pulling a handle and pushing it back in when done.

[camperdave]

If I'm going to dump during my stay, then I'll hook up upon arrival. Hate to be in at day three to find out that there is some problem with the hookup in the site, rather set everything up at the beginning to find out any issues (same for electric and water).

I too leave gray open, black closed. then close gray the day before leaving to make sure there's enough water to flush the hose after dumping the black.

[aftermath]

Aside from all the people that can go 5 weeks without dumping, I think common sense is what you need. We purchased our trailer so we could travel with it and enjoy the amenities. Staying overnight we might not hook up and simply move down the road.

When we actually camp in place for two nights or more, I hook up and never, never leave the black valve open. I will leave the gray tank open so we can take showers and such. There is no need to worry about "tank flies" getting into your trailer. The gray tank is protected via P traps at all fixtures.

The day before we leave I will close the gray tank so that it can fill when we disconnect. At times I have to leave a faucet run to make sure it is full. I will also open the flush valve to make sure the black tank is full or close to full before dumping.

[Harvey51]

We never hookup in a campsite. We only have a bathroom that gets wet when showering so we use campground showers and swimming pools. Dear wife and I can go 5 days between dumps and water refills. Solar provides all the electricity we need in a climate that rarely gets too warm so no need to run air conditioning.

[afidel]

I only have a 15 gallon grey tank, you better believe I've got a hose attached if I have full hookups!

[dcmac214]

BIG dittos!:

brianosaur wrote:
I always connect and leave the hose on because if we have sewer we are staying for a few days.

Gray tank always open with a p-trap bend in the hose to prevent gas back flow. I want to shower like a homeowner and not a sailor when possible.

Black tank has to remain closed until ready to dump. A dry/empty black tank will never evacuate solids properly and it will all just sit there and stink like an outhouse. You need to have it 1/4 full minimum with water at all times to let the solids submerge, keep the odor down and not get rock hard. Dump when full, add water and repeat.

[2012Coleman]

I usually don't hook it up until I need to, then leave it hooked up. But IMO, it's not a good idea to leave the gray water valve open. Why? Because even though you may be wiping dishes/pans out with paper towels before washing in the sink, there is still food waste that will sit on the bottom of your tank when the water runs out. Better to let it sit/float in water - besides, how big of a deal is it to open a dump valve when the tank is full? We use paper plates a lot but still use paper towels to wipe out pans before washing.

Secondly, when leaving camp, it is a good idea to dump the black tank first, then the gray which will rinse the hose of any particles that will be left behind.

[2_Retired]

We've been RVing for over 40 years and never gave much thought to your question! If we are stopping for just 1 night, we rarely hook up the sewer, unless we needed to dump, of course. Any longer than 2 nights, it's always hooked up in the beginning and we leave the grey water open - until the night before we are leaving so there is some water to help clean the black tank excess in the hose.

[austinjenna]

I hook it up then run the tank sprayer for a while to clean it out

[Lantley]

For the most part . I set up right away to get it over with. If its a short stay that I don't need to dump obviously I won't set it up.
If weather is bad on arrival I may wait for better conditions.
Sooner or later it needs to be done so I generally just get it over with when I arrive