Takes All Kinds at a Dump Station

[Happytraveler]

I can't believe people sometimes. We were at a dump station in Truckee and this couple with a 17 or 18 ft. travel trailer were cleaning, dumping and filling up with fresh water repeatedly. You could see this woman through the window working her butt off inside. They were there for an hour and careless about other people in line. I guess its always a first.

[SoundGuy]

3 pages of discussion a.k.a. ARGUMENT - all reasons why I haven't been to a dump station in years and instead service the trailer tanks at home using a FloJet Waste Macerator. Why so many others continue to beat themselves up over dump station etiquette, or more correctly lack thereof, will always continue to be a mystery to me. :h

[ZINGERLITE]

spoon059 wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
Remember, camping is as much about the journey as it is the destinations.

For those that still work and have children in school, the destinations are far more important than the journey still. I wish that courtesy, decency and awareness of others were still important traits...

Right?!?! Dump your tanks a GO! lol

[Veebyes]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I am just a weekend camper that stays close to home. I usually wait until after check out time to dump. Never had a park host come to me and complain. If I need to get going down the road quickly and the dump station is full then I know of several other dump stations along my route. One of them is in a small town near my home. They charge you 10 buck to dump but, since there is never a line there I am happy to pay the 10 bucks.

If you have reserved sites at the next campground you are going to could you dump on your way in to avoid the line ????

I don't know that is why I'm asking.

Charlie, yes you can, except in a certain SP in CO where we were issued a citation by a very young ranger for pulling into a pullthrough to dump because the CG does not have a CG dump, just the ones at the sites.

We have a DrainMaster dump system built into our trailer. The way it came. Very convenient in that there is no getting a hose out of storage, connecting, dumping, disconnecting, rinsing, then putting it back in storage. It is open the storage door, pull the hose out, place in dump, push button to open valve, push button to close valve, shove hose back into storage. It is always connected.

While this is a very fast & clean to handle system it is very limited on how far that you can be from the dump. Many FHU sites are unusable for us. If a dumping is needed, every 4 or 5 days, we will either use the CG communal dump or quickly use an empty pull through site. If available we will check with the camp host or somebody first.

In well over 1600 camping nights we have only had issue with the one CO SP ranger. Got a citation for doing it after getting the OK from the CG host.

Don't do it at Cheyenne Mtn SP if that nasty young female ranger is about.

[Veebyes]

If folks only thought a little the process could be speeded up quite a bit.

I like the ones who pull ahead after dumping & stop with their inlet right next to the potable water spigot, not leaving the next vehicle room to get close to the dump because they have not gone forward enough.

Most of us have at least a 25' length of FW hose meaning that we can go 20' plus fwd of the FW spigot Giving the guy behind that much more room if he needs it to get close to the dump with minimal hose needed.

[CavemanCharlie]

I am just a weekend camper that stays close to home. I usually wait until after check out time to dump. Never had a park host come to me and complain. If I need to get going down the road quickly and the dump station is full then I know of several other dump stations along my route. One of them is in a small town near my home. They charge you 10 buck to dump but, since there is never a line there I am happy to pay the 10 bucks.

If you have reserved sites at the next campground you are going to could you dump on your way in to avoid the line ????

I don't know that is why I'm asking.

[austinjenna]

On crowded holiday weekends at some MI state parks, you may see the camp hosts running the dump station--you stay in your truck, they dump your tanks, you leave. Speeds up the process quite a bit

I have seen similar where a VIP will be at the station and already have a sewer hose out so no need to get your out and since they dont have a spigot to use a flusher it moves the line pretty quick.


One thing I dont understand at least at a lot of the ohio state park we have a big metal plate that you lift up and the sewer hole is under that. But when folks are done they close everything back up like nobody is behind them. Just leave it open as the next person has to then lift it. Pet peeve I guess

[drsteve]

On crowded holiday weekends at some MI state parks, you may see the camp hosts running the dump station--you stay in your truck, they dump your tanks, you leave. Speeds up the process quite a bit.

[mgirardo]

Before we were seasonal campers, we only camped without sewer a few times a year. If the dump station line had more than 1 RV there, we'd just pass it on by and deal with it when we got home. I'd rather pay $5 - $10 (at local CG or Flying J) to dump at my leisure than wait in a line at a dump station.

-Michael

[nodepositnoretu]

Holding that frustration in is not healthy, with a line of campers waiting to dump it would not be out of line to ask the offenders to pull into the lot to finish cleaning their camper. The line of people could be pointed out , chances are they will look up and be shocked and embarrassed. Now it’s theones that saw bugger off I’m done when I’m done that are a problem ( everywhere they go and to everyone they meet)

[memtb]

Or at a fuel station! Was waiting for an extended time frame....they were eating lunch in the “shade”!

[2gypsies1]

We once traveled in Alaska with two other RVers. When we went to the dump station I dumped but kept the hose out. The next one drove up and I dumped them. The same with the next one. Three RVs done in 10 minutes!

[Veebyes]

Best to go before the rush at checkout time or wait for awhile after checkout time when the line dies down. Never really run into a line except on a Sunday when all a rushing off to do whatever it is that they are in a hurry to do Sunday afternoon.

The dawdlers are maddening especially when the process can be speeded up with a little help from the DW sitting in the cab doing nothing.

[ksg5000]

Sometimes just a polite inquiry whether there is a problem and if they need help is enough to encourage people to wake up and figure out they are holding up the line.

[cross21114]

BarabooBob wrote:
I was going to talk to him about it but my wife changed my mind for me.

Is that when the smooching starts?

[rockhillmanor]

As a full timer I think I have seen them all.

The best one for me though was pulling up to a dump station to dump and out of the corner of my eye I see two guys leaning up against the back of my MH peering around the corner of the back end watching me. :R

I finally walked back to them and asked them if I could help them with something?

In unison both said YES!......
They had borrowed a TT to attend a weekend stock car race with 4 of their friends, black tank was bulging and they didn't have a clue on how to dump!! They thought if they watched me they could get an idea how to do it.. :B

I finished dumping my MH. Pulled around parked my MH and went back and dumped their tanks for them.