Thoughts on a weird/unique way to empty holding tanks.

[TURNKEY]

Would it work to use just the hose to dump the tanks into a pit toilet?

Once in a very blue moon we camp in an area that has no near dump stations but has pit toilets. I have researched macerator pumps like Flo-jet but $300 plus is a lot to pay for something I wouldn't use every year.

The solution would be a two person job with a long hose. You run the hose to the pit toilet and have one person hold it there to ensure it will not fall away. The second person pulls the valve open, this will fill the hose, but probably nothing will come through the hose as the far end may be higher than the tank level.

Then if you raise the hose off the ground starting near the rv and walk the raised portion towards the toilet whatever is in the hose should go downhill into the toilet. The process will take several of these "milking" moves and some time but should work...right????

[rlw999]

TURNKEY wrote:
"do the right thing" ?????? I could have just shat in the pit toilet! Same net effect. Geesh! And it's often not a 'few' miles. It can be an hour or two each way. I travel in the southwest a lot. There are areas with very few services.

I think you missed the key point in his reply -- wilderness pit toilets are meant to handle individual users, not 40 gallons of waste at once from an RV's holding tank.

If you said you were emptying a 4 gallon cassette toilet, that would be one thing, but dumping an entire RV holding tank is something else entirely.

The US Forest Service says:

Toilet buildings are not suitable locations for emptying motor home or camping trailer gray or black water due to the large volume of material holding tanks can contain. If there is no specifically identified facility in a campground for emptying holding tanks campers must keep the material in the tanks until they can locate an appropriate dump station. It is illegal to dump these materials on Forest Service lands at any location other than in a specifically identified dump facility, and tickets will be issued to violators.

[CA_Traveler]

TURNKEY wrote:
CA Traveler...the black tank itself is vented otherwise how would you dump at all? Right? The hose won't clog, everything is pretty liquid. Now leaks...... 🙂

Of course the tanks are vented.

Consider the overall problem. The tank and hose which goes uphill are full of liquid. You lift the hose at the RV and nothing happens because it's a closed liquid system and air has no way to enter the raised portion of the hose.

Fill a hose laying on the ground with the open end elevated several feet. Close the valve to simulate water in a tank. Lifting the hose does not drain it except when lifting near the open end.

When you try this with the RV be sure to have a cap for the open end of the hose so that you can transport it somewhere to dump.

[TURNKEY]

"do the right thing" ?????? I could have just shat in the pit toilet! Same net effect. Geesh! And it's often not a 'few' miles. It can be an hour or two each way. I travel in the southwest a lot. There are areas with very few services.

[wing_zealot]

If your going to drive to a pit toilet, why not drive a few extra miles and just do the right thing and drive to a dump station. A pit toilet is not meant to handle 40 (or more) gallons of waste dumped into it at one sitting. Geesh!

[profdant139]

Turnkey, you are probably right -- it'll work, except for a few dribbles. As they say, "There's your trouble."

[2oldman]

It may work, but I wouldn't be doing it in front of anyone like a camp host or ranger. I find the shrubs and trees are much more appreciative of a drink.

As an alternative I would suggest a blue boy tank. It may take a few trips.

n0arp wrote:
I've never had much luck with garden hoses and those bayonet caps that have garden hose outlets on them.

They take a long time.

[TURNKEY]

CA Traveler...the black tank itself is vented otherwise how would you dump at all? Right? The hose won't clog, everything is pretty liquid. Now leaks...... 🙂

[TURNKEY]

madjack60 that's a simple effective system. Do you have troubles with getting the black tank clear? I imagine you can't crank the black valve all the way open to get a good flow and as a result of the slow flow do you get a build up in the tank?

[CA_Traveler]

Issues:
1. The hose will get clogged and not drain.
2. Even if not clogged lifting the hose will not drain it because it's a closed liquid system with no way for air to enter except at the very end of the hose. You could add a T and vent near the RV.
3. Sooner or later you will have a spill.

Most likely you will try this one time only.

[TURNKEY]

profdant139 if you "milk" it right I believe you could get all the effluent out of the hose, save a few dribbles. Old-Biscuit sometimes we are 50 or more miles away from a dump station. That is a lot of gas and time.

[madjack60]

I am rarely in a camp ground that has a dump station. When I get home I get a 5 gallon bucket and put it under the valve and empty 4 gal into it , take it in the house and dump in the toilet. After a weekend I empty about 4 buckets an 1 gray bucket. That takes care of black tank a rinse. After that the remaining grey water goes to my lawn. Not a pleasant job, bit around where I am it can cost from $20 to $45 to go to a dump station.

[Lwiddis]

Pit toilets are not built for RV dumping. Please don't use them for this purpose.

[azdryheat]

Seems a black tank might fill up that pit toilet pretty quick.

[Old-Biscuit]

Just drive to that dump station even if not close by and dump

[n0arp]

I highly suggest a macerator pump - we've found them very useful and have them on both rigs (Sani-Con on fifth wheel, and FloJet for TC).

It's not something I do often, but I have dumped the tanks into pit toilets a couple times. It's probably frowned upon, and as such, I generally avoid it. If I have no plans to leave a site, it's a long round-trip to an actual dump station, and the vault is very lightly used has lots of visible capacity, are about the only set of circumstances I'll do this.

I guess your method might work, but I've never had much luck with garden hoses and those bayonet caps that have garden hose outlets on them. With a larger hose - or enough actual sewer hose - it would probably work fine.

Now that we don't have black tanks (we have composting toilets), I might dump a five gallon bucket or two of grey water in every couple days. Keeps us from having to move, won't overwhelm the system, and I don't feel as bad about it.