Campgrounds without sewer hook up

[Crawfordville]

We went camping with our Bullet Premier 32BH for the first time during Labor Day weekend. Before the Bullet Premier we had a pop-up ( had to campgrounds facilities). We used the sewer connection at the campground and we really enjoyed using the facilities of the Premier camper(shower, sink, toilet). My question is this: What do you do when you go to a campground that does not have sewer? Can the shower still be used? The kitchen sink? I'm unclear on how that works. Does it mean that we're stuck and would have to use the dump station for the shower and kitchen sink? Or buy one of those carts?

Thanks for your experienced input...

[JamesBr]

One of my favorite campgrounds only has partial hookup sites. But even with 2 adults over 5 days and 4 nights we can avoid filling the grey tank. But you have to be aware of your water usage in the shower and when cleaning dishes. I am sure by the time I picked up to leave and stopped at the dump station that the 40 gallon grey tank was nearly full. A smaller tank would make it a little more difficult, but as long as everyone does what they can to slow down filling the grey it works well.

Though I do prefer full hookup, I wont limit myself to only full hookup sites.

[loulou57]

Nvr2loud wrote:

bedell wrote:
then just dump the water in the woods. Biodegradable soap and no issues....

This could be a problem in some parks in states where any kind of surface dumping is outlawed. Best to check the local regulations rather than risk a fine and/or eviction.

I didn't even know that some places outlaw surface dumping, I've never camped outside Ontario. I even dump my fresh water on site as I drive away.

I am in Ontario also. You are not allowed to dump your grey water, sink dish water or even brush your teeth and dump water in the bush. If you are caught doing this in a provincial park you can be evicted. Where do you camp in Ontario?

[Nvr2loud]

bedell wrote:
then just dump the water in the woods. Biodegradable soap and no issues....

This could be a problem in some parks in states where any kind of surface dumping is outlawed. Best to check the local regulations rather than risk a fine and/or eviction.

I didn't even know that some places outlaw surface dumping, I've never camped outside Ontario. I even dump my fresh water on site as I drive away.

[Seattle_Lion]

downtheroad wrote:

Crawfordville wrote:
For me, I think we are going to steer clear of campgrounds that don't have a sewer connection.

To each his own...but why even have an RV?
Maybe hotel/motels or out west many state campgrounds offer cabins and yurts.

It feels like we are getting a bit pedantic. There are plenty of reasons to have an RV without dry camping. We have our first travel trailer and frankly I always look for full hookups. Why? Because I like convenience and comfort and while some full hookup sites are not as rustic as we may like, they are way better than local hotels/motels.

Some of us don't necessarily want to "camp", but rather "vacation". We consider our TT to be our vacation house. As such, we want all the amenities we would have in a stationary house. So yes, we want long showers, private bath, satellite TV, etc. Our TT cost a lot of money (a lot less than the motor RV's, but still a lot for us). If we wanted to "camp" we would have used our tent.

My point is that one reason there are so many different RV's is that there are so many different ways people want to use them. Roughing it is not "camping" with a 30 ft RV that isn't hooked up to water and sewer. Nor am I a "sissy" for wanting full hookups.

It's silly to imagine that people shouldn't own a TT if they aren't willing to use the facilities that came with it. We have power, water, and sewer hookups so that we can enjoy the comfort and convenience of our TT's. Choosing not to use these things doesn't make you a "true camper", just someone willing to forgo some convenience for the sake of enjoying a spot without the hookups.

[PenMan]

We almost never have full hookups since we prefer state parks but we do have large holding tanks (85 gal. fresh, 57 gal. gray and 41 gal. black) as well as a portable tote which we seldom need. We usually have to add a lot of water to the black tank to get it full enough to dump after 4 or 5 days of camping. There are normally just the two of us using the TT facilities.

[dadmomh]

daveyboy12....no, it'll get you into big trouble if the ranger or CG host sees it. And the dishwater usually includes some food particles that attract some unwanted guests. Grey tank and then dump at the appropriate place.

We love the luxury of a full hookup, but it's not the determining factor in deciding where to go. Water and electric are a much higher priority. Learning to use water like you're paying for it by the ounce will gain you lots of time before you need to dump the grey. Usually just the 2 of us and we can get 3 - 4 days before the blue tote gets used. DH just does it as part of the camping chores and he is done and back in maybe 10 minutes and doesn't even break a sweat. We've never been in one place long enough to need to dump the black before we were ready to leave. Sunday morning clean up and I'm very generous with water going into the black tank since in an hour we're going to dump and the extra liquid helps. Also have never waited behind more than 1 other camper at the dump station....we just stay and enjoy for another hour and the "rush hour" is over and then it's clear. With our HTT, dumping was a bit more work just because of the way it was set up, but not enough to make DH grumpy about it. With our new TT it's a snap. Another 10 - 15 minutes and we're on our way.

Personal opinion and not intended to be pushy, but I think you could enjoy a lot more great places if you'd just give it a try a few times. COE campgrounds are awesome. Most state parks, at least in TN, MS and KY the same, and almost all have water and electric to the site. We rarely camp in MO since many don't have water to the site and that really DOES make DH grumpy when he finds this out after we're there and don't have a mile of hose with us. Don't think we've ever camped without electric and likely wouldn't. Boondocking just doesn't appeal to us. But, to each his own. We won't have full hookups this weekend at our fav CG and it's perfectly fine with us. We love it just the way it is.

[daveyboy12]

Can't you just run the grey water off to the side at most state parks? Its only used dishwater for the most part.

[Lantley]

Assuming you're a new camper I don't want to badger you for thinking being without a full hook up is too much trouble. It is certainly more work to use a site without full hook ups that part you have figured out.
However W/E or even electric only sites offer a whole other world of camp sites.
In general W/E sites are bigger and in more wonderful,unique and fantastic places.
Lots of times it's not feasible financially or logistically to install sewers in certain areas. But that doesn't mean you can't design and build a very nice CG without sewers.
You owe it to yourself to check out the COE or state parks in your area. Most will not have full hook ups,but they will be great CG's.
Lake front lots,sites with no neighbors in close proximity,sites located right on the beach are a few of the things you are missing by only using FHU sites.

Once you get a better understanding of your RV and its capabilities you will cut the cord, and enjoy camping without a sewer just as much. Yes you will have to invest in a portable Tote (get a Barker large enough to hold your entire gray tank). But you will discover there are great CG's without sewer.
And the biggest bonus is No sewer sites can be 20% to 50% cheaper.
I've stayed at Scusset Beach State Park in the Cape Cod Area for $30.00 or so, Four Mile Creek at Niagara Falls $40.00 or so. Being able to stay in a true resort area at a discount rate is a bonus.
You may also try and reserve prime time at a popular CG and find all FHU sites are booked but W/E is available. I have just as much fun at Frontiertowne in OC MD in a W/E site as I do with FHU.
You may not agree with my experiences, but don't write off non sewer sites until you try them. There is more to comparing a FHU site vs. a W/E site then just the connection!

[Mike_Up]

downtheroad wrote:

Crawfordville wrote:
For me, I think we are going to steer clear of campgrounds that don't have a sewer connection.

To each his own...but why even have an RV?
Maybe hotel/motels or out west many state campgrounds offer cabins and yurts.

Those huts are cool. Wish more campgrounds offered those. They sure beat tents.

[Mike_Up]

It's camping, I like to keep the trailer parks out of the campgrounds. 😉

I only camp in State Parks and they only have electric hookup, no septic, no water hookup. But do have dump stations. There are a couple of private RUSTIC campgrounds I go but they are even limited on hiking trails and outdoor nature activities.

I have used a 25 gallon blue tote with my pop ups and now with my travel trailers. It's easy, it's takes 15 minutes to open the valve, dump to the tote, then dump the tote at the station.

Hek, I even get a site close enough to a water spicket so I can use 3 or 4 50' hoses to fill my fresh water tanks. Now with 90 gallon tanks, I don't need to do that as often.

It would be nice to have full hookups at State Parks but most don't. Theres some State Reservoirs that have full hookups but they are booked a year in advance.

We like nature and really don't like to be around partiers. I get enough of that from my inconsiderate neighbors. I don't want to pay to be in the middle of it.

To get the better things in life, sometimes you have to give up some things.

[skipnchar]

Unless you plan on keeping it as a reminder off of your adventures you will need to dump your tanks. Best place to do that is the dump station. I would guess you hooked up an open tank to the sewer before and if true it's just a matter of time until you have worse things to worry about than dumping, leave that valve closed until the tank is nearly full then open it. True whether using dump or sewer hook up.

[love2rvcamp]

We camp at both types. While it is easier to have full hookups we do enjoy state parks.

When we camp for a week our black (sewage) generally can go 5 days before we have to dump. The grey (shower, sinks) generally once a day. We have one of the gray totes that we will use to dump the grey water in. I will say some state parks have grey water dumps around the campground where you can run a hose from your trailer to the ground dump to drain your grey. It is NOT for sewer.

Not sure if you know this or not but you should NEVER leave your dump valves for sewer open at full hook up parks. You should keep the valve close until your tanks are full then pull the valve dump the tank close and add chemicals to the next time. If you leave them valve open you will have issues with paper that has stuck to the walls and can get costly to repair. In order for the paper to go out you have to have lots and lots of water. Did I mention lots of water.

Good luck and happy camping.

[bedell]

then just dump the water in the woods. Biodegradable soap and no issues....

This could be a problem in some parks in states where any kind of surface dumping is outlawed. Best to check the local regulations rather than risk a fine and/or eviction.

[mbopp]

Our favorite cg's don't have hookups but this works for us:

DW & I just went 8 days w/o emptying the 37-gallon black tank and there was quite a bit of capacity left. We did use the cg bathrooms when convienent and we were gone during the day.

For fresh water I bought a new 15-gallon plastic barrel. It lays on its side on an inverted cut-down wood pallet in the truck bed. I put a capped vent on the top and a garden-hose bib & 3/4" plastic ball valve on the bottom. It's pressure filled off a cg faucet then gravity fed into the trailer fw tank with a white hose.

For gray water I have a 30-gallon plastic drum (bought as surplus.) It's also fitted with a vent and ball valve. I use a 12V marine pump to get the water from the TT tank into the drum, then drive to the cg dump station and empty it. It's plumbed with old garden hose pieces.

I've been using this setup for several years so DW can use the shower in the TT instead of the cg showers.

[Nvr2loud]

the_happiestcamper wrote:
Easily can go a week or more. We put rubbermaid containers in the sink when we wash dishes, don't use our shower, and use the CG toilet as much as possible.

We use rubbermaids to wash outside, then just dump the water in the woods. Biodegradable soap and no issues....