New to TT - sewer question or lack there of

[mnewell0293]

Hi y'all - we were previous tent campers and now TT owners! HUZZAH! My question is - we are camping for 5 days at a site that only has electric and water hook ups but no sewer at our site. We have three young kids and really do rely on that "potty"!

Looking for ways we can cut down on our water in gray and black tank...maybe things I have not thought of?

Paper plates, plastic utensils (instead of washing our usual stuff)

Use the shower and bath houses at the campground when possible.

Looking for other tips and tricks from all the experts out there!

They do have a dumping station which we will use on our way out....

Anything ya got in your bag of tricks would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[dodge_guy]

First off. What size are your grey and black tanks? Ours are approx. 40gal. I can go almost 5 days with 4 of us using the bathroom. The grey tank, well that's another story. You may want to invest in a tote. At least a 15 gallon one. This way you can drain the grey tank instead of moving the whole trailer. And don't use it for the black tank, it can be too messy/smelly!

[Poppy___Nana]

When our kids where small (30+ years ago) - I always had a 5 gallon tote of water outside the trailer - this is where hand washing and ice cream cleanups where done....had a dish pan under it to catch the "run off" and that was used for feet washing at the end of the day - so they did not go into the trailer with sand on their feet and then into their beds!

[mnewell0293]

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. We will be more prepared for this trip as it's our 1st without a sewer hook up...the campground only has 9 sewer sites and they are promised to seasonal campers. We are going to the NASCAR race in Watkins Glen next month...real slim choices on camp grounds and we even made the reservations in the Winter...lol....

Again, thanks everyone!

[Farm_Camp]

doctor roy wrote:
We don't have any of the above problems. I ONLY camp where there are full hook ups. If you can't afford the extras you should consider something else as a hobby, etc.

To each his own... Your comments lack any real knowledge of the OPs situation. And... It's actually pretty rude. Who are you to say what's right and good?

We're a community trying to help one another and not to simply pass judgement. OP didn't ask about the merits of the campsite they choose. OP ask for ideas/help about dealing with their situation. OP may be a multi millionaire that likes to rough it (LOL) with the rest of us commoners... ;). Or maybe not...

[wannavolunteerF]

DR ROY, for many of us, it is not a matter of affording the extras, it is that they are not available. I, like many on here, prefer the natural surroundings and activities at State Parks. Very few state parks in GA and FL have full hookups with sewer connections. A few state parks do have sewer connections and then I will pay the upgraded fee if there is a charge. I have stayed at commercial parks when they were where I wanted to go, and am willing to pay for the sewer.

by the way, I think your comment on affording extras and considering another hobby, is way out of line. that is the kind of comment that makes people say that RV'ers are snobby and "too big for their britches".

[doctor_roy]

We don't have any of the above problems. I ONLY camp where there are full hook ups. If you can't afford the extras you should consider something else as a hobby, etc.

[johnm1]

I thought of another one ... we have bottles of hand sanitizer at the sink for the times that our hands are just "dirty" but not badly soiled ... if that makes sense.

[c3saving]

We purchased a 27 gallon tote. It does get heavy, so monitor your grey tank. When it gets to half full, I would dump it into your tote. We fortunately have a teenage boy that loves flexing his muscles. We (we have been camping with 2 other families. 15 total campers) create an outdoor washing station. Use a blue tote full of water with paper towels and soap outside to wash hands. You two tubs outside to wash dishes. One is your soapy water. Use your outside shower to get hot water in both bins. With three of us in the camper, the shower normally fills to 2/3 full in one day. We aren't taking Navy showers. The two men use the campground facilities for bathroom visits, momma uses the trailer. Like others said, the black tank usually isn't the problem.

[Bumpyroad]

Atlee wrote:
Don't think so.

For one thing, I don't use any water trying to get the hot and cold balanced enough to take a shower.

For the 2nd thing, I might use 2-2.5 gal total for the shower.

Doesn't take much water to wet down, turn off the water, soap down, then rinse off the sope.

Repeat process for the hair.

Bumpyroad wrote:

Atlee wrote:
With my hot water, I never heat it up all the way. I will cut the water heater on long enough to get the water just above my body temperature, then cut it off. That way, I just use the hot water side and don't have to worry about cooling it down with fresh water.

don't you end up using the same amount of water. 5 gal hot, 5 gal cold, vs 10 gal lukewarm?
bumpy

OK< make that 1 gal hot, one gallon cold vs 2 gallons of lukewarm.
bumpy 🙂

[Mark_and_Linda]

We do a lot of things that have been mentioned. Last camping trip we stayed a week. Daytime I use the campground facilities as much as possible, night time, use the trailer. We have a collapsible pan that we use for dish washing, we use paper plates also, full hook ups we bring out the good plates. We dump the dish water in the black tank if we need too. I know with children it is a different story, just have to teach them to be a little conservative with the water.

[reader2]

We either use the campground showers or do what my parents call military showers (turn on the water long enough to get completely wet, turn it off, and soap up. Turn the water back on just long enough to rinse). I'm a bit fussy about using plastic silverware and paper plates...so I try to wash my dishes with minimal water and no more than twice a day. Our Zinger has larger tanks than what we are used to so it's rarely a problem (fresh: 56, black: 30? and gray: 40 I think...compared to a 1995 Sunnybrook....think it held 40 gal. of fresh)

[Atlee]

Don't think so.

For one thing, I don't use any water trying to get the hot and cold balanced enough to take a shower.

For the 2nd thing, I might use 2-2.5 gal total for the shower.

Doesn't take much water to wet down, turn off the water, soap down, then rinse off the sope.

Repeat process for the hair.

Bumpyroad wrote:

Atlee wrote:
With my hot water, I never heat it up all the way. I will cut the water heater on long enough to get the water just above my body temperature, then cut it off. That way, I just use the hot water side and don't have to worry about cooling it down with fresh water.

don't you end up using the same amount of water. 5 gal hot, 5 gal cold, vs 10 gal lukewarm?
bumpy

[HappyKayakers]

Running water is your enemy. You've already gotten some good suggestions about dish washing and toilet use. Do navy showers if you don't feel like using the park facilities. When brushing teeth, fill a coffee or tea cup about 1/3 full. Dip your brush in to wet it. Brush your teeth. Rinse toothbrush in cup. Use remaining water to rinse. Spit outside.

[mnewell0293]

Doug33 wrote:
We use bottled water for all drinking purposes, including making coffee, which reduces demand on the fresh water tank.

We also have an 11-gallon portable tank to dispose of grey water. Since it has wheels, I place the handle over the hitch ball and then tow it to the dump station. This saves my back since 11 gallons is very heavy lifting up into the truck bed.

Great idea with the hitch! It think we can use this idea for sure for grey water! Thanks 😎