SmartTotes

[AZsix]

I will be buying a portable waste tank and was wondering what size would be sufficient. We use water for cleaning dishes, washing and brushing out teeth. We do have a shower but have yet to use it. When we do try camp it will probably only be for two nights at a time. Dry camping may mean a short shower for both my wife and I.

I see that Camping World has them on sale. Does anyone know of cheaper places to buy them? Does Wally World carry them?

[wavery]

I will be buying a portable waste tank and was wondering what size would be sufficient. We use water for cleaning dishes, washing and brushing out teeth. We do have a shower but have yet to use it. When we do try camp it will probably only be for two nights at a time. Dry camping may mean a short shower for both my wife and I.

I see that Camping World has them on sale. Does anyone know of cheaper places to buy them? Does Wally World carry them?

I toyed with getting one of those tanks that you can tow to the dump site with the TV. Then I got a campsite one time that I could see the dump station from my camper. I noticed that, quite often, people had to wait in line for 1/2 hour or more to dump. That gave me a new appreciation for being able to take my grey water to the restroom and dump it in the toilet. We dump it when it gets about 3 gallons in it. That makes it easy to carry and neat & easy to dump.

[MotherNature]

I toyed with getting one of those tanks that you can tow to the dump site with the TV. Then I got a campsite one time that I could see the dump station from my camper. I noticed that, quite often, people had to wait in line for 1/2 hour or more to dump. That gave me a new appreciation for being able to take my grey water to the restroom and dump it in the toilet. We dump it when it gets about 3 gallons in it. That makes it easy to carry and neat & easy to dump.

That makes me feel a lot better - I thought we were the only ones who did that!  

People look at us like we're crazy polluters even though it's all utimately going to the same place.

We use a 5-gallon pulling soap/spackle bucket under our camper waste spout (only for dishes, teeth brushing, handwashing - we don't have a potty or shower) and walk it to the restroom & spill out before it gets too heavy to handle (having a lid to the container comes in handy here!)

[PattieAM]

My PUP has both potty and shower, so bought the 25 gal. Barker Blue Tote and it has worked quite well - I check it daily, and find with quickie shower, dishes once a day, and misc. cooking water being drained - might require emptying every 3-5 days.  I will generally tote it to the dump station and empty before I empty the blackwater (toilet) tank.

[He Ruide]

I have both a sink and shower and a 22 gallon tank holds enough wastewater for a long three day weekend.

Ruide

[sacrawf]

I use a 6-gallon plastic jug from Wal-Mart that I can either take to dump station or shower house toilet.  The big advantage to me is that when empty it stores and transports flat inside the cargo box on the front of the camper.  With some hardware-store parts it connects directly with the drain hose. http://relianceproducts.com/consumer/product/76.html

I see Reliance now makes a 8 gallon plastic water bottle on wheels with a built-in handle.  At the local farm store it sells for about $35.00. http://relianceproducts.com/catalog/product/189.html

[sacrawf]

I use a 6-gallon plastic jug from Wal-Mart that I can either take to dump station or shower house toilet.  The big advantage to me is that when empty it stores and transports flat inside the cargo box on the front of the camper.  With some hardware-store parts it connects directly with the drain hose. http://relianceproducts.com/consumer/product/76.html  This serves us well, although we do not have a shower.

I see Reliance now makes a 8 gallon plastic water bottle on wheels with a built-in handle.  At the local farm store it sells for about $35.00. http://relianceproducts.com/catalog/product/189.html

[dthurk]

I toyed with getting one of those tanks that you can tow to the dump site with the TV. Then I got a campsite one time that I could see the dump station from my camper. I noticed that, quite often, people had to wait in line for 1/2 hour or more to dump. That gave me a new appreciation for being able to take my grey water to the restroom and dump it in the toilet. We dump it when it gets about 3 gallons in it. That makes it easy to carry and neat & easy to dump.

We did the same when we had a PUP, used a 5 gallon container and dumped in the bathroom when needed.  Now, with a TT with 38 gallon waste tanks, we use a 25 gallon tote tank.  Wavery's right, often the dump station has a line, but that's usually only in the morning.  We can dump easily at will in the afternoons or evenings.  We can normally go 3-5 days dry camping with 3 people before we have to seriously check tank levels.  We will still use a bucket and dump grey water in an outdoor sink to extend our time as an alternative to using the tote tank. I guess you could say we've developed a "bag of tricks" to call upon to help us with dry camping.

[MomboTN]

I have a 5 gallon bucket with a hole cut in the lid that my foam rubber sewer seal fits into.  I don't use the shower in my pup so it will have to be dumped every 2 days.  I do take it to the dump station or to an outdoor sewer that is at the water station.  At the end of the trip, I rinse it out and put my leveling boards in it. and my grey water hose.

[AZsix]

Thanks for all the replies. I too have a 5 gallon bucket that I use. I was just trying to see if it was worth getting a tote instead. Maybe I'll just stick with the bucket.

[harleywolf]

Just to chime in

[He Ruide]

I concur with everything that Rick said.  I know that two seven gallon aquatainers  are a lot cheaper than a large tote.  However, since I like camp sites that are isolated (i.e., away from the CG bathrooms  etc.), I would be making one or more daily trips to the dump station to dump grey water if I had small containers.  Also as he said, with proper timing you can have the dump station to yourself.

Just my two cents worth.

Ruide