Tote Along Bumper Bracket

[DLBacon]

I am new to the forum.  I have read and learned alot from all you and now am need of some help. I have a 2004 Fleetwood Utah and just bought a 32 Gallon 4 Wheel Tote Along to capture my sink water.  Have not tried it out yet.  First camping trip is in February on the beach. I will let you know how I like it. Here is my problem.  I want to mount the tote along on my bumper with a bracket so I don't lose it on the highway but also want to be able to lock it so it doesn't get stolen when I stop.  I saw a bracket on EBay once but I have had no luck finding it or another one for sale.  I can make one but first wanted to see if anyone else out there has made one? I up for lots of suggestions.

Thanks for all the help,

David

[tlhdoc]

Welcome to PUT!

People have made brackets and mounted light weight items on the rear bumper.  I want to point out that the bumpers are not very strong and that you should reinforce the bumper before you mount the tank.  A cable lock should work for securing it to the camper.  Good luck on your project and if you can take pictures of it as you go.  We like to see pictures.

[fritz_monroe]

Welcome to the forum.  I don't use a wheeled tote, but use Aquatainers.  I was thinking about doing this same mod for my Aquatainers, just haven't gotted around to it.  I second the recommendation to beef up the bumper, and I second the request for pics.

[dthurk]

It's always better to beef up the bumper than not if you're going to use it to support items you carry.  An empty blue tote, however, will be much less weight that a spare tire that many carry on the bumper.  I would think the bumper would be beefy enough to carry it as it is.  Check with your dealer.  

My question would be 32 gallons of blue tote?  That's some serious dish washing.  You will never carry or lift that thing, you'll have to tow it to a dump station.  Most use 5 to 7 gallon aqua-tainers from WalMart and dump in the bathhouse every few days.

[Hargus]

My question would be 32 gallons of blue tote?  That's some serious dish washing.  You will never carry or lift that thing, you'll have to tow it to a dump station.  Most use 5 to 7 gallon aqua-tainers from WalMart and dump in the bathhouse every few days.[/QUOTE]

I think I'm going to bring my dishes and etc over there so I don't have to carry my 5 gallon gray water tank.

[CAPEd CODger]

I am new to the forum.  I have read and learned alot from all you and now am need of some help. I have a 2004 Fleetwood Utah and just bought a 32 Gallon 4 Wheel Tote Along to capture my sink water.  Have not tried it out yet.  First camping trip is in February on the beach. I will let you know how I like it. Here is my problem.  I want to mount the tote along on my bumper with a bracket so I don't lose it on the highway but also want to be able to lock it so it doesn't get stolen when I stop.  I saw a bracket on EBay once but I have had no luck finding it or another one for sale.  I can make one but first wanted to see if anyone else out there has made one? I up for lots of suggestions.

Thanks for all the help,

David

Welcome!
Check out the rear bumper shelf I put on the Cape Cod.
Paste the link in my signature line into your browser.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/39658095Gtsver

Or click on above link.

Happy Camping!!
Bob

[AustinBoston]

My question would be 32 gallons of blue tote?  That's some serious dish washing.  You will never carry or lift that thing, you'll have to tow it to a dump station.  Most use 5 to 7 gallon aqua-tainers from WalMart and dump in the bathhouse every few days.

Indeed!  32 gallons of water weighs over 250 lbs!  I have to muscle my 15 gallon grey water tank, I could not imagine trying to manage twice that.

Austin

[wavery]

I was thinking of getting a large, gray-water, tote for a while.  I opted for 2, 5 gallon containers. Whenever we take a walk to the restroom, we switch the containers and take the one with water in it, with us and dump it in the toilet. It usually has about 1 or 2 gallons in it and it is very light.

I changed my mind when we went to Refugio last year. I was watching some guy towing his large gray water tote, to dump it. I thought, "Now, that's cool :sombraro: ". Then, I saw him sit in line at the dump station for about an hour :yikes:  while motorhomes dumped their holding tanks. Then I thought, "That's not cool ".

[ScoobyDoo]

After vacation, I was trashing the large detergent jug. 300 oz, almost 2 1/2 gal sounds like a great graywater tank for overnite.

[wavery]

After vacation, I was trashing the large detergent jug. 300 oz, almost 2 1/2 gal sounds like a great graywater tank for overnite.

Great idea IMO. I seldom see more than 2 gallons in my gray water jugs before I dump them. I think that I will get rid of 1 of my 5gal jugs and use an empty laundry detergent jug. Thanks for the idea.

[dthurk]

We do have a 25 gallon blue tote, but we've got 38 gallon grey and black tanks, and a bit more on board generating waste water than a kitchen sink.  If we're looking to stay somewhere without sewer hookups, we've got to tow the stuff to the dump station every few days.  I'll fill the tote when needed, then dump it in the evening when the dump station is not being used.  Dumping it in the morning when everyone is leaving is not thinking ahead.   We carry the tote in the camper when traveling and store it underneath near the waste valves when camping.

When we had the PUP, I used a 7 gallon aqua-tainer and dumped it fairly frequently in the bathhouse, as Wavery said.

[Wild Wild Qwest]

DLBacon, Welcome to PUT!

We have a 25gal. blue tote that we keep on the floor of our Sequoia. We slip a fitty something gallon trash bag over it. It's really nice to be able to shower and use the sink all week without filling it up. I don't want to be bothered dumping on a daily basis. Our tote has a tow bar that just slips over the ball. I take it up to the dump station when I dump the cassette potti.

[DLBacon]

Great idea IMO. I seldom see more than 2 gallons in my gray water jugs before I dump them. I think that I will get rid of 1 of my 5gal jugs and use an empty laundry detergent jug. Thanks for the idea.

:U
We camp about 7 days at a time and with a family of 5 we  seem to use about 10-15 gallons of water a day. Washing dishes 3 times a day and cleaning hands.  I had (2) 5 gallon jugs but they were always over-flowing.  I was tired of cheerios floating under the camper.  With a 32 gallon tote- along dolly (pulling it with my truck) to empty it now every 2 or 3 days should solve my (cheerios) problem.  The dolly has a 3 inch waste gate and hose attachment for no fuss dumping.  We mostly camp at military sites and have not seen the big lines mentioned.  I plan on mounting it on the bumper empty so the weight on the bumper should not be a problem but will certainly take all your suggestions.  If I make one I will send pictures and hopefully help some other avid campers.  Thank you all for your responses.  It is nice to know there are people who care and want to help.  Thanks again.  I am still looking for more suggestions or comments.

David

[dthurk]

You might check out http://www.barkermfg.com/product_pages/tote_alongs.html.  About half way down is a description of a bracket used to mount your tank to the back of the camper.  It may be something also helpful for locking it up.

[CampDirt]

I use an empty cat litter jug (Tidy Scoop).  Just screw the cap back on and dump.  Not too heavy either.  I think any 2 gallon jug with a cap on it will do.