Use of campground bathrooms

We are now on our third RV (two TT and now a 5er) and have never put anything solid down the toilet in any of them. The nearest we came was after eating a meal at a place near Spokane and then regurgitating it back up the following morning. Using this site, we have always been careful when picking our destinations and will only select a CG or resort that has very good reviews. Our first TT had only a very basic shower so we did use the CG shower facilities then. Now we have a full sized walk in shower in the 5er we haven't use any CG show facilities even though we know they are clean & tidy. I too leave the grey tank open except for the last day or so when I know we are leaving. I do create an U trap in the Rhino hose to prevent odors coming back up the pipe but I keep the black tank closed until we are due to depart. After draining that, I rinse the Rhino using the grey tank and have the black tank washer spray rinse the tank thoroughly and then use it to put about a 1/4 tank of clean water back in. I wasn't aware of All Pro Water Flow - thanks Joel. I will give hem a call at the end of next season for the grey tanks.

 

The San-T-Flush system isn't something you use when you have a problem; it's something we use as a normal part of our tank drain and flush procedure. It's an easy to use system that provides a fresh water spray into the black tank that helps to wash solids away.

Many RVers will tell you that this is a prescription for disaster in the long run. Most of us only have the black tank valve open when we are draining a large quantity of liquids and solids. Leaving it open for extended periods can result in the buildup of solids that don't flow because there isn't enough liquid to flush them away. Sometimes this buildup is referred to as a "poop pyramid."

I'm not saying that your approach is going to do you harm, but you might want to search some of the larger RV forums where there are innumerable threads about managing black and gray tanks.

 

To each his own, but we've owned four RVs and have fully used the bathrooms in all of them. My wife (and I) wouldn't be interested in RVing if we had to use public restroom facilities. This is our home; we treat it as we would any other home.

 

When we purchased our Class A gasser, I was STRONGLY warned to keep that black tank valve closed with some water in the tank it at all times. Something to do with all tanks being just flat containers and "stuff" would build into a mini-mountain when you are parked, no matter how much one flushed with that foot peddle. Since DH enjoys cooking, the grey tank ALSO had the potential of nasty build-ups of food bits if we kept the grey valve open when hooked up. The WHOOSH effect, when it comes time to empty, would keep things from from building up.
Now we enjoy a stationary 5'ver that has a black and two grey tanks: one for the kitchen, and one for the shower/laundry. The shower/laundry stays open, the others remain closed till full. Since we don't travel in this rig (to swish things loose in those tanks), we too will utilize the local tank flush team in a year or so.

 

Joel - Thanks for the info on the Sani-Flush usage. I never did take the time to really read up on what all it was for and what it did exactly, so will definitely have to get into it and give it a try. Also what you say about keeping the valves open when parked for several days does make sense so will most likely revert to keeping them closed when parked at our destination stays. Usually when we are on the road and just staying one night here and one night there I do leave them closed as our tanks can go a few days without emptying. It's only been when we are stationary for several or more days that I have recently been leaving them open. One good thing is that when we went thru our catastrophic tire failure back in Feb. of '14 it took out both grey and black tanks and new ones were put in so I shouldn't have a problem this soon on as I've only been doing this the past few trips and I do run that big bucket of fresh water down the toilet before leaving. But to be safe I will go back to the old way and thanks once again for your input. Sure don't want no "mountain" residing in our black tank that's for sure...................

Regards. Terry

 

When stopped for more than overnight we keep the Gray valve open all the time until the day before leaving. This way we don't worry about a longer shower 2 or 3 days in a row causing a backup. By keeping the Gray valve closed the day before leaving we have plenty of water to flush the hose after we dump the black tank.

We keep the black valve closed all the time until we are ready to dump. This keeps any sewer gases from the park's sewer system from entering the coach when we flush the toilet. And provides plenty of water to facilitate the black tank dump.

We use the Sani-Flush every time we dump the black tank... especially the final dump before arriving back at home.

 

The San-T-Flush is not a panacea for the black tank but it is a useful tool. I flow water through mine while I empty the black tank and that helps to flow solids out of the tank. Then I close the tank valve , let the flush system run for a couple of minutes and then dump again. You have to be attentive during this step, since letting the flush system fill the tank for too long would be disastrous!

As a final step I let the flush fill the tank for two minutes to put a "layer" of water in the bottom of the tank. That way solids are less likely to stick compared to falling into an empty, dry tank.

 

I was amazed to back in the fall of 2004 when we first went full-time RVing on how many people used the GC showers over their own. When we went hunting for our full-time rig that was one of the many things we looked at. Had to fit in the shower. I was workamping at a CG in Yuma, AZ. and even saw guys who lived in park models using the showers. I asked the manager about it. Was told that guys used the showers over the ones in the park models or their RVs because then they weren't using their own electric or propane to heat the water. Another reason was the wife didn't want to the clean the shower after the husband was done. I guess the guys didn't know how to clean a shower?

We leave our gray tank open for the shower because we also have a washing machine in our trailer. I close the black and kitchen gray tank. Dump them once a week if in one place. Spray out the black tank each time. Wish the gray tank had a sprayer system too.

 

Just to throw in an alternate dumping scenario, I installed a third "master" valve on the combined waste outlet of our coach. I haven't installed tank flushing setups yet, so my typical dumping procedure goes like this when both tanks are near full: Open the master valve and then the black valve. When the black tank finishes draining, close the master valve, and with the black valve still open, open the grey valve until the two tanks equalize. Since our grey tank is about twice the capacity of the black tank, the black tank is nearly full again at that point. Then the grey valve gets closed, and the master opened to drain the black once more. The whole process gets repeated once more, except that after the black tank drains this time, the grey valve is opened with the master valve still open to flush the hose while draining the last of the grey water. With all valves now closed, a minute or so holding the toilet flush valve open adds enough water to the black tank to keep the seals and any residual solids wet. The third valve also works on no sewer hookup sites for combing the two tank capacities, extending the time between trips to the dump station. If needed, it's also handy in case one of the other valves starts leaking. I also have a "flush stick" on board in case a stronger tank wall wash down is required. For that, I made an adapter that let's me use the shower hose rather than dragging a garden hose all the way through the coach.

 

Seems obvious but NYDutch... you no longer have a Gray tank it's now a Black tank. When you mix those two like you're doing it goes both ways.

 

Yes, of course there can be some cross mixing to the grey tank, but so what? Houses with a septic system only have one tank and manage just fine that way, as do most tour buses and some upscale motorhomes. If I was in an area that allowed draining the grey water on the ground, then of course combining the tanks would not be good.

 

I for one listened and learned something from this thread and will be trying out the procedure outlined by Creativepart in his first paragraph. Seems doable and makes sense to me. We leave in a few days on a 16 day sojourn from No. Calif. up to Washington and then all the way back down to San Diego so this will be a good test for his procedure for me to try in those places we are staying for a few days. As I have done before, on the over night stops I don't even hook up to the park sewer system as that saves time getting on the road in the mornings. Great thread, thanks to everyone for their input here..................

Safe travels.........BankShot

 

The one thing I can think of that could be a drawback to your approach is that the grey drain line is often substantially smaller diameter pipe than the black. In theory some solids from the black tank side could migrate into the grey tank drain which could block a portion of the pipe. I don't see that as a high probability occurrence, but it is possible. My grey and black drains come into a common manifold from opposite directions and I am very careful to make sure that the grey valve is shut before opening the black one to avoid any backflow.

 

The 2" diameter grey tank drain line on my coach is not likely to get clogged with black tank contents before they break down. This isn't something I do with any regularity, just an alternative that's available when needed. The third valve's other applications see much more use.

 

I'd definitely not intermix black and gray since the gray tanks have no way to keep them venting into the rig through sinks or the shower drain. You at least have a seal with the toilet.

We also never leave tanks open unless dumping for the same reason. I always dump the black first, then kitchen then bath to try to insure all sewage is washed from the line and hose.

 

The sinks and the shower all have water seal traps on the drains to prevent sewer gases from entering the living space, just as in a sticks & bricks residence. It's not uncommon for the grey tank to smell as bad as or even worse than the black tank when it sits for awhile.

 

Just wanted to add one more thing to this thread. When we are parking the coach and not using it for a while I always pour a couple of ounces of the sanitizing chemical used in the black tank, into the grey tank as well. I was told early on this would not be a problem. Any of you guys/gals do this also.................?

BankShot

 

BankShot: Any of you guys/gals do this also...?
Yep. Works like a charm too.

 

Most places we stay (state and federal parks) don't have sewer hookups. We all wear flip flops in the showers to prevent getting athlete's foot.

 

For us, our facility habits changed with our camper. In our previous trailer we only used the toilet at night and never used the tiny shower. Our new bathroom/shower are very nice and the trailer has a 10 gallons water heater so we now rarely use the campground facilities.