We r going to try state TV park this year in MI. Our issues are we have bene spoiled at RV resorts having full hookups and don't know how we will manage without sewer an water. Does anyone know if Muskegon State or Ludington or Silver Lake State Parks have a company that goes around the campsites and you pay them for emptying your tanks? A Fellow RV'r told us about these etype of companies that do this for RV parks that don't offer sewer hook up but they are not from MI so they don't know if this is offered in our state parks. TY for any advice.
I don't know about any black tank clean out companies in this area, but all three campgrounds that you mentioned have a dump station. And they also have a central water faucet for refilling your fresh water tank.
Thanks. I did hear form the MI state park reservation line that they have dump stations an central h20 to fill up h20 tank but having to break down my camp an drive my RV over to dump station is not ideal for me, esp! since being in RV resorts past 2yrs we've been so spoiled with full hook up we don't k ow how we will like having to move our RV to go dump an fill up h20 tanks. It will for sure be a change for us so we will try it and if not to our liking after our 1st state park stay which is at Ludington then we will just reserve in surrounding RV Resort parks for our other 2 state park weeks an cancel the state parks. So we are thankful to have that as am Orion if we don't like state park stays. But we are sfi)l very interested in knowing if any1 knows if a honey pot wagon company does go around to any of these state parks for campers to pay for their emptying service.
I've stayed in state parks in a number of states and have never seen or heard of a mobile pump out service in any of them. We use a portable waste tank to empty our tanks as needed without having to break down our campsite when we don't have an on site sewer hookup.
We carry ours on brackets attached to our rear ladder, and I've also them stowed on rear platforms, modified bike racks, and 'L' brackets attached to a square rear bumper. I don't know what your RV is, but there's likely a way it can be done.
I agree most state parks probably don't offer honey wagon service, but yrs ago we were at a rather large state park in MA that had an outside vendor that came in an offered the service, remember getting a phone number on check as we took advantage of the service. It might be a long shot but wouldn't hurt to call the park office. If you need to stretch out your frest water you can buy a 5 gallon tote or 2 that fits nicely on your picnic table. This has worked well for us in the past. https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Water-Carrier-Gallons-Blue/dp/B00168PI4S/ref=sr_1_36?crid=2JHAMR0WO65C&keywords=5+gallon+fresh+water+tote+for+camping&qid=1646153379&sprefix=5+gallon+frest+water+totes+for+camping,aps,72&sr=8-36 Mike
thank you much! we do use a 5gallon water jug we buy at Kroger & we put a filtered hand pumper on it and we actually keep the jug inside our double sided sink so it doesn't move around in traveling and then put out in our outside kitchen counter on our Class A Holiday Rambler when we set up. I will call the state park again and ask do they know of any outside dumping service private companies. Thanks!
we carry our Golf Cart rack on back of our RV, Class A Holiday Rambler. My husband said he will see if he has extra room to tie it down on the golf cart itself ad the tow rack as no room but for the golf cart and our bikes are attached to the back ladder. Thanks!
With a golf cart I would think you would have a really good way to make use of one of the portable waste tanks. They are not that heavy when empty,and when you filled it you just hook to it with the golf cart and away you go to the dump station. Might have to make more than one trip but still easier than "breaking camp" just to go dump.
I agree... I just made a "dump run" this morning with our portable tank. One trip for black water and one for grey water took about 30 minutes in total. The dump station isn't far away here, maybe about a quarter mile, but even at a previous park where the dump station was over a mile away, it only added a few more minutes to each trip at the slow speed the tanks require. It definitely beats breaking camp just to dump.
The comfort in the trip is highly important for my family too. To be spoiled by RV resorts with full hookups make you think and search closely about the places you go. Being without the sewer and water is quite uncomfortable for us, too. In general, comfort is very important while traveling, unless you prefer to live like savages. For example, we bought a whole set of furniture. Such as a dining table, camping chairs, and more others. By the way, a very good camp chairs review is here https://www.momentumadventure.com/best-backpacking-chair/ . So it's beneficial for your comfort to find a dump station near the place you stay.
My wife and I can go about a week before we need to dump the tanks. We find that a reasonable trade-off for the nicer sites and locations of the state and national park campgrounds. That they're also easier on our budget doesn't hurt either. Next week we'll be at a National Park Service campground in southern Florida at $15/night with our Senior Access Pass. For Florida's peak season, that's an incredible bargain even if I will have to dump our tanks part way through our 10 day stay.
Hi Dutch, I'm curious as to the size of your gray water tank . The Jayflight 24RBS we purchased has a 39 gallon gray tank vs the 30 gallon tank on my Hybrid. Most of our trips will just be the two of us and we will be now using the shower on our 24rbs now that we have more storage available. Once I get my trailer up an running, I'm thinking of an Rv tote tank for the extended stay trips with limited hookups. Mike
so which dump tote do all of U recommend? n how bad is spillage on the outside of it as u remptying your tanks n at the dump station? is there a hose to wash it out etc. yuck is what my stomach keeps telling me lol
Our gray tank holds 35 gallons and the black holds 27 gallons. When we don't have a sewer hookup we usually shower every other day using the navy system with sponge baths in between. Our fresh tank holds 65 gallons.
I like our Thetford SmartTote2 XL, at least as anyone can "like" any waste tank. Our's is the 27 gallon model, but I typically dump the black tank before it's quite full, and then finishing filling it with gray water. The second trip is all gray water, giving the tank a good rinse. I haven't had any spillage problems to date. The tank is equipped with a standard bayonet fitting that connects to the RV dump port for filling, and there's level gauge that warns if it's getting full. https://www.amazon.com/SmartTote2-40518-Portable-Wheels-27-Gallons-Thetford-40518/dp/B00P3SLOFY/
The fresh water tank on my Jayco RBS is 76 gallons where as my Jayco X20E is an awful 22 gallons. Thanks for the info as it gives me a good idea on our potential usage in the future. Mike
Yuck is what my stomach and everything else told me too. I used one TWICE and discovered very quickly that using one was not for me. We can usually go 5 to 7 before I have to decamp to dump and we are usually ready to move on by then anyway. The few times that we extend our stay past a full tank, I have to deal with packing up. It's a P I T A but I can't do the alternative. Darrell
I don't know which portable tank you tried, but I don't find our Thetford any more difficult or nasty to use than dumping the RV tanks directly.
