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Old 10-31-2018, 09:43 PM   #21
Fishsizzle
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Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
EVERY campground and EVERY location have different services available. Many 'full time campgrounds" in cold weather states have "pump out services" available. Some do not. I've never heard of or seen a "dry camping only area" in any state forest or state park campground" that provides that service. I know that you'll not find "comprehensive waste fluid support" as a matter of fact upon which you could depend. Just because one campground in Arizona has a contract with a "pump out service" doesn't mean that all the campgrounds in Michigan's State Park system will provide that same service.

It depends more on whether the contractor can make enough money to justify the cost of equipment and "turn a profit". In some areas, maybe he can, in some areas, maybe he can't, in some areas, he'll "clean up" (pun intended) and in some areas, no way he'd ever get a return on his investment.

Short answer: Every campground and every camping region will be different based on supply and demand, local regulations and availability of contractors who can offer the service.
I was fishing for a biz idea for a friend of mine that moved to Yuma. Wasn’t sure if it was something already out there or not. We were dry camping in a NF campground for 2 weeks last summer and portable toilet company went through the camp ground and offered pump outs. Seemed like a good but smelly way to earn some cash.
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Old 11-01-2018, 07:50 AM   #22
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I was fishing for a biz idea for a friend of mine that moved to Yuma. Wasn’t sure if it was something already out there or not. We were dry camping in a NF campground for 2 weeks last summer and portable toilet company went through the camp ground and offered pump outs. Seemed like a good but smelly way to earn some cash.
The first step would be for your friend to contact the National Forest Ranger's Office that's responsible for that campground or that NF region and ask whether there are regulations that allow/prohibit such business enterprise. The federal government works in "strange and mysterious ways" in many areas. He may find that there are no restrictions and he can "set up business" with no NF oversight. On the other hand, he may find that he has to be a "licensed, federal contractor" to even bid on getting permission for such services. Then again, he may find that there are laws prohibiting any and all "sewage liquids" in that "Federally managed area"..... Anyway, the first step would be contacting the NF management for that area.
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Old 12-01-2018, 11:10 PM   #23
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We full time too. I used Scott RV but found Cottonelle is softer on the booty and dissolves faster. Why pay more for a gimmick. Look for any Septic Safe logo on TP. There's a few YouTube demo videos on trying out different brands of TP and their dissolve rates.
Ours I seldom see solid paper or solid chunks of poop come out. I have a clear elbow for viewing pleasure....lol. Unless of course the toilet was just used before the dump ceremony. Most poop will start to break down as will the paper fairly fast. Test yourself like they do on the YouTube videos to see.
I also do the Geo Method. Google it. It's just a alternative to the store bought additives. Basically a water softener which will aid in the water flowing out and break down of solids....the way I read it. A detergent to clean and freshen it. I use Borax and we'll. It makes the water super slippery and cleans well also.
I tried the different additives like the TSP stuff. Didn't see much difference from using them as. not using them. Saw better performance from the Geo Method. And of course I try to do the Black Flush system that came on the RV once a month.

Hope this helps
What is the recipe for your geo method I’m interested in using something less expensive than standard blue liquid from walmart
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Old 12-02-2018, 06:24 AM   #24
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Well time to add our two cents to this we have been only ful timing about 18 months, but also full timed for summers for three years before that. The only time we have had issues is when DD grind would visit. She tended to use too much paper and not enough water. So we wold need to do a deep flush. I have noticed that since we have gotten our Dometic 320, we fill the black tanks faster as the larger bowl means you naturally use more water.
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Old 12-04-2018, 08:44 PM   #25
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I am not a fulltimer, but read this thread with great interest. I also enjoyed the humor!


FWIW, I dump a good amount of cheap laundry soap (maybe a quart or so) into the black tank after dumping, along with a fair guzzle of water. My good cousin clued me in on the flush system on our 21RBS, so now, with a spanking new 22RBS, I will be sure to keep flushing.


We use a pickup with a cap to pull the trailer. I keep a 45 gal. DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) tank in the back for black water and carry a macerator. I also keep a 25 gal clean water tank in the back and use a small "whizzer" 12V pump to water the trailer, if necessary.


We made 5000 miles last summer and only had to use the macerator but once. Darn handy setup to have and costs very little weight. I usually carry some water in the truck tank, maybe 10-15 gallons. I have the clean water tank in the truck set up so I can hook a garden hose off a hydrant to fill it and with a couple of valves, can fill the trailer from the tank with no fuss.
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Old 01-11-2019, 07:28 AM   #26
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I keep a 45 gal. DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) tank in the back for black water
Could you please elaborate? Do you use DEF in your RV black tank? I know its urea based. Is this some science I'm missing out on?
Thanks for any info.
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Old 01-11-2019, 07:45 AM   #27
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They can verify but I read this as it is used to dump black tank into then drag to the sewer dump. JM2C.
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Old 01-11-2019, 07:55 AM   #28
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Ahh a port-a-dump. That makes complete sense. My brain went to chemical reactions haha.
Thanks,
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Old 01-11-2019, 08:36 AM   #29
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I am not a fulltimer, but read this thread with great interest. I also enjoyed the humor!


FWIW, I dump a good amount of cheap laundry soap (maybe a quart or so) into the black tank after dumping, along with a fair guzzle of water. My good cousin clued me in on the flush system on our 21RBS, so now, with a spanking new 22RBS, I will be sure to keep flushing.


We use a pickup with a cap to pull the trailer. I keep a 45 gal. DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) tank in the back for black water and carry a macerator. I also keep a 25 gal clean water tank in the back and use a small "whizzer" 12V pump to water the trailer, if necessary.


We made 5000 miles last summer and only had to use the macerator but once. Darn handy setup to have and costs very little weight. I usually carry some water in the truck tank, maybe 10-15 gallons. I have the clean water tank in the truck set up so I can hook a garden hose off a hydrant to fill it and with a couple of valves, can fill the trailer from the tank with no fuss.
I have a similar setup. We like to camp at state parks and most of those only have electrical hookups. We can fill our fresh water tank and dump our grey water tank using our macerator pump and the barrel in the truck. Using the macerator pump I can also dump my tanks at home.

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Old 01-16-2019, 06:49 PM   #30
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Could you please elaborate? Do you use DEF in your RV black tank? I know its urea based. Is this some science I'm missing out on?
Thanks for any info.

Ah. Not very well written, was it. DEF barrel is for dumping black & grey water into. Barrel came free from the Co-op farm store next door to my little shop. In fact, the manager gave me two of them!


I keep the barrel strapped laying on its side. The barrel came with provision for a fitting, so I installed a ball valve and fitting that I hook a garden hose to for filling and dumping. I drilled a wee hole at the top to allow for draining and for expansion. Our truck and cap are black, so it gets warm on a hot day. I only carry the contents of the barrel to the nearest dump, which can be some miles away!
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Old 01-21-2019, 07:32 AM   #31
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Thanks kjohn,
I should have caught that you said it was a 45gal barrel and then it would have clicked. Thought I was missing out on something
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Old 01-26-2019, 05:49 PM   #32
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Thanks kjohn,
I should have caught that you said it was a 45gal barrel and then it would have clicked. Thought I was missing out on something


You are welcome. I got cornered one time and had to pack up, move the trailer about thirty miles to a dump, then back to the campsite and spread out again. I really don't want to do that again. With my trusty dump barrel, I can always talk a town foreman into lifting a manhole cover in a quiet place and dump the barrel, if there is no proper dump. Water is no problem. One place I camp every year has water available, so I only need to fill the truck tank and pump it off into the trailer.
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Old 02-13-2019, 06:44 AM   #33
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We’ll be camping this summer for two weeks in a national park that has water and electric - but no sewer hookups. I’d like to think that we would only have to dump the black tank once, but, truth is, 5 days seems to the safe limit for our 27’ Cougar. As such, I’ll break camp every 5 days, take a short trip to stir things up in the black tank, visit the dump station, and return to our campsite. It’s a bit of a bother, but it solves the problem. As for the gray water, I usually dump that every other day (depending on shower usage, since the campground does not have showers) using the 35 gal towable blue tank. I use the Thetford additive every time I dump the black tank. Works for me!
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Old 02-13-2019, 10:08 AM   #34
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We’ll be camping this summer for two weeks in a national park that has water and electric - but no sewer hookups. I’d like to think that we would only have to dump the black tank once, but, truth is, 5 days seems to the safe limit for our 27’ Cougar. As such, I’ll break camp every 5 days, take a short trip to stir things up in the black tank, visit the dump station, and return to our campsite. It’s a bit of a bother, but it solves the problem. As for the gray water, I usually dump that every other day (depending on shower usage, since the campground does not have showers) using the 35 gal towable blue tank. I use the Thetford additive every time I dump the black tank. Works for me!
Why wouldn't you just use the tote to dump your black tank also? If your using the tote to drain the gray tank every other day just make an extra trip when your black tank needs dumping. I would hate to have to break camp and pull the trailer out just to dump it.
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Old 02-13-2019, 10:12 AM   #35
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We’ll be camping this summer for two weeks in a national park that has water and electric - but no sewer hookups. I’d like to think that we would only have to dump the black tank once, but, truth is, 5 days seems to the safe limit for our 27’ Cougar. As such, I’ll break camp every 5 days, take a short trip to stir things up in the black tank, visit the dump station, and return to our campsite. It’s a bit of a bother, but it solves the problem. As for the gray water, I usually dump that every other day (depending on shower usage, since the campground does not have showers) using the 35 gal towable blue tank. I use the Thetford additive every time I dump the black tank. Works for me!
Why not use the blue tank for the black tank every couple days while doing the grey & save having to move the rv?
Just be sure to use as short of hose as possible to connect to your little blue buddy.
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Old 02-13-2019, 04:16 PM   #36
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It’s a subject that seems to work different for different reasons. We were very active full timers, racking-up 75-100 campgrounds per year. Our method seldom gave us any problems.

Our black tank valve is always closed from dump to dump. We flush and dump on every move, even if it’s just an overnighter. When necessary – black tank becomes ¾ full, we flush and dump.

We use a blue/green garden hose for flush & dump. I connect the garden hose to the garden hose flush fitting and fill the black tank until the warning light blinks. I open the black tank valve and flush & dump until I have a clear flow. I use a clear sewer fitting something like this one - https://www.walmart.com/ip/Valterra-...d=actual_color.

Our gray tank valve is always open when we are connected to a sewer. I close it before we take our “nite-nite” showers and open it after I’ve completed the black tank flush & dump. It helps clear residue from the sewer hose.

At final walk-around we put in an 8 oz liquid tank treatment chemical like the one in the reference below and then add 5-10 lbs. of ice cubes/crushed ice down into the black tank and top it off with 3-5 gal of fresh water. It will help loosen up any sludge in the black tank. At the next hook-up I open the black tank valve and rinse it a little before closing it again for the stop.

Just about any biodegradable toilet paper will work. We have always used Scott regular 1000 sheet.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Campa-Che...ord-13288/4016


Note: We have a portable ice maker that's always making ice when we,re parked.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-ICE...0f&athena=true
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