They say there’s camaraderie in campgrounds. No matter how large or small the RV, it’s pretty much a class free society. Perhaps this is because it’s tough to be a snob while you’re holding a sewer hose.
In RV parlance, sewage (that which goes into the toilet) is referred to as “black water.”
Water that accumulates in the shower and sinks is called “grey water.”
We fill up our grey water tanks much faster than black water. But every few days, both our Airstream’s water tanks have to be emptied. This is one of those jobs that newcomers approach with healthy amounts of fear. After all, it seems like it would be utterly disgusting, right?
Believe it or not, after a few times, emptying the water tanks is no big deal. In fact, I’ve even found myself enjoying the experience and taking pride in doing it well. It’s really not that bad, and should not be a “dirty job” if you do it right. So please, for everyone’s sake… do it right!
The secret is approaching the task well-armed with rubber gloves, hand sanitizer, and a sense of humor. Also, it doesn’t hurt to stand upwind. 🙂
And now, without further blather, we offer…
A FEW DUMP STATION TIPS
1. DO NOT HURRY.
When we hurry, we make mistakes. I recall one time in North Carolina when I got in a hurry. I rapidly attached the sewer hose to our RV, but forgot to secure the other end to the sewer entry! I pulled the valve handle without even looking at the business end of the hose. This resulted in what we might call The “Oh Shhhh….ucks” Moment when I realized what I had done. Fortunately, I caught my mistake in time. I immediately shut the valve and minimized the ensuing carnage. The resulting scene was only “slightly disgusting,” when it could have been “utterly appalling.”
2. AVOID SPILLS.
Okay, so this one is obvious. But HOW does one avoid spills?
Make certain the dump valve is shut before removing the end cap.
Make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN the sewer hose is securely connected to the RV before pulling the dump valve.
Then MAKE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN the other end of the hose is secured to the sewer entry.
Finally, you need to make absolutely certain the hose is well connected to the end fitting on the RV. How can you do so? Read on…
3. DUCT TAPE IS YOUR FRIEND.
Quite often RV’ers buy sewer hoses and end fittings separately, then join them together. I mean, a new hose may not include the end fitting, and you may want to reuse your old fitting. The point here is to make certain the hose and fitting are tightly bonded together and cannot come loose. I’ve heard of more than one instance of the hose coming detached from the RV during the dumping process. This can result in mind-and-nose-searing spillage which may require years of psychological counseling. My time honored scientific solution? Duct tape, of course! After tightly putting the hose and end coupling together, I wrapped some heavy duty “gorilla tape” around each end of hose. Hey, it helps me sleep at night. Of course, you only have to do this once.
4. IF YOU HAVE TWO TANKS, EMPTY BLACK FIRST, THEN GREY.
It’s just common sense, but if you have two water tanks, empty the nasty stuff first. By emptying your grey water tank last, you are effectively washing your sewer hose with all that soapy sink and shower water.
5. RUBBER GLOVES
We buy two-pack boxes of rubber gloves at Costco in the Pharmacy section. (Full disclosure: I am a proud Costco shareholder; if we need it and they sell it, that’s where I’m buying it!). For about $20 you get enough rubber gloves to last you many seasons of camping. Heck, you get enough to supply a small surgical hospital. The rubber gloves are useful for other work purposes, like oil changes and so forth. We keep one box in the truck and another in the RV. You can probably buy similar gloves in drugstores and other pharmacy sections.
6. PURELL
We keep Purell hand sanitizer in our RV and in our truck. Even when using rubber gloves, I just feel better after a thorough dose of Purell. We really like the foam pump version of Purell, although sometimes it can be hard to find. We bought a couple of six-packs of the foam at (where else?) Costco! But they rarely have it in stock.
7. CONSIDER HOSE LENGTH
At the moment we carry a sewer hose that’s as long as possible given our RV’s storage capacity. (We have one of those hose storage bins beneath our Airstream.) There’s no rhyme or reason to campsite layout. Sometimes the sewer connection is in the front, sometimes in the back. It’s totally unpredictable, so you’ll want plenty of hose to minimize hassle. There’s nothing more annoying than paying for a full hookup campsite and being unable to connect your sewer hose.
8. GET A RUBBER “DONUT”
If you check the RV section of Wal-Mart or similar stores, you’ll find a $3 or $4 rubber device commonly called a “donut.” It’s just a little rubber seal that should fit the sewer end of your hose. Some campgrounds require a donut, so you might as well go ahead and pick one up.
9. GET A SEWER HOSE SUPPORT
This tip is optional, but we have a “Sidewinder” brand sewer hose support. For reasons I cannot fathom, as plastic contraptions go they are fairly expensive — ours cost over $30. (Maybe it’s because they do a thankless job?) Granted, it’s probably not the most exciting purchase you’ll make in your life, but these things are fairly rugged and they do a decent job of supporting the sewer hose when doing their duty. And when not doing their duty, they make your campsite look a little more civilized, don’t ya think? Note that even with a sewer hose support, it’s probably a good idea to manually lift the hose just a bit when emptying the tanks to help, um, move things along. No worries, because you’re wearing your rubber gloves, right?
10. DON’T FEAR THE DUMP STATION
I’ll close our little list where we began: THIS SHOULD NOT BE A DIRTY JOB. Take your time, make certain that all connections are secure, and soon the dump station will become a highlight of your day. (Okay, maybe that last statement was a little much.)
I linked in to your site from the rv.net blog and have spent the past hour enjoying some of your work. What a hoot! Thanks! Keep up the good work and I look forward to future episodes. If you ever get up into northern Wisconsin I would love to buy you a beer or share a bottle of that RV wine….
Thanks again! Dan
Thanks Dan! Future episodes are on the way. In fact, we hope to take a new full-time trip this summer (July and August). We’ve never been to Wisconsin, but I’m sure we’ll visit someday! I would love to take you up on that beer offer. Wine would be fine too.
Sean, Northern Wisconsin is a beautiful place to escape the high humidity of the south in July and August. Up around Lake Superior it’s like the air conditioning is on all the time. We’re planing a loop around Lake Superior after Labor day with our fifth wheel in a mini caravan with another couple. We live in Hayward Wisconsin where there are lots of events and plenty to do if one wants or you can escape to solitude within a few miles. Lots of fresh water lakes and world class Musky fishing. I think you need to add a picture of you and your bride standing in the mouth of the 4 story tall Musky at the National Fresh Water fishing hall of fame in Hayward. The world Lumberjack Championships are held in the last weekend of July. The Lumberjack fest has also featured the Dock Dog competition the past couple years as well… Take Care! Dan
Seeing this vid I’m reminded of my neighbours 1st dump experience.
He had just moved in across the street and we had not really met. I was having some issues with my jeep overheating. I had rented a trailer to move my tractor from my house up to our trailer park. In the true fashion of good neighbors he offered to use his early 1970’s Winnebago to haul the trailer and tractor up to the park. Off we went. The motor home was fairly new to him at this time. He had used it a couple of times to take his family camping. We drove the 2 hr trip with no problems. On the homeward portion I wanted to fill his gas tank . we stopped at a flying J to do so. He noticed the dumping station and decided that it would be a good idea to to empty his tanks as he had not done so yet.
Let me pause here to say that this day was in the middle of July and very humid out. with the humidex it was over 100 deg. I was hanging back watching the process. he made all the connections and pulled the valve. the hose popped off the fitting at the valve. please note this was 3 yrs prior to the movie RV. The flood of stuff running across the parking lot had me bent over in stitches laughing so hard. There was such a stench that people at the fuel island were sniffing the air. The poor guy was trying to shut the valve but now it was self preservation and it was get soaked in “stuff” or let it drain. we quickly packed up and got the hell outa Dodge….. We are very good friends now and I still bring this up from time to time.
LOL ad2madmac, that’s a great story! Yes, under the circumstances, I think I would’ve hit the road and not looked back.
I have some friends at an RV dealership who told me a similar story. This guy had just picked up his motorhome from having the undercarriage serviced. He drove about a half block down the street, then for some reason stopped, exited the RV, and went back to the valve area…maybe to examine the work that had been done? While he was lying on his back looking up his rig, he somehow managed to pull the valve! He got totally drenched head to toe in “stuff”… He didn’t say anything to anyone, he just climbed back in his rig (soaking wet .. ewwwwww) and drove home.
Thankfully, we haven’t had any major dump station disasters. I’ve got the hose/fitting connection wrapped in duct tape (the instant cure all) to help prevent the hose popping off, as happened to your friend.
I forgot to mention that I really enjoy your site and will be back often to check for updates.
I am currently enjoying my Sewer Solution but the best is to use NO hose!
Here are some pics of where I prefer to dump near our house:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=tulare%20sewage%20disposal&w=all
Rich Luhr from Airstream Life stopped by there also and posted a video:
http://airstreamlife.ning.com/video/1971784:Video:622
Roger
Whew… I’ve thought about doing a more graphic video about dump stations, but haven’t done so yet.
This past week we actually stopped at a similar dump station that was equipped with a grate, but no place to insert a sewer hose. I attached our hose to our Airstream anyway to minimize splash and spillage. I also cursed the guys who designed that contraption! Sorry, but there are some things in life that I really don’t want to see, and black water is one of ’em… 🙂
Anyway, thanks for your post!
It’s funny that you say that in time you will learn to love the dump station. I never thought this would be the case. But after coming to the realization that the best sites are usually the ones with no sewer, I got the portable tank for grey water, but show me the dump station, you are my friend.
Ha! Well, maybe the word “love” is a little strong, but with a little experience there’s certainly no need to fear the dump station, or the sewer tasks associated with RV ownership. And yes, once you’ve done some camping without a dump station or sewer hookup, you really learn to appreciate having one handy!
I think I’m going to delve further into this topic in some future videos.