Waste tank emptying for beginner

[OttawaDon]

Hi folks. I will be a first-time hybrid owner in the spring. Very neophyte question, but I've never even seen how to go about emptying the trailer waste tanks. For example, when you're at the dumping station at the campground, do you just hook up a sewer line equipped with a pump (supplied at campground) to the lines below your trailer and empty?

I guess what I'm asking is do I need to purchase additional supplies like lengths of piping and a pump? I've seen the kits where you can pump the waste into portable tanks, they look handy, but what exactly do I need? Thanks for your patience with a very new beginner.

[ependydad]

OttawaDon wrote:
Hi folks. I will be a first-time hybrid owner in the spring. Very neophyte question, but I've never even seen how to go about emptying the trailer waste tanks. For example, when you're at the dumping station at the campground, do you just hook up a sewer line equipped with a pump (supplied at campground) to the lines below your trailer and empty?

I guess what I'm asking is do I need to purchase additional supplies like lengths of piping and a pump? I've seen the kits where you can pump the waste into portable tanks, they look handy, but what exactly do I need? Thanks for your patience with a very new beginner.

To bring the thread back on topic and because I'm curious about having folks review/critique what I've written. I put together a blog post about emptying RV tanks.

See if this is helpful:
Learn to RV - How to dump RV tanks

For the OP, this should be good to help you. For other experienced folks, I'm open to changes/suggestions!

[Roy_Lynne]

I'm sure this has been mentioned but do a "dry run" first. Put some water in the toilet and hook it up and see how it works. If you make any mistakes its best you do it with clean water.
Before you use the toilet, add water and then sit. You don't want a lot of solid matter going in as it has a tendency to stick and pile up.
Get a wand and clean it out every so often. There is one kind that you can attach the hose to the sewer iine and spray water up into the holding tank.
You don't have to buy RV toilet paper but use single ply that breaks down easily
First dump the black tank and then the gray water.

[relaxin]

IndyCamp wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:


we all gotta go sometime for some reason.
bumpy

That's just silly.

I assume you also don't wear your seat belt, don't have a CO detector, don't lock your door when you go to bed at night, and don't look both ways when pulling out onto a road, right?

I mean, we all gotta go sometime so why take any precautions?

Ever been to a hospital? Did you notice that the staff wears gloves, even when they are "only" going to be touching bodily fluids? They don't just wing it without gloves and then thoroughly wash their hands afterward.

Hey, do what you want, but to say there is no benefit at all to barrier protection is just foolish.

I don't wear gloves when I wipe my butt, nor when taking a pee, nore do I were them when "Doing IT" with the little woman, I never wore them when I was changing the kid's diapers.
a little antibacterial soap and a good scrub goes a long way

like plumbers always say,,, "s+++ flows downhill, payday is friday,, wash your hands before you eat"

[Bumpyroad]

IndyCamp wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:


we all gotta go sometime for some reason.
bumpy

That's just silly.

I assume you also don't wear your seat belt, don't have a CO detector, don't lock your door when you go to bed at night, and don't look both ways when pulling out onto a road, right?

I mean, we all gotta go sometime so why take any precautions?

Ever been to a hospital? Did you notice that the staff wears gloves, even when they are "only" going to be touching bodily fluids? They don't just wing it without gloves and then thoroughly wash their hands afterward.

Hey, do what you want, but to say there is no benefit at all to barrier protection is just foolish.

exactly where did I say that there is no benefit at all to barrier protection? please cut and paste cause if I did that would be an incorrect statement. what I said was that unless you are as clumsy as a bear on roller skates while you are emptying your tanks, with a certain degree of care you won't splash "stuff" all over yourself. now with a stinky slinky you will splash "stuff" on the ground and your shoes while getting it ready to store away but AFAIK they don't make "ground size" latex gloves. How many documented cases of hepatitis have there been of RVers who got it due to dumping without gloves on?
do you wear gloves while wiping your butt?
I guess I should have put a smiley face 🙂 in my previous comment so the extra dense folks would see it was only semi serious.
bumpy

[IndyCamp]

Bumpyroad wrote:


we all gotta go sometime for some reason.
bumpy

That's just silly.

I assume you also don't wear your seat belt, don't have a CO detector, don't lock your door when you go to bed at night, and don't look both ways when pulling out onto a road, right?

I mean, we all gotta go sometime so why take any precautions?

Ever been to a hospital? Did you notice that the staff wears gloves, even when they are "only" going to be touching bodily fluids? They don't just wing it without gloves and then thoroughly wash their hands afterward.

Hey, do what you want, but to say there is no benefit at all to barrier protection is just foolish.

[Bumpyroad]

cdlaine wrote:
Mr. Bumpy,

Apologies for mis-stating your position. You may want
to consider adding a Hepatitis A vaccination to your
pre-travel loading plan. Good luck.

Charles

we all gotta go sometime for some reason.
bumpy

[cdlaine]

Mr. Bumpy,

Apologies for mis-stating your position. You may want
to consider adding a Hepatitis A vaccination to your
pre-travel loading plan. Good luck.

Charles

[ependydad]

I'm a no glover and use the stinky slinky. The times that I've watched glovers- they're fooling themselves if they think they're any cleaner because of it with the amount of things they touch after the gloves are contaminated.

I wash thoroughly after I'm done and avoid touching the insides of the hoses/attachments.

[Bumpyroad]

cdlaine wrote:
Don,

I purchased one of those clear plastic extensions that
screws on to the trailer end of poop chute...makes visualizing
when "we're done" with each step (black/grey) much easier...not
necessary but nice to have. Please ... wear protection...practice
safe dump. (I think the non-glovers were just kidding)...we also
keep a gallon of fresh water and liquid hand soap available for when
we're done... Hepatitis is bad juju.

Charles

I was a no glover and was not kidding. I think I used gloves on my first trip. then saw the light. but of course I "graduated" to a sewer solution and then a macerator pump so my chore was not as messy as with a stinky slinky.
bumpy

[cdlaine]

Don,

I purchased one of those clear plastic extensions that
screws on to the trailer end of poop chute...makes visualizing
when "we're done" with each step (black/grey) much easier...not
necessary but nice to have. Please ... wear protection...practice
safe dump. (I think the non-glovers were just kidding)...we also
keep a gallon of fresh water and liquid hand soap available for when
we're done... Hepatitis is bad juju.

Charles

[azjeffh]

locster wrote:

azjeffh wrote:
If you NEED disposable gloves, you're dumping technique needs to be adjusted.

So touching piping containing fecal matter then touching door handles and faucet knobs on your RV afterward is a good idea? Your plumbing connection may be clean, but are you sure you know what is on the drain cap at the campground?

Don't wear gloves when I wash or wipe my butt either :B

I do however use a disinfectant wipe after dumping my holding tanks.

[ependydad]

Bumpyroad wrote:
those fittings are always clean on the outside since I give them a good lick after use.
bumpy

Laugh outloud funny! Thanks. 😄 😛

[Bumpyroad]

locster wrote:

azjeffh wrote:
If you NEED disposable gloves, you're dumping technique needs to be adjusted.

So touching piping containing fecal matter then touching door handles and faucet knobs on your RV afterward is a good idea? Your plumbing connection may be clean, but are you sure you know what is on the drain cap at the campground?

those fittings are always clean on the outside since I give them a good lick after use.
bumpy

[locster]

azjeffh wrote:
If you NEED disposable gloves, you're dumping technique needs to be adjusted.

So touching piping containing fecal matter then touching door handles and faucet knobs on your RV afterward is a good idea? Your plumbing connection may be clean, but are you sure you know what is on the drain cap at the campground?