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Tilzbow · 06-02-2018, 07:32 PM

Long story but I’ve got a leach field with no septic on it, only a drain from the garage that now is only used to flush a water softener and dump dog water.

I can install a small septic with the slope from the RV pad to the leach field. It’ll be installed 100’ from the garage drain.

I’ve always wondered if a septic can be used as a stand-alone RV Dump because I’m not certain a septic can handle a large volume of waste at one time.

The septic will only be used to dump my RV tank and no more than twice month and probably much less often.

If install this what size septic should I install?

Can this then be used as an RV dump without complications?

VoiceNinja · 06-02-2018, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tilzbow

If install this what size should I install?

Can this then be used as an RV dump without complications?

Around here, the health department would be the first stop for a question about adding a septic to a leach field. Not only could they tell you if it's permissible, but they'd also have the guidelines for size, arrangement, percolation requirements, etc.

grindstone01 · 06-02-2018, 07:40 PM

We have FHU's in our son's back yard and our RV septic tank consist of a buried plastic 55 gallon drum with a single 40' perforated drain line out of the drum. We can use water at will and even do laundry with no problems during our 2 month stays.

Duoglide1 · 06-02-2018, 09:52 PM

My dad dropped one like the above in a pasture back in the 70’s. We stayed there last summer and used in for two months straight with no issues.

Mr_D · 06-02-2018, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindstone01

We have FHU's in our son's back yard and our RV septic tank consist of a buried plastic 55 gallon drum with a single 40' perforated drain line out of the drum. We can use water at will and even do laundry with no problems during our 2 month stays.

Must have good sandy soil with a good perk. Wouldn't work in clay.

Tilzbow · 06-02-2018, 10:07 PM

My extra leach field is 75’ to 100’ long several feet deep and wide and is filled with gravel if that matters.

Stihlntime · 06-02-2018, 10:09 PM

I have a FHU at my residence, it utilizes the same 1500 gallon tank as the house, never an issue.

jacwjames · 06-03-2018, 07:14 AM

As stated in one post, any installation will be governed by the county/city environmental department. Went through this in two different counties in the last 3 years.

Building a new house had to get a soil scientist to do a soil survey which determines how well the system will drain. He classifies the soil which dictates how much of a drain field. Luckily I had good soil not far from the house, down hill with minimal issues. At the house installed a 1250 gallon septic tank. Laid 550' of french drain chambers in the field. I also installed a line that I had laid earlier to hook up the motorhome. In the house we have 2 separate laundry rooms, I plumbed both of these into a separate drain ling and bypassed the septic tank to keep the bleach from killing the tank bacteria. The inspector was fine with this. Cost $7K for all of this plus install.

I split a 10 acre lot in another county into 3 lots, had to get a full soil sample with perk test where then dig a 3' deep hole by hand and then fill with water and see how long it takes to drain. This was $$$$ but the county would not have allowed me to split the lot. This was coupled with new survey etc. Again $$$$.

Now if you are doing this without a permit, which I wouldn't recommend, you should try and get a large sturdy barrel to use as a septic tank. the bigger the better. Septic tanks have a baffle system that prevents solids from plugging the pipe, this is important so you need to do some investigation on how to construct a tank with this.

I see no reason you couldn't tie it in to the drain field you are using as long as it is constructed correctly.

grindstone01 · 06-03-2018, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Must have good sandy soil with a good perk. Wouldn't work in clay.

...

We actually have clay soil. The key in clay is to dig a trench and back fill it with pea stone, then bury the drain tile in the stone, simular to our house septic drain field. The though was we could always extend the drain line if we ever exceeded the drain field capacity or add another line if it gets plugged up. Keep in mind this is low usage, maybe 2 months max then 10 months to dry out. We haven't had any issues in 5 summers of use.
Below Post - You don't need bugs for a low use septic system, the circulating water will dissolve any solids. You can verify this when dumping your black RV tank which comes out mostly as a slurry. I would be careful about flushing excess toilet paper.

sbleiweiss · 06-03-2018, 08:58 AM

We dump our black and grey water into our home septic system without any issues. That said, you are proposing to build one for the RV only. My concern would be not having the right population of "bugs" in the tank to eat the stuff since you will be starving them between dumps. Sorry for the layman words but you get the idea.

Sweetbriar · 06-03-2018, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindstone01

We have FHU's in our son's back yard and our RV septic tank consist of a buried plastic 55 gallon drum with a single 40' perforated drain line out of the drum. We can use water at will and even do laundry with no problems during our 2 month stays.

This is what I would do. Without the tanks (two work best for separation and decomp of solids) there is the possibility the clogging the leach field piping.

keymastr · 06-03-2018, 09:34 AM

I think you should contact a professional who does this for a living. He will know the requirements of such a system as well as codes and the local geology.

Water does not always stay where you put it so to risk contaminating someones land or water supply for your own convenience or to save some cash is not cool.

joshuajim · 06-03-2018, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindstone01

...

We actually have clay soil. The key in clay is to dig a trench and back fill it with pea stone, ...

Nope! You want to us 1 1/2” rock. The pea gravel will clog quickly.

TeJay · 06-03-2018, 09:47 AM

Our home septic was installed by a guy who new what he was doing. It's been in for 35 years with not one single issue.

I tapped into the clean out 4" cap and ran a PVC to the RV cement pad. We dump about 1 to 2 times a month with not any issues.

A septic system properly installed is good for a long, long time. This idea of needing to pump the tank every so often is a waste of time and $$$.

There are just the two of us but even when company comes 8-10 additional folks it still works very well.

Setting up one for just an RV should be easy as long as you have some proper length laterial lines for the run off. You won't be over taxing a small unit. As far as having enough bugs. Once it's full and begins to work if you don't use it for a few weeks since it's underground why or how would all the water evaporate. Those pesky, necessary bugs will re-appear and do what they do best which is eat crap all the time.

Love the home set up for draining the RV. We usually head home with at least 1/2 a tank full of black water. By the time we get home the sloshing around has done it's thing and that makes for a good clean out and rinse.