Community Forums

RJay · 11-28-2010, 12:53 PM

Bob,
My thanks to you and your wife for sharing both wisdom and wit!

Wanabee FTer · 11-29-2010, 07:19 PM

Great poem Bob, Going to forward that to my wife, she will love it!
I feel like there is a rock star in the house, I read your blog a few days ago and began to understand something I really don't know anything about.
I can not thank you enough.

HandyBob · 11-30-2010, 08:35 AM

Thanks for your nice comment. Not a rock star, just a frustrated old ogre with common sense. I just sent an update to the blog. Unfortunately, just another rant.

Many people understand and appreciate what I am trying to do and why I quit posting on these forums. (I mostly lurk now.) It was just like trying to reason with somebody who had a shadow on the corner of a solar panel, but who would argue with the obvious truth, even after I took my $350 meter out, went up on the roof and proved it to him. I remember having hours long discussions with boondockers whose solar did not work, trying to get them to understand why and getting nowhere. I know some folks who wouldn't listen and who went and bought a very expensive new system last winter just like described in my update. They are too stubborn to reason with and now they are part of the problem, ranting everywhere they go that solar power doesn't really work. Where we are camped there are many people who have solar that works. Their lights are on half the night and they watch TV. We used the mattress pad warmer last night.

We lead a nearly normal life out here and have friends from every walk of life. This full time RV world is a great one, even more so after we got off the grid. The toaster just started... Got to go.

paulrtaylor · 12-03-2010, 06:40 AM

My wife and I have never stayed at a campground. We always stay out in the midle of nowhere. That is why we have a MH. I have yet to run out of water ar anything else that we need. If I ever do, I suppose I will go to town and restock.

Chuck 1935 · 12-03-2010, 09:58 AM

Grey Water. Because the goverment says don't dump it on the ground does not mean they are correct. I have camped in the desert for years and have always hauled out our trash and buried the waste from the porta pottie. Millions of critters are pissing and taking a dump every day and it hasen't screwed up a thing. Don't let some missguided Do Right man give you the wrong information about Grey Water. Just don't
dump it on him. I am sick to death of all of the mis guided information that all these do gooders have put out there about Going Green !

HandyBob · 12-03-2010, 05:23 PM

Chuck,

Boy do you have that right. It is legal to dump grey water out here on BLM in most dispersed camping areas, (not in those crowded long term places), yet you will always find somebody to yell at you. If you look around those long term areas, you will find that the greenest bushes & blooming cacti are always near some rig where they practice the DAN method. (Dump At Night) We have been in RV parks in several places where they actually asked us to dump the grey water under their trees. Horrors! Up in Montana some do gooder in the state government made it illegal to dump grey water on our own property. How do they expect me to get our transplanted trees going?

It is legal to dig a hole for a pit toilet out here if you cover it with 8" of dirt. Not that I would want to do so near my own camp, but it just proves how wrong some of these self professed "experts" are. I hauled the blue buddy to town this morning and stopped by the waste transfer station with the trash.

Big Bear Local · 12-03-2010, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulrtaylor

My wife and I have never stayed at a campground. We always stay out in the midle of nowhere. That is why we have a MH. I have yet to run out of water ar anything else that we need. If I ever do, I suppose I will go to town and restock.

That's exactly how I like to camp.

steelheadbluesman · 12-03-2010, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alleyman

We camp on BLM ground in AZ, so able to dump grey water on the vegetation. Good luck.

Not looking to judge anyone in particular, and I'll probably get an ear-full on this one, but hopefully you use really good quality biodegradable soaps, even better if they are without dyes, perfumes or colorings. "Seventh Generation" makes these kinds of products, and I've gotten in the habit of using them exclusively, just in case I need to "water the shrubbery" on rare occasions. Just my 2 cents.

Chuck 1935 · 12-03-2010, 11:16 PM

[QUOTE=John Hilley;693567]It is against BLM rules and the law to dump grey water

"Federal Register: February 2, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 21)
Page 4976-4979
Final Supplementary Rules on Public Lands Within All Arizona and California Long-Term Visitor Areas

The Patron Saint of the BLM was that dried up old turkey neck by the name of Alan Cranston.
It seems the BLM Rules don't corespond with my rules about a clean environment, Ah shucks !

bachler · 12-05-2010, 08:10 AM

I have seen where they took a shovel made a little grove in the dirt away from there rig , pulled boath valves open the next morning early they covered it up. Altho there was no sign of dumping. It is not right;; And please Lets not be calling people Names. Life is good.

Renipladlo · 12-05-2010, 10:11 AM

As mentioned above it's illegal to dump any type of people water on the ground in public/private lands. That means Gray and Black water types. I read an article on this subject where one fellow worked with the BLM to get a ruling out of them, it took him a long time for them to make a decision, since I worked for the Government, I can second anything taking a long time except them taking more of my money.

Nevertheless, it is a terrible practice to dump on the ground, and I would certainly jump on anybody I saw doing it. Just so everyone knows macerators don’t change sewage, it just chops it up into little pieces or a slurry so it's flows out better, its still sewage.

ralper · 12-05-2010, 02:29 PM

Norene,

The poem is just great.

Chuck 1935 · 12-05-2010, 03:04 PM

I just re visited a spot in the desert that we camped at 50 years ago. We had dirt bikes although we stayed on trails, we dumped our grey water and buried our Porta Potti water etc. We hauled out our trash and buried our campfire ashes. We camped at the same spot for at least 10 years. Now 50 years later the state had turned it into a Perserve and paved all the roads. Our old campsite looked as though no one had ever stepped foot in the area. The Ranger did tell me that if we were to ride a dirt bike off road we would be cited and possibly arrested. Progress???

JayLodge · 12-11-2010, 04:57 AM

. . . and all the boats in the great lakes dump their "grey" water directly into the Lake. Yes, most of us try to use biodegradable soaps; and use the marina bathhouses when we have a chance to do so. BTW, while towns are slowly changing this practice, many rainwater pipes go directly to the sewerage system and cities have been allowed to send "over flow" during heavy rains directly into the river feeding the bigger lakes - raw sewerage. Yep!
Sometimes they have to close the beaches near the river for a few days after a hard rain. So, yes, you'll have to 'splain to me how a few gallons of grey water dispersed into the desert/forest, etc. causes damage.