What do all these tank sizes mean?

[WyoFree]

Almost every coach has different sized tanks. If you have a 45 gallon grey and black tank. What does that mean from a practical sense?

How many showers can be taken with a 45 gallon grey tank? I know that’s subjective because some take longer showers then others. But there must be some industry standards where they determine that 45 gallons is reasonable?

And how many times can the toilet be used before it needs to be emptied?

Does anyone have or know of a list of standards for tank sizes and emptying!

[OCM]

I would think that space available is the deciding factor. From there you tailor your habits to accommodate what the coach has. "Ya do what ya gotta do"

[Gary RVRoamer]

There no such standards - the tank sizes are whatever the factory can fit in at reasonable cost and effort. Nor can I think of any meaningful way to define any standard for usage. Fresh water consumption and disposal varies far to widely. Not just showers, but toilet flushes, dish washing, hand washing, cooking, teeth cleaning, and so on. One of our regular traveling companions could hardly for 24 hours between waste tanks dumps, while we could easily manage 3 days and have done 6-7 if we were being especially frugal with water.

[van-gogh]

Gary is 100% correct in his post. But having had a few survival schools in the US Military, you learn not to take a bath for a long time. And maybe in a week or long wash your tee shirt in a plastic bag. Showers in an RV, if you had smaller tanks and were boondocking you would want to use as little water as possible and a G.I. Shower would be your best bit and that is a little less than one gallon of water. A little, to get you wetted down and soap up a little more to rinse off. The larger motorhomes are to bring as much living to a wild area as possible so everyone can enjoy being outside. Water usage is truly your most valued commodity while camping. Oh YES, G.I. just means Government Issue.

With all that you have, you should have no issues staying outdoors boondocking (Meaning without any hookups) for a week or longer as to usage and that is without the G.I. shower. A normal shower should be 5-gallons for each person.

[Unplanned Tourist]

As said, tanks vary depending on room and carry capacity.

We have friends that can't go more than 2 days without the grey tank filling up. Things like letting the water run while they brush their teeth, and taking long showers fill up the tank quickly. They just don't get it.

We can somehow last a week before we are getting close to needing to dump.

With practice and experience, you will learn how to conserve water.

[Nwcid]

I think the closest thing to a "standard" you might get is how much volume your pump can put out. If you have a 2.5 GPM pump and a 50 Gallon fresh water tank you would have 20 mins of water total.

Outside of that I am not sure how you would measure.

How full do you fill your toilet each use? That could easily change your use by a factor of 3-4 x or even higher.

Are you turning your shower valves all the way on or only enough to get the water you need? Are you "Navy" showering or trying to run out the hot water tank. This also can make a huge difference. In my RV we have gone 6 days with 4 people and been fine, we have also used most of it with 2 people in 3 days. We conserve water when we need to, but I am not limiting my water use when I am only going to be out 2-3 days.

If you frequently travel from full hook up to full hook up or typically just do weekend trips size and use will be less of an issue. We rarely have hookups. I wanted to be able to be off grid for at least 1 week with minimal water rationing so having at least 100 gallons of fresh/holding was as must have for us.

[MSHappyCampers]

I agree with what others have said, that there is no standard for tank sizes. For us, the most important is the size of the gray tank. We love showers!

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by WyoFree

Almost every coach has different sized tanks. If you have a 45 gallon grey and black tank. What does that mean from a practical sense?

How many showers can be taken with a 45 gallon grey tank? I know that’s subjective because some take longer showers then others. But there must be some industry standards where they determine that 45 gallons is reasonable?

And how many times can the toilet be used before it needs to be emptied?

Does anyone have or know of a list of standards for tank sizes and emptying!

Well Sir,
If I recall, If I'm not mistaken, *by RV construction law* (if there is such a thing 'cause I've never looked for it)* if an RV manufacturer installs say, a 100 gallon fresh water tank, THEY MUST be able to FULLY CONTAIN that same amount, in a COMBINATION of HOLDING TANKS. So, that means, if you've got a 100 gallon fresh water tank, then the two holding tanks must, in some form of combination, be able to contain that same 100 gallons.

You could have a 50 gallon grey and a 50 gallon black. Or, you could have a 60 - 40, grey to black. Of course the space available is important for those tanks but, again, I'm led to believe that if you pack in, 70-80-90 or 100 gallons, you're supposed to "Pack out" 70-80-90 or 100 gallons.

Now, as far as showers etc. are concerned, well, that's totally irrelevant. Water *conservation* is important to many folks in the RV world. They know and understand the importance being conservative, especially when boon docking. On the other hand, there's air heads that think they're in their local hotel and or stick and brick home and, can and do, use as much water as they please, no matter how much is wasted. And this is especially true if one is hooked to shore power and full hook ups.

But, again, once you learn and know your coach/trailer/RV, you learn what the limits are in water use, for all aspects.
Scott

[red300zx]

Using standard residential toilet flushing volumes 1.1 gallon with a 50 gallon black tank you would get 45 flushes. RV flush volumes are typically less that 1.1 gallons. 50 gallon gray tank utilizing 2 gallon boat shower and minimal water to wash dishes, brush teeth etc. You should be able to go 5-7 days for 2 people. The key is realize you have limited resources and utilize them accordingly. I save cooler water and pre wash out door dishes in a 5 gallon bucket.

[WyoFree]

Thank you one and all. That information has been very helpful. Tank you very much!

[mrboyer]

We have the same tank capacities you have. We dump just about weekly. A shower is 5.5-6 gallons.

[robertkathy]

seems like my tanks are good size 53 gal black 70 gray 108 fresh water 10 galley 75 fuel BUT the there is the propane only 28lb

[richard5933]

For comparison's sake, we have 90 gallons of fresh water and 90 gallons capacity in our waste tank. Two of us can go a week easily, and if we're extra careful maybe a bit more. This is with taking Navy showers every 2-3 days, using paper plates, and minimizing flushes. We've also been camped places with full hookups and have gone through 90 gallons in a few days. You adjust to what you have available.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Well Sir,
If I recall, If I'm not mistaken, *by RV construction law* (if there is such a thing 'cause I've never looked for it)* if an RV manufacturer installs say, a 100 gallon fresh water tank, THEY MUST be able to FULLY CONTAIN that same amount, in a COMBINATION of HOLDING TANKS. So, that means, if you've got a 100 gallon fresh water tank, then the two holding tanks must, in some form of combination, be able to contain that same 100 gallons.

You could have a 50 gallon grey and a 50 gallon black. Or, you could have a 60 - 40, grey to black. Of course the space available is important for those tanks but, again, I'm led to believe that if you pack in, 70-80-90 or 100 gallons, you're supposed to "Pack out" 70-80-90 or 100 gallons.

Now, as far as showers etc. are concerned, well, that's totally irrelevant. Water *conservation* is important to many folks in the RV world. They know and understand the importance being conservative, especially when boon docking. On the other hand, there's air heads that think they're in their local hotel and or stick and brick home and, can and do, use as much water as they please, no matter how much is wasted. And this is especially true if one is hooked to shore power and full hook ups.

But, again, once you learn and know your coach/trailer/RV, you learn what the limits are in water use, for all aspects.
Scott

I was thinking that while reading replies, then read your reply.