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L.C.Gray · 03-04-2013, 05:00 PM

Ok, it's my turn to ask the dumb questions about what appears to be obvious....

Our next trip will have us on the beach at Galveston for 10 days. There isn't going to be a sewer hookup. With two of us, even with judicious use of water, there's no way that the grey and black tanks will have the capacity for the whole stay. I hate the thought of having to tear down and trip to the dump station so I looked into a poly transfer tank. I got lucky and found someone with one they were giving away. It was several years old but still in new unused condition.

My questions are:

How to best utilize the transfer tank and what is the best proceedure for filling the transfer tank to avoid an overflowing mess.

LaZy507 · 03-04-2013, 05:10 PM

idk, but very carefully..also to cut down, do the number2 somewhere else.

palehorse89 · 03-04-2013, 05:16 PM

Just a question, where you are going for 10 days isn't there a resort/campground with full hookups? Sure would make it a whole lot better of a vacation. Ever watched the movie "RV" when RobinWilliams goes to dump the tanks....... Just a thought

Triker56 · 03-04-2013, 05:28 PM

Quote:

How to best utilize the transfer tank and what is the best proceedure for filling the transfer tank to avoid an overflowing mess.

Practice at home with gray water tank before you go.

bdpreece · 03-04-2013, 05:36 PM

Well if it were me I would spring for a portable macerator pump. Trying to dump a black tank into a smaller portable tank could get real messy real fast. Not something you want to deal with. At least with a macerator you can turn it on and off and avoid that huge rush when you open the dump valve. I was so desperate once when we were broke down and staying in a Freightliner shop that I dumped into a 1 gallon antifreeze bottle using the macerator pump and carried it to the restroom. Took a long time but we were able to dump enough to stay in the motorhome until it was fixed and we could get to a dump station.

Loozycat · 03-04-2013, 05:38 PM

We watch our monitors and never let the RV holding tanks get past the half full mark. That is the approximate amount the tote can hold. The honey pots can get very heavy, so be aware of that. We empty the black first, then come back for the gray, just like you normally would. I've seen people hook the honey pots on their hitches, bikes, bumpers, etc. and head off to the dump station. We have more trouble emptying than filling.
Good luck. BTW, we love Galveston. Enjoy!

Superslif · 03-04-2013, 05:43 PM

What are you tank sizes black & gray?

L.C.Gray · 03-04-2013, 05:53 PM

@ Pale, Staying at Galveston State Park right off the sand on the gulf side. I would prefer that there was sewer, but there isn't. The location is worth some inconvience to us.

@ Slif, Black and grey are both 41 gallons each.

@Loozy, Yep, we stayed down there 5 days last May, loved it, headed back for more this May

Selah · 03-04-2013, 08:15 PM

It seems like a lot of trouble to CAREFULLY dump the black tank into a portable, hook it to the back of you car, take it to the dump station, hook up the slinky to the portable, dump it, take the hose back off, go back and do the same thing again with the grey tank.
For me, it is a lot less messy to simply unhook the MH, put the slides in and drive it to the dump station where I can fully dump and flush the black tank and dump the grey.

Superslif · 03-06-2013, 07:14 PM

We have done two 10 night stays without having to use a "honey pot". My son and me would use the state park shower facilities. My wife for the most part used the tt's shower. Even washing limited dishes and potty usage in the tt was used. I think we had a 25 gallon black and 39 gallon gray. Yes, we were full driving to the dump station, but for the most part we really watched how much water we used.

SmokeyWren · 03-07-2013, 09:41 AM

Darling Daughter lived in our 5er for a few months without a sewer connection. She used a portable 10-gallon honey tank. Yes, it was every easy to screw up and spill sewage on the ground, but that just means you have to be more careful.

By practicing with grey water, you will learn how many seconds you have with the open valve before the tank runs over. Not many. So use a stop watch when transferring the black water from the RV to the portable tank. Don't plan on having more than about 3/4th of a portable tank each cycle. Don't forget that the sewer hose holds a couple of gallons, and those gallons must go into the portable tank too.

If it's not too far to a toilet or dump station, then it won't take long to dump the black and grey water tanks. But yeah, dumping the portable tank onto the toilet will be a challenge too. Consider using a cap that includes a garden hose adaptor. Then fabricate a short piece of garden hose that will reach from the cap down into the toilet (or dump station). Of course that won't work unless you use RV toilet paper that will dissolve in the tank. And hope you don't have any big turds that will stop up the hose.

A Macerator pump would work too, but they're a bit spendy. Here's a Thetford Sani-Con Buddy that would work on your RV:
Thetford 70246 RV Sanicon Tank Buddy : Amazon.com : Automotive

topdownman · 03-07-2013, 09:51 AM

I used to have one of those little blue honey pots. I was dumping the black tank from my 5th wheel into it once. Something went wrong. Very wrong.

I hooked up my sewer hose to the inlet on the blue tank and removed the little black hose outlet cover. You had to do that to let air out of the tank as it was filling up or you didn't get a proper drain action. So, I had everything hooked up, ready to go.

I pulled the drain valve in my 5th wheel. The valve opened and the rod and handle broke off in my hand.

The black valve in the 5th wheel was in the center of the camper, attached with a long 3 foot rod, covered by the belly of the camper.

I couldn't stop the flow.

It became clear that something bad was about to happen. I reached for the hose cap to plug the garden hose outlet but I was too late. Poo began shooting straight up in the air

I did what anybody with any sense would do. I ran.

I'd prefer not to discuss this mess and how it ruined my weekend.

hardtrail · 03-25-2013, 09:22 AM

Your portable tank (honey pot) for hauling to the dump station will be rated at so many gallons. Check your gray & black tank capacitys, empty each tank into the honey pot more often and take to dump if your honey pot is not rated for the capacity of the gray or black holding tanks, thus ridding the chance of over flowing your honey pot.

njs42 · 03-25-2013, 09:39 AM

Me? I would put more effort into avoiding dumping than planning on dumping.

I just looked up the park and it says there are showers and restrooms available. You may have to walk 300 feet but they are available. It would seem with good planning and paper plates and utensils you could manage quite well w/o dumping.

Tent campers manage with no holding tanks. Go have a good time and conserve.