Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > iRV2.com COMMUNITY FORUMS > iRV2.com General Discussion
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 06-23-2022, 06:44 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 672
Is it ever excusable to dump grey tanks on ground?

As a newbie...thinking out loud while recovering from flu like symptoms in a CG.
Is there a non emergency situation where you would consider dumping your grey tanks on ground? No dump station near? Etc... Is it ever acceptable in a non emergency situation or should it be treated like the black tank?
Discuss...
Homeby5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 06-23-2022, 06:50 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Old-Biscuit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 26,689
Discuss....
That's a one side street when you don't post your thoughts on the subject


My side of the street....grey is treated like black.
No dumping unless into sewer/septic



Several states it is ILLEGAL
Some states OK

Some CGs encourage it......waste line cap with hose connection/run hose away from site ito bushes etc

Dumping on the ground in/near CG site.........NOT good
Grey tank is NASTY
Rotten food particles, rancid cooking grease/oils, clumps of hair, urine (come on folks pee in the shower), sloughed body skin cells etc

Besidies who wants a big wet messy camp site???
__________________
I took my Medication today. HAVE YOU?
Dodge 3500 w/Tractor Motor
US NAVY---USS Decatur DDG-31
Old-Biscuit is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2022, 06:56 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Washington
Posts: 1,837
There are laws and there are opinions.

There was a time, not so long ago, RV's did not even have grey tanks and they drained right where the RV was.

Would I ever dump gray in a non-emergent situation in a campground, never! For many reasons.

Would I dump gray when boondocking in remote areas? Maybe, I dump a lot of pee (I know not gray) fresh from the tap in those areas. Location matters, next to a water source, never. Into the cow pasture that is full of cow waste, likely.

Like most things, there is not a one size fits all answer.
__________________
Boondockers
2014 Volvo 630 Tandem 2016 Chevy 3500 DRW, crew cab
2016 Fuzion 325T, 675ah AGM, MSH 3012 inverter, 1400w Solar
Nwcid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2022, 07:20 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: North Dakota
Posts: 196
As long as no one sees you do it then it's OK.
Fogbelly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2022, 07:21 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Isaac-1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: SW Louisiana
Posts: 8,848
Sure, in certain places, I have been known to do it where I store our coach in a shed on the family cattle ranch, it can't be worse than what a couple of hundred head of cattle do every day, plus this is a region that gets 5 to 6 feet of rainfall annually which helps dilute any runoff. Of course it is also common in the area to run laundry discharge pipes straight out into a field, and not into a septic system. If I were in a more environmentally sensitive area it would be different.
__________________
2002 Safari Trek 2830 on P32 Chassis with 8.1L w/ 400 watts solar 420Ah LiFePo4
2017 Jeep Cherokee Overland & 2007 Toyota Yaris TOADs with Even Brake,
Demco Commander tow bar and Blue Ox / Roadmaster base plates
Isaac-1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2022, 07:26 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
rarebear.nm's Avatar
 
Excel Owners Club
Winnebago Owners Club
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Santa Fe, NM
Posts: 6,788
I agree that gray water waste can smell pretty bad sometimes. The only case where I would consider dumping the gray is in a boondock site. No development of any kind at the site, no tables, potties, etc. Then I would dump it on bushes away from the parking pad.



If I were tent camping in the same place I'd dump my wash water on the bushes. Plus while tent camping without any potties you have to deal with the human waste issues too.



In a campground, never. I suspect recently in Yellowstone when a dump station was on a reservation system and campers could not leave due to the washed out roads there may have been some dumping there. There could be extreme cases like that.
__________________
Fred & Denise (RVM157) New Mexico
2007 Excel Classic 30RSO & Coach House 272XL E450
2007 RAM 3500, Diesel, 6Spd Auto, SWD, 4x4, CC & LB
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
rarebear.nm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2022, 07:47 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Lake Havasu City, AZ & Plover, WI
Posts: 6,403
This was discussed in depth several years ago. There are several states that allow grey water to be dumped. The key is GREY water which is wash water from showers and clothes. As soon as you dump food particles from dish water into the grey tank, it is considered BLACK water by some DNR officials and that is not allowed in some states. However, you are allowed to dump grey water with food particles on BLM land as they do not distinguish between dish water and shower water. One needs to check their area for the correct answer.
__________________
2006 Monaco Executive 44 Denali
2013 43 QGP Allegro Bus ( SOLD )
2013 Avalanche
Crasher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2022, 08:19 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
hclarkx's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Northern California
Posts: 1,418
Not since installing a tank in the truck bed for grey water. We have 46 gallon fresh tank and waste tanks in the truck bed. When the fiver galley tank gets full, we off load it to the grey tank in the truck bed via a 12V pump. That grey tank has a 1-1/4 inch drain line that empties it at the dump station.
__________________
Rockwood 30' fiver; Solar, LiFePO4, 12V fridge,
9K mini split, Starlink, 100% dry camping.
https://hclarkx.slickpic.com/gallery/?viewer
hclarkx is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2022, 08:31 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 672
Thanks.
I really don't have an opinion because this is my first trip. If you want my uneducated opinion I would say it's OK but again...I'm learning here...
Homeby5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2022, 08:46 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
baraff's Avatar
 
Winnebago Owners Club
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 2,750
We make it a point to always wipe down our dishes, pots and pans, and utensils before washing them. This eliminates 95% of the food debris in the grey tank. Since we started doing this we never have any odor from the grey water.
We have once or twice dumped our grey tank in remote areas, but I would never do it in a developed campground.
I can always tell when some previous RVer has, because the distinct, unpleasant odor lingers even after the water has evaporated. Not cool.
__________________
Burns & Diane
2005 Winnebago Aspect 26A/2012 Subaru Impreza toad
Illinois! - Where the politicians make the license plates......
baraff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2022, 10:11 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 3,441
Az. Legal to water your lawn in the city with it. But no kitchen water can be in it. If you add chlorine to the grey tank a few days before dumping it kills the smell. And chlorine breaks down very quickly.
shootist is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2022, 11:59 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 35,349
Boats dump gray overboard as standard practice. They have no gray tanks.

Black tanks can be dumped 3 miles off shore.
twinboat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2022, 02:38 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 490
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinboat View Post
Boats dump gray overboard as standard practice. They have no gray tanks.

Black tanks can be dumped 3 miles off shore.
The OP isn't asking about boats.
__________________
2021 Rockwood 2614BS
CamperLifer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2022, 04:00 AM   #14
IC2
Senior Member
 
IC2's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 3,722
In the distant era it was pretty common to dump the gray line, especially with popups that were not waste tank equipped. I used a 5 gallon bucket at the outlet then took it into the woods. Everything that had food on it was well wiped down with no wastes being dumped. Black - had a Porta Potti that got dumped at a bathroom or dump station hen necessary. Then we 'graduated' to a wheeled blue tank.

Legal, maybe. Good form - in a CG, no. Woods/boondocks - ya do what ya gotta do.
__________________
Dave W
2011 Ford F250 6.7 Lariat CCLB, Gone but not forgotten
2014 Montana High Country 343RL (sold it!)
IC2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
grey tank, tank



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
When to dump grey/black tanks? LPVagabonds iRV2.com General Discussion 17 05-01-2019 04:30 PM
Grey and black tanks won't dump TexasTwoStep Excel Owner's Forum 6 04-26-2013 07:38 PM
2 grey tanks, would like to transfer vs. dump Paul T Winnebago Industries Owner's Forum 9 07-08-2007 07:57 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:27 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.