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Old 04-14-2005, 05:34 AM   #1
Montana_2036
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Tote-an-Stor

I am thinking of purchasing a Tote and Store waste tank and wondering just how many of my fellow campers use this type of item? There are some camp grounds that do not have sewer hookups and might wish to empty the gray water every so often. I appreciate any responses.
 
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Old 04-14-2005, 04:19 PM   #2
fulltimedreamer
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I have one I use in state parks and Corp of Engineer parks where they don't have sewer hookups. The blackwater tank can last a week or more, but the gray tanks fillup pretty quickly with showers and dishwashing.
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Old 04-14-2005, 04:48 PM   #3
Dave e Victoria
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We camp with a group. Two others in the group have dump carts which I am able to borrow from time to time. Both are around 25 or 30 gallon capacity. One (Let's call it model A) has two wheels and a single port for loading or unloading. The other has back wheels and a front set of little wheels with a sort of tiller/tongue to pull it. This second one (let's call it model B) has a sewer gate on the side. The idea with "B" is to fill it from a port in the top and then dump from the side. Problem is, model B is too hard to flush out. There are litle cutouts and inlets around the front twheels and gate that are just hard to clean up. Model A holds about as much and can be flushed out rather easily. In any case, to quote somebody, "It's a dirty job but, someone has to do it." Thank god for rubber gloves and baking soda.
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Old 04-14-2005, 06:19 PM   #4
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We have one that we have used only once. We didn't get our usual spot at the Temecula Wine and Balloon Festival and had a space without sewer. Our daughter insist on a shower every morning (she is not the one I raised as a tent camper) so we bought the dump cart. We still have it in the garage. Maybe we will use it someday.
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Old 04-15-2005, 04:14 AM   #5
sreigle
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Question for those of you using these tanks. The capacity is less than your 38-gallon tank. You use a short sewer hose to connect the tank to the rig's dump valve, right? So what happens when that tote tank is full and backs up into the sewer hose? I guess with gray water this is not all that big a deal but if you're using it to dump the black tank.... well, that might get a bit messy. So I'm interested in how you deal with this.

We had a 22-gallon blue tote tank for several years when we were weekending/vacationing. I carried that thing in the truck bed a number of times but only used it once. And that time the little sewer hose that came with it split and made a mess (gray water). I found it a bit unwieldy to use but maybe that's because I was inexperienced with it. I finally sold it. I can see it having value for those who boondock or have no sewer hookup for more than a few days. It just didn't work out as something we really need for the way we use our Montana. But it's something I'll reconsider if we ever decide to start boondocking. And if fuel prices keep going up and the stock market down, then that just might become a reality some day!
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Old 04-15-2005, 12:25 PM   #6
Dave e Victoria
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Steve, You are right. They are unwieldy and a potential disaster. As to capacity problem, you have to shut the tank valve off before the tote is full -- tricky. NEVER let it backup the sewer hose or bring along a rubber suit. Frankly, I really try to avoid using the tote. Vikki thinks we should have one of our own. So far I have resisted. The whole idea stinks.
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Old 04-15-2005, 12:32 PM   #7
faeb and genb
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I have a 30 gal. & used it several times. I just watch it & not let it fill to full. No problems as of yet. Will take it next week to a Corp Park, Mine has the metal handle that you drop over the ball on truck hitch & pull it to dump station.
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Old 04-15-2005, 04:25 PM   #8
Parrothead
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We only used ours for grey water. Don't think I want to try the black tank. Ours has a handle to pull and we hooked it to my electric cart and it worked fine.
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Old 04-16-2005, 06:16 PM   #9
bob n pam
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We have a 22 gallon "blue boy" and have used it extensively. We fill it as needed, leave the little cap off as a vent (velcroed to the tank) while filling, use a piece of short hose and watch it closely to avoid overfilling. We have used it for both black and grey water. We carry ours in the back of the truck. Ours has a metal handle that fits over a ball type trailer hitch on truck for transport (walking speed) to dump station. We wouldn't be without it.
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Old 04-16-2005, 07:27 PM   #10
Dave e Victoria
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This thread is bringing back memories. When I was a real little kid, I used to visit my Grandma where there was a "chemical toilet" on the second floor of the house. When I stayed there, we used to come down and warm up around the kitchen oven (Wood burner) in the morning. I really don't remember who emptied that thing or where.

Our own home had a "two Holer" out side and a "slop pail" on the landing going into the basement. The males in our family were prone to use that slop pail in the winter. Don't really know what my mom did. There was lots of other stuff in the pail such as potatoe peels and the like. Also don't remember who emptied that pail or where except, we did have some pigs.

As for "number 2" (as we called it in grade school) at home, that was for the two holer except if you were in the barn. Then one could squat over the gutter behind the cows. There was a roll of toilet paper hung on a twine string attached to a nail. My dad always brought it to our attention if he percieved we were using too much toilet paper. After all, the neighbors were using pages out of the Sears & Roebuck. Every day the cows were milked twice and the gutter was cleaned once. Thinking about this, I am not sure why I find the little blue tank so repulsive. Must be a learned response.
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Old 04-17-2005, 07:57 AM   #11
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we have one, came with one of the motorhomes we bought....but never used it. will probably throw it into the garage sale pile.
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Old 04-18-2005, 04:34 AM   #12
carlson
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I had a set-up on our old trailer that worked pretty good and it should on our Montana.
I used the sewer cap that has a garden hose fitting on it and a graden hose double female connector.
I hooked a short garden hose to it and to a small pump, and pumped my gray water into my black water tank through the flush line.
On our Montana, I changed out the water pump that came with it to a new Shureflo 5.7 gpm and 65 psi and have set up the old pump to operate off of my portable car jumper battery pack.
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Old 04-18-2005, 06:31 AM   #13
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by JimRohan

I am thinking of purchasing a Tote and Store waste tank and wondering just how many of my fellow campers use this type of item? There are some camp grounds that do not have sewer hookups and might wish to empty the gray water every so often. I appreciate any responses.
We have one we use at home. As we've yet to stay in a campground or seen a dump station, its the means by which our tanks get emptied into our septic tank. We have a 35 gallon caddy so for us with 3x30 gallon tanks we've never run into the issue of overflow.
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Old 04-18-2005, 03:41 PM   #14
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We have one and use it where there is no full hook ups when we stay 5-7 days. We have had no problem. They are nice if you go to state parks where they dont have sewer hookups.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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Old 04-18-2005, 04:23 PM   #15
sreigle
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Carlson, that's an interesting solution!

That black tank flush line has a checkvalve that's probably under the bathroom vanity. Those have been known to start leaking and flood the bathroom area. Some folks have replaced these with a connector to eliminate this possible leak. You might consider that since you are pumping gray water through that line rather than clear water. Or at least be aware of the possibility of a leak and keep an eye on it while pumping gray water through there.
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Old 01-01-2019, 10:02 AM   #16
John Shasky
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emptying the tote

So those of you who do use the tote, how do you completely empty it? Always seems to be some left liquid in there.
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Old 01-01-2019, 10:45 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by John Shasky View Post
So those of you who do use the tote, how do you completely empty it? Always seems to be some left liquid in there.
I don't. I figure it is just primed for the next time.
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Old 01-01-2019, 11:11 AM   #18
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Just a hint about the tote, don't get one that is too big to pull. Some of the places we have camped have fall-offs or rough ground on the sewer side and you have to work to get the tote into position and out again. That being said, we mostly use state parks when possible so do a lot of camping without having sewer. We know how many days we can go without having to empty gray and will then empty it daily until we hit the magic number. For instance, if we are staying a week at a campground and know we can go for four days without having to empty the gray, we will empty it the first three days then forget about it. Our tote is big enough to hold one days worth of water without overflowing and easy to get into and out of the side the sewer lines are on. This also leaves enough water in the gray tanks to flush the back at the dump station. We have never emptied the black tanks into the tote. Hope this makes sense.
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Old 01-24-2019, 07:46 PM   #19
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Ours is only 15 gal, got it when we had a popup. Yes I watch carefully as I fill. I have a short, 6" double female hose that I made just to fill the tank with. Use the regular long hose to dump. Don't worry about the little water left, just give it a rinse. I have thought about getting a larger one. But 15 gal is heavy enough, and it fits in the storage bay. Don't care if I use once a year or not, have it if I need it.
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