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Old 06-25-2005, 04:03 AM   #1
Illini Trekker
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Tote-Along Tank

Hello All would like some info on Tote-Along Tanks. Plan on getting 30 gal thinking about getting the stiff arm tote and pull behind truck. Where do you-all store your totes when you travel? Thinking about an under the trailer mount! Do you use them - like them - is it easyer to pull and dump? Right now the longest we plan on staying in one park would be around 4 days at a time (we like to travel).
 
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Old 06-25-2005, 04:29 AM   #2
Iowafan
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We have found that with just the two of us, we can stay six days with conservative use of water. That's using the bathhouse for showers and the bathroom in the Monty only when necessary. We then need to use the tote only for emptying the galley water. We have one of the largest totes with four wheels, side emptying port. Sorry, I can't tell you the exact size. We carry it in the back of the pickup behind the hitch but there have been some close calls with the king pin almost hitting it. Our neighbor carries his tote strapped to the ladder but we have bicycles there.

The tote doesn't replace dumping at the end of your stay. Most people don't use it for the black tank.

An under the trailer mount sounds like a good idea. Judy
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Old 06-25-2005, 04:54 AM   #3
sreigle
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We used to have one but found it rather messy and unwieldy to take with us. An underbody mount like you mentioned might make that easier. The biggest problem I found was that your tanks are bigger than the 30 gallon tote. All three waste tanks are 38 gallons each. The freshwater tank is 62 gallons but you won't dump that, of course.

We can go the four days no problem without dumping. One tip. Get yourself one of those twist-on waste valves and put it on your dump pipe where the cap is now. With that you can close that valve and open both the gray bath tank and the kitchen gally tank valves. Now they'll share capacity. Since we fill the bath tank far more quickly than the galley tank, this effectively gives us a longer stay before needing to dump. The valve is $17.99 at Camping World. Here's a link to it.
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...27868&src=SRQB

That all said, many parks have sewer hookups at the site. Most have a dump station where you could hitch up and go dump if you needed to. Or use the tote. Although I didn't care for the tote, there are numerous members here who are using them successfully and are happy with them. So if this is the best alternative for you, go for it.
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Old 06-25-2005, 05:12 AM   #4
DHenry
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I have been both dry camping and using RV parks for over 30 years and have never had the need for the blue tank. You do have to watch your useage when dry camping. Have you tried the 4 day stay without the blue tank? The old Navy shower is one way to conserve the water in both the holding tank and the supply tank.
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Old 06-25-2005, 06:02 AM   #5
Parrothead
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Dennis and Debbie
Ours is going in the garage sale next month. Only used it once and that was because our daughter was with us who has to shower every morning no matter what and uses a lot of water. (She is not the daughter I tent camped with that one knows how to conserve water.)
Happy trails..................
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Old 06-25-2005, 06:10 AM   #6
8.1al
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We carry ours in the truck just behind the cab. That's the only spot left. I DO use it for the black. Ours is a 25 gal. 4 wheeler and I have found if I just run a little grey water thru after the black the hose is clean then I rinse everything after dumping the tank. Not too bad to do once you've done it a few times.
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Old 06-25-2005, 06:40 AM   #7
patodonn
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Been full-timing for 2 years, and never had the need for one. As Steve said, if you install a valve where the dump pipe cap is presently located, you can "connect" the galley and the gray water tanks to serve as one big tank for added capacity. Once or twice, while in State Parks, we had to move the RV to go to a dump site about 200 yds away, but you can dump all three tanks there, instead of making three or four (or more) trips with the blue "tote" tank....then there is the sanitization problems, plus "one more thing to carry". Last and certainly least, it just looks "yukkey" if stored in view. Just MHO.

Best,
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Old 06-25-2005, 07:06 AM   #8
Glenn and Lorraine
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Thought about getting one but...
Where do you store it? No room on the ladder or bed of TV. Don't like the idea of crawling under the Monty, especially on a rainy day and you can bet you will get rain just before or during breakdown.
Limited capacity, 30 gallon tote. 3-38 gallon waste tanks.
Seen them used, a bit on the messy side and didn't appear to be much fun.
And, considering what they are used for they ain't cheap

Our solution... We always try to camp with FULL hook ups. If a full hook up is not available we use the CG's bath house as much as possible. On average with full hook ups, Lorraine and I can get about 4 to 5 days on the gray tank, about 8 to 9 days on the black and as we do little cooking 2+ weeks on the galley. Gotta get one of those twist-on waste valves, Steve mentioned, to increase our gray capacity.
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Old 06-25-2005, 08:49 AM   #9
padredw
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We carry ours in the front compartment on our 2955 (battery compartment). Only use in when "camping" in our daughter's yard in Colorado. We stay there a full week and, of course, there is no dump there at all.

Interestingly, it is ALWAYS our galley holding tank that fills first. I guess it's Shirley's style of dishwashing. Whatever, that is the one I have to watch. Even when we take showers, the galley fills before the grey water. Shows how different we can be from one another.
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Old 06-25-2005, 10:42 AM   #10
Wordsmith
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We have one that we used with our Prowler, even took it on several trips, but wound up using it only once. We have not taken it with the Montana, but that is because the trips were either too short or we had full hook ups.

I have a feeling we are going to need it in the next month, though, as the campgrounds at which we intend to stay do not have full hook ups and we will be staying 4+ days and Marsha has fallen in love with the Montana’s shower.
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Old 06-25-2005, 10:56 AM   #11
wileecoyote985
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Guess I'm going to buck the trend here. Have one - use it - and wouldn't want to be without it.

For the past couple of years we've volunteered at a Florida State Park and stay 3 months at a time. I hate to hook up and tow the Monty to the dump station, so I use the blue tank. I find it's also easier to hit the dump station at a non busy time with the blue tank.
If it happens that someone is dumping when I get there I can either wait or head back to the campsite and dump later.

I do need to get the shutoff for the end of the dump pipe though. The plumbing setup on the Monty does make it difficult to guess when to shut the valves off to prevent the "nasty gusher" LOL.

BTW I've carried mine on the ladder and in the front compartment. Tend to prefer the ladder if I'm not hauling bikes on it.

Hey... It's a dirty, stinky job, but somebody's got to do it.

Gary
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Old 06-25-2005, 01:01 PM   #12
CountryGuy
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Well, we are on the "don't want one" list. I can go 15 days at the state park in Michigan in the middle of the summer with 4 yorkies (sick yorkies at that) and use the bathrooms in the park for showers and all possible necessary trips, a lot of paper plates, very conservative dish washing and still have water left at the end of the 15 days to clean out the system when we pull out and go to the dump.

I did 15 days one time with 3 or 4 yorks, and a much smaller fresh water and only a gray and black water tanks, again, with much smaller holding capacity. That time I had 11 of us for the weekend, and I did all the cooking and cleaning.

It can be done, and we still have a great time! That said, give me full hookups and watch how much water I can go through! HA HA!
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Old 06-25-2005, 01:45 PM   #13
Illini Trekker
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Thanks Sreigle and others for the shut off valve idea, I added it to my cart at CW!! I think we are about two to one on filling the gray over the galley so this will help! We need to do more state park camping to change our water usage habits. As we do more we learn more about how to make camping more enjoyable.
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Old 06-25-2005, 02:15 PM   #14
bob n pam
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I'm with Wilecoyote985. We, too, have volunteered in Florida State Parks and found the blue tank to be indispensable. We have used it a Corps of Engineer campgrounds, state parks and in our daughter's driveway until we bought a Flojet macerator pump. We carry it in the back of the pickup and wouldn't be without it. Ours is 22 gallon and used for both black and grey water.
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Old 06-25-2005, 06:49 PM   #15
Montana_2785
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Timely topic.

We will be visiting the local Camping World in Bolingbrook IL Sunday (tomorrow) to pick up one. I have also thought of fabricating some kind of mount to sling it under the belly. I'll see what I come up with.

My wife has also fallen in love with the larger shower the Monty has over our old TT and we rarely have full hookups....

Eric
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Old 06-26-2005, 05:49 AM   #16
sreigle
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Labarnas, this probably differs on different models but something to watch for to avoid a surprise. When keeping the bath and galley tanks separate, the bath tank will back up into the shower when full. But when I have the two sharing capacity, on ours, the first indication we're over full is water backing up into the kitchen sink. Where you might not think to look. If you happen to be showering, you might not notice this so beware.... would hate to overflow the kitchen sink while I'm showering. Other models may be different.
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Old 06-26-2005, 06:19 AM   #17
Native Tex
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We keep ours with us most of the time and do us it in Corp of Engineer and most state parks that do not have full hook ups. We try to use the local facilities as much as possible, but it never fails, we always end up needing a dump after 4 or 5 days. Of course, if the grand kids are along, this could become a chore. We make sure they use the showers provided as much as possible. However, we lover to cook and so the galley tank does have to get dumped very often. We just keep the tank good and sterilized with chemicals and bleach. We either store it in the back of the truck or in the belly of the trailer ( if really clean). :-)
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Old 06-26-2005, 10:45 AM   #18
ols1932
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We have had the 25-gal 4-wheeler for 5 years now and have found several times when it came in handy. We don't park where we have full hookups any more than necessary. When we dry camp (which can be as long as 18 days, we need the tote tank. We wouldn't be without it. For people who just go out and camp occasionally, I wouldn't recommend purchasing one.
We use one of those chair hangers sold at Camping World on our rear ladder and strap the 4-wheeler to it. Only take it down when we need it. You'll recognize our Montana from the rear because of the 4-wheeler on the ladder and the words "Do you know Jesus" on the rear window.
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Old 06-26-2005, 12:14 PM   #19
jrgwdenner
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I think those of us who choose to camp in State Parks and/or Corp CGs are more likely to use a blue tote. It's sure nice to have along if you need to empty the galley tank. We have it along on our trip to Alaska since a lot of the provincial parks don't have hookups either.

Great advertising, Orv and Marge, sure to get attention with that blue tote hanging nearby.
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Old 06-26-2005, 01:31 PM   #20
richfaa
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We have had the largest blue tank for years.Use it for grey water only. We are full hookup folks as much as possible but when camping with our camping group in group areas that is not always possible. We like to shower every day so the blue tot tank is always in the back of the truck.
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