travel trailers/rv's.

animal-inside

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Wife finally convinced me that we needed a travel trailer to take kids camping. We've done tent before and I enjoy it, but I got to admit, the travel trailer makes it a lot more enjoyable.

We bought a used bumper pull travel trailer last week and already took it out for a few days.

Who else uses a trailer???

Question.... Why does everyone tell me never shit in the trailer? To my understanding the only downside is dumping the black tank (shit water) and the smell. When I was a teen I used to work at a campground and one of my duties was sucking the black water from inground holding tanks and dumping it into a clay lined holding pond. The smell was bad, but I did it once a day for the entire day all summer. I know I'd be fine with dumping the black tank if it meant we didn't need to use the campground outhouses.
Is there any other cons to using the shitter in a camper that I haven't been told?


Nothing makes me want to end a camping trip then using the campground outhouses to shit...

I'm a shit in the woods guys... but I can't do this at a camp ground.. I have camped in the bush for a week and shit in the wood 2x a day and never bothered me, but an outhouse just makes me feel dirty.
 
I’m a avid boater and the septic system is the same .
Few thinks to keep in mind . Don’t put toilet paper down toilet . Even marine grade single ply . It messes up your septic system and can cause problems over time ..
They sell stuff to help breakdown the shit and help with the smell . We use the pucks . But I know many folks use the liquid with great results too
When you pump out . If possible run fresh water through system to flush tank and septic system ..
 
For me the only concern is emptying my black tank. There is a sani dump at a rest area 20 mins from my house but Sunday night there is a big line up and sometimes it's already full! Plan B is inconvenient and time consuming.
 
Hey AI, we also are avid campers. There is no downside to using the black tank. I just add in the enzymes and there is no smell. I think the reason is because they are quite small, i also flush mine with water and bleach after a couple of uses out camping.
I know folks that never use it and the reason is they just don't like to clean them. I don't do outhouses, fkn nasty. I used them a lot growing up as my grandparents did not have running water. But nasty none the less.
Biggest thing is to do a real good winterization when done for the season, and keep up with the roof membrane chaecks and the seals around the roof units and all around the trailer. Delamination from a small leak is a killer of RV's.

Keep up with the basics and keep your water tank clean and fresh, i use a bit of javex a few times per year and drive around and swish it a lot and then run all water works to purge the plastic lines as they build bacteria, let it sit for 15 mins or so and then i drain, re fill with clean water and drain again.

Don't forget the hot water tank, make sure you bypass it and drain it real good end of season. Fridges etc, keep them open when not in use or they mold up quick. I also just clean it on its own several times per yr so it doesn't get algae mildew build up inside.
Good on ya for getting a camper, congrats man and have a blast with it.
I was a tenter forever, now when it pours rain, i turn on the TV and the heater and relax and watch some tube and have the best sleeps then i feel bad for the tenters.
 
I’m a avid boater and the septic system is the same .
Few thinks to keep in mind . Don’t put toilet paper down toilet . Even marine grade single ply . It messes up your septic system and can cause problems over time ..
They sell stuff to help breakdown the shit and help with the smell . We use the pucks . But I know many folks use the liquid with great results too
When you pump out . If possible run fresh water through system to flush tank and septic system ..

I've read that if you use the special TP for these type of holding tanks AND the chemical to break it down that you won't have a issue with the TP. I also read that ppl who run into problems with TP tend to drain their black water tanks too much. A bit should be left in the tanks with chemical to allow the TP to break down in the liquid.
 
We rent. I'm on a week long RV trip with my family right now. Got my cardio in today by running, that was awful.

Big rule. Don't shit in the RV. It just stinks!

Sub-rule for the ladies, throw your TP in a garbage can next to the toilet and I'll clean it out daily. I do not want any septic issues. I like bringing the RV back tip top.

I know guys that own and it's just more work than I care to do for the one time a year we do this. One coworker had crows pick off all his roof caulking a year ago. He was so f-ing mad I avoided him all day.
 
My brother has one and he uses it at least once a month in the summer
 

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We spent the last 3 days shitting in the camper.. Wife, me and 2 kids..

I must say, it was AWESOME shitting in your own personal bathroom, not a outhouse, with hot running water to wash your hands after..

Now that we are home, I need to learn the process of dumping it lol... I told the wife when we were leaving the camp site I'm just going to open the valve to the holding tanks when we hit the highway 😂

All jokes aside, I will watch on you tube how to do it..

I heard to let it sit for a bit before dumping it so the chemical has a chance to break down the waste and paper from the last ciuple times it was used.
 
Yes make sure the enzymes are in there before leaving as the motion activates them. When dumping do black tank first after topping it up with water then dump the grey to “rinse” things after. Only thing to make sure is the hoses are securely attached.....
 
We spent the last 3 days shitting in the camper.. Wife, me and 2 kids..

I must say, it was AWESOME shitting in your own personal bathroom, not a outhouse, with hot running water to wash your hands after..

Now that we are home, I need to learn the process of dumping it lol... I told the wife when we were leaving the camp site I'm just going to open the valve to the holding tanks when we hit the highway 😂

All jokes aside, I will watch on you tube how to do it..

I heard to let it sit for a bit before dumping it so the chemical has a chance to break down the waste and paper from the last ciuple times it was used.

How was the stink factor?
 
How was the stink factor?

Honestly, nothing...

I used 4x the amount of the chemical treatment your supposed to use in the shitter....

I read adding liquid fabric softner to the tank helps with the stink too


I haven't even dumped the shit tank yet from that trip. I checked the other day in the trailer and no smell.. I think the seal at the top of the toilet works well.
 
Honestly, nothing...

I used 4x the amount of the chemical treatment your supposed to use in the shitter....

I read adding liquid fabric softner to the tank helps with the stink too


I haven't even dumped the shit tank yet from that trip. I checked the other day in the trailer and no smell.. I think the seal at the top of the toilet works well.

Cool. My family cottage was built in the 40s and it's pretty much collapsing at this point. We're thinking about flattening it and towing in an RV. There's a company in the town nearby that pumps out the waste, but it's good to know it wouldn't stink in the meantime.

Anyways, congrats on the purchase!
 
Cool. My family cottage was built in the 40s and it's pretty much collapsing at this point. We're thinking about flattening it and towing in an RV. There's a company in the town nearby that pumps out the waste, but it's good to know it wouldn't stink in the meantime.

Anyways, congrats on the purchase!

Instead of repeaditly paying for someone to call haul your sewage out of the RV, you could just put in a burried holding tank and then put the RV sewage hose directly into the holding tank... That way you'd only have to pay someone to come pump out the holding tank once a year if that.. If you choose to use your RV's holding tank, you'll be pumping it out Everytime you spend a few days in the RV.

I worked at a private camp ground one summer. They had permenant people and people who'd come rent a camp site for 1-30 days. Every stall had a burried holding tank and the campers with RV/trailers would just put their sewage hose into those holding tanks. Than the camp ground would pump them out occcasioanlly... If I recall correctly, a perm resident there only needed these tanks pumped once a summer
 
Instead of repeaditly paying for someone to call haul your sewage out of the RV, you could just put in a burried holding tank and then put the RV sewage hose directly into the holding tank... That way you'd only have to pay someone to come pump out the holding tank once a year if that.. If you choose to use your RV's holding tank, you'll be pumping it out Everytime you spend a few days in the RV.

I worked at a private camp ground one summer. They had permenant people and people who'd come rent a camp site for 1-30 days. Every stall had a burried holding tank and the campers with RV/trailers would just put their sewage hose into those holding tanks. Than the camp ground would pump them out occcasioanlly... If I recall correctly, a perm resident there only needed these tanks pumped once a summer

Oh yeah, good point. Our neighbors on the lake have a porta-potty with 2 50gal drums buried under it. They use that company to pump out the waste when need be. I'm sure we could do something similar with the rv
 
Oh yeah, good point. Our neighbors on the lake have a porta-potty with 2 50gal drums buried under it. They use that company to pump out the waste when need be. I'm sure we could do something similar with the rv

I'd personally go witrh somethign bigger just because it's quite expensive to get a vac truck to stop by... I'm sure they charge the same way as they do here which is, it doesn't matter how much they suck out, your charged for the distance. So if they drive to your place and suck out 1000gallons and charge you 150$ and drive to your next door neighbor and suck out 10 gallons, they will still charge him 150$.
 
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