Dump station etiquette

[tfischer]

20 feet??? ha, that won't be enough room for me to pull up and start to dump. my tow vehicle is 15 feet (and it is a midSUV, so trucks are longer) - and then my camper is 25 feet with the tank outlets at the back... so i need 40 feet. a truck pulling my camper would need more space and those bigger campers would need even more.

Haha you're just like my wife... correcting me over minute details that really don't affect my argument lol.

You get my point. If you can pull forward to finish up, do it. If you can have some things prepped and ready to go while you're next in line, do it. There's no reason to dally around at the dump station.

And yes, I know my post isn't going to change anything. But neither are posts about cutting through campsites, and we have those discusions regularly lol. Venting is therapeutic.

 

[Snow]

I have actually seen campground people monitoring the dump stations at some of our more popular and busy Provincial Parks.. one in particular the 4 bay dump station serves 6 separate campgrounds in Algonquin Park.. when things get busy the line up extends out onto the highway, which is just a bunch of accidents waiting to happen.. At Parks where staff monitors the dumping, you get 1 flush of the black tank, whether it's clean or not, your told to leave or go get back in line if you want to flush more..

 

[GalsofEscape]

Haha you're just like my wife... correcting me over minute details that really don't affect my argument lol.

You get my point. If you can pull forward to finish up, do it. If you can have some things prepped and ready to go while you're next in line, do it. There's no reason to dally around at the dump station.

And yes, I know my post isn't going to change anything. But neither are posts about cutting through campsites, and we have those discusions regularly lol. Venting is therapeutic.

i do get the point but you did ask if 20 feet was really that hard. I agree that 20 feet is not necessarily hard but i was pointing out the fact that it would do me no good. I still can't get in if you are so inclined to scootch forward 20 feet, so i am still waiting on you to stow your gear before i pull up.
i agree, venting is therapeutic and you are kinda preaching to the choir with this as are the other discussions you mention. I have simply accepted what I can not change about the dump stations and turn on the radio and listen to some music.- though honestly, i rarely find a line at the dump station at the parks i frequent.

 

[1380ken]

i do get the point but you did ask if 20 feet was really that hard. I agree that 20 feet is not necessarily hard but i was pointing out the fact that it would do me no good. I still can't get in if you are so inclined to scootch forward 20 feet, so i am still waiting on you to stow your gear before i pull up.
i agree, venting is therapeutic and you are kinda preaching to the choir with this as are the other discussions you mention. I have simply accepted what I can not change about the dump stations and turn on the radio and listen to some music.- though honestly, i rarely find a line at the dump station at the parks i frequent.

He could edit his post and change 20' to 40'+

 

[Adam H]

Fill black and grey tanks at site before closing up
Connect stinky slinky
Pull black tank valve - drain - close
Pull grey tank valve - drain - close
Remove stinky slinky, rinse and stow
Done, 5-10 minutes - 10-15 when I had my TT with large tanks

If you constantly need to flush tanks, you have a problem

 

[GalsofEscape]

He could edit his post and change 20' to 40'+

he could - but since the ability to pull that far up is even more limited than the 20 foot pull up, it becomes a mute point.

 

[tfischer]

i do get the point but you did ask if 20 feet was really that hard. I agree that 20 feet is not necessarily hard but i was pointing out the fact that it would do me no good. I still can't get in if you are so inclined to scootch forward 20 feet, so i am still waiting on you to stow your gear before i pull up.

It's called exaggeration to make a point. My wife doesn't get it either.

 

[tfischer]

he could - but since the ability to pull that far up is even more limited than the 20 foot pull up, it becomes a mute point.

Again... not at most places I camp at.

I feel us going round and round and round...

Also, the word you're looking for is "moot" lol

 

[NLB]

Again... not at most places I camp at.

I feel us going round and round and round...

Also, the word you're looking for is "moot" lol

Maybe the “mute” was a suggestion.

 

[neighbormike]

Hell, just be happy the guy used a hose!

 

[Snow]

Hell, just be happy the guy used a hose!

Oh seen more then one guy who just aimed and dumped... I just hope their aim is better when standing using the toilet..

 

[djmello99]

I don’t have a black water tank…is it proper etiquette to squat over the dump station? If so, what’s the expected time limit and do I need to pull forward 20’ while I “clean up”? So many questions…

 

[gladecreekwy]

Doesn't it seem like it should be just common courtesy, when there are people behind you waiting to dump, to do the absolute minimum business at the station, and THEN pull up, stow your hoses, rinse off your gloves, yadda yadda? It sure seems like it to me. But this never happens. Its as if people are like "this is mine, for as long as I want, and imma just gonna take my time. I swear the guy in front of me today took 4 minutes just storing his stinky slinky.

It's bad enough to have to wait for one of these big rigs to dump, when my total time at the station is like 3 minutes.

This has bugged me so much over the years that I tend to dump our small bit of gray water and porta potti in the toilets instead of the dump station. But today I got in line at the dump station, because this particular park has a nice setup which makes it very easy to dump without making a mess.

When the only dump station here closed last year I was forced to buy a macerater pump. Best thing ever. I can take my time, drink a beer and no waiting. Rinse my tank as much as I want. And overall much cleaner job IMO. Of course you need your sewer clean out accessible. Spent about $150 on the whole set up

 

[generok]

I know the suggestion was floated to pull forward to stow hoses, but I don't see how that's even viable. You have to disconnect the slinky from the RV to tip it up and empty the water from it down the drain. Is the suggestion just to drag all that a full RV length, then walk back, get the RV moved up, then get back out and put the hose away? All that walking around isn't going to be faster than putting the hose in the holder which on my rig is 12" from the dump valves.

In general, I agree. I will refuse to even back rinse at a dump station if there is ANYONE waiting behind me. Luckily, I can also dump at home, and I can back rinse until I'm happy there, so it's not a big issue for me personally. But, if a dump station was my ONLY option EVER, I would want to back rinse at least some of the time to get the residue out of the tank. Some of the dump stations here have been automated, so you only get lilke 10 minutes total before the water turns off and the dump locks (I guess it really can't lock when you're connected though).

Anyway, waiting to dump sucks! That's why I made my rig to dump at home. It's one less annoyance on Sunday on the way home from a trip.

 

[Coreym95]

So I think the take aways from this thread are:

Pulling forward really isn't a great option and we should never expect the people in front of us to do so.

If a line is forming behind you, do the bare minimum to get everything dumped and cleaned up.

Never waste time at the dump station. Do what you have to do and get out of there, even if there isn't anybody waiting.

If there isn't a line behind you (or maybe just one person behind you that pulled up several minutes into your process) , feel free to flush your black tank a couple times, spend an extra minute cleaning your hose, etc.

 

[J Starsky]

I stayed at https://www.badgerlandcampground.com/ in Madison, WI a few weeks back. While it was pricey, I needed to for a local family wedding.

Dump line reached three large trailers, so the owners comes by to move the guy in front of me along. Yep, we got a tank flusher, folks... The guy had undone the end of the non-potable hose for this tank, and the owner didn't seem to like it.

Turns out, the campground has a supplied stinky slinky right there. The owner pulled me up so I could hit both front and rear dumps on the TT, and I used his hose and was off within mere moments. Classy place, let me tell you folks.

 

[Xjsport95]

The campground I go to has a flying j a few miles down the road, dump and flush my tanks while I wait for the fuel tank to fill up… cost me 10$ but better than waiting on line for an hour for the only dump station

when I had my class a… pup doesn’t have tanks

 

[jonkquil]

Oh yes, the dreaded dump station club I now have to be a part of, due to having a black tank!! It was so easy with my previous Fleetwood Westlake roll-a-long cassette, so easy!

I always 'play it by ear' on the day of check out/departure & I always dread it. If I can use the dump station, I do it as quick & efficiently but also not rushing as I don't want to mess this up! If the line to dump is long, we just head on home where I dump into a tote, then wheel to my sewer clean-out and dump thru a slinky there. That's why I have the strict, pee only - no turds policy.

From what I see at the dump stations, there are always 'those people' with no consideration of anyone waiting behind them, my guess is they are probably like that in general with most things and they won't change. I can totally understand the OP venting about it, after all isn't that just part of this group - therapy!

On a side note - do any of you have 'dump shoes'? We camp in the warmer months & several times I've found myself at the dump station in flip flops. It's totally gross & I always get annoyed at myself for not protecting myself better. I'm thinking of adding dump shoes, probably clogg type to my list. Obviously I'll change into them before, anyone else do this or am I overthinking?

 

[kitphantom]

We really try to organize our trips so that, in places where the dump stations are likely to be busy, we can dump in a FHU site, since we often have a stop between our main camp and home. I don't remember seeing a dump station at the KOA we were in last week, but we had a FHU. With the pipes in our Retro, angle really makes a difference, both of the trailer, and sometimes of the actual dump drain. We have the support for the sewer hose, but it often doesn't compensate for the rise we sometimes encounter at the drain, and we don't use it at dump stations, of course. We end up walking the liquid as we drain. Especially with the gray water, which has a slight sag in the piping (it looks like they moved just a bit before the PVC cement at a joint was set), we can have an air lock that stops the flow of the waste water. Not as much of an issue with the black tank. (& yes, it gets used for #1 & #2, not a problem for us.) This also seems to happen more with our current, better sewer hose, but I don't know if that is coincidence with the dumps we've encountered since we bought it for last season.
We dumped twice last week, and it just took longer than it does at the KOA we use at home, since that has a slanted asphalt pad at the dump station, which helps a lot but which we seldom encounter at other dump stations. We finally gave up on getting a good rinse on the black tank too too, since the water pressure was a whopping 22#, but at least we got the sewer hose rinsed. While we prefer to rinse, if it is going to be an issue at a dump station, we skip it. Such things happen at dump stations too, so our time can vary quite a bit - and I can't imagine how long it takes with large tanks. It's hard to tell how large the tanks on a trailer might be, outside of larger trailer probaly have larger tanks. The waste tanks in ours are a 10 gallon black and 30 gallon gray. Friends with a Casita tell us they have 12 gallons black, but their gray is either the same size as our or a tad smaller.

 

[neighbormike]

@jonkquil I will not empty while wearing my sandals… I always slip into some shoes or close-toed crocs before hitting the dump station. Seeing people splash around in flip flops grosses me out lol