# Anyone Changed Their Holding Tanks?



## joco (Mar 20, 2008)

Ok so with our new to us, 5er, we do a lot of dry camping. The one issue we had the only time we used her was that the gray water tank filled up more quickly than we expected. So I have read a bunch of articles on water conservation, but I was wondering about the feasibility of upgrading the size of the gray water tank.... or at adding another one.

So my question is can this be done? Is there generally room to do this? Can we increase our fresh water tank? Or is this not recommended to too cost prohibitive?

Your comments are appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

I had my freshwater tank completely off the trailer for repairs last year. It is supported on one long side by a major frame crossmember, but on the other side by a piece that bolts to the frame (and therefore could be repositioned).

So, as long as you stayed within the height and length restrictions (there was some room to grow in both directions though), you would be able to increase the width. You could probably also mount a second tank and bridge the two together.

I imagine the holding tanks are similar, but there are more significant plumbing issues involved there compared to the freshwater.


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## Northern Wind (Nov 21, 2006)

I don't know about changing them, but we also do a lot of dry camping and and I have 2 of those big portable tanks on wheels, a pulley and a ramp to load them when full in the back of the truck. Putting new holding tanks on sounds like a lot of work and would affect balance and handling weights etc.
One note if you go for the portable tanks, make sure they are securely fastened before pulling handle, trust me on this one!


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## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

We dry camp almost exclusively (the OB has only been "hooked up" twice) - we also carry extra water in blue jugs for refilling, but what we find ourselves doing more is using the water outside the trailer for washing dishes, washing hands, etc. We really only use the water in the trailer for the toliet. Most of the time we have to pour fresh water into the gray tank when we get ready to go because there is not enough in there for a clean dump.

Even on our 7 day trip we still had water in the fresh tank and room in both the gray & black.


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## boats313 (Oct 22, 2007)

How about connecting the gray tank to the black tank? They are both the same size, but the black doesn't get nearly the use. As a bonus there would be more water in the black to move the solids out. If you made the connection near the top of the gray tank angled down to the bottom of the black, it would keep the flow mostly one way. You could even add a valve to control when you want to use the connection.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

boats313 said:


> How about connecting the gray tank to the black tank? They are both the same size, but the black doesn't get nearly the use. As a bonus there would be more water in the black to move the solids out. If you made the connection near the top of the gray tank angled down to the bottom of the black, it would keep the flow mostly one way. You could even add a valve to control when you want to use the connection.


I think you'd be opening yourself up to major stink problems. As it is the only opening into the blank tank is through the toilet, which has a pretty good seal to it.


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## joco (Mar 20, 2008)

OREGONCAMPIN said:


> We dry camp almost exclusively (the OB has only been "hooked up" twice) - we also carry extra water in blue jugs for refilling, but what we find ourselves doing more is using the water outside the trailer for washing dishes, washing hands, etc. We really only use the water in the trailer for the toliet. Most of the time we have to pour fresh water into the gray tank when we get ready to go because there is not enough in there for a clean dump.
> 
> Even on our 7 day trip we still had water in the fresh tank and room in both the gray & black.


Hmm extra water in blue jugs. Can you elaborate? Where did you get them? How many extra gallons did you bring for a 7 day trip?

Joe


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## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

joco said:


> Hmm extra water in blue jugs. Can you elaborate? Where did you get them? How many extra gallons did you bring for a 7 day trip?
> 
> Joe


We carry two 7 gallon jugs with us (14 gallons) Click Here - bought them at Wally World for about $9.00 a piece. They are the kind that have the spicket on the end and can be laid on their sides for use. We set them up around camp for hand washing and dish washing. They also come in handy for ez-up weight in windy conditions.

We have yet to have to re-fill our fresh water tank - using the jugs as much as possible helps that. At the end of our trip we will refill them and empty them into our black and gray tanks - helps get a cleaner dump.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

joco said:


> Ok so with our new to us, 5er, we do a lot of dry camping. The one issue we had the only time we used her was that the gray water tank filled up more quickly than we expected. So I have read a bunch of articles on water conservation, but I was wondering about the feasibility of upgrading the size of the gray water tank.... or at adding another one.
> 
> So my question is can this be done? Is there generally room to do this? Can we increase our fresh water tank? Or is this not recommended to too cost prohibitive?
> 
> ...


Wow, this just seems like A LOT of work. And im not sure about connectiong the grey and black tanks. DEFINATELY add a shutoff between them if you do it.


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

We carry 5 or 6 of those blue 5 gallon jugs they sell at Wal Mart also. Use them for all our fresh water and use the trailer tank for cleaning only, (showers, dishes, etc.

You can camp quite a few days that way..

Maybe try that before you go and tear into her... Sounds like a lot of work!

Carey


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

For grey water just bring one of the blue tanks and empty the grey water into the portable tank...then wheel it down to the toilet and flush is down or dump into the outhouse.


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## bradnjess (Mar 25, 2007)

Our favorite CG is semi-dry (electricity but no water or sewage) and we're pretty good about not filling the black tank too fast, with DW and two DDs it's a major accomplishment to not fill black tank on a 3-4 day weekend. When it comes to grey water we replaced the sewer cap w/ one of those that has a garden hose fitting on it. When the grey tank gets full, before we go to bed, I just barely open the grey tank and let it trickle overnight. If we are close to another camp site I hook up a 50' hose and run to an out of the way area. Before we leave the site on the last day we just fill the grey tank up with unused water from the holding tank so we can get a good rinse at the dump site.


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## justinsnow0 (Feb 5, 2007)

If you have water in your drain traps than the odor from the black tank should not come into the camper. No different than your home. I would hook the grey and black togther first. It's easier.


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## ColoradoChip (Jan 21, 2008)

bradnjess said:


> Our favorite CG is semi-dry (electricity but no water or sewage) and we're pretty good about not filling the black tank too fast, with DW and two DDs it's a major accomplishment to not fill black tank on a 3-4 day weekend. When it comes to grey water we replaced the sewer cap w/ one of those that has a garden hose fitting on it. When the grey tank gets full, before we go to bed, I just barely open the grey tank and let it trickle overnight. If we are close to another camp site I hook up a 50' hose and run to an out of the way area. Before we leave the site on the last day we just fill the grey tank up with unused water from the holding tank so we can get a good rinse at the dump site.


You're joking, right?


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## bradnjess (Mar 25, 2007)

ColoradoChip said:


> Our favorite CG is semi-dry (electricity but no water or sewage) and we're pretty good about not filling the black tank too fast, with DW and two DDs it's a major accomplishment to not fill black tank on a 3-4 day weekend. When it comes to grey water we replaced the sewer cap w/ one of those that has a garden hose fitting on it. When the grey tank gets full, before we go to bed, I just barely open the grey tank and let it trickle overnight. If we are close to another camp site I hook up a 50' hose and run to an out of the way area. Before we leave the site on the last day we just fill the grey tank up with unused water from the holding tank so we can get a good rinse at the dump site.


You're joking, right?
[/quote]
It's just grey water nothing toxic. No different than washing your dishes outside and dumping the dirty water in the grass. Is this not one reason the tanks are separated?


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

ColoradoChip said:


> Our favorite CG is semi-dry (electricity but no water or sewage) and we're pretty good about not filling the black tank too fast, with DW and two DDs it's a major accomplishment to not fill black tank on a 3-4 day weekend. When it comes to grey water we replaced the sewer cap w/ one of those that has a garden hose fitting on it. When the grey tank gets full, before we go to bed, I just barely open the grey tank and let it trickle overnight. If we are close to another camp site I hook up a 50' hose and run to an out of the way area. Before we leave the site on the last day we just fill the grey tank up with unused water from the holding tank so we can get a good rinse at the dump site.


You're joking, right?
[/quote]

We often dry camp and I keep a 5 gallon jug that I hook up to the small hose fitting on the drain cap. Every day or two I drain off 5 to 10 gal and I water the local plants or douse the campfire. I usually try to get it so the gray tank is full by the day we're leaving. I know it may not be PC but it's the same water I used dump around the campsite when we tent camped. There's more water now because of things like showers but with biodegradeable camp soap it shouldn't make any difference.

However to answer the original question, I would get one of the portable dump tanks before I would go to the trouble to put in a bigger gray tank.


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## Humpty (Apr 20, 2005)

Our dry camping is usually at NASCAR races where there usually is a water source close by. We use a  Portable Water Tank to top off our fresh tank.

It is a little spendy, but works great. I used it on the roof of our suburban and truck (no, no roof damage to either). Gravity feeds the water to your fresh holding tank. I like this a lot more than using the smaller jugs.

Unlimited fresh water only makes the grey water problem bigger. We usually opt for a pump out service at the track.


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## Northern Wind (Nov 21, 2006)

bradnjess said:


> Our favorite CG is semi-dry (electricity but no water or sewage) and we're pretty good about not filling the black tank too fast, with DW and two DDs it's a major accomplishment to not fill black tank on a 3-4 day weekend. When it comes to grey water we replaced the sewer cap w/ one of those that has a garden hose fitting on it. When the grey tank gets full, before we go to bed, I just barely open the grey tank and let it trickle overnight. If we are close to another camp site I hook up a 50' hose and run to an out of the way area. Before we leave the site on the last day we just fill the grey ta up with unused water from the holding tank so we can get a good rinse at the dump site.


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## Northern Wind (Nov 21, 2006)

bradnjess said:


> Our favorite CG is semi-dry (electricity but no water or sewage) and we're pretty good about not filling the black tank too fast, with DW and two DDs it's a major accomplishment to not fill black tank on a 3-4 day weekend. When it comes to grey water we replaced the sewer cap w/ one of those that has a garden hose fitting on it. When the grey tank gets full, before we go to bed, I just barely open the grey tank and let it trickle overnight. If we are close to another camp site I hook up a 50' hose and run to an out of the way area. Before we leave the site on the last day we just fill the grey tank up with unused water from the holding tank so we can get a good rinse at the dump site.


I hope you are kidding! You get caught doing that at any campground in Ontario and you will not only get a stiff fine, but banned from any Provincial Parks for life. As you should.
You are not only dumping soap which contain harmful phosphates but oil, grease etc onto the ground, the smell will attract critters and cause problems for the next camper!


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## bradnjess (Mar 25, 2007)

We're probable not going to make to Canada this summer. If your grey tank smells your probabley putting something in there that you shouldn't in the first place. We are very cautious about what goes in our tanks, no anti-bacterial soaps, no phosphates, etc. We also treat black and grey tanks with active aerobic bacteria (like KO from boaters world) which is far more environment friendly than the chemical drop-in's. Anything organic that might make its way into the grey tank is comsumed by the active aerobic bacteria. If your tank smells you have anerobic bacteria present, aerobic bacteria will consume the smelly anerobic bacteria. As mentioned above it may not be PC but I really see no harm as long as you use your grey tank correctly.


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Getting back to the original question, if you add a tank, or replace the one you have with a larger one, you will have to take the added weight into account. I don't know how far you need to go to dump, but remember, water weighs 8.3 lbs/gal. If you are close to GVW now, you need to consider the added weight of the new tank, full.

Tim


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