# How Important To You Is Tank Size?



## the eubies (Sep 7, 2006)

Hi,

Did the tank sizes change mid 2006?

I think the black and grey tanks went from 28 to 40 gallons.

This will be our first trailer (new or used 21rs) and to me the change seems significant since we will be dry camping often.

How long can you camp with the 28 gallon tanks?

Thanks for any wisdom and insight you can give.

Beth


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

I thought they had changed in '05, but I can't be sure. If I don't have sewer hookups, which isn't often, and we use the facilities showers, then I can go may 2.5 to 3 days on the gray tank. The black will last a bit longer. When we have hookups, and everyone is taking showers, washing dishes...etc., I'm draining the gray everyday. The black lasts the same amount of time either way.

Tim


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## NobleEagle (Jul 8, 2006)

For dry campers that rely on storage capacity....*I would think size does matter














*


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

It just means that you use the portable tank a little more often. We are planning a 14 day dry camping trip, so either way we would be dumping.


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

I have a 50 gallon fresh and a 35 Grey and 35 Black ...

I will tell you that even dry camping i rarely run out of fresh and the Black rarely conconcerns me .. but for some reason i can fill the grey up in no time...

In a perfect world the Grey would be 100 gallons -- LOL


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

Don't dry camp so there's not much to worry about for me. I prefer full hookups. I can fill up a gray tank in about 3 days pretty easily.

Never had to worry too much about the black.

Mark


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## MaeJae (May 12, 2005)

NobleEagle said:


> For dry campers that rely on storage capacity....*I would think size does matter
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think size matters for all of us.









BTW I have the 50/35/35

MaeJae


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Hi Yianni









We have 50/40/20/20
The black tank (40 gal) will last about 4 days, bathroom gray(20 gal) 3-4 days max with showers, galley gray (20gal) forever, cause we use paper plates and wash utensils outside. Have not run out of fresh water (50 gal) yet so far.

The beach at Jalama is dry camping, but thank goodness they have heads and showers. We are heading there in two weeks and plan to stay 10 days, so we will have to dump at some point.

Dawn


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

I've got the old smaller tanks. (28)

I've never yet filled the black tank to capacity on any trip.
Grey tank fills up quite quickly. (a weekend)

The gauges are next to useless, so don't rely on them much.


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## Txcamper (Apr 3, 2006)

On a two night camping trip our gray water tank is filled up while the black is about 3/4 full. We try to keep all hand washing and cleaning of the dishes to the outside sink to save on the tank space.

I know the early '06 models had smaller tanks. One thing I made sure of is that I got a later model with the larger tanks, it makes a diffence with a large family. Even so, the blue tank tot-a-long is a mainstay in the bed of the truck.


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

We have an early-06 with small tanks. For our long travels (like our recent Land Cruise) I like the small tanks because I'm not tempted to exceed by weight limits with full large tanks. Water weights a LOT.

When we dry camp, we are VERY careful with grey water, and it works out great (we've never needed to use the blue tank). I would like a bit larger fresh water tank, but where we camp there is a fresh water source I can use to top it off.

Ed


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

If you camp dry alot it's a big issue. Our 2004 is from the 28 gallon camp and have found that we can fill the empty gray tank in about 5 hours if not conserving. We actually did this on our trip to Yosemite last month. 40 gallons is a BIG improvement.

ON EDIT: Our 28 gallon black tank will last our family of 4 for 5-6 days.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Beth,

Ghosty (and others) are correct. The gray tank is the big issue. We have never come close to filling the black tank, and the fresh water tank will last forever, unless you are showering alot. The gray tank on the other hand fills up quickly. If we are VERY careful, we can get four, maybe five days out of the tank, but it's not easy. Two to three is more common.

If it works for you, get a towable 30gallon tote tank. You can drain the gray tank into it, and then pull it off and dump it (in a suitable location of course). This will extend the capacity of your gray tank indefinately. Of course, that only works if you are camping close to a place you can dump the gray water.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

We have the 50/40/40 combo and like others said, the black tank is no problem. The gray tank fills up quickly and the fresh tank won't last forever unless you're careful. We carry a 7 gallon water container we use to refill the fresh tank if needed.

Assuming you never flush the toilet, the gray tank should last 4/5 or 80% of the fresh tank. One goes down and the other goes up. If you flush the toilet on a regular basis, the gray tank should correlate with the fresh tank.


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## Scrib (Jun 28, 2005)

I find that using biodegradeable soap helps extend our gray tank capacity









Seriously though, we're always pushing 3/4 full on the gray tank (40 gallons) by the end of day 3. I have to keep on eagle-eye on young son (2) - he likes to play with the foot-peddle on the toilet. I couldn't figure out how the heck we went though 40 gallons of fresh water in 2 days on the last trip - then I caught him! lol


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Scrib said:


> I find that using biodegradeable soap helps extend our gray tank capacity


Termination Cap With Hose Connector














nothin' going on here, move along.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

California Jim said:


> I find that using biodegradeable soap helps extend our gray tank capacity


Termination Cap With Hose Connector














nothin' going on here, move along.
[/quote]
I didn't see a thing.... nothing... nope... nada...didn't see diddly squat!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

California Jim said:


> I find that using biodegradeable soap helps extend our gray tank capacity


Termination Cap With Hose Connector














nothin' going on here, move along.
[/quote]

Hi, Jim!
I didn't see anything, either, but I sure am glad I didn't!! I'm going to a place for at least a week without sewer hookups, Friday!! Guess who's stopping by CW??








PS. If you use too much detergent in your washer, at home, a bar of soap will kill the suds. Maybe some shavings of it would help in the grey tanks!
Darlene


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## the eubies (Sep 7, 2006)

Thanks for all the great info. and advice. I didn't even think of the portable tanks.. dah

I don't know about that last accessory!!









Thanks again,

Beth


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