# Boondocking/dry Camping Questions



## ramartina (Feb 16, 2008)

Leave it to me to buy first then ask these types of questions.









We just bought a 23rs and will be using it 95% of the time dry camping on our "farm" on weekends. When not in use, the outback will stay on that property. I'm squared away on the electric side with 6v setup and a 3500 watt generator. However I have a few questions regarding water issues and tanks. Basically, we bought a big chunk of land with no house, electric or water on the property. We spend as much time on it with the kids as we can. The 23rs is going to allow us to use the property even more than we already do, despite the fact that its a little bit of fitting a square peg in a round hole. Any help you all could give me on rounding those edges off would be greatly appreciated.

The only use that we will have for water will be washing hands and using the facilities (mostly for the missus). We are used to camping on it so I don't foresee us using the shower much if ever on these one and two day outings. Not sure how many flushes it takes to fill a black water tank (figure 5-10 flushes a day max for our total usage).

Anyways, say it takes a 2-3 weekends of use to fill the tank at which time I will take it to the dump station about 20 miles away where I can do all the cleaning that is required and can fill the water tank. Is that period of time going to cause problems with the tank or with fumes? If so, is there anything I can do to minimize those issues?

Also, how long can water be kept in the clean freshwater tank before problems occur? We won't be using it for drinking water so I was planning on adding a very small amount of bleach with the water softener at fill up to keep bacteria from developing.

I know I'm planning to use this very differently than many folks use theirs when dry camping. So I need to do a lot of preparation ahead of time. Trying to head off any potential problems before I run into them. Thanks!


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

Can't help you with most of those questions except maybe the balck tank. DH uses the OB bathroom as an extra bathroom in the spring, summer and fall so ours sometimes sits for several weeks. Use the chemicals and you shouldn't have any nasty surprises in that department.

What a wonderful way to make memories with the kids.

Will you eventually be improving the 'farm'? just curious.


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## ramartina (Feb 16, 2008)

Lady Di said:


> Can't help you with most of those questions except maybe the balck tank. DH uses the OB bathroom as an extra bathroom in the spring, summer and fall so ours sometimes sits for several weeks. Use the chemicals and you shouldn't have any nasty surprises in that department.
> 
> What a wonderful way to make memories with the kids.
> 
> Will you eventually be improving the 'farm'? just curious.


If we build on it it won't be for a loooong time. I used up all the stuff in the piggy bank to get the land a couple years back....now if that lottery ticket turns out to be a winner...


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Tony,

The key is to make sure your toilet chemicals are doing their job. Since you will be letting it sit for a long time adding a bit more will help. You may want to try a few different chemicals to see which works best, I think the Thetford Campa Chem Deodorant would be your best shot though. It should do fine with the odors, you may want to put on a new RV Vent like the RV 360 Sanitation Vent or the cheaper Cyclone Sewer Vent - either should do a better job then the stock vent.

When you take it to dump you may want to add ice to the tank just before you pull out, that way it can loosen up any solids that are stuck and make the rinse easier. If you don't have a black tank flush installed, I would put one it. Also adding Calgone to the black tank helps to keep the sides slick so things don't stick to it. Since you won't be moving it much anything you can do to keep things from piling up below the drain will be important.

If you are not drinking from the water or cooking with it I wouldn't worry. Not a bad idea to add a small (very small) amount of bleach if you are not filling it up at home.

You might also want to invest in a portable tank for dumping the black water in too, its cheap insurance. But you'd need to be able to lift it up to a truck or something as you wouldn't want to drag it 20 miles behind your rig.

Solar might also be something to think about too, it can charge up the batteries between use while you are gone.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Since the black tank will sit for extended periods of time you may also try Rid-X as a digester. This would not normally be recommended as the black tanks are typically just for short term storage but leaving it partially full for a long time it would help keep things from solidifying.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Seems like you have the answers for your short term problems...

Long term...any plans to add a septic tank to the property? Might be a nice way to avoid the hassle of having to tow the Outback out to empty the tank.


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## ramartina (Feb 16, 2008)

No plans to put in septic. Nice idea, though. I'm having the dealer install a quickie flush this week. Hoping that will help out when I go to dump. Might also install the upgraded vents that always point downwind.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

There's little chance it won't be smelling pretty foul after a few weeks. It is really bad though just when you flush the toilet, as that opens the seal to the tank. If you use the bathroom exhaust fan it is bearable. That's been my experience anyway.


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## ramartina (Feb 16, 2008)

BoaterDan said:


> There's little chance it won't be smelling pretty foul after a few weeks. It is really bad though just when you flush the toilet, as that opens the seal to the tank. If you use the bathroom exhaust fan it is bearable. That's been my experience anyway.


Dan paints a pretty bleak picture. I'm pot committed, got to figure out the way to make this work.


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## jetjane (Feb 8, 2007)

We've left ours for a few weeks before and didn't really notice it smelling except for maybe when I was flushing it and I got a sudden whiff. Just add extra toilet chem and the smell won't be that bad. Your plan sounds good to me but one thing I thought I'd mention is to make sure there is plenty of liquid in the black tank. You don't want to conserve to the point where it is mostly solids in there or you will have big troubles.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

jetjane said:


> We've left ours for a few weeks before and didn't really notice it smelling except for maybe when I was flushing it and I got a sudden whiff. Just add extra toilet chem and the smell won't be that bad. Your plan sounds good to me but one thing I thought I'd mention is to make sure there is plenty of liquid in the black tank. You don't want to conserve to the point where it is mostly solids in there or you will have big troubles.


That is great advise for sure....


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

BoaterDan said:


> There's little chance it won't be smelling pretty foul after a few weeks. It is really bad though just when you flush the toilet, as that opens the seal to the tank. *If you use the bathroom exhaust fan it is bearable. *That's been my experience anyway.


Be very careful with this one. You have to have the bathroom fan blowing into the trailer, pressurize the bathroom. If you have the fan on extract it will pull the tank gasses in to the bathroom when you flush.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

I didn't mean to paint a bleak picture. I've gone three weeks once. It was bearable but not pleasant.

I meant to say what jetjane did - there wasn't really any smell coming through the toilet seal until you opened it to flush. The smell's going to come in regardless of the fan. Running the exhaust fan after flushing will help clear it out quicker.

As to the water, I think you'd be fine, especially with a little bleach added.

It sounds like you're probably really talking about a two week span for it sitting, right. Weekend 1: fill tanks and use trailer. Weekend 2: use trailer. Weekend 3: Use trailer, freshwater's gone and black tank is full. That's three weekends, or two weeks.

I think you'll be more than fine.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

I think you'll be ok with sufficient amounts of liquid in the tank. I use Odor-loss which is supposed to break things down and I've been happy with it's perfromance. I've left it for 2 weeks with a 1/2 full tank and didn't have odor problems.


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## Kyoutbacker (Apr 26, 2006)

I don't know how rural/unzoned/"not picky about septic systems" your area is, but there are small septic tanks made out of plastic. They are lightweight and easy to haul and install by yourself. The septic lines can be the "sock" type or the newer "no stone" type. For the amount you use it, it should not cost too much. Some counties will even send help design it for you. Another idea is to build yourself a composting tank setup (away from the trailer).

Water can be trucked in and stored in out of those covered plastic tanks that farmers use. Add a small electric or hand pump pump. I don't know if I would use it for drinking but it works for showers, etc.

The worst problem in our area is leaving the trailer alone. You might come back to find a family living in it or the thieves have stolen everything but the walls.


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

CamperAndy said:


> Since the black tank will sit for extended periods of time you may also try Rid-X as a digester. This would not normally be recommended as the black tanks are typically just for short term storage but leaving it partially full for a long time it would help keep things from solidifying.


I tried some RV-Trine http://www.campingworld.com/browse/product...cts/prodID=3090 and it worked really well for a 10 day trip. They also have a bacteria formula that is like Rid-x but is faster acting. You will need something that will digest the solids instead of just preserve or cover up the smell. You will also want to completely clean out the tank each time to eliminate any solids build up. I wish I had a place to park my RV like you. Good luck and have fun.


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