Question about portable gray water totes

Ranman68 · 12-29-2009, 03:51 PM

I've searched through the forums and can't find any topics regarding the portable totes. I know I've seen them several months ago(hopefully I'm not going crazy). My wife said she's seen threads where some people were storing the totes in the bathtub and they fit there just fine. I seem to recall some people were storing them underneath the TM next to the spare tire. Obviously, the totes come in different sizes, so maybe some of the smaller ones work better. We just got the Thetford 18gallon tote and it looks too tall to fit next to the spare tire. Unfortunately, the TM is closed down right now and I don't have access to check the size of the bathtub.
Can someone provide tips and ideas of what others are doing regarding the storage of these totes?
Thanks a bunch!

12-29-2009, 03:56 PM

I do not have a tote yet, but I have a plan for one.

When empty it will be stored under the TM. That way I always have it with me and it is out of the way.

When I have a need to use it, it will then be stored in the bed of the truck, near the back. That way when I stop somewhere on the way home to dump, I can also dump the tote.

If I have to dump the tote before it is time to go home, then I will have to put it in the bed of the truck and drive somewhere. For the places that I go, it can easily be more than 30 miles to the nearest dump station.

If it is only gray water, then depending on where I am and what the rules are, then I may be able to disperse it in the forest.

Ranman68 · 12-29-2009, 05:11 PM

Yeah, I'm also looking for a way to store the tote under the TM. Our problem is that the gray water tank fills fairly quickly. We've only had the TM for < 1 year and so far, all of our camping trips have been 4 days or less. By the 3rd or 4th day, the tank is pretty much full. We're planning on going camping for a week or so and realize we either needed to get a tote or we'd be picking up camp, hauling the TM to the dump station and then coming back and resetting camp. We camp in GA and all the places we've stayed so far have 1 central dump station. We've yet to even try out the shower because it would be impossible with the limits we have on the holding tank.

**commodor47** · 12-29-2009, 07:45 PM

Another option is to use a hitch cargo carrier on the TM back bumper - if you have the optional rear bumper hitch installed - similar to this:

http://www.prolineracks.com/bumper-hitch-adapters.html

Dick

12-29-2009, 10:32 PM

I have a 3 gallon bucket that I sometimes use to haul gray water to the nearest restroom. If you want to take a shower, then you have to haul two buckets full first.

**B_and_D** · 12-29-2009, 11:17 PM

When we're camping w/o hookups, we sometimes pretend that we don't have a grey water tank. We wash dishes at the sink in a plastic tub and the waste water gets treated the same way that tent campers deal with theirs. If water doesn't go into the grey water tank, then the grey water tank doesn't need to be emptied.

For a few years when we first had our TM and camped w/o hookups, we let the kids take showers in the TM and hauled that darned tote back and forth to the dump station. No more. At one of our favorite campgrounds they started charging $8 to dump a 10 gallon tote. That was it. The campground host suggested that we buy a couple of bars of Ivory soap and tell the kids to take a bath in the lake (Ivory floats).

**Bill** · 12-30-2009, 08:50 AM

Ranman -

18 gallons is a pretty big tote. I doubt that you will be able to store it under the TM unless you build a special rack. I have a 10-gallon tote, and it would fit between the frame rails if it were slightly narrower, but it is an older tote, and they were wider in those days. An 18-gallon tote is heavy, too - about 150 pounds - so you are going to have no fun pulling it by hand to the dump station, or lifting it to a pit toilet.

As for searching, the simple search doesn't bring up much. It has always been sort of flaky. However, if you

click on Advanced Search,
enter keyword "tote",
click on "Search titles only", and
click on "Show results as threads",

it brings up 15 threads with the word "tote" in the title.

Bill

OneMoBear · 12-30-2009, 04:35 PM

We have that size tote and it is way too big for the bathtub. Ours will NEVER be inside the TM.

Malinda

Keith Wire · 12-30-2009, 04:40 PM

RanMan,

In May of '07 I purchased a 10 gal blue tote and I store it under the '07 TM using a couple of bungie cords.

We have traveled about 1,000 miles with it and I have had to use it several times without incident. I just put a couple of strips of self stick (one side ) weatherstrip tape on the bottom of the camper and drilled four holes in the frams for the bungies.

BTW, I agree with Bill, 10-12 gal is more than I want to lift and carry around.

Here are a couple of pictures. HTH, Keith

**ShrimpBurrito** · 12-30-2009, 04:56 PM

Hmm....perhaps a good idea for a draft plan, and believe me, I appreciate the ingenuity, but the first thing that comes to mind when looking at those pictures is the fact that you can be held liable for injury/death caused by objects that depart your vehicle while on the highway. Maybe even criminal culpability, which could me jail time. Perhaps it's my strap and suspenders persona, but I would not be comfortable traveling with the tank mounted that way.....and yes, I am assuming it's empty.

You are also pretty close to that propane line. The tank is not secure front to back, so it could potentially slide up and bang the line loose and cause a leak.

Dave