Sunday, January 23, 2011

Dump Stations Closing. Loveable Loos. Egress Window in Cargo Trailer.

RV Dump Stations

"Many of the free dump stations available to RVers are closing because of chemicals that are harmful to septic systems and because RVers are abusing these dump stations.
If we want to have access to these dump stations it is absolutely essential that we use septic safe chemicals (no formaldehyde), and that we clean up after ourselves and do not abuse dump stations.

One golden rule for RV holding tanks is to never dump the black water tank until it is at least two thirds full. You want the tank nearly full so the weight and the gravity will force the contents of the tank to drain properly. Another golden rule is to never leave the black tank valve open at the campground and expect the toilet to drain or flush like the toilet in your home. It won't work."  From: RV101.
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If they keep on closing dump stations, we might have to resort to doing what the Swedes have done at the lakes:
Now before you say anything, the Swedes have a better living standard than the Americans:
 http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article828724.ece


or have "Loveable Loos" which operate on sawdust:

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Bill's Hints
"Most RV toilets are made from some form of plastic and have a highly polished finish. Do not use abrasive cleaners. Once the finish has been dulled, waste will be hard to clean off without hard scrubbing." --From Trailers and Fifth Wheels Made Easy.
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3
"Take your standard issue, off-the-shelf-from-Walmart sewer hose and remove the factory equipped hose-to-RV adapter. Toss it out! Now replace that opaque and mysterious fitting with a clear sewer hose adapter, available in both straight and 45 degree angle varieties.

Yep, when you hook up your hose, you can literally see when that (with apologies to the Dooby Brothers) old black water is no longer rollin'. You can bet your Mississippi moon that this system will get you out of the dump station a lot quicker than the old guessing method.  More at: http://www.newrver.com/sewer_accessory.shtml

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Today:

It was a lot warmer, and so Jay and I installed the egress window in the back door of the cargo trailer.
You can't open that door from the inside, so we knew this would be the best place to put it in case a fire started in the front kitchen.

Egress-window-in-back-door
Egress-window-inside














PS: After Judy's comment, I thought I had better add this picture of the other door on the side:



The trailer doesn't look very big, but the floor plan will make it roomy inside.

We started to make the frame for the water tank, over the wheel well, but time got away from as, as it does most days.

6 comments:

Travels with Emma said...

If you can't open the door from the inside, how do you get out?

LakeConroePenny,TX said...

Thank you for your comment, Judy.

There is a regular RV door on the side:

http://picasaweb.google.com/LakeConroePenny/TrailerProgress02?authkey=Gv1sRgCMKgkrGV64brkAE&feat=directlink

That window is also a horizontal slider with a screen, so it can let in some breeze if needed.

~~Mike~~ said...

Great post Penny and very good points about the dump stations. Having access to free ones really is a huge savings for full-timers. We have always followed most of these guidelines with the exception of the clear tube. The RT has it's hose built in so it isn't something we could use anyway. It always works well for us anyway. If we were in a different rig though, we would likely opt for the clear tube too.

Your trailer is still progressing nicely! Keep it up :)

-Mike
97 Roadtrek 170P "Taj Ma Trek"
HTTP://WWW.VanTramps.Com

pidge said...

Thanks for the info on the black tanks. We only use dump stations when we are home in Indiana, and it is located at the Waste Management plant in our home town. I don't think it will close, but one never knows.

LakeConroePenny,TX said...

Thank you, Mike.
The trailer is slowly coming along.

If you have a macerator, and really needed to see when you can stop flushing your tank, you could get some clear tubing at the hardware store, plus the fittings, and add it into your regular hose. Just a thought!

LakeConroePenny,TX said...

No, Pidge, the way things are going, one never knows.
But it is good to know there are alternatives.