RV Dump Station Basics for Beginners

39 thoughts on “RV Dump Station Basics for Beginners”

• Dump Station Basics – 12 Steps
  1) Stage supplies:
  a) Gloves
  b) Wipes
  c) Black tank flush hose

  2) Once at dump station, put on gloves

  3) Connect sewer hose to:
  a) Black tank outlet
  b) Dump station drain
  c) Open valve to drain

  4) While black tank is draining connect black tank flush hose:
  a) To non-potable hose
  Note: Clean with wipe first due to prior use
  b) RV black tank flush inlet
  c) Turn water on at station to begin flush

  5) Once satisfied black tank is fully drained:
  a) Turn off black tank flush water
  b) Close black tank drain valve

  6) Open gray tank valve and drain, if you have dual outlets:
  a) Disconnect sewer hose from black tank outlet RV side only
  b) Connect server hose to gray tank

  7) While gray tank is draining:
  a) Disconnect black tank flush hose
  b) Put hose away

  8) Once satisfied gray tank is fully drained:
  a) Close gray tank valve
  b) Disconnect sewer hose from RV only

  9) Spray out sewer hose and connectors and put away

  10) Carefully remove gloves and dispose in trash with used wipe from Step 4

  11) Once gloves and wipes are trashed, sanitize hands, ensure everything is put away and leave dump station

  12) Once away from the dump station:
  a) Add a few gallons to black tank
  b) Add tank treatment
  Note: We use Happy Camper

  12 Step Printable Process Document available on johnmarucci.com:
  https://johnmarucci.com/docs-downloads/

  Featured Product*:
  – Happy Campers Organic RV Holding Tank Treatment: https://amzn.to/2L0bOTp

  Displayed Products*:
  – Camco RhinoFLEX Clear Elbow: https://amzn.to/2updn2U
  – Reliance Rhino Pak 5.5 Gallon Water Storage Container: https://amzn.to/2NQNXDn

  *Affiliate Link Disclosure:
  As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. These commissions help support the future development of this channel.

• We have had 6 trailers over 30 years. I have always washed dishes in a dishpan and then dumped that water into the toilet. We have never had a problem with odor or anything left in the black tank.
  I am now on my own. I would like to thank you for this video. My 2010 176 Rpod's gray tank is showing 2/3 full. My husband always dumped our tanks but I feel that I can dump the gray.

• Great video! Not too many videos done on this shitty subject. lol

• Hey John just wondering what sort of wipes do you recommend at the dump station? Thanks

• I’m not sure I have a black tank flush.

• Thanks so much. This is so valuable. I love how you have consideration for fellow campers. We're all in this together.

• One thing to be aware of NEVER fill your fresh water tank with the NON-Portable water as we seen on several occasions at the National Parks, especially with people renting a RV for their trip. We always warn these people when we see them.

• very informed , as a new RVer

• Just used you video while renting a 2018 Rpod 171. Your videos have helped me out tremendously. Thank you

• I just took my 2021 Nexus Viper camping for the first time. I tried to dump a totally full black water tank and was the laughing stock of the dump line. Is it normal for the small 1.5” line to be plumbed to the toilet tank instead of the large 4” line? This seems incorrect to me. It did not work but instead was a fiasco.

• So helpful thank you 👍

• What do you do with your black hose? Have never done this but before I removed my gloves wouldn’t you lift the open end so anything in it went to the septic then put it in a tote? Think I would put pig mats in the tote then stick it in a storage area. My first go definitely going to be at a time it’s not busy.

• Thanks brother

• I used to dump and flush the toilet tanks on 747 aircraft, it was a "shit" job.

  Jokes aside the process was pretty much the same as you did it, although when flushing with clean water we would close the dump valve again and then fill up the black tank most of the way before opening the dump valve again, this was better for dislodging anything still stuck in the tank.
  We also used something called "blue loo" or something in the water that we filled the flush tanks with, super strong concentrated stuff, i think 1 cup of it treated about 500L of water if i remember correctly. My friend had to be rushed to hospital after getting splashed in the eyes with the concentrate.

• IMPORTANT topic for RVers, since holding up traffic at a dump station can be a major source of aggravation for folks. There are several pre-staging and post-staging things we can do that you didn't mention that can hasten our turn at the dump. If it takes more than three minutes to dump and move ahead for the next person, you're taking TOO LONG. I've been RVing for 30 years and have the process at the dump down to under 3 minutes (I have 30 gallon waste water tanks), and see no reason other campers can't dump and move on in under 5 minutes. I will have my gloves on and dump hose and flush hose hooked up and hanging on the side of my camper when I'm next in line to dump. Most dump stations have a rinse hose, so a quick flush to rinse out my dump hose takes only seconds. I'll stow my hoses after I pull forward enough to make room for the next RVer.

• Great video!!

• Well done

• Thanks for this dump station video. As a new owner, I was really apprehensive about my first trip to dump my tanks. After watching this, I knew what everything on my trailer and at the station did. The dump went off smoothly and was oddly satisfying (not fun, but I got the important job done).

• thanks john for the dump waste video going rving for the first time in october very helpful tips to take along with me

• John, thanks for all your information. When I clicked on your Starter Kit from your Docs and Downloads, it looked different from when I clicked above for Amazon Storefront now open. We purchased a Camco 39658 sewer hose kit based on your starter kit recommendations. I see many people talk about the Rhino sewer hoses. Which one is better. Is it better to have a 20’ hose, or a 15’. The Camco 39658, you can use it as a 10 or 20 foot, right. Sometimes I think there are too many choices. Thanks for feedback and keep up the good work. 😁

• awesome video. thank you!

• Did that camper have a special flush water hookup on the side to flush the tanks or did he just hook the hose into the city water/fresh water connection 🤔

• We purposely fill our black and grey tanks with water before dumping so it sucks out as much as possible.

• Great video. New RV'er here. I appreciate that this was concise, straight forward, well thought out. No wasted time watching your video! Thanks!

• Thank you, about to make our purchase and have been looking for info on this, excellent video instruction!

• Thanks, John. That was really helpful.

• Great video John! How long do you keep the treatment water in the black tank after leaving the dump station?

• One of your last steps (after emptying the black and grey tanks) was to put 4-5 gallons of water + treatment into the blackwater tank. At what point in your future travels do you empty that? Do you just let it slosh around until you are nearly home and then dump? Or do you keep that in the black tank until the next time you camp–and, if so, do you empty the black water as you enter the next camp? What are your thoughts on using Downy to help soften things up? Thank you so much for your concise video!

• I wish I had seen this before my first rental! Great video.

• Great information. I've been trying for years for the black tank indicator to read empty. I followed the steps in the video, I also added dishwasher soap pods. It worked. After the second flush, the black tank indicator read empty!

• great video for a newbie.

• This is great. Thank you!

• Nice video. For those RV's that have a "shared" black and grey outlet… I recommend releasing the grey valve first, just long enough to know that all connections are tight. Then proceed with to fully drain the black tank followed with the grey.
  If something is going to let loose, I'd rather have the grey water all over me than black water!!
  I learned this from someone else's experience, thank goodness.

• Where do you usually find the dump stations? Do you have to pay to use it? thanks.

• Thank you for the video! 🌷🌼

• Good video thanks

• Especially important is the last step to ensure you don't have a bad odor. Definitely add an orange pack or treatment BEFORE hitting the road. That way it sloshes around and cleans as well as deodorizes.

• My hands are weak, I can’t remove my black tank hose; after I’ve connected it tight. Someone suggested WD40 on the parts ( doesn’t seem to help) , or use an oil filter tool (not big enough).. Does anyone have any ideas ? I hate asking for help with this !! Using the Rhino hose..

• This is gold. Love the prep work idea prior to pulling into dump station. Thanks for the info!

Comments are closed.