Ideas For Mobile External Blackwater Tank

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flippincorvette

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Arkansas
Hey guys, I have a question. I bought a 2017 Forest River Heritage Glen 372rd Wildwood. For the next two years I’m keeping it on some land we have. We will stay there for a week or two every once in a while. I have some business attend to in that area for two years. After that I intend to take the camper on actual adventures. Until then, I have water, electric, WiFi, and a drain for grey water, but no solution on the land for black water. I need a solution for a mobile tank I can fill with black water and take to a dump station in town. I was thinking about maybe an external black water tank mounted to a small utility trailer. Is there any in line pumps and such I could get to help the flow into and out of the external tank? Also is there a recommended tank that would make this task easier? Any other ideas are also welcome! Thank you for your time!
 

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Get a 50 gallon drum, put a bunch of 1/2” holes all around it. Dig a hole in the ground so you end up with about 4” of clearance or more all around the barrel once it’s in the ground. Make sure the top of the barrel is below grade a few inches. Then fill around the barrel with 3/4 stone. Pipe your RV sewer line into the top of the barrel. Seal the pipe where it enters the barrel then backfill covering the drum. That’s it. You just built yourself a small septic tank.
I’d use a plastic drum and not steel. Plastic don’t rust.
 
I'be helped build a couple of small septic systems. I think what Rene described is a dry well rather than a septic. Suitable for gray water but not black because the paper and residue will soon coat the stone and the surrounding soil. A septic retains the effluent while bacteria digests it. It has an overflow pipe to drain away the water off the top, not down low from the sides. Here's a fairly sophisticated DIY septic:

And some other possibles:
 
You can buy black water tote tanks in sizes from several gallons to 300+, some with wheels and fittings and others just plastic tanks to make your own solution. You will want one at least as big as your RV holding tank, and probably larger.
Here is a 42 gallon portable tote with wheels, and a 50 gallon DIY tank.

You can buy a general purpose macerator (aka "trash") pump or get one designed to connect to your RV dump outlet and pump directly to another tank with a garden hose.
 
Or you can call your local portable toilet company and have them set a holding tank and they will come out and pump it out when you need to.
 
Get a 50 gallon drum, put a bunch of 1/2” holes all around it. Dig a hole in the ground so you end up with about 4” of clearance or more all around the barrel once it’s in the ground. Make sure the top of the barrel is below grade a few inches. Then fill around the barrel with 3/4 stone. Pipe your RV sewer line into the top of the barrel. Seal the pipe where it enters the barrel then backfill covering the drum. That’s it. You just built yourself a small septic tank.
The first thing to realize is that you need county approval for any type of waste disposal and if you were caught with this arrangement without proper permitting, you will be is serious trouble, even if that would work, which it will not for human waste. Septic tanks are not filled with gravel.

I would get a macerator pump and some type of tank. If I were in your position, I would want something that was easy to empty and even to flush out as you will use it for 2 years which means it could get very unpleasant to use and to smell.
 
even if that would work, which it will not for human waste. Septic tanks are not filled with gravel.
Who said to fill it with gravel. Not me. I said to put 3/4 stone around the outside of the barrel then when everything is done cover the drum with gravel.
 
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OK, so I did misread that part, but it still does not make that a septic system nor does it relieve the need for proper permitting.
My son in law is putting one in at his camp/trailer next weekend. He uses this camp maybe twice a year for 3 or 4 days so it will work for what he needs. He is also out in the middle of nowhere so no one will care what he does.
 
My son in law is putting one in at his camp/trailer next weekend. He uses this camp maybe twice a year for 3 or 4 days so it will work for what he needs. He is also out in the middle of nowhere so no one will care what he does.

We used the 55 gal. Drum in a hole full of gravel years ago but county health departments frown on them these days. As long as nobody knows that system will work well for occasional use.

Here in Florida with the high water table you almost have to have an above ground mound system.
 
My neighbor uses a macerator to empty his black and gray water tanks. The macerator liquifies the effluent and pumps it through a garden hose into a holding tank. Works great.
 
Get a 50 gallon drum, put a bunch of 1/2” holes all around it. Dig a hole in the ground so you end up with about 4” of clearance or more all around the barrel once it’s in the ground. Make sure the top of the barrel is below grade a few inches. Then fill around the barrel with 3/4 stone. Pipe your RV sewer line into the top of the barrel. Seal the pipe where it enters the barrel then backfill covering the drum. That’s it. You just built yourself a small septic tank.
I’d use a plastic drum and not steel. Plastic don’t rust.
That isn’t a septic tank. Not a tank. It is a cesspool.
A septic tank allows the solids to be pumped.
I would use your idea for grey water but never for black.

get a tote or a service
 
The first thing to realize is that you need county approval for any type of waste disposal and if you were caught with this arrangement without proper permitting, you will be is serious trouble, even if that would work, which it will not for human waste. Septic tanks are not filled with gravel.

I would get a macerator pump and some type of tank. If I were in your position, I would want something that was easy to empty and even to flush out as you will use it for 2 years which means it could get very unpleasant to use and to smell.
Ya haha. The county dragged their feet for a long time on permits for a septic, and I’m running out of time before I’m going to start going there. That’s why I’m going to have to take it to one of the waste disposal places in town. For a small fee, one of the local campgrounds will let me dump in one of their dumping stations there. They have one set up for people traveling through the area to stop and dump.
 
You can buy black water tote tanks in sizes from several gallons to 300+, some with wheels and fittings and others just plastic tanks to make your own solution. You will want one at least as big as your RV holding tank, and probably larger.
Here is a 42 gallon portable tote with wheels, and a 50 gallon DIY tank.

You can buy a general purpose macerator (aka "trash") pump or get one designed to connect to your RV dump outlet and pump directly to another tank with a garden hose.
This helps big time! Thank you!
 
My son in law is putting one in at his camp/trailer next weekend. He uses this camp maybe twice a year for 3 or 4 days so it will work for what he needs. He is also out in the middle of nowhere so no one will care what he does.
Such blatant disregard for human health and the environment on your part Rene, I'm surprised. More surprised you could encourage others to ignore their legal responsibilities. There are strict rules for designing and installing proper septic systems which is why there is a permit review process, so obviously SOMEONE cares what people do with their poop and pee. Besides, there is no such thing as "in the middle of nowhere" when you're talking about environmental impacts. Such wastes have historically contaminated groundwater/drinking water supplies and surface lakes and rivers - reasons for regs. Maybe you could encourage your s-i-l to opt for the portable tank idea instead.

Linda
 
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I just wrote a long reply to your comments and decided to erase it. I want to keep this civil.
Google the word “cathole”.
 
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Yep. Backpackers dig a cathole for their deposits.

After sewage travels through about 2' of soil it is basically clean. Microbes eat up the waste converting in to nitrates.

The main problems from sewage is ground water contamination and the fertilizer effect of the nitrates and phosphorus left over from the bacteria eating up the waste on our waterways.
 
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