Those blue totes - opinions / reccommendations

[sigv]

I have a 63 tradewind with 15 gal black and 21 gal grey tanks and.... I have 3 kids so I have been looking at solutions for my small tanks.

What is the concesncious on those blue (or other color) totes for this - do those work good? Any reccommendations - I have seen some new ones that have a built in hose and do not need to be tipped.

Any advice much appreciated!

Thanks,

-Sig

[Fyrzowt]

Haven't used the no-tip models, but the standard ones work fine. There are varying opinions on which size to get, some like small and light, some are OK with heavier but more capacity. There are several threads that could be searched.
Dave

[soldiermedic]

I assume that your grey tank was added by you or the PO? Airstream didn't install grey tanks standard until 1973 (I believe). I had a 56 Caravanner with no grey tank, and used the large blue boy tote. It worked fine for us, and the only issue was carrying it off to dump.

Steve

[Midamrail]

A tote tank is a worthwhile investment with a vintage trailer, although we've even used one with a newer trailer for wash water at parks without sewer hook-ups so that we don't need to break down camp to go dump the gray tank. It gives you much more flexibility with the vintage trailers.

We found a 20-gallon tank or thereabouts to be the right size; we can get 2-3 days out of it, move it by hand to the truck, and easily tow it to the dump station. We haven't used it for black water, as we have been able to get by with the tanks on the trailers, which makes transporting and carrying the blue tank more palatable.

[jcanavera]

I did some extensive study prior to buying one last fall. While big has the benefit of holding more water, the downfall is the weight and the surface you are on. In some cases a large tank may be near about immovable if the surface is soft (gravel, sand or dirt) and the wheels dig in.

You have your choice of two or four wheel units. Four wheel might be a little easier to handle on a bigger tank since you do not have to lift the front end off the ground to pull it.

I'm using an H&H tank. Tote Tanks - Portable Waste on Sale My tank is 25 gallons and full it is very heavy. I looked closely at Thetford but decided against it due to negative feedback. I have a side discharge valve which is very much like the one found on the trailer. No lifting required. Just be sure and look at how you position the trailer at your campsite and the positioning of the tank. Be sure to leave room to maneuver the tank.

Jack

[Stefrobrts]

Jack, I think you're onto something with the side-discharge model. Ours has the top discharge and it's a pain to empty. Luckily it's small, so we can lift it. I think one that hooks onto the ball would be nice though, I could see getting a larger one if it had the ball hook and a side discharge.

[Fyrzowt]

Mine has a top discharge, that when you get to the dump station becomes a side discharge when it is tipped up on the end.
It has a removable handle that hooks over a hitch ball.
Dave

[rseagle]

I had the 32 gal 4 wheeler and sold it. Too heavy and not very towable with the cheap plastic wheels. I got a 10 gal. instead. It's very manageable. I can pick it up and put it in my P/U bed and carry to the dump station. If you need more capacity, you can always get two.

[jimmini]

HERE IS A SYSTEM THAT I USE.IT WORKS VERY WELL. NO MORE BLUE BOY.

WWW.HITCHITCH.COM/HELPLINKS.HTML

CLICK ON WE DID AWAY WITH BLUE BOY WHEN BOONDOCKING
HitchItch

[sigv]

Originally Posted by soldiermedic

I assume that your grey tank was added by you or the PO? Airstream didn't install grey tanks standard until 1973 (I believe). I had a 56 Caravanner with no grey tank, and used the large blue boy tote. It worked fine for us, and the only issue was carrying it off to dump.

Steve

Colin Hyde of GSM added the Grey tank.

[sigv]

Originally Posted by rseagle

I had the 32 gal 4 wheeler and sold it. Too heavy and not very towable with the cheap plastic wheels. I got a 10 gal. instead. It's very manageable. I can pick it up and put it in my P/U bed and carry to the dump station. If you need more capacity, you can always get two.

Thanks for the feedback. How do only get 10 gallons in the blue tank? Is there a way to measure that?

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

Jack, I think you're onto something with the side-discharge model. Ours has the top discharge and it's a pain to empty. Luckily it's small, so we can lift it. I think one that hooks onto the ball would be nice though, I could see getting a larger one if it had the ball hook and a side discharge.

Stephanie, if you check the link I provided, you will notice that there is a hoop on the end of the handle that hooks to the ball. If you go big, and it's too heavy to pull by hand, you will need to get your tow vehicle onto the site to hook up....not always an easy or possible task based on the position of the trailer and the site characteristics.

Jack

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by sigv

Thanks for the feedback. How do only get 10 gallons in the blue tank? Is there a way to measure that?

Easy to control if you already have an onboard grey tank. You just fill the blue tank and shut off at the valve on the trailer. If you have no grey tank then you have to eyeball the fill level of the tank and dump it when it starts to get close to full.

Jack

[Minnie's Mate]

We have a 38 gallon gray tank and fill it every day when we are in a state park with no sewer hook up. We got a 25 gallon blue tank with four wheels, side discharge, and a handle with the hitch ball hook so it can be towed to the dump station. Do yourself a favor and get one that is at least as large as your gray tank or you may have to empty the tank more than once per day.

[henw]

I empty the gray every day or 1 1/2 days. Black about every 2 days( Bathroom sink drains to. We don't enjoy being stingy with the water. It's no big deal to haul the 27 gal tote we have over to the dump station.

Tom