What Size Tote?

[laragc]

We have a 1970 Globie. After finding out the cost on putting in a grey-water tank, we've decided that has to wait a bit. We know we need a blue tote for grey water when we are not in a site with full hook-ups. We are not likely to be boondocking much and will usually be at a campground with a dump station. We also likely will not camp for more than 3 days and I don't see us doing more than using the water for washing dishes although DH swears he is going to use the shower (and I am looking forward to hearing the colorful language as he bangs his elbows on the walls that tiny space.)

Given this kind of usage, what size blue tank do we really need? I know they get heavy if too big but I don't want to have to haul it to the dump station every night either. I would love to hear your guys thoughts on this because as new RVers, we have no idea and those damn totes cost just enough I don't want to make a mistake. Thanks!

[bganso]

If you're boondocking you'll be limited to the capacity of your fresh water tank.

[DryFly]

We have a 15 gallon capacity tote. With 2 of us, it needs to be emptied just about every day when hooked up to a site with potable water. When straight boondocking we could probably go 2 days by being stingy, but then finding an appropriate place to dump becomes an issue. 15 gallons of water weighs approximately 125 lbs which is more than I'm willing to lift, although since ours has wheels I hook it to my hitch and tow it to a dump station when in a campground.
I think if I do go boondocking I will get a couple of 10 gallon ones and monitor closely. I can get 82 lbs in the pickup bed ok

[azflycaster]

We have a 20 gallon tote that I bought at the swap meet of a VAC rally for a great price. If the weight is an issue, don't wait till it's full. My 75 has a very small grey tank and with the tote we can go 5 days more or less.

[Thalweg]

I'm in the same boat as you. I'll be buying one within the month. I think I've decided on the 15 gallon Tote-N-Store. The reasoning for this one is that it looks like it will fit in the bathtub which I think will be a good place to transport it while it is empty. My fresh water tank is about 30 gallons, so clearly the 15 gallon tote is deficient in that regard. We only intend on using it for gray water, and we'll just have to learn to be efficient.

Tote-N-Stor 25607 Portable Waste Transport - 15 Gallon Capacity : Amazon.com : Automotive

[Tom Nugler]

My main tank is a 12 gallon Thetford tank with wheels and a hitch attachment I picked up at Camping World.
I picked up a couple of fittings and cut a 10 inch piece off the slinky and put together a coupler to fit between the trailer outlet and the tank. You’ll find, usually at the most inopportune time, that something a little too big went down the kitchen sink and clogged the typical garden hose fittings found on the tanks.
I also still have an original 5 gallon “Blue Boy” from my 1st canned ham. It’s easier to handle and sometimes we just need a back-up.

Tom

[Protagonist]

Easy answer: If you discharge through a slinky into your tote, get a tote that is the same size as the larger of your black and gray tanks. It is very hard to shut off the flow in mid-dump if your tote is too small for the capacity of one of your holding tanks. You can always empty the holding tnak into the tote more often if a full tote is too heavy for you, but you want enough capacity to take a full holding tank's worth just in case.

However, if you discharge through a macerator pump as I do, get a tote that matches the smaller of your black and gray tanks. With a macerator pump, it's easy to shut off the flow in mid-dump just by switching off the pump, and so no worry about overflowing your tote.

As previously implied by bganso, if you're using a tote instead of a gray tank, it should be the same size as your fresh tank. Even if you're not boondocking, fill the fresh tank and use from it rather than hooking up to municipal water. When the fresh tank is empty, you'll know your tote is full. That way you won't have to worry about overflowing your tote as you might if you were connected to an endless supply of municipal water.

[mccrosti]

I have a 15 gallon. Works fine for a weekend.