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Cracker · 02-08-2005, 08:35 PM

Has anyone come up with a good solution for connecting and discharging to the blue tank. The sewer connection on my 2000 Excella 30' is too low to the ground for a straightforward gravity hookup. I can discharge almost all of the tank by simply laying the hose on the ground and then letting it arc up into the blue tank - but - the blue tank (30 gal?) is smaller than the trailer tank and, if you try to cut the flow to avoid overfilling, or simply when you're disconnecting, it's hard to avoid a spill. If I get it right, the amount of liquid left in the hose will just allow me to disconnect at the trailer and then hold the hose up to drain into the blue tank. (Not real easy with the trailer valve closed - due to the vacuum created!) Most of the time I simply make a couple of extra trips to avoid overfilling the blue tank. I have had the occasion to use the blue tank to dump the black tank (---sort of a semi-emergency situation!!!) - but I'll agree that most times I would just as soon break camp and take the trailer to the dump station instead. I've gone so far as to even consider a permanently mounted macerator pump.

So far, I haven't had any problems with the wheels and axle on the larger blue tank that uses the front swivel wheels. Others had expressed concern about the wheels.

Pahaska · 02-08-2005, 09:37 PM

I have the same problem. I have a 5- and a 20-gallon tank and both are too tall to easily dump into. I have been thinking of modifying a Thetford fitting with a short, straight piece of pipe with an elbow on the end that I could position directly over the tank inlet. The short pipe would not store fluid like the hose does.

My only need for the tanks is to dump the relatively small amount of liquid that accumulates on the last leg of a trip rather than letting it mellow in the tank.

Forrest · 02-08-2005, 11:46 PM

Even after replacing my axle and gaining 2 or 3 inches in ground clearance I couldn't fit a 32 gal. Tote tank directly under. My holding tank is much smaller than yours, but I sold the 32 gal. and replaced it with a 15 gal. Tote Tank designed for pop-up campers. It only sits about 7 to 8 inches high and now I can put my "blue tank" directly under. Still, I had to make a very short custom sewer hose to connect, and it is a tight fit. With the bigger blue tank I always tried to park with the tail end (where my outlet is) over a depression or slope in the ground to give me room to roll the blue tank under.

rtaylor537 · 02-09-2005, 07:13 AM

I use a tote similar to yours and have been successful in emptying my holding tanks by reversing the intended connection to the tote. Specifically, I connect the hose from the holding tank valve to the discharge port of the tote. As long as the tote is lower than the trailer holding tank it makes no difference whether you empty into the inlet or discharge port of the tote. This works for me.
RTaylor
2001 Excella 30'

w9det · 02-09-2005, 07:29 AM

I have the large 2 wheel blue belly and now use the garden hose connection. Not the dump hose. You can use the 25ft hose to move the blue belly to a lower location or just put the blue belly behind the trailer to make it easy to hook to the truck. The smaller hose gives you more time to react to spillage I bought one of those bobbers they sell but have not used it yet. Hooking the garden hose to the vent hole you can see into the tank in the big hole to see how full it is. If I am staying put for awhile I leave the gray hose connected and hide it behind the trailer wheel. Seems to work best.

Jim J · 05-14-2022, 08:01 PM

Thetford smart tote is another good option. It has its own hose and fills from the bottom rather than the top like some other models. It is easy to fill and drain, Has a built in level indicator/vent and a rinse port.