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Old 05-08-2012, 06:56 AM   #1
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Barker Portable Tanks and Low Drain Valves

I have a Jayco 23D and the drains are extremely low. I ordered a Barker tank but now I am wondering if I will have any trouble draining my tanks into it. I plan on using it primarily for grey water and only when my on board tank needs to be emptied.

Can anyone please provide any insight and experience in regards to portable tanks and low drain valves?

Thanks in advance
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Old 05-08-2012, 07:37 AM   #2
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Welcome to the JOF, smoothy. Glad you joined us.

I have a blueboy (aka Barker 25 gallon portable tank) and it's a lifesaver on those week-long stays, especially for the gray water. While I have not had an issue with the height, others have indicated they've either had to drive up onto boards/blocks and/or dig a hole for the blueboy. My best advice is to try it and see. If the expense is an concern, maybe you could find someone to loan you theirs before you buy.
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Old 05-08-2012, 07:50 AM   #3
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Quahog

Thanks for the welcome and response. So is your drain outlet lower than the top of the Barker? I am thinking that since the on-board tanks should be higher then the portable tank I should not have an issue. I just ordered it yesterday from Barker Mfg. Also I see you have an EcoBoost. How does it pull? I see it has very good reviews.

Thanks again
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Old 05-08-2012, 08:06 AM   #4
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The drain outlet is not much higher than the top of the Barker. In fact, the drain hose does a little ~ bend but I think the force of the liquid pushes it out just fine. Since my TT tank is larger than the capacity of the Barker, it won't empty completely but it's a good balance for me. It gets me back to about 1/3 full without the Barker being overly large and cumbersome to haul.

Just picked up the truck last month and I only have one trip with the TT under my belt but it pulls like a dream. I went with the HD Payload option that gives me around 2450 lbs of cargo capacity, heavier springs, brakes, shocks, etc.

We're taking a 5k mile trip later this month so when I get back, I'll be able to give you a much better review.
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Old 05-08-2012, 08:10 AM   #5
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We just got a 35 gallon therefore tote for our hybrid. Ours is low to to ground as well. I couldn't get the last bit of water into the tote, no matter what I did. The rv drain line is higher then the top of the tote but I still had problems. I even tried to snake the hose connecting the tote to the camper but it didn't seem to work either. When I disconnected the tote then I'd say about a gallon of water came out from my camper.

I'm thinking of driving the camper on blocks to raise it a few inches.
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Old 05-08-2012, 08:59 AM   #6
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Sounds like a nice truck. I need to retire my 02 F150 and was looking at the EcoBoost models. Enjoy

cm

I guess I am not overly concerned about completely emptying my on board grey tank as long as I can extend my stays without having to remind my children to conserve and pull to the dump station in the middle of a stay. One less thing to worry about.
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Old 05-08-2012, 12:53 PM   #7
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The Barker portable tank is easy to haul too. I just slip the handle over my ball mount and drive up to the dump (at idle speed). Waaaaaay easier than moving the trailer to empty the tanks.
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Old 05-08-2012, 03:23 PM   #8
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How does it do on gravel/rock roadways? Where we are staying for Memorial Day weekend has rock roadways. I will have a water hookup but no sewer. It will be my first test. Supposedly she (Barker mfg.) is going to upgrade to some different rubber wheels because the pneumatic tires they got from the supplier did not work out. I also just picked up 3 6 gallon jugs from Walmart to use for my freshwater runs.
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Old 05-08-2012, 04:20 PM   #9
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This is what mine looks like and it doesn't have pneumatic wheels.

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Old 05-08-2012, 07:17 PM   #10
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I asked for one of these portable tanks for Mother's Day. Hey, don't laugh. I'm not into jewelry! My question is...How do the larger ones drain into the grey water, especially when the opening is 3 ft off the ground and they are way too heavy to lift?
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Old 05-08-2012, 08:37 PM   #11
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My camper sits low to the ground. To drain into a tote I connect the hose to the tote and the drain. I remove the small air vent cap and then pull the handle. The water drains for a while, then slows to nothing. I then lift the hose near the drain and go hand over hand down the hose toward the tank, thus draining the hose. I repeat as needed. Slow, but it works.
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Old 05-09-2012, 06:26 AM   #12
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snip My question is...How do the larger ones drain into the grey water, especially when the opening is 3 ft off the ground and they are way too heavy to lift?
Perhaps I misunderstood your question but I will give it a shot... in the photo I posted, you will see a blue flex hose. You connect that to the drain on your TT to fill the blueboy (top). Once it's full (as seen by a little float valve you monitor), you shut off the drain and cap both it and the blueboy.

When you get to the dump station, there is no need to lift the unit... simply connect the little flex hose (side), place the other end in the dump tube, and open the valve on the blue boy.
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Old 05-09-2012, 07:28 AM   #13
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Perhaps I misunderstood your question but I will give it a shot... in the photo I posted, you will see a blue flex hose. You connect that to the drain on your TT to fill the blueboy (top). Once it's full (as seen by a little float valve you monitor), you shut off the drain and cap both it and the blueboy.

When you get to the dump station, there is no need to lift the unit... simply connect the little flex hose (side), place the other end in the dump tube, and open the valve on the blue boy.
I was wondering if you're using it solely for grey water & want to dump it into a grey water reservoir that are all around the CG. They all seem to be 3 feet off the ground.
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Old 05-11-2012, 04:17 AM   #14
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I have never used ours for the black water, we use it for gray water only. The cover on our trailer hookup has the garden hose fitting built in to it with a cap. I hook that up to the garden hose fitting on the blue tank with a 3/4" x 3' hose that has female fittings on both ends. You can then take the 3" cover off the blue tank to watch the fill level, I do not trust the little float gauge that comes with the tank. It takes longer to do it this way but gives much more control and less chance for spillage. With the trailer tanks up inside the chassis and the blue tank on the ground I have never had a filling problem, even if the blue tank is above the discharge. As long as the trailer tanks are above the blue tank it will flow. A 3" hose with black water and solids with the blue tank above the discharge is completely different animal.

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Old 05-11-2012, 05:50 AM   #15
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Dwight

Thanks for the info. My thoughts on my usage is what you are doing although I did not consider using the garden hose.

Kim

I assume the majority of the users of these tanks tow or pull to the designated dump stations at the campgrounds. Don't really think you would want to lift a full tank 3 feet in the air.

Everyone

Thank you for all the responses. I ordered direct from Barker Mfg. and the the rep. stated she was going to upgrade the wheels.
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Old 05-11-2012, 10:38 AM   #16
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Dwight



Kim

I assume the majority of the users of these tanks tow or pull to the designated dump stations at the campgrounds. Don't really think you would want to lift a full tank 3 feet in the air.

.
I know that. We were just pushing around the idea of a 10 gallon one, which could be lifted by my boys/hubbie to give some slight relief to the grey tank and give us the opportunity to use it more instead of washing dishes outside & dumping everything via a 5 gal bucket, which we've been doing. My guys are used to slinging bales of hay/straw and 100 lb bags of feed around!
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Old 05-11-2012, 02:03 PM   #17
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I was wondering if you're using it solely for grey water & want to dump it into a grey water reservoir that are all around the CG. They all seem to be 3 feet off the ground.
I get the question now... I haven't seen these 3' high dumps you're referring to. I always take the blueboy to the standard dump station.
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Old 05-11-2012, 03:20 PM   #18
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I get the question now... I haven't seen these 3' high dumps you're referring to. I always take the blueboy to the standard dump station.
Yes, they have several grey water receptacles placed throughout the CG's or at least the ones we been to. Would be nice to have the option of filling our grey tank and filling a 10-15 gallon portable & dumping at the grey water receptacle.
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Old 05-11-2012, 08:00 PM   #19
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I have seen the ground level receptacles that look like a sink. I would suspect the high ones are for campers to dump dish water and such.
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Old 05-11-2012, 08:15 PM   #20
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I have seen the ground level receptacles that look like a sink. I would suspect the high ones are for campers to dump dish water and such.

I assuming the taller dumps are something like this?




All the ones I've seen around here are like the one pictured below.

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