Is 37 gal black water tank too small?

[brightsky]

Is 37 gal black water tank too small for a family of four? how about boondocking for about 3 days?

[bansai]

It really depends on your usage right? You can easily make 37 gallons work though. It's not too small. That's a *lot* of flushes... just make them count. Don't run more water into that tank than you need to with each of them.

Full disclaimer - if I just have to pee, I've been known to find a tree or something if boondocking...So for me personally? I only use the toilet myself in the camper *maybe* 2 times a day... that's just me though. I dont' want to sound crass, but it also depends on how many of those 4 people are female in my experience, but you should be fine for a few days, easy and it really is 100% dependent on 'flushes per day per person'. Shouldn't be a problem unless someone has a medical condition or doesn't realize they are in conservation mode. i.e. if you're going to pound a case of beer on saturday and want to use the bathroom in the camper to 'get rid' of all of that, you might have issues.

Only other advise is don't #2 into a dry black tank. You'll want some 'water' in there at all times. Man I love these bathroom threads sometimes.

[RAurand]

I have 88 gallons and with a family of 5 we can usually get 5 days out of it. My wife and I with a 19 and 18 year old daughters and a 15 year old son.. My teenage daughters use more water than my son does. Also depends on how many showers the girls get.

[Midnightmoon]

Our 25 Gal black tank can last us as long as we can stand the smell. 4-5 days with our family of 4 is no issue and I usually start with about 10 gal of water in he tank.

[craigav]

Without overly conserving black tank usage, consider that you need about 2 gallons black tank room per day per person (that is a safe number for almost everyone, we often only need 1.5 gallons per person per day being a bit careful (but not overly). If you were in ultra conservative mode, you likely could cut that in half although I haven't needed to do that so not completely sure. ~CA

[Jagiven]

We have never filled our black tank before moving on. Grey water tank is a different story.

[Murff]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

We have never filled our black tank before moving on. Grey water tank is a different story.

Eh? Since when is gray water a problem when boondocking?

Murff

[brightsky]

A floorplan has 70 gal grey water tank, but only 37 gal black tank. It should be the opposite, and we can boondock for a longer time.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by Murff

Eh? Since when is gray water a problem when boondocking?

Murff

Unfortunately there are some areas where the land management won't let you dump your grey water tanks on the ground. One thing we have found, if we wash our dishes outside in a dish pan, we can dump it outside.

[michael.g]

We camped seasonally (on same site) with our Class C for 2 years. We are a family of 4. I believe our C had a 36 gallon black water tank. We could go 6 to 7 days before dumping the black water.

-Michael

[Nitehawk]

Originally Posted by Murff

Eh? Since when is gray water a problem when boondocking?



Murff

As much as possible i never dump grey water while boondocking i have even recycled it to use for black water so we do not run out of fresh. Remember grey water usually has food and the scent of food in it. Not only not safe for the environment but attracts animals as well

[flintsters]

We have a travel trailer with a black tank capacity of 22.5 gallons. While this may sound small, and it is, I traveled for 2 months with my wife and 3 daughters mostly dry camping. At no point in our travels was the black tank an issue. The grey tank....well that's another issue (about 30 gallons). For the most part we didn't hang around the campground so bathroom usage was mostly done in other places. Even on trips when we were hanging at the campground we could easily last a handful of days. I wouldn't stress about it.

[mrpavette]

I been trying to figure out the black tank formula myself. I think like craigav said 2 gallons per person per day. I was originally figuring roughly 5 gallons for two people. When you dump your black tank you should put about five gallons of fresh water in before using. 37 gallon black tank isn’t bad and I’m not sure there's many bigger in the average travel trailer. Normally don’t flush every time we pee. I also put black tank treatment in the black tank to help breakdown the waste and smell. Most RV’s have separate black and gray tanks. Shower and sinks would go in gray tanks.

[GVStaud]

Had a TT with 37 gal black tank & dry camped for 14 days with wife & daughter. By the end could see the waste near top of toilet. New rules: poop in outhouse & use TT toilet for evening visits. Problem solved. We camp at Forest Service campgrounds which have water pumps & outhouses.

[bucko]

If you are unsure it will work for you and the family, you could consider buying a dump tank on wheels that can be stored on the stairs that run to the roof. This way you increase your waste water capacity. Good insurance.

[TaftCoach]

We fill gray well before black.

[bdreinv]

If out for a few days keep an eye on tank levels. Out houses are a good option!

[bucko]

Originally Posted by TaftCoach

We fill gray well before black.

Works for grey too.